kshapero
South Florida Man
Each to their own, I avoid NYC like the plague. Dirty, congested, rude and dangerous. (avoid underground subway stations in Brooklyn after dark). i prefer small villages for my street shots.
kxl
Social Documentary
I love NYC. Finding quiet moments in the midst of all the chaos is what I like most about NYC street photography.
Dralowid
Michael
Love it, it gives you bubbles in the blood. I used to come over to NY almost monthly and the all night lifestyle suited my jet lag well.
When I first came I brought a bag of gear, as I got used to stuff my Ricoh GR1 was all that was needed. It is the one camera I regret selling...but I guess it would have broken by now.
When I first came I brought a bag of gear, as I got used to stuff my Ricoh GR1 was all that was needed. It is the one camera I regret selling...but I guess it would have broken by now.
Huss
Veteran
kxl
Social Documentary
Thanks! (10 characters)
Brian Atherton
Well-known
Love, love, love New Yawk (thanks, Helen!)… the sights, the buzz, but especially, the people. Never a dull moment.
As a born and bred Londoner I look upon NY as London’s brash younger sister.
As a born and bred Londoner I look upon NY as London’s brash younger sister.
dmr
Registered Abuser
Might I suggest that you explore the outer boros on your next trip!
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
NYC just voted as the rudest and dirtiest city in U.S. in a recent poll.
Cal
Cal
You just have to find the rhythm... or go to areas with less activity or during times with less activity. If you had lived there, you'd have figure it out.
Huss
Veteran
Ya need life and people for street photography! That’s what cities provide.
Bendj
Established
I love New York. One of the few places I wanted to move to after visiting (from London). So awe inspiring visually, bold in its execution and so much fun to be had all over. The people were great too.
pesphoto
Veteran
...yankee fans everywhere ...kidding...sorta 
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
Thank You Brian !
I certainly enjoyed meeting, hanging, with You & the Mrs.... Great fun !
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
So what else is new?
I've been hearing that for years...
New York simply is not for everybody!
Chris
ChipMcD
Well-known
In many visits to NYC I have never experienced any rudeness, and any New Yorker would spot me as an out-of-towner. That poll is wrong on that count. As for dirty, it is much, much cleaner than it was in the 1980's, and I think at least two mid-Atlantic cities that I know personally are dirtier. So I think the poll is suspect on that count too.
sjones
Established
A decade back, I lived in NYC for a couple of years; dirty it is not, at least not anymore; and most of the folks I encountered kept to themselves (like myself, as an introvert) or were friendly, and not in a disingenuously ingratiating manner.
NYC’s problem is a problem that afflicts most American cities; encroaching plutocracy. The soul gets ripped out, and in place of it, materialistic gloss and lots of nail salons (not that any of this was absent from NYC at any period, but there are degrees).
So sure, maybe the crime of Time Square needed to be eradicated, but in its place they’ve installed an anodyne Disney Land peppered with national chains that could be readily found in most any mall.
Character gets pushed aside, as small diverse storefronts and ma & pa joints fall to clean, capacious, glassy or marble facades announcing their upscale corporate ownership. More importantly, the flavor of the locals begins to increasingly meld more towards the vapid avaricious.
To be sure, NYC is immense, and parts still hold the grit and house the wonderful freaks. It remains one of the better joints to visit or, if you can afford it, live in. Yet, when a one bedroom in Bushwick starts demanding roughly US$2000 monthly, the spirit struggles; and the artists (dirty word) actually start fleeing to LA (if that’s not the sign of the apocalypse, I don’t know what is).
After NYC, spent more than four years in Asheville, NC; was curious about the small-town thing. There, I learned that I needed to be a) north of the Mason-Dixon, and b) surrounded by large buildings. Photographically, it would have been ideal had I been a nature lover; but then again, I’m the type of person who complained that Central Park was disruptively expansive…more concrete please.
And in Asheville, there are only so many streets along which to stroll. Still, the experience perhaps encouraged me to look even closer, the nooks and crannies, and to value the variety that light brings to the same trodden upon spot (yeah, I know, some of you have so much incredible intellect and will power that you don’t need no stinkin’ tiny town to teach ya’ a thing; God bless you).
Now in Chicago, where, for various reasons, I will stay put. But, as for past residences, I will particularly miss Tokyo, so remarkably vibrant and dynamic---and great camera stores!
But for me, street photography ain’t easy irrespective the city’s size, which makes short visits all the more challenging given the urgency to photograph within a limited timeframe. Even in NYC or Tokyo, I could walk around for an hour or more and come back with only one or two photos, both of them remarkably bad.
NYC’s problem is a problem that afflicts most American cities; encroaching plutocracy. The soul gets ripped out, and in place of it, materialistic gloss and lots of nail salons (not that any of this was absent from NYC at any period, but there are degrees).
So sure, maybe the crime of Time Square needed to be eradicated, but in its place they’ve installed an anodyne Disney Land peppered with national chains that could be readily found in most any mall.
Character gets pushed aside, as small diverse storefronts and ma & pa joints fall to clean, capacious, glassy or marble facades announcing their upscale corporate ownership. More importantly, the flavor of the locals begins to increasingly meld more towards the vapid avaricious.
To be sure, NYC is immense, and parts still hold the grit and house the wonderful freaks. It remains one of the better joints to visit or, if you can afford it, live in. Yet, when a one bedroom in Bushwick starts demanding roughly US$2000 monthly, the spirit struggles; and the artists (dirty word) actually start fleeing to LA (if that’s not the sign of the apocalypse, I don’t know what is).
After NYC, spent more than four years in Asheville, NC; was curious about the small-town thing. There, I learned that I needed to be a) north of the Mason-Dixon, and b) surrounded by large buildings. Photographically, it would have been ideal had I been a nature lover; but then again, I’m the type of person who complained that Central Park was disruptively expansive…more concrete please.
And in Asheville, there are only so many streets along which to stroll. Still, the experience perhaps encouraged me to look even closer, the nooks and crannies, and to value the variety that light brings to the same trodden upon spot (yeah, I know, some of you have so much incredible intellect and will power that you don’t need no stinkin’ tiny town to teach ya’ a thing; God bless you).
Now in Chicago, where, for various reasons, I will stay put. But, as for past residences, I will particularly miss Tokyo, so remarkably vibrant and dynamic---and great camera stores!
But for me, street photography ain’t easy irrespective the city’s size, which makes short visits all the more challenging given the urgency to photograph within a limited timeframe. Even in NYC or Tokyo, I could walk around for an hour or more and come back with only one or two photos, both of them remarkably bad.
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
As for New York, I've always loved it. Older buildings midtown and downtown are great photographic subjects, plus the everyday lives of people there. Colors can be fantastic at times even in the city.