different perspectives

I've signed up Met membership for a while now but have only gone back once.  So last weekend, after my visit to B&H (what an amazing store), I decided to make a trip uptown to revisit a few of my favorite artworks.

Met's lighting condition was quite dim that day.  Maybe it's because I was there late in the afternoon and it's already getting dark outside, so there was not much light coming from the skylight.  Using the highest ISO setting of 1600, a lot of my photos turned out to be super noisy and honestly, somewhat disgusting.  The reason why the photos in this post turned out okay is because the subjects were very close to the display lights.  So this tells me that I need to be smarter in dim lighting situations - maximizing the available light source and not relying on high ISO all the time.

There's a bigger realization - after coming home and reviewing all the photos, I discovered that if there's no clear intent and I just go with innate preferences, I may never really improve.  The photos are not too bad but really, the composition and the style are what I'm used to and have taken something similar before.  The second photo shows a bit of movement with a person walking into the frame.  That's something different and I could've experiment more of that.  I guess the key is to become more aware of the moment and its surroundings, so you can inject interesting elements on the spot.

Just like being an observer at the museum and looking at the artwork through others, I need to develop different perspectives through the viewfinder too.  I know this takes time but it's something I should always think about whenever I pick up the camera.

lights and reflections

I took these shots without a tripod so they're not as crisp and sharp as they should be.  Night scenes are something I really need to practice more seriously - which means I need to drag my lazy butt out in the cold with a tripod... and maybe with a cup of hot chocolate!

Compare these photos with what I've posted previously, it made me realize how New York is truly an amazing city for photographers.  You can pretty much shoot anything and everything, and they can all end up inspiring you one way or another.  For example, the first photo here.  I was on my way to Penn Station to take the train home, and decided to stop by ICP to look at the Empire State building and its reflection on another high-rise.  I never thought I would end up shooting something like this.  It just somehow appeared in my viewfinder and I knew I found something magical.  I guess sometimes it's all about being at the right place at the right time - with an open mind.

new york in colors

Dear friend w saw my last post of New York in b&w and now she wants to see the same photos in colors - so here they are.

I personally prefer the b&w version.  But regardless of individual preferences, it's quite obvious that b&w or color photos, depending on how you present them, tell very different stories.

Some may think that switching the same photo between b&w and colors is a snap, but it's not.  A lot of effort is needed to make sure you produce a consistent color tone, texture and feel - especially when you're presenting multiple photos at the same time.  I have to say I didn't do such a fantastic job here.  The 3rd photo seems almost out of place.  It doesn't really have the same vibe as the first two, although I tried to make them look as consistent as possible...  This really shows that post-processing is a very import part of the photography workflow.  Gosh, I still have so much to learn!

new york in b&w

I have just experienced the first snow storm of the season this past Saturday!  Living in the east coast pretty much means you'll get hit with snowfall many times a year, so I am bracing myself for the worse that's yet to come...

Before the snow storm hit, I was already in New York for my photography class.  The week prior, our instructor Brad has asked us to try portrait shots and these are what I came up with. I didn't have much time to do the homework during the week and so had to arrive in New York early enough to take some street portraits before the start of the class.

And of course, I wasn't expecting rain (and certainly not snow later on)!  I got so used to the sunny and colorful New York in the past few months and was disappointed with the weather condition.  Luckily I got some unexpected shots and they end up being some of the best photos I've ever done.

It's difficult to take street portraits.  I didn't want people to think I was rude or intrusive and so I really missed a lot of good candid shots.  I know if I want to do more street photography in the future, I need to be more confident and less self conscious about the whole process.  Brad showed me a video on Bruce Gilden and it really cracked me up!  I felt so much better after learning about what he did to people on the streets.

On a separate note, I've turned these photos into black and white, simply because I've just learned B&W conversion in Lightroom and was very eager to hone my skills.  This really ignites my interests in B&W and I hope to do more of this from now on.

still life

This past weekend my homework assignment was to create still life photos.  I didn't want to go home taking boring practice shots so thought I would walk around 5th Avenue and check out the new UNIQLO flagship store as well.

It's hard to shoot 5th Avenue with the still life concept in mind.  I mean, it's a place full of fast moving cars, enthusiastic tourists, and aromatic hot dog vendors!  So taking still life shots would probably be the last thing a photographer wants to do.

After walking a block or two, I realize that the store display windows are wonderful subjects for this exercise.  They're full of glitz and glams and are very attractive subjects indeed for a non-new yorker like me!

I have to say that this is the type of photo I am comfortable with and I've developed an eye for interesting subjects and composition.  Now I really have to start venturing into the unknown by experimenting different shots and stretching the creative mind - so that eventually, I can find my own unique point of view.

"To remain static is to lose ground." -- David Packard

to stumble is to learn

Last Saturday I had to do some last-minute homework assignment before going to class, so I decided to get to the train station earlier and take some photos there.  It was a nice sunny morning, so what could be better than taking some photos of the platform and the passengers, right? In my mind I could already see the images.

After taking a few shots, to my horror, I noticed that things were barely showing up on my camera's LCD screen!  Every photo was literally pitch dark.  I mean, I know I have a lot to learn and practice, but really, how could I possibly have photos that are so drastically different than what I saw in the viewfinder?!

It was too early in the morning for me to comprehend what had happened and so I took some extreme measures - switched from aperture priority mode to manual, and cranked the ISO setting all the way up to 1600.  And to my relief, photos are starting to show up.  But I still couldn't figure out why and was totally demoralized!

So as it turned out, I set my exposure compensation to -5, which means all my pictures are completely underexposed.  This of course was corrected with the help of my wonderful instructor Kate.

I guess the moral of the story is, always pay attention to the data in your viewfinder because your camera is smart enough to give you the warning signs and you better believe what it says.  Oh and also, it's inevitable that you have to stumble a few times before you know how to shoot properly.  I guess that's just part of the learning process.  The good news is, after the incident, I know I will never make the same mistake again.

Here are few of the photos taken that day.  Luckily, I managed to salvage them with some simple Lightroom adjustments.  But the reality is, some shots were impossible to recover and those picture-perfect moments - of people chatting happily before boarding the train, were lost forever...

new beginning

I've been taking digital photography since 2003 but was mostly using Canon PowerShot G series.  The cameras are great but I know I will need to move on to DSLR one day if I want to progress as a photographer.  So after the first digital photography course using my second-hand Nikon D70 (thanks Dad), I've decided to set up this blog to document my new journey.

These photos were taken last weekend in Manhattan and honestly, I am not sure if they can be considered as a set of cohesive work.  I was also debating whether I should showcase a set of 5 or 6 photos as opposed to 3.  But I find that if I can convey a short and sweet message with 3, I should leave it at that.  Plus, this will allow me to post more often, which means I am more likely to commit to this project longer!

So here it is.  My new beginning.  I definitely want to thank ICP for having great instructors and facility for people to learn photography.  It's definitely a dream come true for me.  I have already registered for another set of class starting this coming weekend.  Can't wait to learn more and of course, create more!