Previous | Next :: BBQ with a view #2 : 23rd and 8th : NYC | October 5, 2006, 11:53 am

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More from the three dimensional city........OK its a bit of a crazy mess and yet I find myself drawn to this kind of out of control composition currently......like I say the three dimensional layering that makes controlled composition almost impossible because 15 things are intersecting at once.......I am watching all this looking for moments that say something or work somehow.........its madness....... and moves away from particular types of clean composition that I have always made part of my style traditionally, but right now I am enjoying the making of these images and the result.

Weirdly I was chatting online to Joe of www.joesnyc.com one of my favorite photobloggers about something else : use of slow shutter speeds and blur but I think his very interesting response actually applies to this reflection and three dimensional layering in composition:

I am writing about: http://www.joesnyc.streetnine.com/archives/dumbo-september202006_00.html

Hey joe love it baby! Its amazing..... captures the hurried vibe of the downpour on the street ! I love to use this kind of movement in my shots too (especially in the rain!). Its great how successful movement is normally a mix of cool headed planning, composition and panning and then the X factor or 'happy accident' of it all working with the necessary 'sweet spot' of focus and definition......which your shot demonstrates perfectly.......Nice one bro Jez XX

Joe in reply:

Thanks. I find, of course, that these shots work best if you use big, recognizable shapes like your taxis or my umbrellas.

I'm just learning to trust slow shutter speeds like this. I gave a talk at the Prince Street Apple Store last Spring about how I was learning to embrace the uncontrollable. Essentially: now that I'm feeling like I can control so much of shooting, I have to learn to let go and enjoy catching what I can't control... a happy accident indeed.

-=-Joe

Its always worth checking out Joe's blog. Right now you should definitely check out: http://www.joesnyc.streetnine.com/archives/delanceystreet-october03200650.html I love it. Jez XX

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