35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
This was taken in 51st Street subway station in Manhattan. We had a visit to the WTC memorial planned for the day and the subway was the most convenient way to get there. I did take a number of photos while we travelled on the subway during our trip, but most were on digital.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 25 May 2019
After our visit to the WTC Memorial, we caught the subway back to midtown and got off the train at Grand Central Terminal. After grabbing a few snacks from the food court on the lower level, we decided head back to the hotel.
Upon approaching the exit we noticed people entering the building with umbrellas, or with significant signs of being caught in the rain, and upon exiting found that it was absolutely tipping it down.
While we waited for the rain to ease off, we sheltered under the road bridge outside the south entrance, and I took a few photographs, including this one.
I know many photographers who complain when it rains, but for me it’s always a treat to be able to get photographs in this sort of weather. The way the floor suddenly becomes a diffuse mirror for light and clolour, and the way people behave and take shelter makes for very interesing photos in my opinion. There’s obviously some work to be done to ensure you and your camera are not soaked, but the effort is definitely worth it, don’t you think?
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 26 May 2019
On the Saturday of Memorial weekend there was a lot of activity around Rockefeller Plaza as people set things up for the events that would be taking place. Here a couple of guys stand outside Radio City Music Hall while trucks are unloaded.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 25 May 2019
I’m not 100% sure where this building is – I think it’s in lower Manhattan and that I took the shot as we walked up Broadway after disembarking from the boat from Liberty Island. I took quite a few shots of tall buildings with blue skies and have to note how much the Z135 vignettes. I’d not noticed it too much with my black and white HP5+ shots from the same camera, but it’s quite noticable on the colour images. I don’t really mind it that much, but it’s something to bear in mind I suppose.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 24 May 2019
Ah, the good old tongue-twister. “Red lorry, yellow lorry” is one that I have problems with, I can barely say it a handful of times before it becomes gabled noise. “She sells sea shells on the sea shore” on the other hand, is a breeze.
Anyway, today’s post features a couple of the aforementioned trucks, both of which were parked outside Radio City Music Hall on the first day of the Memorial Weekend.
I’m really happy with the vivid red of the Coke truck.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 25 May 2019
I’ve seen the Wall Street “Charging Bull” sculpture on films and TV shows on numerous occasions, It’s also regularly shown when someone runs a story on the US financial markets. It’s maybe not that well known by people in the UK, but I knew about it and thought it would be nice to get a picture or two while we were in southern Manhattan.
I got my chance on the first full day of our trip after we got off the boat back from Liberty Island. We decided to have a walk around to find something to eat and came across it by chance. Alas, my idea of getting a picture of the bull was somewhat thwarted by the huge crowds of people with exactly the same idea however. It was absolutely swamped by people: taking selfies; taking photos of others; climbing on the concrete barricades that protect it; touching its nose; touching its horns; and, yes, most popular of all it would seem, touching its balls (which have been rubbed so many times as to be shiny from all the attention!).
So, in the end, I figured a capture of the moment would probably have more meaning to me than a plain old shot of the bull by itself, so here you go…
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 25 May 2019
This is the view eastward down 23rd Street from the High Line park in Manhattan. The road at the bottom of the shot is 10th Avenue. While I’m all for curves, the clean sight-lines, coupled with rows of high-rise buildings, make for some nice photo opportunities. The slightly faded tones of the Portra 400 have replicated the feel of the very warm day on which the shot was taken quite nicely, I think.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 27 May 2019
You can’t fail to be struck by the advertising hoardings in Times Square, whether it be the high-tech animated electronic boards, or the more traditional versions like in today’s photo.
I’m a little disappointed with the roll of Ektar I shot in NYC – not due to the film itself (the colours are glorious), but because of my results. Apart from a couple, all the shots (including the one here) show at least some minor signs of softness. I know the camera is capable of sharp images, so this is down to camera shake or DOF blurring when using wider apertures. Although it wasn’t badly lit on the day I shot the roll, the light meter app on my phone was giving somewhat long exposure times when I metered the shots, so I was shooting with longer shutter speeds and / or wider apertures than I’d have liked. As this was a family trip, not a photography expedition, I was also taking less time than I would have liked to compose and take many shots, which probably exacerbated things too.
I wish I’d have taken my Sekonic L-208 meter with me instead of relying on the phone app. The phone app is normally ok, but on this occasion seemed to be giving me somewhat variable results even when readings were taken in similar conditions. I think the L-208 would have been a more reliable companion.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Kodak Ektar.
Taken on 27 May 2019
We ate breakfast here on the first morning of our NYC trip, although it wasn’t the first time we’d visited – having eaten here on our first visit to New York back in 2012 where we came upon it by chance (as it wasn’t far from our hotel).
It’s a worthwhile place to visit with a somewhat unique feel. This is because the waiting staff are all performers in various Broadway and other theatre shows and, in between serving food, they each take turns to belt out various musical numbers while strutting between, on, and above the tables where the diners sit. It’s loud, but an experience well worth seeing at least once (assuming you like live musical numbers being sung while you eat!).
It’s a popular place (as can bee seen from the queue in today’s photo) but customers are seated by table availability and group size, so if you’re the only couple at the rear of a big line of families, it’s likely that you’ll get to skip ahead when a place for two appears (or vice-versa). The food was good, although a good 50% more expensive than the place we ate breakfast on most days (The New York Luncheonette on E 50th Street).
The photo below was taken a few days after we ate at the diner when I went for a quick pre-breakfast wander with my camera on the last day of our trip.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 28 May 2019
On the streets of Manhattan it seems there’s barely a corner without a hotdog cart pitching their wares. I seem to recall that tlast time I visited NYC that the carts sold mostly hotdogs (and maybe pretzels), but the variety seems to have increased to include gyros and other foods now. Almost all of the carts are Sabretts, although there was the odd Nathan’s vendor (didn’t there use to be another prolific hodog cart brand in NYC too?). Sadly, I didn’t have a hotdog on this visit (although I did get a Philly Cheesesteak), but here are a couple of photos of carts.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 28 May 2019
