Why can't we all live in NYC?

back alley said:
you should see wall street after hours - like a morgue.
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You're absolutely right, Joe... in all these big cities, as you know, have dead spots here & there. Taking a Sunday stroll through the financial district of San Fran reveals the same thing (really enjoy SF).
 
Lunch time is a good time to do some street photography in smaller cities. Pretty much the only time you will get some hustle and bustle in the downtown area. Events are other opportunities.

A lot of people will look you in the eye and nod in Edmonton as you pass by- not a great thing for candids if you are into that kind of thing.
 
this thread is funny..:rolleyes:.
the photographers you admire are good because they saw their societies through photography; no matter where they were. All the great reportage work is about finding out the truth through images. if you can't "see" it where you live... you won't see it in NYC or anywhere else.
open your eyes and find YOUR society or it is not relevant at all. redoing cartier bresson, doisneau, winnogrand like it's a cliche.. what's the point? lens bokeh?
 
Not exactly...

Not exactly...

swoop said:
Every city in the States is exactly the same. The only other places I've seen alive at all hours of the day is Budapest and London.

The thing about New York is that its the only city in the U.S. where people live and work in the same area. And so it's always alive and bustling. The first time I went to Chicago I was astounded how a city of 2 million could be so quiet. And it's because "Downtown" is where everyone works and hardly anyone lives. So once the business day is done, it's desolate.

And apparently everyone is trying to live in NYC. hence the unbelievable rent here in New York. After college I moved to Milwaukee, WI for a job. My first time living away from home. And the price of my 1 bedroom apartment, and my own studio combined was half as much as a crappy basement apartment here in NYC. And every other person I meet is from somewhere other than New York. I think NYC has actually been ruined by this. The city lacks character the way it used to when i was growing up. It's become stale and bland. All of the people moving here seeking to partake in it's rich culture have actually just diluted it.
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You never visited New Orleans, did you? Having lived in New Orleans and visited Budapest often, there is a similarity. However, each is unuque.

NYC? Nobody could pay me enough to live there.
 
Calgary may be dead at night, but man, I envy your proximity to Lake Louise, Banff and especially the Icefields Parkway -- an absolutely magnificent stretch of road that proves there is a God.
 
colker said:
this thread is funny..:rolleyes:.
the photographers you admire are good because they saw their societies through photography; no matter where they were. All the great reportage work is about finding out the truth through images. if you can't "see" it where you live... you won't see it in NYC or anywhere else.
open your eyes and find YOUR society or it is not relevant at all. redoing cartier bresson, doisneau, winnogrand like it's a cliche.. what's the point? lens bokeh?
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Spot on!!

Every place has a story to tell but this thread suggests to me that familiarity is breeding contempt for the places we know too well. Rather than wish for different locations, we should approach where we live with the curiosity of the interested traveler.
 
colker said:
this thread is funny..:rolleyes:.
the photographers you admire are good because they saw their societies through photography; no matter where they were. All the great reportage work is about finding out the truth through images. if you can't "see" it where you live... you won't see it in NYC or anywhere else.
open your eyes and find YOUR society or it is not relevant at all. redoing cartier bresson, doisneau, winnogrand like it's a cliche.. what's the point? lens bokeh?
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Gotta disagree with you on this a little bit. Street photography isn't the same as reportage and whatever truth you can get, or not get, from a photograph has been debated ad nauseum since the first one was taken!

Having been lucky enough to have visited both New York and London in the past 6 months I can say that the constant flow of people, who are usually too busy to notice someone snapping away, makes for a lot of potential material in a more ''comfortable'' environment in a lot less time! It is simply easier to do. Whether or not you get anything good is, of course, up to you.

But I will agree that good street photographs can come from anywhere and a big city is not required.
 
Its hard to do people street photography without people that's for sure. After moving from Shanghai to sleepy St. John's I can say with authority that its very hard to do people photography here compared with Shanghai!
 
dmr said:
I remember the Clinton Hill area quite well. IIRC it was far from the worst. A friend of ours went to St. Joseph College over on Clinton Ave, and we used to go to the Friday mixers over there (I was still in HS at the time). :) I remember walking there, most of the time from the GG, but at least once from Junior's, if you know where that is, and although I would not have done that alone, with a group of kids we were perfectly safe at the time.
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You're right, Clinton Hill wasn't the worst neighborhood to live in at the time. I once took the wrong train uptown and ended up in Harlem, instead of Morningside Heights. When I emerged from the subway station, it truly looked like a war zone, with burning barrels and abandoned cars on the street.

But when I lived in Clinton Hill, one of my friends was mugged and another student was killed. At night I would hear gunshots and ambulance sirens. And I had moved there from Back Bay in Boston, which was paradise in comparison to the uneasy streets of Brooklyn. I considered moving to a better neighborhood like Prospect Park or Brooklyn Heights, but ultimately I decided to move to Los Angeles.

