Insomnia

I found myself shooting more images in the late night than I normally would. I know I have, and one of the ways I deal with it is by doing late night photography. These late nights walks are the reason for my latest series I am focusing on, entitled INSOMNIA. I decided to do this with a Tiffen Pro Moist filter on my 28mm lens. This gave my work some exaggerated lens flare. I enjoy that exaggerated work, as the filter accentuates the white while the contrast of the dark really gives some vivd and interesting monochrome scenes.

In this work, I also wanted the buildings themselves to be a part of the story. The unique look and grit of the buildings in NYC give each image a story.

I hope you see some of what I saw in the work. Thanks so much.

• Maurice

‘Aria of Nocturn’, 2022 Street Photography Image Breakdown

This image is the first I’ll present in a series done exclusively at nighttime in NYC. I find that my PTSD and ADHD have interesting effects on me. Both of those mental conditions have overlap in insomnia. I have not had a ‘good’ nights sleep in 10 years. In those times I like to go out and explore the city. Aria of Nocturn, and all of the images that will follow, were all captured between 1030pm and 430am, when most are asleep. I hope you enjoy.

There is an interesting disquiet past midnight in certain parts of New York. When one moves away from the ‘busy’ areas off Manhattan, like the Village and Times Square, the sites change drastically. It’s sad, but the homeless population really takes over certain places at night. I think this was in the 20s. I often wonder what things got them to a position such that they are where they are.

For this image, and for the subsequent images in this series, I will be using a Tiffen Pro-mist filter. The filter, especially with the strong lights of the city, blows out the whites. I like this effect, as it really adds to the contrast of the overall final image. I also appreciate the grainy effect that presented itself after processing.

-Maurice

‘Desperado’ 2022 Street Photography Image Breakdown

I do wish artistry, regardless of kind, was treated differently in America. Here is what I mean. Artists, by definition, express themselves all the time. It’s what we do. To me, this work deserves to be seen. However, because of the nature by which America itself was built, everything is seen through the lens of capitalism, specifically ‘does what you do sell?”

I am asked this often when I am out shooting and stopped by a passerby.

‘Do you do weddings on the side to really make money?”

“You have a drone, right?”

“Who buys these?”

“ Have you tried NFTs?”

None of that really interests me. I want my work to be seen, of course. I would like people to get what they will from the work. I would love to get some emotional change in the viewer. If that person then wants to have that piece, then fine.

I don’t, however, want my work to be nothing more than a money grab. I want my work to speak for itself.

Apple Computers is the perfect example. I think this applies to all of their products, but I will speak about the iPhone specifically. When the iPhone was first created, it was BY FAR the most innovative instrument in mobile technology. Even now, every phone is reminiscent of that original phone. The first iPhone WAS ART.

Since Steve Jobs (Apple’s visionary artist CEO) died, there has been a distinct change in the ART of the iPhone, and of the company in general. Each new iteration of their iPhone has some incremental change, but ultimately LOOKS and FEELS the same. Why? Perhaps Apple has indeed lost its soul, as this author suggests. Some thing about money taking over the artistic process. Go figure.

I don’t want this to happen with my work. It’s something I will constantly work on. Let’s get to this image, shall we….

I walked past this man and could not help capturing him with my camera. In the middle of midtown Manhattan, you do not often see this type of headgear. He definitely caught my eye. I am glad I finally did see him.

I used my all mobile approach I have been using, including Adobe Lightroom Mobile and RNI FIlms app. In Lightroom mobile, I started with my preset, specifically 8th Street Station, which is my simulation of fujifilm Acros 400. I then adjusted the grain and highlights form that preset to ge they look I wanted. Finally, I used RNI FIlms app to apply final touched to the work.

Let me know what you think

• Maurice.

‘Well past midnight’, 2022 Street Photography Image Breakdown.

Late nights are my favorite times for street work. I love the lights. I love the darkness creating natural contrast. I really like the isolation and single people that can be found. I also like that I can use slower shutter speeds to get interesting results like this.

Enjoy you me day shooting my friends.

• Maurice

‘Dungeon’, 2022 Street Photography Image breakdown

I’m away from my normal editing equipment. Normally, I use an Apple IMac Pro with Adobe Lightroom and Silver EFEX Pro to complete all of my images. When I am mobile, I just bring my iPad Pro and nothing else.

Let’s discuss.

To save my images after a session I use a USB-C card reader and an USB-C SSD 1TB drive. Both of these peripherals get connected to my iPad. In the Files App, I copy the images to the SSD.

Editing can be a hassle. But to two apps I use are Lightroom Mobile and RNI Films. Lightroom mobile is damn near similar to the desktop version, and gives me all of the editing capabilities I need.

