It had been a dream of mine ever since I could remember…
I never really thought I would be ready for it, but at the time, either way…it was now or never.
Ever since I started photography, there was a level of standard to which I set myself against that all photographers worth their salt admire or strive to compare themselves with.
That standard was the level of photojournalism and street photography found in magazines such as National Geographic and in photographers such as Henry Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, etc.
A Central Park Afternoon
This past October 2007 I took time off from my normal job and sought to compare myself to that standard. I lived and breathed in New York, not as a tourist or a visitor, but as a professional photographer and photojournalist.
As a painter paints with brushes, a photographer paints with pictures. I wanted to show New York not through a simple point and shoot that captures bit and pieces of a puzzle, but New York through my lens as a complete work of art.
The Alley
I hoped to…no, I wanted to show a side of New York few had seen, even refresh the minds of New Yorkers who were so used to their fine, beautiful city.
The Jungle
The question was, would I be able to prove it to myself as well that I could survive in New York?
The 5 Points, Queens
Could I spend the entire day by myself, alone with my cameras…and would my photography goals be acheived?
Or would I quit after a few hours in the day and admit failure?
Street Dreams
That last question was the single biggest fear I ever had in my photographic career.
Marble Collegiate Church At 5th Avenue
New York, Halloween Night 2007
I ended up with over 2000+ images in one week while I stayed there in New York. I walked everywhere with a Nikon d200, Nikon fm and a leica m4 in hand. Photographing everything and anything whever I went.
It was the best experience of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
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One Comment
What inspring words and pictures. I too did the same when I went to Paris a few months ago, I told myself that I wasn’t going to do anything till I good the shots I wanted. Also in a busy city it is much easier to get away with a camera pointed at someone than what it is in a quieter urban area.
Keep up the good work,
sp