Manic_Skafe

Other than the last shot (of my g/f's Oscar winning performance), these are all shots of complete strangers. These were all shot in Williamsburg Brooklyn, Flushing Queens, and Manhattan.

I should also add that these were all shot with a Nikon D80 and 50mm 1.4/ 18-55 Nikkor lenses. The latter of which is always at it's widest as I don't do tele-street shots.

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Fotzlid

Nice shots, as always.
Anyone get mad at you for taking the pics?

dlish

love the black and white one manic.

ill see if i can take some street candids here. its so much more complex. locals dont like their pictures being taken by strangers. especially the women.

did you get any reactions from the people in the snaps?

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Manic_Skafe

Well the guy in the first seems as if he really wanted his picture taken but I typically shoot from the hip as opposed to bringing the camera to my eye and properly composing the shot. This makes for lots of terrible shots of elbows and decapitated torsos but I occasionally go home with a few shots that are pretty cool.

I generally try to stay as incognito as possible but I have been known to get quite close and to use flash on occasion.

The woman in the second picture is the only one to ever respond negatively to having her picture taken. She shouted something after me but I just kept walking.

Thanks guys.

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Baraka_Guru

All nice.

I particularly like the second one. The composition in regard to the background. Good balance between subject and background, and the background has a perfect depth of field.

I can almost hear the city in that shot.

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Manic_Skafe

Thank you, Baraka.

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"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

filtherton

Nice work. People are a lot more interesting when they don't know that you're looking at 'em.

Moyaboy

Just thinking after looking at your wonderful pictures. The lady in the second shot looks like Katie Holmes or is it Cruz. Oh well, great shots.

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little_tippler

These are great, I love this kind of photography. They are always the best kind of portraits. Shame that 2nd girl was mad at you...that's why I don't have the guts to do that. The 2nd and 4th shots are my favourites.

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Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

Manic_Skafe

Thanks Filtertron and Moya. Tippler, it's really just a matter of diving in and smiling if you're noticed. Most of the people I photograph enjoy having their picture taken so I usually offer to email them a copy.

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"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

paddyjoe

love the camera tilt in #3

never-ending stream of subjects down in your neck of the woods, eh?

Manic_Skafe

Thanks paddy.

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"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

nettuno

They are really cool )
I actually envy your courage - i was always afraid of taking such pictures, hm, maybe, except those cases when i took with me some small camera like rollei 35.

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dlish

im gonna chance it and try and take some pics that i hope will be half as good as manics this weekend.

great thread manic

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Jinn

I want to take pictures beautiful as these.. do I need to get a DSLR, now?

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nettuno

Doesn't matter, try rangefinder cameras, they are fun )

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Halx

You present them in a way that makes one wish they were a subject themselves.

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Manic_Skafe

Thanks guys.

Go for it and make sure you post the results!

Definitely not. You could go with nettuno's suggestion and get a range finder but even the most basic of point and shoot cameras will do. Just shoot a lot - these are some of the better shots out of a few hundred.

Well thanks - maybe one of these days we'll pass each other on the train.

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dlish

mine arent half as good as manics..and dont anybody try tell me so, because i know you're talking shit.

went to a property expo, so i decided to take my camera on the way..

here are the results

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nettuno

Is he that guy from "Lost"? )

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I fear those big words which make me so unhappy.

Manic_Skafe

Sorry I missed these earlier dlish.

These are very cool - an admirable first attempt. Just be sure to stay mindful of your composition and suggest a main focal point.

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"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

Spanxxx

I'm going to concur with someone else above that in the first set of photos, I like the 2nd one best. It's the depth of field and composition in it that grabs me. The background is perfect to put you in the feel of the city without adding clutter and the framing is perfect to let you feel the girl hurrying down the sidewalk.

It's funny that she was the one who got mad at you too. Oh well! You should have told her you were a talent scout. She'd probably have mucked up the shots for you with some fake posing and ridiculous glamour moves - what with those ridiculous shades and all.

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Manic_Skafe

Haha - I'll give that a shot next time. Thanks.

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"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

little_tippler

Makes me want to try this too...good first try dlish, you got some good ones in there. My favourite is the last one because of that guy you caught smiling quite naturally...it gives us a glimpse of his life somehow. I also like the one of the woman with the...sheik? lol Shame it's out of focus but it's a quirky shot!

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

elgeebar

I agree... the second picture is the stand out of the four... for me.

I'm going to have to give this a go as well... I've always been a landscape guy but this looks interesting!

dlish

took some candids while i was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago.

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An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
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Manic_Skafe

Wow is that third shot great or what? He looks incredibly insulted - great shots Dlish.

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dlish

you can't even imagine the disgust he had for me when i took that shot!

he shoo'd me away like i was nothing. i had a good giggle though.

he was getting worms ready to feed the fish he had

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Starkizzer

That reminds me of the story my dad told be about the time when he was in the navy and he took a picture of a little old man sitting in some form of hut, I think he was in Vietman. The guy got so pissed off he chased them demanding money for taking his picture. They couldn't get away from the guy, I think my dad said he finally gave him some cash just so he'd go away.

And dlish, something about the contrast of the two people talking in the 8th pic of your first set is really interesting.

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dlish

thanks SK.

i really like that one too. just wish it wasnt blurry. a mix between old and new, ancient and contemporary, male and female, business or pleasure?, cultural and sophisticated, traditional and trendy.

too many contrasts, too many thoughts to put into words

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Rainman_oz

Really cool