This image was edited with Lightroom Mobile, of course I started with selecting the subject and making sure the subject was both sufficiently dark and had the needed boost in texture. On the overall image, I decreased the overall highlights and blacks, and increased the white, just a taste.

In RNI I choose the Ilford HP5 simulation, which really got the effect I wanted. I wanted a vintage look, but I definitely wanted the contrast that Ilford pushed gives.

Let me know what you think.

• Maurice

‘Firefly’, 2022 Street Photography Image Breakdown

One of the things I have been trying to do in my recent work is fill the frame. When I first started in this artistic endeavor, I don’t know that I practiced this as much as I do now. I want each piece of my frame to have some meaning. I want you to be able to look at my work for some time and come to appreciation of the entire thing.

For this scene, even though it happened quickly by me, I knew it would be iconic. The iconic color of that NYC cab. The distinct buildings behind our subject. How the light is hitting her face, The contemplative expression. These are all things that in a split second I had to react to and hopefully capture. I think because I was so close and able to fill my 28mm frame, I came away with something special.

Fill your frame, my friends.

• Maurice

‘Apparition’, 2021 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

Sometimes I take late night strolls. There is a definitive peace and quite about the night. Normally, the night is where I take my contemplative thoughts and make them become action of some sort. Especially if I am stressed about some situation, I find that a midnight stroll is often all I need to get my mind back on track.

Of course, the night also offers some semblance of artistic vision and freedom. As a photographer that often specializes in black and white work, I am usually looking for strong back light and a central subject to frame. Some attempts are better than others.

This attempt I found a subject who I assume was about to open those curtains. I’m glad I wasn’t too deep in thought and saw this scene happening above me.

This image was shot in JPG mode on the Leica Q2 Monochrom. This is straight from the camera with no edits.

Let me know what you think.

• Maurice

'Lonely', 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

I’m glad I had my camera for this moment. This man was very isolated, and I often wait for these occasions. To me, nothing is worse than seeing the image in your head, but not having the proper tool to express your vision.

The editing of this image was pretty straight forward. I used my preset 7th Ave Express. As usual, I used the preset as more of a starting point. I like to overcompensate with the preset then taper down as needed. This is exactly what I did with this work.

I hope you are finding a way to express your vision today.

Creating what others like vs. What you like

I decided to do an a more in depth and deep dive into the topic of creating. During my essay, I edit one of my images to completion.

‘Riverside Pause’, 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

As I walked up on this scene, I knew I could be interesting. In my recent work, I have been attempting to explore subject separation. I want to make sure that if I have a full scene, like this one, that I have each subject separated such that a viewer is not distracted by bunches of people.

In this work, I accomplished by waiting. And that’s the subject of this blog. Waiting.

In street photography waiting can be the most rewarding and frustrating thing we do, simultaneously. My impulsiveness wants to get the best image as fast as I possible can. In these situations I have to force myself to wait. I have to wait for the scene to develop. I have to wait for the subjects to be exactly where they should be.

For me, this is almost a meditative process, and is likely the basis for why I consider street photography as my personal therapy. The waiting forces me to consider the entire scene. The waiting forces me to conceptualize the ultimate image I will present.

More importantly, waiting forces me out of my head. The process of waiting for a scene to form forces me to not care about anything around me. Is my PTSD causing me to get frustrated with too many people around me? I have found the my waiting game tends to negate that feeling, because I have to process so much, I have to have a singularly important focus. The final image. All else fades away. I find that helpful in my life.

I hope you’re journey with the photographic medium has been as helpful for you as it as been for me.

• Maurice

'Untitled (1)', 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

I am just having a little fun today. Cant take things too seriously!

This double exposure image was created partially in Color EFEX Pro Software on my Mac.

-Maurice

“Hay Street” 2018 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

This image was where I started to realize that I could take pictures anywhere. Before this image and this point, I would constantly lament about my circumstance. I had recently gotten medically retired from the military. I did not fully know what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I did not want to do medicine full time. I also knew I wanted to do something artistic.

I ‘discovered’ street photography around this time. I didn’t know how much street photography would dominate my life at this point. I did know that something compelled me to keep a camera with me everywhere I went.

My misconception about photography was location. I thought I had to be at a certain place to get shots like this. Then I purposefully started trying to find high contrast images in more obscure places. This is taken in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. Very much small town America.

I did not do much for editing this image. The natural shadows and light of the scene were enough. Let me know what you think.

-Maurice

'Playful', 2021 - Street Photography Image breakdown

I decided to walk from Fort Hamilton to Coney Island with my camera last summer. Somewhere in Bath Beach, on the other side of the Belt Parkway, I found myself walking and seeing the happiest people out and about, truly enjoying life. Of course, this was during the pandemic, when people around the world were down. To see this much joy at this time was refreshing. This image is an attempt to capture that joy.

