Keeping It Clean And Simple: New York City Manhole Cover
There is a lot to be said for keeping an image clean and simple. You would think this would be an easy thing to do, but whether in the city or the backcountry isolating your subject can be quite difficult. Distracting elements such as cars, buildings, people, trees, rocks, even bright spots can easily pull a viewers eye away. Techniques that work in isolating a subject include changing perspective, changing location, using a shallower depth of field, narrowing your field of view, etc. The means of isolating a subject vary based on the circumstances, and sometimes it can be a bit of a puzzle to sort out.
New York City Manhole Cover – Manhattan, New York
In this instance I opted for the following mechanisms to simplify the scene:
1. I walked around my subject to find the best angle of view.
2. I carefully timed my presence in the street to kneel down low to change my perspective
3. I chose a focal length that kept cars and passing traffic out of the scene
4. Selected a composition that would lead the eye to my subject.
5. In post-production I converted the image to black and white to keep the focus on the shape and texture of my subject.
As they say your mileage will vary so experiment with your subjects and keep your patience when looking to isolate your subject for a clean and simple photo.
Technorati Tags: New York city, Manhattan, New York, manhole, street, SoHo, texture, b&w, black and white, stock photo, photography, photo
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Hello, I am a retired teacher and a collector of manhole pics.
Let me say, that you have an other interst than we as collectors.
So, looking as an artist photographer, you are ringht to do so…and the result is good.I ike this, and that you choose b/w is ok for that reason.Hope you understand me.
But as a collector, i would appreciate a pic of the manhole nearly from the top, so that we see the circle and the design.Litttle correctons can we do with software.
So please, if you have a pic from the top, i would be very thankfuly when you can send it to me for my collection (only private – I am to old forother projects!!)
gerd
[Reply]
Nice Jim,
I just went over that basic step-by-step with my photo class….to try and isolate textures for their first shots.
good photo btw
[Reply]
@Brian Thanks for the comment. Glad you liked the photo. Hopefully your class got a lot out of the exercise. It can be challenging, but ultimately its quite rewarding when you’re successful.
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There is a manhole cover on Greenwich Avenue in New York City with no markings except six holes.
Do you have any idea to whom it belongs?
Which company has such a manhole cover?
[Reply]
@Robin I’m not sure, but perhaps another viewer of my blog might have the answer.
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