When I started to think of a theme for street photography I wanted it to involve perspective. With that in mind, I decided that I would take challenge the perception of New York City that belong to non-New Yorkers. I wanted to challenge the common view of New York City being a concrete jungle filled with skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of the people by revealing the grime and litter that we encounter in our daily lives.
I was debating about which camera to use in the beginning of the project. I have a digital single lens reflex camera with great low-light capabilities but since New York is known for the mobility of its people I decided to put my iPhone’s camera to the test. While there are limited features on the smartphones camera, the lack of abilities actually help give more of a raw and dirty feel to it as there is more image noise revealed as well as lack in sharpness.
My approach to the photography project relied on contrast and what I believed to be the New York that we live in. I decided to start off the set of photos such that I can capture New York in the typical urban setting. This involved taking pictures of iconic buildings as well as capturing the immensely large crowds of people that are found in New York. I felt that the night life is when New York shines the brightest. The image of lights from multiple buildings stretching into the horizon while contrasting the traffic of cars was necessary. One of the reasons I chose to use my iPhone is because it actually has a feature that my main camera does not. While I have fast glass, I do not possess any type of ultra-wide-angle or fisheye lens that could capture the city with a panoramic effect. On my iPhone, I was able to effectively create a picture that showed off New York with all of the characteristics I mentioned earlier.
Now that the bright and glittery New York was shown, I was able to effectively take that away by bringing in trash. There is literally trash everywhere. I took many shots that many of us have probably felt like we experienced before. I decided to do this because it allows the audience to go through an “ahh, I feel like I’ve seen that before” moment. For comedic purposes I decided to include pictures that will make others laugh.
I really enjoy using contrast to help put emphasis on the subject, so to do that I decided to have one example of showing where the trash came from in the first place. I took a picture of the stand where water was being sold and somewhere else I found a water bottle on the floor. In the grand scheme of things, all trash was once something of more value.
I do not enjoy leaving on bad notes, so in order to compensate for that, I utilized a circular method in my presentation. I decided to make my last picture a picture that captures the unique qualities of New York in what others can find when they come here. I did this by showing a building with lights that are beautiful and soothing to the eyes. I wanted an image that would make others oversee the trash all around us.
The problems I faced with this project were mainly technical ones. The lack of lowlight capabilities on my camera phone started to show its effect once I started taking pictures at night. This caused many of my pictures to have a slight blur and some camera shake as well. Another problem that I faced was that I wanted to incorporate bokeh, but once again, that is an issue that is caused by the use of an iPhone.
This project was more than just a theme to me. I had a side project in mind in which I questioned the capabilities of the smartphones we have as our companions. Honestly, I was really surprised with the quality of the photos, and with a few more tweaks and advancements, some great photos will definitely be taken with a mobile device. Since I found out that the iPhone has such great capabilities and is able to provide decent image quality, I will most likely begin to rely more on my camera phone. For the collage project, I will use both cameras because I want to have that image quality that really pops out at the audience but at the same time, having my iPhone with me will ensure I will never miss that shot.