Not much editing was needed for this work. As usual, I shot this at about -2EV. I like to shoot dark to protect my highlights, and I know that Leica RAW images can recover from dark very easily. In Adobe Lightroom, to get the contrast I desired, I adjusted just blacks and whites in this image. I think it came out well. What do you think?

• Maurice

'Nightlife', 2022⁠ - Street Photography Image Breakdown

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. it's the one and only thing you have to offer." - Barbara Kingsolver⁠

🧐 It's interesting. I often think of social media as a dual edged sword. Of course, we artists use these spaces as somewhere to showcase our work, a virtual gallery. However there is some level of recognition we all are looking for. Whether in an actual/physical gallery or online. My question for my group of colleagues is; in the decisive moment, while out shooting, how does one combat creating images that others will “like” ❤️ versus creating images that are true to oneself? ⁠

Often, the black and white Instagram community has distinct similarity. Of course, each artist is posting what they create. As one sees the recognition that others get for a particular style of image, it is human nature to gravitate toward that in one’s personal work. Is there a way to avoid this?

I think there is. First, you have to stop caring. here’s what I mean.

I really don’t care what people think about my work. Please don’t misunderstand me. Of course I care about critique. Critique is a method to force some reflection on one’s work as an artist, to step away from the personal nature of one’s work, and really hone in on problems that could be avoided in the future. However, I really try not to let it go beyond that.

What I don’t care about is if you immediately like what I have posted. If someone thinks my work is boring, cliche, overly processed, not processed enough, not ‘real’ street photography, derivative, or lackluster; I don’t care. What I care about is my process. What I care about is my final image, what is says about me, what is says about my journey as an artist, what is says about what I have learned thus far. If someone does not like my work, then it’s NOT FOR THEM. And thats ok. I don’t listen to country music. No matter how elegant, beautifully written, relevant, etc, the style of music is not for me. AND THATS OK!

I often make the analogy that street photography is hiphop. This particular topic ( being true to one’s work) is one where I find parallels. An emerging or established hiphop artist has two options when they present their work. Either they make original work that has a unique sound or they make work that they know others will like. Some find a happy medium. Its simple really, listen to any top 40 station and all of the hiphop music sounds very similar. The art of hiphop over the course of 20 years has become the same sonically, by the choice of those artists. In underground hiphop circles, they have ‘sold out’ to move units, to sell as much as possible.

I fear the same thing can occur in street photography. It’s easy to get trapped on social media and see what is popular. One may even want to emulate what you see. I ask; to what end? What more important? The perpetual popularity or the beauty of the work itself? The sense of self worth one or validation one may find from doing what is popular or the self satisfaction one gets from finding one’s own voice in their work.

Personally, my daily push is to present my images. What I think is beautiful. What has drawn my eye. Sometimes I will have thousands of people comment and talk about the work, sometimes less than a hundred. To me, this doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I am being true to my eye, my voice, and my self. If someone doesn’t see what I see, or understand my work, thats ok. This is MY JOURNEY, not theirs.

What is your journey?

• Maurice

'Older God', 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

‘Yo, the Older God put me on on how to rock this
Maintain Three-Sixty Lord and live prosperous
It only takes a lesson a day, just to analyze life
One time in the respectable mind’

• Ghost Face

Have a great Sunday

• Maurice

'Somewhere Uptown', 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

This was very a very late night in the Bronx. The Bronx has a different feel and ambiance than any other borough.

I really liked the contrast the light created in this piece. That store’s brightness really makes this shot work for me. However, I am upset that I did not capture the subject with his feet separated. I think this would have made for a more dynamic pose. Unfortunately, my ADHD often manifests itself specifically when I need patience. One of the constant battles for me while I am out shooting is to have a still mind. I am plagued by scenes of war or PTSD sometimes, others times I cant focus on something long enough for it to matter. When I see a scene, I immediately try to shoot it, then I have to remind myself that this is art, not WAR. I need to relax and let it happen. Everything will be OK.

This image, when I see it, reminds. me to continue being dedicated to my craft. This image reminds me that even though there will be mistakes in all of the images I make, that I have to stop looking for perfect. This image reminds me that life is a journey and we are each effected by our past. for most people, not letting our past effect us requires work. This image reminds me that I put in that work every time I go out to shoot.

For editing, this image was pretty straight forward. I find that night shots almost always have the perfect amount of contrast for me. I increased the whites to accentuate the contrast, and used my preset, specifically BRONX PARK EAST , which I think is fitting. I lowered the grain of that preset a little more and moved one.

What do you think? Let me know what you think of this work. Finally, let me know how art is therapeutic to you. Thanks for reading this far.

• Maurice

'Anticipation', 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

She’s rocking those NY boots!

