Jump to content

Not sure if this works or not.


jc1305us

Recommended Posts

I found this cool old cobblestone street in Manhattan, one of those streets people don't think exist anymore, as the city has seemed to be taken over with new developments on every single street. But this one stands alone. I missed the opportunity to get the family walking away with the umbrella in a much better position, so I took what was left, an empty street in a seemingly empty city during COVID. Does it work? Thanks in advance. Collister Street, NYC, Rolleiflex 2.8F, Tri-X film, October, 2020. 23860003.thumb.jpg.db42f9eae9719688bc70d34d4fca8b35.jpg
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like it. I like it the way you shot/framed it. I also like it cropped in... it draws me in a bit more. Understandably you may not want to crop or change the natural square formatting. Cropping does loose some of the expanse which would lessen the covid suggestion ... but not entirely.
  • Like 1

n e y e

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have at it sir!

 

Thankyou! Basically what I'm going to try to do is locate some good examples of 19th or early 20th century horse drawn carriages (that actually look like 19th or early 20th century horse drawn carriages as opposed to the central park variety, some old timey looking late 19th\early 20th century horseless carriages), clone out the more recent elements in that image, add the older (if I can find some good examples to use) stuff, and see what I come up with.

Izzy From Brooklyn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me it works too. It has plenty of atmosphere! As @inoneeye noted, I would consider cropping a wee bit too. The reasons I suggest this are:

- the first thing I did when viewing was to read the sign (left); having read it, it still remained a visual 'attention grabber'

- my initial impression was that the people on the street were pretty far away

- I also wondered what importance was of the patch of tarmac (right)

 

So I experimented with a square crop that excluded the 'no stand' sign and the patch of tarmac. Only then did I really start noticing other cool things in the cropped photo, for example:

- the line of beautifully arched windows along the top the left building

- the nicely curved windows in the building at the end of the street

- the covered doorway (right) became a stronger feature as - to a lesser extent - did the archway opposite

 

There's much to be said for "layers" in a photo and the features I noticed later were of course in the original too. And we often try to put something in the foreground, mid-ground and background. But - for me - the street sign and tarmac were strong 'focal points' that distracted some of my attention from the architecture behind. They also didn't seem to contribute much to the 'characteristic" street scene as a whole. Cropping brought the architectural features (and the features) 'closer'.

 

It might just be me but I hope my feedback is useful.

 

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me it works too. It has plenty of atmosphere! As @inoneeye noted, I would consider cropping a wee bit too. The reasons I suggest this are:

- the first thing I did when viewing was to read the sign (left); having read it, it still remained a visual 'attention grabber'

- my initial impression was that the people on the street were pretty far away

- I also wondered what importance was of the patch of tarmac (right)

 

So I experimented with a square crop that excluded the 'no stand' sign and the patch of tarmac. Only then did I really start noticing other cool things in the cropped photo, for example:

- the line of beautifully arched windows along the top the left building

- the nicely curved windows in the building at the end of the street

- the covered doorway (right) became a stronger feature as - to a lesser extent - did the archway opposite

 

There's much to be said for "layers" in a photo and the features I noticed later were of course in the original too. And we often try to put something in the foreground, mid-ground and background. But - for me - the street sign and tarmac were strong 'focal points' that distracted some of my attention from the architecture behind. They also didn't seem to contribute much to the 'characteristic" street scene as a whole. Cropping brought the architectural features (and the features) 'closer'.

 

It might just be me but I hope my feedback is useful.

 

Mike

Wonderful analysis Mike. I’m going to do a bit of experimenting myself. Thanks for your thoughts. JC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really nice shot. The activity at the end of the street adds to the backwater feeling. Streets like this in the East End of London, probably built at the same time. Makes me wonder how these buildings are used now, flats, business, old warehouses? Intriguing photo, hope this area is not developed. Well done Sir!

Thank you! Much appreciated. Without knowing for sure, taking an educated guess, I’d say these are mostly converted living spaces now, with mixed office spaces. Just about everything in Manhattan has gentrified, TriBeCa being one of the earlier converts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...