Category: Street Photography

Categories
Black and White Photography Photography - Nikon D600 San Francisco/California Street Photography

Shooting Reflections along the Embarcadero in San Francisco

On Edge - San Francisco - 2013

My friend Chris Gulker taught me late in his life to pay attention to light and shadows. It’s a way of seeing – being focused on the contrasts we see. Another thing I’ve learned to pay attention to are puddles – as they open another window on a subject. Often with an unusual perspective.

After we got back from Cuba, Doug Kaye and I headed to Embarcadero Center in San Francisco for another photo walk. This has become one of our favorite venues – so much great light, angles, people, and other delightful stuff.

As we were getting started this particular morning, we headed out southeast of the Ferry Building and started noticing the puddles along the way. Ah, reflections!

While Doug was capturing this shot – shooting with an Olympus OM-D, I captured him.

Categories
Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Stages Street Photography

New Header Image: Happy New Year in Havana

Happy New Year - Havana - 2013

Every few months, I try to mix things up a bit here by changing the header image at the top of my blog. You can see the history of those images on this page – dating all the way back to January 2004.

For this latest update, I chose one of my favorites images from my recent trip to Cuba – one titled “Happy New Year” because of the words written on the wall just above the sidewalk. While out in the central Havana neighborhood on a Sunday in January, my photo buddy Doug Kaye happened to notice the writing and the scene behind. We stood on the opposite side of the street – treating the venue as a “stage” – and waited for the world to walk by.

Categories
Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Travel

A Peaceful Easy Feeling – On the Beach in Miami Beach

Easy Rider - Miami Beach - 2013

Before we headed to Havana for our amazing visit there a month ago, we went into Miami a day early – shooting South Beach late at night and again the next morning.

But before getting to South Beach that Tuesday morning, we went to South Pointe Park – and walked around the point along the beach. It was a beautiful morning – one of those amazing days in the middle of winter where you realize why some folks really like living in Miami – and you’re envious!

Along the way, we captured some beach scenes – including this one above of a bicycle hitched up to a post.

And, below, another shot – of my photo buddy Doug Kaye as we were shooting each other on the beach!

Doug Kaye - Miami Beach - 2013

Categories
Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Travel

There’s a Blue Cadillac in Havana…

Blue Cadillac - Havana - 2013

Here’s another image from that very special Sunday morning in Havana a few weeks ago.

We were out in the Central Havana neighborhood when a bit of light drizzle started falling. Not enough to get any of us particular wet – but enough to wet down the streets and make for some nice reflections and saturation – and some beautiful diffuse, soft light.

This image was post-processed using a touch to Topaz Simplify 4 and few of our Lab color tricks to brighten up the colors just a bit.

Categories
Cuba Photography Photomatix Pro Street Photography Travel

Vroom, Vroom – Ready to Go in Havana

Ready to Go - Havana - 2013

From an amazing Sunday morning walk in Havana a few weeks ago. I just love the red/green colors – and the look in the driver’s face!

Categories
Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Topaz Travel

Pink – Havana – 2013

Pink - Havana - 2013

This was a lucky shot – two pink cars with a pink building in the background – in Central Havana a few weeks ago! Shot with my Nikon D600 and adjusted in Photoshop CS6 using Topaz Simplify, Lab color, and some contrast/sharpening tricks.

Categories
Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Tripod

Visit Cuba!

Auténtica Cuba - Havana - 2013

One of the unique things about Cuba is the lack of advertising.

When you’re out on the street, there just aren’t any billboards, signs, etc. No Coca-Cola signs, no big billboards, none of that kind of thing. Once in a while you’ll see a propaganda message – but otherwise there’s none of the usual media we’re used to seeing plastered everywhere.

While walking Central Havana, we came up on this billboard – an unusual sight in Havana.

Categories
Black and White Monochrome Photography Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Nikon D600 San Francisco/California Street Photography

Appreciating the Magical Reflections in San Francisco

Reflections - San Francisco - 2013

One of the best times to go out shooting pictures is right after it’s rained.

Rain adds saturation to colors – and the rain also leaves behind these magical looking glasses called puddles.

For me, photography is all about this kind of magic – those special elements that come together at a venue and surprise us with a new point of view. Puddles bring reflections – and reflections bring magical ways of seeing.

Being out on a morning after the rain is one of the best times for a photographer. You just have to be open to it – open to seeing it, right there, on the ground before you. Mostly, you need to get lower – to fill out the reflection, to combine the upper (real) and lower (reflection) portions of the image into the right balance.

This image is from a recent photo walk with Doug Kaye at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center – one of our favorite venues. It was shot with my Nikon D600 and tweaked in Photoshop CS6 using Nik Color Efex Pro 4 (Detail Enhanced and Pro Contrast), Topaz Simply 4 (Black and White II present – mostly in the reflection half of the image) and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 where the final tweaking was done – adding midtone structure and the color.

I thought about taking out that patch of fog in the upper right – but, somehow, it works for me just to leave it alone as a point of interest. Actually, for me that patch of fog is part of the magic!

Categories
Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Travel

On the Edge along the Malecón in Havana Cuba

Along the Edge - Havana - 2013

Mid-afternoon (after we both took short naps!), Doug Kaye and I headed down to the Malecón, officially Avenida de Maceo – Havana’s esplanade and seawall. The clouds were getting interesting and the on-shore wind was strong, kicking up the waves.

Along the street, decaying older buildings would periodically be interspersed with restored ones – or with buildings with signs out front from the City Historian announcing they had been selected for restoration. This must have been a very beautiful spot back in Havana’s hey day – and also a frightening place to be whenever big storms and hurricanes roll over the island.

I processed this image as a single image HDR – although I substantially muted the effect. I enhanced the contrast and the colors using Lab color tweaks in Photoshop CS6.

Categories
Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Stages Street Photography Travel

The Top Hat in Havana

Top Hat - Havana - 2013

One of the most enjoyable things about street photography is discovering a venue – we think of it as a “stage” – which looks interesting. As the photographer, you position yourself across from the stage – and just wait for the world to show up on your stage.

This image is one example from my recent visit to Havana, Cuba. We had finished walking through an open market and noticed some interesting things going on outside, just across the street. I was tired and wanted to sit down – and found a spot that let me just look across the street at this “stage”. There were lots of cars and motorcycles going by in the street – so the venue was a bit challenging in terms of squeezing off shots in between the cars getting in the way.

As I was watching the world showing up on the stage – this guy with the straw hats appears – and starts sort of sorting them. Perhaps inspecting them is the right idea. As he was doing so, I captured this particular image – with him holding the top hat uppermost and really giving it the scrutiny.

Coincidentally, standing on the sidewalk behind him is Raúl Cañibano, one of the Cuban photographers who walked and worked with us every day we were in Cuba. His pensive look reminds me of his look much of the time we were together. He’s got his Nikon D40 in hand, is paying close attention to what’s happening around him – and ready to capture an image at the drop of a hat!