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keithgoldstein

Umbrella _R017707

Woman with umbrella on W. 34th Street

Woman with umbrella on W. 34th Street
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Jun, 2018

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Chrysler Building as seen through a window in The Empire State Building

Part of a series paying homage to the 1921 film, "Manhatta", by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler.

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo on a rainy walk through Chinatown in New York City. Chinatown is one of my favorite neighborhoods to stroll through, not only for the food, but it is a neighborhood that has been slow to gentrify. In many places it still has the feel of what New York City was like when I was a boy. Shops that open onto the street, street vendors, old and new meet here. Did I mention the food?

Time

This was image was taken late morning, early afternoon. It was one those cloudy days that rained intermittently. I was struck by her stance near the street corner and photographed her at a low angle to get her face against the background of the umbrella. My camera lens was a 28mm, nad wanted to include some of the background buildings as well.

Lighting

The lighting was somewhat cloudy-bright. The kind of light that is soft, sharp, and seems to envelope everything and makes objects, people, stand out if you get the exposure correctly.

Equipment

I used a Ricoh GRll. My camera was set on the TAv setting. I can set a predetermined shutter speed and lens aperture. The ISO continuously changes with the light. This way I can be sure that my images taken on the move are sharp with a high shutter speed, and a somewhat wide lens aperture which slightly blurs the background.

Inspiration

Chinatown and its people always inspires me. I love the mix of old and new. It was her stance with her umbrella that I first noticed. I thought I would prepare myself to make an image as I came around her umbrella. She noticed me right away. I took one image, smiled, said thank you, and walked away. I think she was somewhat perplexed at what transpired.

Editing

I did not do much post processing on this image, other than to convert it to black and white using the Photoshop filter plugin, EFEX Pro. EFEX Pro offers a myriad of black and white film types and exposure/contrast adjustments for each to achieve what you like.

In my camera bag

I always pack my Ricoh GRll and couple of extra batteries no matter what else I might be carrying for the day. Lately I have been taking along my Olympus Pen-F, a 24mm lens, and either my Olympus 75-300, or my Panasonic 100-400. I have been working on a series of buildings inspired by the 1921 film, "Manhatta", by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler. My Ricoh is always in the bag because it is light, unobtrusive, and I feel always prepared for street work imagery if it is there.

Feedback

The only only advice I can offer is, be prepared. Love the light and weather even if it is not "perfect". Always smile when taking pictures of people. A smile goes a long way to diffuse any foreseeable conflict. I always have two cameras with me if inspiration strikes me in a different way. My Ricoh is great for street work, my Olympus allows me to explore other avenues that relate to my work in a different way. I'm not saying that one can't do street work with the Olympus I have and do, it is just having the right equipment with you to explore what you feel is important. I'm lucky in that both cameras are small and light, except for the Panasonic 100-400, and fit into a small shoulder bag.

See more amazing photos, follow keithgoldstein

keithgoldstein

keithgoldstein

Umbrella _R017707

Woman with umbrella on W. 34th Street

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow keithgoldstein

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