Shooting SP with a Leica in NYC a safe idea?

[bob haight]

I would only carry one lens/camera. With less to keep up with much easier to keep on top of things and alert for problems. Expect to be questioned, no one likes cameras in public places anymore.

[michael s.]

<<< ... If you do find yourself on a dodgy street corner an Australian accent may help. Just say G?day through your nose. ... >>>

 

This technique worked to perfection in the movie "Crocodile Craig." Menacing Manhattanites began handing over expired rolls of Tri-X and rangefinders they were no longer using themselves. :-)

[rich815]

Sam, your question is not naive at all. I live in a city considered much safer than NYC and there are areas here I would not go to do SP during the day let alone at night. I grew up in NYC in the 70's and even if its safer now I am SURE there are neighborhoods and areas to be avoided. Good question actually.

[toby_boudreaux]

I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan and carry my M6 EVERYWHERE (bars, walks, bike rides, etc) and aside from drunkenly leaving it behind somewhere, I don't worry about much. NYC is insanely safe. I grew up in Atlanta and lived in DC for a couple years and lemme tell ya... NYC is DISNEY WORLD...

 

Just remember -- only tourists ever look up.

[scottl]

I have found that drug dealers and pimps ADORE being photographed. Be sure to use a conspicuous long lens, and a camera with a nice loud shutter release. Also, it's great fun to go into government buildings, train stations, and airports, and snap lots of photos, while looking as suspicious as possible. If it's cold, I advise you to wear a ski mask. For the optimum effect, wear a ski mask even if it is hot out.

 

Sorry.... It's been a long week.

 

Scott

[sam_chan4]

James (Burger) has recommended that Brooklyn is a good place to see the "real" NYC, so to speak - "especially, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Williamsburg, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and surrounding areas".

 

From all that has been said, there doesn't seem to be much to avoid at all. And I think it is now more a question of where you all think a street photographer can go to taste the real NYC - really see the flavour of some typical Newyorkers going about their day.

[lee hamiel]

Michael:

 

Craig is not too far off if he's holding a bowie knife:) I do not recommend doing this but given that Sam is from Canada maybe a carbon fiber hockey stick!

 

Actually best to act a bit crazy & not foreign - you know - twitches/talking out loud/pontificating about ____ (insert either religion or politics)

[michael s.]

<<< ... talking out loud/pontificating about ____ (insert either religion or politics) ... >>>

 

That'll never work, Lee. Such a person would instantly be recognizable .... as a member of the Leica Forum.

[lee hamiel]

Sam:

 

For Brooklyn bridge shots go near South Street Seaport.

 

For Brooklyn shots of course head to Brooklyn - also hit Chinatown, Little Italy & Harlem.

 

In general you will be plenty safe during daytime depending on areas.

[lee hamiel]

Good one Michael!!!

[lee hamiel]

Maybe mumble words like:

noctilux/summilux/summicron/summitar/elmar/elamarit over & over until you throw your own stuff into the Hudson River

[john_boyle3]

Sam, by all means bring your Leica. Lots of good advice above. You may want to hit some of the busier places where most people won't take any notice of you. I never lived in NYC but visited it quite often from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. I realize many things have changed since then but you should be able to get some interesting shots at such places as Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Wall Street, just to name a few. It's a fascinating city with many interesting places and unlimited photo opportunities. Bring your Leica, plenty of film and have fun.

[sam_chan4]

Hi Bob, yep I always carry my M6 with just a 35/2 or 50/1.4 and nothing else - maybe a handheld light meter if I expect to hipshoot a lot.

 

I think for this NYC trip I'll take the 35/2 for getting more in cramped spaces.

 

I'll be there with TX, using it at 400 or 800 ... maybe even 1600 if i really need to.

[sam_chan4]

>>given that Sam is from Canada maybe a carbon fiber hockey stick!

 

haha ya know it! we Canadians keep foldable carbon fibre hockey sticks in our back pockets cuz you never know when a game could start on the streets outta no where. ;)

[lee hamiel]

Sam:

 

May want to post a question such as:

 

"The Best Carbon Fiber Hockey stick to use while shooting with a Leica.

 

We will of course debate the details of Easton vs Bauer vs ...

 

Personally I like Victoriaville, Sherwood or Bending Branches wood sticks:)

[steve_levine]

Just remember to drive on the right side of the street.

