NYC Rain

I can't believe there isn't a single comment on this page! This is an all-time favorite of mine; an absolute classic, and I'm not much for ratings, but come-on now...

I have to echo Reina, I think this is a very lovely shot.

I agree, 'classic.' The over-sized umbrella, the flooded street, and the urgency of the subject suggest the rain storm of the Century. Superb.

Sorry for the confusion. This is a 2nd version of the print. I left the original in the folder too so as not to delete the comments on it- it does have quite a few ratings and comments. Thanks for your feedback.

this shot is a classic...

Excellent capture. I can feel the wrath of the rain.

Yeah, really lovely..that giant umbrella too, is really funny..an always nice classic photo.

 

Thanks

A beautiful environmental shot, nicely captured. 6/6

Like others have said, it's just a classic.

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Great shot.

Amazing B&W work.

This shot and a poerful and great action in it.

Running man and the movment in his umbrella is so amazing.

The rain drops on the street and running man who is on ahurry is made so beautiful perspective.

Congratulations on being chosen - I like the hurriedness of this shot - the high contrast and ever so slight tilt works well - to me, it conveys a lot of energy.

Someone should buy the guy a jacket!

 

This looks like a local newspaper photo of "It's really pouring out there today!" to illustrate a rainy day weather report in the late spring.

This is certainly street photography at its finest - Leica M4, black and white, and grabbing the photo in a heartbeat. Compositionally, I like the diagonal of the traffic light pole, opposed to the diagonal of the umbrella. The man has just jumped over a puddle, and there are raindrops in the puddle, which provide good texture to the photo. You can't see the man's face, but you don't need to. You can see how he's reacting to the rain. I also like the inclusion of business signs (the coffee shop in this photo) in street photography. The only thing I wish for in this photo would be more pixels. It's too small to enjoy fully.

Ray's photos in general are a success because of his decision making before and after the shutter is snapped.

 

In this photo, the man and his umbrella are given ample space in the frame so it is comfortable to look at. The space around him is filled with details about the environment. The natural light gives the photo an elegance and is enhanced by the water in the air and the light reflections from the water on the street and umbrella. The umbrella's effectiveness is helped by it's motion. The print from the negative is spectacular (I've seen it in person) and is a luxury relative to some of the super PS'd lighting techniques that are rampant these days.

 

Well done.

There are many things I enjoy about this photograph. The umbrella is so large it obstructs the viewer from identifying the man. He is anonymous which is great...he could be anybody. There is a sort of grain-rain drops effect that gives texture to the entire photo not only the water surface. I see several different directions of movement: the background is alive-we cars, people and other umbrellas, the man is stepping towards the photographer/viewer, and the umbrella itself gives me the impression it is spinning clockwise (I am sure it is just an impression). I think that what makes the viewer respond to this shot its almost video like quality: we can see this scene moving, the man continuing to walk towards us, the cars moving and the drops falling.

A touch of Cartier-Bresson's jumper's decisive moment. Frozen in mid air, toe about to enter the water. "Viand" in NYC or Paris? Wonderful textures in umbrella and puddle surface convey the blowing wind, touching another sense. Rings in the water reveal it is raining as does the building in the background blurred by the rain in the air. BRRR. Cropping out the partial umbrella on the left seems to emphasize the shadow/toe, the water at the lower r and eliminates the bright building and signage at the upper left that pulls the eye that direction and may not really add to the image. It also moves the jumper to about the left third away from center. Maybe some burning to the remaining upper left, The remaining bright path from top of image to his foot surrounds the jumper and keeps him as the highest contrast/attention and acts as a lead in. Because the shadow runs to the lower edge of the image, it appears to be approaching the viewer and involves and pulls in the viewer as the jumper would have if he could be seen looking directly at the viewer. Great shot. Hopefully, you and your gear stayed dry.

A touch of Cartier-Bresson's jumper's decisive moment.

 

I had the same initial thought. I like this a lot. There are some issues that doesn't quite make it perfect. I feel the second umbrella on the left is a distraction, and the distant buildings on the left are suffering from distortion, otherwise a great capture.

It's a very good documentary shot. I like the rather stark tones it it. I do find the partial umbrella at left a bit distracting

The composition is nice, and does capture a sense of urban motion and hurriedness. It is well-timed and balanced. My chief criticism has to do with the quality of the tones. I think the picture would be even more effective if the blacks and grays had more weight. As given it almost looks like it was scanned from a newspaper and rather lacks the solidity and density of a well-printed photograph. If this was a conscious decision on the part of the photographer I would like to hear why that was chosen and if he still feels like that aspect of the picture works.

I love this shot. I can just feel New York in it.

Interesting parallels to Caillebote, at least to my eye.

I do not wish to be a nay-sayer, since the shot is really quite good, but the only resemblance to Caillebotte that I can see is the presence of umbrellas, and the only resemblance I can see to Cartier-Bresson is a picture of a man stepping into or across a puddle.

 

That said, the photo stands on its own as its own work, and it works very well. It is a good grab shot, a very difficult thing to pull off in street photography, and it is certainly worthy of being named Photo of the Week. Congratulations, Ray, on being there and on getting the shot. The post-processing is stark but effective. Good work.

 

--Lannie

My attention is indeed attracted by that photograph. It is in the structure that became alive by the rain and moisture. The soft, warm, wet and locomotive atmosphere of the scene makes me to studying this photo longer. My eyes just keep running back, want to dive into. The element of an umbrella is also in motion. The shadow of a man and the buildings are static, thus giving a sense of harmony in composition. It is an ordinary day, nothing is strange about it. Just a simple decisive moment of a one unknown man in a hurry. I give 7/7.

Quite interesting!