Going back almost two months to New York where I took this photo in The Occulus, which is a very fine place to take photographs if you get the opportunity.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 26 May 2019
Tag: Kodak Portra 400
The look
This photo captures a girl giving a somewhat scathing look at her colleague. Or at least that’s what you would assume looking at the photograph in isolation.
It’s something that we see regularly in the media – particularly the press and news sites that make use of still images – where an image will be chosen to suit the tone of the article in which it is used: a sneaky look on the face of a politician the paper is opposed to; the beaming faces of parents with their healthy new baby; the triumph or despair on the faces of athletes; the shadowedy, unkempt look of someone charged with criminal offences. Each representing just a fraction of a second in that person’s existence, and each picked as being the right image to match the tone of the story being told. How often would another photograph, taken just an instant before or after the one selected change the whole feel of the image?
In my photo below, it looks very much like a dissaproving glance is being given, but the reality of the situation is that these girls were smiling, laughing and apparently getting on like the best of friends. My single captured instant is just out of context. It’s a fairly innocuous example, but it goes to show that, while a picture may paint a thousand words, the slightest movement in time can result in a whole new story being told.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 17 June 2019
The toys are back in town
One of those quickie posts today as I have to rush out and might not get the time later.
Here’s Woody, Buzz, Bo and Forky (oh, and Giggles McDimples!) advertising their upcoming presence in Barcelona.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 16 June 2019
Yacht
This huge yacht was moored in the marina at Barcelona. The figure stood at the prow gives some sense of scale. There were bigger vessels than this one there too, and what you can’t see from the angle this photo was taken, is the helicopter perched on the back of the boat.
I suggested to my wife that a boat such as this would make a fine birthday gift, but she didn’t seem to be listening…
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 18 June 2019
Stars & Stripes
At the eastern end of the Occulus transport hub / shopping mall atrium at the World Trade Center hangs this large US flag. At first I wondered if it was back to front, but on looking it up I learned that this is the correct way for it to be hung in a vertical orientation. My knowledge of the world has expanded a little.
I took many photos in the Occulus, both on film and digital, and it’s a very photogenic place. It is also surprisingly difficult to get pleasing photos of people in the atrium as it’s tricky to get the composition and placement of individuals just how you want them before someone walks in or out of the frame, breaking the harmony of the shot.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 26 May 2019
New and old
Today’s photo was taken on the day we visited the WTC Memorial Museum. I can’t remember if I took it while we waited in the queue for entry to the museum, or if it was taken later in the day after I’d been to the top of One World Trade Center and we were walking back to the subway. It’s probably the former, or at least earlier in the day as (as I type this) I recall that storm clouds had begun to cover the sky before we left the WTC district. These same clouds resulted in the downpour that trapped us at Grand Central Terminal, during which I took the photo that I posted here on 15 June.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 26 May 2019
250 Vesey Street
This is one of the buildings that make up the World Financial Center area, adjacent to the World Trade Center. I think that this particular building is designated as WFC 1.
I really liked the way the morning light was striking the building, throwing the structure into strong relief.
It’s another shot that shows the Z135’s tendency to vignette noticably at wider angles.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Portra 400.
Taken on 25 May 2019
Down in the subway
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
Standing in the rain outside Grand Central Terminal
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
Morning light
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
Steel City Snapper photography 