[yeffe]

Here are some ideas:

 

There are three kinds of thieves:

 

1. hoping you get distracted for a second so they can move in and snatch or grab from the

ground if you've had to put it down for a sec. (as at an airport) Speaking of, there have

been instances of thefts from the 'clean' end of the security conveyor. Usually, your stuff is

coming out just as your view is blocked bu the machine.

 

2. Those who play a little game of politeness and curiosity. They work in pairs usually,

trying to get you to spill info by taking a loose and friendly tone, asking where you're

staying and the like. At the same time they coerce you into returning their banter in a

likewise casual and familiar manner. The victim fears that if he loses it the bad guys will

then have their opening. It is apparently their favored goal, but getting the name of your

hotel might be of use at the least. It is imperative to firmly, but casually excuse yourself

from the conversation. They'll usually respect the fact that they failed to break you.

 

3. Those to whom you should give your socks if you thought that would make them go

away.

 

My rec: Get an unassuming outdoor sports bag like an Eagle Creek. Wear it across your

shoulder having the load nestled just above your right hip in the small of your back. Keep

the camera on your hand with a sling, short leash or by wrapping the stock neck cord

around your forearm (Jewish readers who've converted to Leicaism will appreciate this).

You carry the camera low until you need it. Leave the bling-bling home. If you're toting an

M, you've already got a jewel.

[lee hamiel]

Jeff:

 

Sorry guy but you are way out of line & ...

 

No place for your comments at the end.

 

This has been a fun & good thread thus far & your comments will probably kill it.

 

No thanks

[todd frederick]

You might want to chat with Sam Liu. He lives in NYC and does wonderful street photography all the time with many different cameras.

 

This is his Photo.net Photo Blog address:

 

http://www.photo.net/users/SLIU/

[__jon__]

>Lee Hamiel , dec 14, 2005; 07:45 p.m.

 

What are you talking about? Apparently you don't understand the reference he is making...

 

Sam:

 

I live in Brooklyn and on the weekends in my 'hood, I'm more likely to get broken toes from a

baby carriage than I am mugged. Just pay attention to what is around you.

[lee hamiel]

Jon - read Jeff's #3.

 

If you do not understand the ethnicity reference as being out of line then ...

 

There is no place in any of these forums like this.

[scottl]

Maybe I am just ignorant, but I missed the part that was insulting. Something to do with Jewish people wrapping their camera strap around their forearm? Sorry - please explain. I'd like to know what it was, so I never make a stupid mistake and say something wrong! I guess part of me wonders, why the reference at all?

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[yeffe]

What I was attempting was a very inside reference to one of the most private ceremonies

for devout Jewish men every morning. It involves the application of what are translated

probably into Greek as 'phylactaries'. There is a fundamental rejection of idolatry in the

Jewish tradition. Therefore instead of icons or other such visualizations, there are

containers that usually house a line or two of the prayer that is the closest to a confession

of the creed. Mezhuzzas that are attatched to doorposts are exactly the same.

 

The phylacteries are leather boxes containing such a text. Trailing from each of two boxes

are cords. One box is wrapped around the forearm of whichever side is strongest and the

second worn about the head.

 

My take on Leica-ism or Leica-ismo, is that for some it seems a romantic ideal, for others

a challenge to make the best pictures they can with a superb product. Most seek to

combine the two at perhaps a lower intensity.

 

The romantic ideal is well understood by me. The era I came up in, 60's was seeing a

boom in photo education fueled by greater acceptance by the nabobs of art establishment.

The exploits of those who made their bones in the killing zones of the world became

widely known to young aspiring photographers. I got my first M4 in 1966. I couldn't

imagine being able to make a living employing it and it's aesthetic, but I honor its lineage

as a descendant of machinery that was carried into battle (as well as saloons. brothels, and

high-level diplomatic meetings) countless times.

 

Such a camera could be seen as an empty container (camera obscura) carried like a prayer

or an amulet. The prayer isn't written yet,there are no words, but if he is persistant and

lucky, at the end of the day, the answer might appear on a scrap of film.

 

Sorry if I offended anyone with ties to Judaism, or Leica-ism.

[hugh_crawford1]

I don't think the tefillin reference was that out of line, I've had people mention the same thing about the way I hold my camera at least twice

 

For those who don't know what this is about

 

http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard.asp?AID=272666

 

or

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin

[eric_onore]

Jeff,

 

I understood the reference and was not offended at all. I thought it was pretty funny and took it the way it was intended.

 

Eric