As a freshman college student in my new dorms and new school environment, I have been busy going to class, attempting to meet new people in the dorms and of course, spending time doing my work. Since my family lives in Manhattan too, I have gone home once a week to have dinner with them and maybe even spend a night there. It wasn’t until this upcoming long weekend that I realized I haven’t gotten the chance to just slow down and relax and give time for myself.

On Friday, October 11, 2013, since I was really sick with a terrible cold (after having a fever two nights ago), I packed my stuff to stay home for the weekend just so I could recuperate before school started again. After being home for a few hours, I went out for some fresh air and decided to go for a walk across the Williamsburg Bridge since it was nice out.

It was a nice time alone. During the walk, I stopped when I was above the water, in between the two boroughs. I stood there for some time; maybe ten minutes, twenty minutes, I’m not too sure myself. I looked at the buildings to the front and back of me, to the people walking past me, the train that pulled by and the occupied people on the inside of the dirty subway windows. I looked at the structure of the bridge, the writings on the floor and the repeated graffiti on the metal frames of the bridge. I took this picture to capture all the things I saw during the time I stopped on the bridge – if I hadn’t stopped, I probably would’ve never taken the time to notice or observe any of these things around me. I feel like this simple picture captures the beauty of the simple things in our daily lives.

As I took this picture, I used the Rule of Thirds to focus the graffiti art in the upper third area of the photo. From this angle, as taught by the Positioning reading, the people are seen to be both walking away from the camera and walking towards it at the same time. We are able to se the repeating graffiti along a few metal frames, and you can see a glimpse of the train that is going by beneath us. I chose to use a black-and-white coloring for the photo because it highlights the simplistic beauty of the art on the bridge and of the objects in the image.

-Winnie Yu

The night of October 11 was memorable for me for a number of reasons, one of them being that I got the chance to see one of my favorite bands, The Naked and Famous, live. The venue was Terminal 5, the time was somewhere around 10pm, the band was playing the title track off their new album In Rolling Waves, and I just knew it was the right moment to take a photo. There was a vitality and an energy pulsing through the room that was so tangible. The frontwoman, Alisa Xayalith, had asked the audience to sing the chorus along with her, the simple three words “in rolling waves”, and it added a level of community and interaction between the band and the audience that broke down any walls of separation. The audience members, myself included, were singing at the top of their lungs, hands in the air in a common expression of the intensity of the moment and the unity we all shared–strangers connected by a love for this band.

What I really love about this photo–and the concert as a whole–is the lighting. As the photographer, I didn’t have to worry about staging the lighting correctly to take a good picture; the lighting crew at Terminal 5 had gratefully done that for me. The lighting at this show was absolutely phenomenal, changing with the moods of the songs, and even with the individual rhythms and beats of each measure. The individual spotlights present in the photo I took were even positioned in an almost rule of thirds manner, with none being directly in the center of the stage, but rather off-center and positioned to point outwardly in different directions. I liked the gray, cloudy haziness of the stage below that allowed the lights to pierce through clearly and sharply, creating a direct and powerful contrast. I was particularly pleased with the rainbow-like effect the reflection of the lights created on the gray background below, adding an almost magical dimension of color.

I really wanted to capture the intensity of this single moment, which is why I chose to frame the photo by including the audience’s hands and heads at the bottom. I wanted the viewer to feel as if he/she were in the audience at the moment the photo was taken, as I was. It provides a sense of immediacy that gives more raw emotion to the photo. It was important to me in taking this photograph that there be dramatic contrast and imagery, but also a certain degree of accessibility. As someone who adores the inexplicable feeling of being at a concert, I wanted to be able to share the experience through this photograph. There is something uniquely New York City about the concert scene and there seemed nothing more fitting to take a picture of for Snapshot Day.

On October 11, the day all Macaulay students were to take a picture of “anything that represents how you see New York City on that day,” I saw NYC [literally] through the lens of a research lab. As I was working, I happened to glimpse outside. I was captivated by what I saw. Usually the lab equipment, along with the small size of the windows, precludes a clear view of the world outside. Yet on this day, when I really took the time to look out the window, it gave me some perspective not only on where I physically was, but more importantly on where I was in terms of the implications of the research going on in our lab.

Humanity was what I saw outside: a plethora of people going about their daily lives.Through my viewpoint, I felt both empowered and obligated. Thus, in my photograph, I strive to illustrate the relationship between NYC as a community of individuals with the research going on to ameliorate many lives.

After establishing my content matter, I thought about how to convey this view of NYC. Using the rule of thirds, I placed the flask on the far right of the frame, in the right-most third region. In doing so, this allowed me to both incorporate it without taking away too much attention from the main subject matter, which is the view of the street and the people below.

I also used contrast between the shade of the window and the shade of the view outside the window to differentiate between the two environments. The movement in the picture, provided by the moving cars and the people, was allowed by giving these objects space to move into, whether it was the street or sidewalk. The angle of the buildings, street, and Hunter College bridge all led to a vanishing point as well. The vanishing point was placed off center to create a more dynamic feel.

When I walked to see James Turrell’s exhibit at the Guggenheim in September, I took the scenic route through Central Park and was amazed by the beauty of the natural scene in the middle of the urban jungle that is New York City. I knew then that my Snapshot Day photo would be one of Central Park.

Applying the Rule of Thirds, I made sure to make the subject of my photo — in this case, the boathouse cafe — off-center. I also decided to take the photo vertically, even though a horizontal shot would have given a better view of The Lake, which did have mini sailboats and ducks in it, I decided to take the shot vertically in order to capture the reflection of the buildings in the water and to emphasize the height of the buildings in the background.

Although the photo was beautiful on its own, I decided to edit its sharpness and definition in iPhoto so that the image would be clearer and bolder. I also applied an Antique finish to it, causing the picture to look older and more nostalgic.

-John Wetmore

When I took this picture of the sun setting behind the castle on the Great Lawn in Central Park, I was trying to show the severity of color contrast and how it can make a piece stunning.  The sky is lit up in deep shades of orange and yellow and pink while what I chose to be the subject matter (the castle) is completely in the shadows, making it a totally black silhouette.

I tried to incorporate the rule of thirds when taking this photo.  Approximately 2/3 of my picture is the radiant sky, and the remaining 1/3 of the photo is the black silhouette of the castle.  This picture is such a break from typical New York, where there are bustling streets, horns honking, traffic jams, and buildings taking up every which street they can.  This photo is relaxing and un-NewYorkCity–like.  It captures not only a beautiful sky, but a beautiful shot of the trees surrounding the castle as well.

I tried to capture the bending branches, which can be seen on the left of the picture, to the side of the castle.  These branches weren’t far away, like the castle was.  They were right in front of me, partially blocking my view.  I thought it would be interesting to show that what is right in front of me can appear to be the same size as something much further away from me.  It is an optical illusion because the trees in the background are so large and the branches, which of course are much smaller, are right in front of me.

I never take photos.  My camera roll has 30 some pictures in it.  But having taken this photo and seeing how beautiful an image can turn out naturally (without Photoshop or other image editing software), makes me want to take more photographs.

Kyle – Blog B