WhatISee

I snuck out of work in time to make the 4th NYC Photobloggers talk at the Apple Store. I've always been late to these so I didnt realize Apple gives like a 15 min spiel at the beginning. Anyway, some great images and even better discussion about the how and why of their photography.

I thought Keith did a great job of showing what he looks for in his images and how he achieves it. I especially liked the side by side before and after comparisons of the photos. You can really see how much detail and interest is brought out by the post processing.

Travis Ruse talked eloquently about how photographing during his commute caused him to become much more aware of people and the dynamic of city life. He captures truly beautiful moments in common situations. What caught my attention was when he described shooting with a DSLR and dealing with people who come up to ask for a photo. He takes the shot without question, but will never use it. I assumed from the photos that they were originally from a rangefinder or other "inconspicuous" camera. I'd love to watch him work one day.

I'm not sure if Raul is a professional photographer, but the quality of his work is outstanding. As is his travel history. I've been around the world, but not nearly in the depth that Raul has. He searches out the edges of modern life and captures timeless images of a life that is becomming rarer and rarer. One question asked about how he kept the interaction when he started to take pictures. He answered by showing a photo of two children at a festival. He had spent the past 6 hours at the festival talking to people before the camera came out. Even though it frustrated him, it allowed him to build a sense of trust before the camera came between him and his subjects.

Go Photoblogis a relatively new photoblog with interesting and quirky images. The photographer spoke simply about how with a simple manual rangefinder, he has learned to slow down and be surprised by his photos.

PixieTart spent most of her time talking about the sense of community on Fotolog.net and Flickr.com. She gave numerous examples of how the connections you make and the feedback you give and receive has helped her photography, her social life, and her career.

Jay Parkinson is finishing up his residency so I have no idea how he has so much time to take such beautiful photos. He thanked his patient (and lovely) wife for being the subject of many of his images. Most of all, I'm jealous of his recent photos from the top of the Chrysler Building (one, two). He also used Keynote to great effect, giving a funny, well paced talk. Jake thought it was the best presentation from any of the NYCPB's and I'd agree.

Wrapping up the night, Eliot showed almost no photos and instead talked about the pros and cons of photoblogging. The positives were easy to talk about while the negatives are worth thinking through. Essentially, while you can get better by looking at good photos, it's easy to get addicted to looking at bad photos too and they influence your work as well. The important thing is to make sure you're shooting for what you want, not just to shock your audience or manipulate them. I liked his point about feedback, in that sometimes the mystery of the place or how you achieved the shot is more satisfying than a dry technical answer. Update: Eliot has made the slides available online

In between talks, they raffled off prints by each of the photographers which I thought was a great idea. I could only stay at the after party for a few minutes, but I really enjoyed the talks and seeing a lot of familiar faces. Below Tien and Jake get ready to hand out Jake's business card which doubled as a free drink coupon at the bar.