Tag: streetphoto

A Winter Weekend of Street Photography in New York

New York is a truly astonishing city[1][2][3]. It currently houses 8.4 million people distributed over a land area of 305 square miles. The city has the largest Polish population after Warsaw. The same goes for Jewish people (outside Israel), and it also has the largest Chinese population outside Asia. New York City is the most linguistically diverse city in the world, with its residents speaking over 800 different languages.

architecture blackandwhite bnw city cityscape d800 newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc people street streetphoto timessquare urban

Times Square is named after the New York Times. It was originally called Longacre Square until 1904 when the NYT moved there. The city is associated with the British Empire but the first settlers were Dutch. They established a fur trading post in Governor’s Island. Later, the Dutch established the colony of New Amsterdam in Lower Manhattan. They purchased the island from the locals for the modern equivalent of $1000. Many have called the transaction “the best real estate deal in history” (which probably is an exaggeration if you consider the Louisiana Purchase).

architecture blackandwhite bnw city cityscape d800 newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc street streetphoto urban

In 1664, the English took the territory of New Amsterdam from the Dutch settlers living there. King Charles II named the territory New York after his brother the Duke of York and gave it to him as a gift. Manhattan comes from a Lenape word meaning “island of many hills” (mostly flattened by now to provide room for urban development). New York is known as the “Empire State” due to its growth and prosperity early in its history. George Washington is said to have seen New York as “the seat of the empire”. It was the first capital of the United States. The designation lasted only a year.

architecture blackandwhite bnw builing city d800 empire empirestatebuilding newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc shadow street streetphoto urban

There are more than 380,000 millionaires in the city and that’s why there are so many expensive stores and establishments in Fifth Avenue. One out of every 21 New Yorkers is a millionaire.

blackandwhite bnw city d800 man newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc street streetlife streetphoto urban

The price to operate a hot dog cart in Manhattan (for a year) ranges between $150,000 and $300,000 (in the most expensive pars of town, like Central Park).

The city has been struggling with the problem of homelessness for years, and since 2007 it pays families to leave the city, as a way of keeping them out of the expensive shelter system which costs $36,000 a year per family. All it takes is for a relative in any other part of the world to agree to take the family in, and the city of New York sponsors the ticket.

blackandwhite bnw city d800 homeless newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc poverty street streetphoto urban woman

blackandwhite bnw city d800 homeless man newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc poverty street streetphoto urbanblackandwhite bnw city d800 homeless man newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc poverty street streetphoto urbanblackandwhite bnw city d800 homeless newyork newyorkcity Nikon nikonphotography nyc poverty street streetphoto urban

From a photographer’s point of view, New York is an infinite source of inspiration. The people, the architecture, the never-ceasing movement and flow of faces, cars, bikes and events in the “city that never sleeps” is something that leaves a lasting impression. I had the time and opportunity to walk the streets of NYC taking pictures for two days with my trusty Nikon D800. Continue reading “A Winter Weekend of Street Photography in New York”

Street Photography – Our walks of life are different, but are we?

I’m starting to publish a street photography series entitled “Our walks of life are different, but are we?”. The more people I “catch” on a photo, the more looking at them makes me aware of the importance of where we come from and where we are going. Does it matter?


art life b&w blackandwhite photography street streetphoto

art life b&w blackandwhite photography street streetphoto

art life b&w blackandwhite photography street streetphoto

art life b&w blackandwhite photography street streetphoto

Street Photo: Man making a living by playing saxophone on the street in Murcia

I met this street saxophone player while waiting at the Cathedral Square in Murcia. In exchange for a few coins he agreed to pose for the photo. It was tricky because I had to go all the way down to the ground to take it, and also because of the very high dynamic range present in the scene. The cathedral was blazing in the sunlight while the artist was in the shadow. For the D800 this wasn’t a problem at all, and in fact I feel that it could still handle 1 or 2 more stops of light level difference, which is remarkable. The 20mm f/1.8 Nikkor is very good at separating the subject from the background, despite being a very wideangle lens. My lesson from today… never hesitate to ask strangers to pose!