I haven't been back there in many years but I'm guessing Clinton Hill is quite gentrified by now.
 
colker said:
this thread is funny..:rolleyes:.
the photographers you admire are good because they saw their societies through photography; no matter where they were. All the great reportage work is about finding out the truth through images. if you can't "see" it where you live... you won't see it in NYC or anywhere else.
open your eyes and find YOUR society or it is not relevant at all. redoing cartier bresson, doisneau, winnogrand like it's a cliche.. what's the point? lens bokeh?
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Dang! Should take these blinders off then... :D

It's not about reportage - I wouldn't categorize random snaps as such. If I were shooting a documentary, then of course the possibilities are endless. Although I do admire the photogs you mention, it's not about redoing - it's just a fact that more things happen when you have greater numbers.
 
kxl said:
Calgary may be dead at night, but man, I envy your proximity to Lake Louise, Banff and especially the Icefields Parkway -- an absolutely magnificent stretch of road that proves there is a God.
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I must agree!

Just as a caveat...

I don't intend to put a negative light on the city. In fact I'll probably grow old and die here. People are friendly, standard of living is high, it sits on the foothills with beautiful rolling hills on one side, prairie on the other & as mentioned above the Rockies are an hour away, it is becoming more vibrant & they're opening up a Crate & Barrel ;) But for my photographic interests, there are times when patience is my biggest ally...
Because things just don't pop out in front of you - I think it does take an extra bit of "seeing".

But... like I said, the warm weather is just around the corner!
 
I'm in agreement that some cities are better than others for good street work, but every city has areas that are good for the kind of work (at least some of the time). I grew up in Chattanooga, TN, and while I'd hardly call that a great city for street work, I have some shots that I still love from weekends shooting on the Walnut Street Bridge, one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. Not much to get on a weekday, but great on a summer weekend. With any city, you just need to know where and when to look.

As for the attacks on American cities as all looking the same, the distinction is pretty clear to me: a city that developed after the advent of great public transportation is always at a disadvantage. In the US at least, cities that developed with cars in mind do tend to feel similar. But New York isn't the only good city in the US. Boston, DC, San Francisco, and Chicago are all really good in my experience. Having lived in Chicago for five years, I can refute claims that the city is a dead zone for street work. Yes, the Loop is dead after 5 on weekdays, but much of the city is vibrant well beyond daylight hours. And Wrigleyville on game day is always wonderful for street work.
 
Well, who said that photography is all about "the street"?
I even thinks that this theme is over rated, and most street stuff (I'm not referring to HCB, Winogrand etc.) is boing and full of cliches.

There are many other photographic themes and styles (thanks God) and many other photographers to learn from other than the street masters.

IMHO, finding the interesting subjects around you, getting close to them (both photographically and emotionally) is much more interesting and full of context, and partly just because you're not in NYC
 
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Are there some cities that are really empty in the evenings and at weekends?

No fast food places, no street food, no cinemas, nightclubs, restaurants, bars, public transport...

I only know some British cities and some Portuguese cities, but cannot recall any that were empty out of office hours.
 
You ever lived in a northern city? Winter at night in most of my town is a wasteland, unless you are in the very downtown area. Then its night, cold and people are hurrying from one warm place to another!
 
Madrid is quite wonderful for nightlife. For one thing, dinner is usually at 10 pm. The Plaza del Sol in the evening is just bustling with energy and people. Then there is La Marcha where people go barhopping all night long until dawn. Coupled with the beautiful Spanish people and the grand architecture all around, it makes for some great street shooting.
 
fdigital said:
I was "banned for life" from our local university's apartment village/complex the other night. Reason? I asked a security guard for his name so i could make a formal complaint to his manager regarding his behavior.

Such is the "Sunshine Coast" life.
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We hardly have any apartment villages/complex with security gards, here in The Old World. Students rent rooms all over town, mostly. Far more charming.
 
chut said:
But when I lived in Clinton Hill, one of my friends was mugged and another student was killed. At night I would hear gunshots and ambulance sirens.
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This is exactly why I left! I've never {knocking on wood} been mugged or assaulted but the thought of it concerns me. :( Still does, to this day.

but ultimately I decided to move to Los Angeles.
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Of my immediate family, I'm the only one who didn't eventually end up in Californica. My dad and stepmom bailed in the late 70s and my two brothers ended up there as well. It was really a quality of life thing for all of us. (El-Lay is a nice place to visit but I never thought I would really fit in there.)

I haven't been back there in many years but I'm guessing Clinton Hill is quite gentrified by now.
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I haven't seen that area in years, closest I have been lately is the Fulton Mall area. I know that quite a few of the formerly nasty areas are now quite nice. Hmmmm ... maybe Forgotten-NY has a neighborhood walk-through of that area ...

But anyway, back to that one Subway photo, and this one has been on my mind for the past day or so and in a way is a real mind-{f-bomb}. Ever since I saw that photo, I always thought that the guy in the red was the perp and the other guy was just some poor schlub who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It changes the meaning totally to know that the guy in the red is the Good Guy, and the other guy is the perp!

On the lighter side, that's almost a real-life enactment of the famous Kramer subway mugging. :)

("Queens Plaza, jy-roes ...", no, wait, that was a different episode!) :)
 
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