Seeing in the City



I was in New York City yesterday and took a quick walk between appointments. As is my habit lately, I took along my camera. There are a few pictures I like, but unfortunately, I'm not impressed with many of them. I just couldn't "see" as well in that environment. Do you think this is from lack of practice or because I might be more intuitively drawn to flora and fauna than to steel girders and sidewalks? Maybe I didn't give myself enough time since I was limited to time between appointments? I'm fascinated by work influenced by urban settings (the works of Jeanne Williamson and Elizabeth Barton to name just two). I'm thinking that if I get better at gathering / capturing inspiration from a multitude of sources my work will be richer for it. Thoughts?



Comments

I think you did pretty well! just takes practice...
Judy Alexander said…
Seeing the pics makes me miss the city. I worked there for many years....just don't miss the commute.. 1 1/2 hrs in and 1 hr 40 min home...
I think it is more that you are uncomfortable with an unfamiliar environment. Practice will remove that barrier. BTW -- I really like 2 of these photos.
wlstarn said…
I think the stronger pictures are the two that have less in them.I am more inclined to focus in on an interesting detail. The yellow one is especially intriguing.
Fulvia said…
As you already suspect, it is all about practice; keep going!
laura west kong said…
I think your photos are great! Professional photographers don't expect every photo they take to be a winner. They know that have to take hundreds to get a few exceptional shots.
Vivien Zepf said…
Thanks for all the encouragement! I'll keep working at it.
Rayna said…
Ah, Vivien, these are the pictures that make my heart sing: old buildings, grids, urban-urban-urban.
And the pix are wonderful!