Today’s set is a very stream of consciousness series grabbed on the way to another meeting; I had a briefcase and meeting materials in one hand and just a compact in the other, so things were about as fast and loose as it got. I still think the mood is captured rather accurately: a bright, crisp autumn morning with both deep shadows and intense patches of light in places. It was also one of the few times New York felt relatively empty and calm to me; there was a sense of space instead of the usual crowd and hustle. The city was quiet and taking in a few moments to breathe in the sunshine before the rush – dare I say I even felt shades of Tokyo in places. Must have been something in the light. MT
This series was shot with a Fuji XF10 and processed with Photoshop Workflow III.
__________________
Prints from this series are available on request.
__________________
Visit the Teaching Store to up your photographic game – including workshop videos, and the individual Email School of Photography. You can also support the site by purchasing from B&H and Amazon – thanks!
We are also on Facebook and there is a curated reader Flickr pool.
Images and content copyright Ming Thein | mingthein.com 2012 onwards unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved
Ming Thein | Photographer 
I work pretty close to where these pictures were taken. Its true, I never leave the house without at least a compact: you never know what you will see on your morning commute in Manhattan.
Some days you have the sun/shadows making shapes across everything, some days you have the grey sky accentuating the grey building and their grittiness, and some days you have rain making interesting reflections. Some days there something magical that make everything look like a movie set.
Its not always the easiest place to shoot (angle of sun, weather, etc play a huge factor), but with the crowds, shadows, and reflections one could shoot for lifetime here and never get bored. I’m staring out my office window at said city from above and wishing it were socially acceptable to run around my office shooting out the window.
I can only say this is one of the situations under which the prevalence of smartphone cameras is helpful to us…one can still get a decent image without looking too weird in normal situations 🙂
The picture you took with the red metal sculpture and blue sky is brilliant. I found urban photography in NY to be a real challenge. Especially when walking through some of the canyon-like streets where all the light and architecture was up there and I was down there in the shadows. But I really liked the city. There was a dynamism to the place I rarely saw outside of crowded Asian cities.
Thanks – there are definitely good times and bad times to shoot based on sun angle vs street orientation…
Your phots are so clear its like I’m in the city . A city I have always been in love with. Thank you
Thanks!
Hi Ming,
i would like to ask you, have you tried the crop mode? The XF10 should have some digital teleconverter.
Erik
You don’t have a lot of resolution left if you do, so, no – plus the whole point of this camera is the 28mm FOV…
Thank you.
I realy love it !!!
Thanks!
Interesting shots. I was thinking this must have been around 6:45- 7am…very quiet, unusually so, for a Tuesday morning. I know offered us a review of this Fuji XF10 compact and have since this sent unit off to a retirement community, but I was wondering if you had any issues with the AF or did the firmware update address the AF deficits oft cited in many review sites? I agree with many of the plusses this camera may offer beyond my Sony RX100iv and the new GR without a flash doesn’t work. Thank you, M
No, much later than that. I thought it was strange too for rush hour.
AF works just fine for me. It’s not as fast as say an Olympus M4/3 camera or a Nikon Z, but it gets the job done. Faster than the old GR at any rate!
Crazy–I had offices up on 65th and Madison from 1987-2017. Park Ave…empty? I guess the local radio stations had not yet broadcast that your presence was sighted! I saw one in excellent shape for 325.00USD and not being a fan of any phone camera…I will give it a go. Thank you and have a wonderful day.
Haha or maybe they did…and everybody ran 😅
LOL’s.
It’s remarkable how you make time out of every moment for creating wonderful pictures that tell stories. I understand your reasons for shooting sooc lately, but it is another thing with Photoshop Workflow III, and I really appreciate it. I notice, for the first time, one or two photos that you haven’t transformed so to correct tilting (g.e. vertical lines in the middle). I think it adds spontaneity. Thanks again for keeping us all inspired!
Thanks – yes, the uncorrected verticals are the giveaway most of the time, providing of course the camera wasn’t level to begin with…