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Just for Fun No C&C will be given: New York Attitude?

R

Ruben Alfu

New member
Approaching a stranger on the street to ask her for a photo is scary, and doing so in a city full of people with a stigma of bad attitude doesn't help. For a while this was like a monster in the closet for me, until I got the courage to open that door. Here are some pics of what I found. It might look like a bunch of silly photos (well, ok they are) but for me, the relevant link between these photos is the friendly smile of a total stranger in New York.

Note: to be true to the facts, the amount of people who didn't want to smile, or didn't care a heck about showing their nice side was bigger.




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Ruben Alfu : New York Attitude 1


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Ruben Alfu : New York Attitude 2


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Ruben Alfu : New York Attitude 3


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Ruben Alfu : New York Attitude 4


​
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Ruben,

The folk in New York are just a little more street smart than in a lot of other places. They know the reality of cons, crime and corruption. So, yes, there are defenses but as your wonderful sampling shows, there are a lot of friendly smiles ready to pop out! You should be capturing the nasties too!

Asher
 
R

Ruben Alfu

New member
Asher Kelman said:
Ruben,

The folk in New York are just a little more street smart than in a lot of other places. They know the reality of cons, crime and corruption. So, yes, there are defenses but as your wonderful sampling shows, there are a lot of friendly smiles ready to pop out! You should be capturing the nasties too!

Asher
Click to expand...

Hi Asher, yes, that´s the way it is. In NY I met some of the warmest and wise people I´ve ever known. It would be fun a gallery with the real nasty faces hehe
 
J

John Angulat

pro member
Ruben Alfu said:
Approaching a stranger on the street to ask her for a photo is scary, and doing so in a city full of people with a stigma of bad attitude doesn't help. For a while this was like a monster in the closet for me, until I got the courage to open that door. Here are some pics of what I found. It might look like a bunch of silly photos (well, ok they are) but for me, the relevant link between these photos is the friendly smile of a total stranger in New York.
Click to expand...
Hi Ruben,
I'm sorry I'm so late to this post, life's been a bit crazy this past week!
I glad the monster's out of the closet and you've found it be less scary than imagined!
New Yorker's aren't all that different from most other people, there's just a lot more of us jammed into a smaller geographic space.
I kind of see it like this:
When you live in a small town you "know" everyone. You might not know everyone's name but at least the faces are familiar. Consequently you smile, nod or greet people every day, all day long. It becomes natural.
When you live in a huge city and virtually everyone you pass - any day, any time, is a stranger...you have no reason to connect.
They walk isolated in their own worlds.
They're really not unfriendly, just detached.
Ahhh...but that's what makes street shooting in New York so much fun (or Chicago, London, or any big city)!
They seldom notice you.
...and even when approached, you're forgotten moments later.

Nice shots! I always enjoy seeing someone else's views of my "small town"!
 
W

Wendy Thurman

New member
This is a nice set, Ruben. I'll often ask if a photograph is ok; that often results in a posed image but from time to time I get something interesting (Afghan men loved to be photographed). There are times when I'll just shoot without asking but those sorts of images are more scenes that feature people rather than a tighter shot of an individual. It's taken me quite a while to get comfortable with street candids. I really dislike openly carrying the big DSLR's- they attract attention and while it may be my imagination, I get the sense that people are a bit "wary" when they notice the camera. The Leica is very unobtrusive and I hope that my "people pictures" will exhibit a more relaxed atmosphere.

Wendy
 
R

Ruben Alfu

New member
John Angulat said:
Hi Ruben,
I'm sorry I'm so late to this post, life's been a bit crazy this past week!
I glad the monster's out of the closet and you've found it be less scary than imagined!
New Yorker's aren't all that different from most other people, there's just a lot more of us jammed into a smaller geographic space.
I kind of see it like this:
When you live in a small town you "know" everyone. You might not know everyone's name but at least the faces are familiar. Consequently you smile, nod or greet people every day, all day long. It becomes natural.
When you live in a huge city and virtually everyone you pass - any day, any time, is a stranger...you have no reason to connect.
They walk isolated in their own worlds.
They're really not unfriendly, just detached.
Ahhh...but that's what makes street shooting in New York so much fun (or Chicago, London, or any big city)!
They seldom notice you.
...and even when approached, you're forgotten moments later.

Nice shots! I always enjoy seeing someone else's views of my "small town"!
Click to expand...

Hello John, thanks for sharing your point of view as a New Yorker, and your positive reaction to the photos is special for me.

I agree that detachment, or perhaps it´s more fair to say apparent detachment, can be misinterpreted. For example, once I saw a tourist in a subway train laughing in a strange way, questioning people why they didn´t relax and smile... he seemed to be stressed out : ).

P.D.: The monster was released some time ago, these photos are perhaps 4 to 5 years old. Sorry that my introduction is not clear in this sense.


Wendy Thurman said:
This is a nice set, Ruben. I'll often ask if a photograph is ok; that often results in a posed image but from time to time I get something interesting (Afghan men loved to be photographed). There are times when I'll just shoot without asking but those sorts of images are more scenes that feature people rather than a tighter shot of an individual. It's taken me quite a while to get comfortable with street candids. I really dislike openly carrying the big DSLR's- they attract attention and while it may be my imagination, I get the sense that people are a bit "wary" when they notice the camera. The Leica is very unobtrusive and I hope that my "people pictures" will exhibit a more relaxed atmosphere.

Wendy
Click to expand...

Wendy, thanks for stopping by, so glad you like the set. I think the new "pocket" DSLR are a dream come true for street photogs, I´d love to have one of those.
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Ruben,

Sorry for the short reply, but I have really enjoyed this series, thanks for sharing :) Hope to see some more eventually....

Cheers,
 
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