I spent some time in New York this week and was reminded, as I always am when in the city, how palpable the energy is… I love the speed with which everything moves, the way that people carry themselves. It is incredibly stimulating.  I can only imagine the space one would need to carve out to find some quiet when it all becomes over-stimulating.

It was a whirlwind trip (as it always seems to be) with a couple of meetings and a couple of meet-ups with other photographers.  I want to expand the Street|Portrait project into other cities, and so, with the little “down time” that I had, I spent some time in Bryant Park.  I knew that it was the tail-end of Fashion Week and figured that it would be a good place to make some portraits.  I saw models and makeup artists, suits and designers eating lunch, journalists waiting at the exits of the tents.  It was a great place to try and make some images.  Now, let’s just be honest here, if I thought it was even remotely intimidating to setup in Houston and ask strangers to stop to get a portrait made, then let’s just say, stopping a New Yorker and asking to make a portrait is a new level for me.  I didn’t have any setup with me, but fortunately the light in Bryant Park was beautiful, even in the middle of the day.  I shot natural light, no backdrop, with nothing but my mk2 and a 500c/m.

So, here are some loosely styled Street|Portraits made in Bryant Park:

You know, for the Street|Portraits, I generally like to remove the context the environment provides (that is why I shoot on a neutral backdrop), but for this little setup, I was glad that I didn’t have that option.  The images feel like New York to me.  I am heading back to the city next week for a few days and I am planning on a more formal, lengthier setup…

I obviously had my “big” cameras on this trip, but I don’t like having them out as I move around town.  Mostly because I don’t want to look like a tourist. In fact my #1 travel goal - seriously - is to get asked for directions by someone.  I want to carry myself with confidence enough that I am confused for someone who lives there…whether in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Bangkok, wherever… So, in New York, occasionally, I “confidently” walk onto what turns out to be the wrong train. Oh well. Get off at the next stop and head back the other way.  I know it is stupid, but I find it helps me to really experience a place.  There is always an element of serendipity when you go exploring.  For me, most of those moments happen in transit. Anyways, for the “walking around” images, I carry a little taped up G10.  It makes great images and it is small, but serious looking.  In other words, depending on how you carry/use it, it doesn’t scream “tourist!”

A few, slightly abstract, “street” images:

What do you think? Send me an email: ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here.