HCB on the brain while shooting...

[NY_Dan]

Here’s a photo I shot on 1/27/2014 of a man jumping over a puddle on Broadway and 37th Street in Manhattan, New York City. Funny thing, as the moment presented itself, even though I had zero time to think or respond beyond making a shot, I immediately thought of a similar shot with a puddle by Henri Cartier-Bresson — this made me laugh inside as I took the photo and was very distracting internally — maybe that’s why I cropped the man’s head — or maybe it was because I was in an intersection and trying not to get hit by traffic.


Shot with a vintage 1961 Rolleiflex 2.8f and Kodak Tmax black and white film.


Anyone else have photos they shot that reminded them of another photographer's image?

 

[Vobluda]

Nice capture.

 

[mfogiel]

You might enjoy reading this:
http://mondoinbiancoenero.com/hcb-leica-and-the-dmcr/
and this:
http://mondoinbiancoenero.com/on-mosquitos-dogs-lizards-and-the-origins-of-the-decisive-moment/

 

[NY_Dan]

mfogiel -- enjoyed your links!

Here’s a photo I shot 10 minutes before the one of the man and puddle. Location: West 37th St between 6th & 7th Avenues, Manhattan, New York City. So here’s my mindset (I must have been in an introspective mood or something) — I find crowded window displays interesting, and have shot a bunch of them. When I come across a new display, I think to myself — Is this better than what I’ve shot previously? In the case of this photo, I wasn't sure, I liked the window, but I wanted a human element. People are often curious if not suspicious when you go around taking photos of store windows. Heck everyone's suspicious these days of photographers. I think they believe you might be an IRS man or a sanitation inspector looking to write a ticket. I made a point of having the store employee see me with my camera. Then I found a composition I liked and left a space between the two mannequins, and hoped the store employee would peek through the space out of curiosity to see if I was still there. It worked like a charm, he peeked through and I had my shot.


The inspiration for my approach was in part sparked by a story I once read about an American artillery coordinator fighting rebels in Afghanistan in 2002. The coordinator’s job was to spot the enemy and call in artillery strikes. What he did was fire a shell, and then wait for curious rebels to poke their heads from their hiding places. Once revealed he would call in a pinpoint strike. Psychology.

Hey, whatever works. Sadly the story is better than the photo 🙂 Oh well. My goal is to do my best to make nice photos. “Artillery” A 1961 120 Rolleiflex TLR 2.8f loaded with Kodak TMY black and white film.

 

[mfogiel]

If you crop the image at the bar on the left, the guy behind will suddenly jump out into focus - at least this is what I would do with a shot of mine... 🙄

 

[Thardy]

I'm in south beach Miami now taking refuge from the bitter cold in the north and I'm channeling my inner HCB by waiting at interesting locations waiting for someone to stop by, and other times just strolling and hunting. What helps is that cameras are everywhere (literally everyone has a camera) so I don't look "creepy". What hurts is that I'm with family and they don't quite understand .

 

[Highway 61]

For the first photo, I would have frankly framed down inside the water ! 😉

 

[Thardy]

For the first photo, I would have frankly framed down inside the water ! 😉

Yes that would have been really good.

 

[NY_Dan]

For the first photo, I would have frankly framed down inside the water ! 😉

I would've liked to have had that option, but the puddle wasn't big enough, and the opportunity and space to move backward wasn't available.

Now, what really hurt was about 1/2 hour later as I was making my way to Penn Station I missed out big time. I shot my last exposure across the street from the station -- 8th Ave and 34th. It was cold and I didn't immediately reload. I hate walking with an empty camera. As I crossed the street I saw a drama unfolding between a newspaper seller and a hefty belligerent woman who felt the newspaper man had ripped her off to the tune of one dollar. The drama was palpable. I ran inside a nearby entrance and fumbled to reload, knowing that I was missing the event. There was a lot of posturing on the part of the "lady." And papers were flying. I emerged camera ready as she barreled into the guy and they both fell on their butts. I managed to get off one shot -- with a vintage flashbulb as they were on the pavement, but I know it's not going to be much. I might have gotten the "tackle," but a guy with an iphone held vertical videotaping the exchange camera-blocked me. Them's the breaks. Oh, and a few moments after my flash went off, a construction worker with a huge gut commented "That guy's going to put it on YouTube and the other guy is shooting this with a vintage camera!" New York's a jungle 🙂

 

[Highway 61]

Many, many years ago I was driving through my city after a severe storm. Then at a streets corner I saw two old 1950's impressive Mercedes cars, one black, one white, parked face to face, with both their huge engine hoods open, and the two drivers plunging in the engines with a set of wires other their heads (obviously they were knowing each other and one of the cars battery was dead or having a short-circuitry because of the terrible rain episode which had just ended, so they were plugging the good battery onto the other car plugs so that its engine could start eventually).

Guess what ? I hadn't my camera with me. 🙁

But - last year, I got luckier : here is what I got while cycling back from the dentist's :

If you're after the "decisive moment" and if this is what pleases you most with photography, you must always have your camera with you. Always. And a camera you know and trust 100% so that you don't lose any time to shoot (in this case that was my old meterless film companion, loaded with Tri-X). This is the secret.

😉

 

[NY_Dan]

Highway 61 (love Dylan too), yeah trying to catch that decisive moment is a fun pursuit. Of course any highway that gets you where you want to go is often worth traveling. So I have nothing against shooting a set up shot. That's how I felt an hour before taking the shot of the man jumping and the store window. So when I walked by a cool gym in the same area, looked through the window and saw interesting people weightlifting, I decided it couldn't hurt to ask if it was okay to take a few photos. The photos below are of Colby. I photographed her with the Rolleiflex and vintage flashbulbs. Love flashbulbs.