One of the key elements I look for in my work is harsh contrast. The dark coat the figure really helps with this. The hardest part of this image was being out with my camera so early in the morning. Which leads me to dedication. Let’s discuss.

I am not a naturally gifted photographer. I do not think anyone is. My ‘talent’ is hyper-focus. Once I decide that I want to do something, I do entirely too much research on that subject and spend MOST of my time trying to perfect that activity. Its part of one of my neuro-divergence.

Growing up, I was told at age 6 that I had ADHD. Most of my teachers told me I would never amount to anything, specifically because I would interrupt the teachers. My mother refused to put me on medication. Those interruptions were because I was bored. Sitting quietly is not for everyone, and forcing children to do so is not helpful.

The above story is not tell you that I am not talented. I am devoted to getting better at this craft. I have spent the better part of 5 years trying to get better at this craft.

If you are an artist reading this, I hope you appreciate what I mean. In any craft, the hours one puts in makes them better. Put in those hours my friends…

To edit this image, I created a mask around the figure in Adobe Lightroom and inverted it. I devalued both texture and clarity. Of course increased the value of the white and decreased values of black throughout the entire image. Finally, I added 7th Ave Express and devalued the grain to get the final effect I was looking for.

Let me know what you think.

• Maurice

‘Stern’, 2019 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

I like to play with geometry in my work. Sometimes I like to accomplish this with shadow, but in this particular image I was able top do that with the ‘natural’ surroundings of the building. The lines of the interior of the building create a natural frame for the Subject. As we discussed in PREVIOUS blog posts, I believe the secret to good photography is learning how to manipulate where the viewers eye is drawn.

It is interesting how much geometry plays into my work. While I am out walking looking for subjects, I make every effort to frame the subject. While this does not always work to my benefit, I find that in the moment, it is better to frame in this way.

I think the immediate inclination of newer street photographers is to move as much as possible and take as many pictures as possible. I started this way. I thought the more the better. When I was more inexperienced in the craft, I found that I would have 1-2 ‘good images’ out of 500 shots taken. Really a waste of time and effort. The extra second I take to frame, to find symmetry and geometry in every shot, no matter what, has paid dividends. If I check an SD card now as compared to when I began this journey, I would say that at least 40% of the images I have after a long day of shooting are good enough to relook at in the future.

To my readers, who are looking to get better at street photography, take the extra second to frame. Take the moment to define the space in that definitive moment. Take the nanosecond required to find your own geometry.

In this case, I would say the geometry, coupled with the stark contrast of the dark area against the subject, really draws the viewers eye to the subject, ultimately his stern appearance. Let me know what you think of this work.

For the editing process, I did not have to do much at all. The image was taken at night, and the those deep darks were already there. The contrast of the light areas was also already present, so I really just had to do a simple crop to get the ‘effect’ I wanted.

Thanks so much for reading this far, for the support, and for being awesome.

-Maurice

'Selfie_1', 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

"Be yourself, there’s no one better." - Unknown

Today I am doing a little self love. Check out the older posts in my BLOG, but for me, today is about a little self care.

Make sure, in all of your efforts, you take time for yourself. Reflect.

Artist work is often very outward. We spend lots of our time as artists reflecting on what others will see. This is, by definition, what happens in visual arts. Of course, this can be a downward spiral, where we artists forget to do self care.

What do you care about? Which images (songs, paintings, sculptures, etc.) of yours are your favorite? What have you done to reach your dreams today? Have you taken a day for yourself to let go of what others want?

Have a great day all.

• Maurice

I did very little post processing for this final edit. I did use my PRESET 8th Street Station as a starting point. It was a good way to visualize what the final product should look like. I lowered the grain and black and did some brushwork details on the face. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading this far.

‘Enlightenment’, 2022 - Street Photography Image Breakdown

‘Half of art is accident, but there is no accident without free experiment’ - Ralph Steadman

My work is my work. Sometimes it’s experimental, like this piece. It’s not for everyone. I am ok with that. Are you ok with someone not liking your work? You should be.

True art is about experimentation. The experimentation happens both through your artistic expression and in yourself. For me, art has changed how I view who I am. Following my artistic endeavors has made me a better person, in that I believe in my work, fully. I wouldn’t have reached this understanding without experimentation.

In photography in particular, breaking norms some artistic satisfaction. This image is not necessarily perfectly composed as I normally would, but I liked the lights on this crowd. This was my artistic vision.

To my artist friends reading this, I encourage you to re-examine your relationship with your work. Has the world seen (or heard) your artistic expression? If not, why not? Are you playing it safe, or experimenting?

In editing this piece, I really attempted to push the cropping capability of my 61mp sensor. As a normal starting point, I used my preset , specifically Radio City Music Hall . I use my preset as an initial idea, then I move on from there. As always let me know what you think.

-Maurice