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10 Hours, 39,000 steps, & 720 photos: A Day of Street Photography in New York City

November 1, 2016 by John Batdorff 4 Comments

This July I took a week to spend some time in New York City to work on my street photography. I rarely get an opportunity to go out shooting just for myself, so with clearance from the boss I headed to the big city to submerge myself in my craft. While I survived almost entirely on cereal, PB&J's, and coffee, I had a fantastic time in one of my favorite cities.
Monochrom 246

My trusted Monochrom

I spent most of my time in New York wandering around Manhattan, and what I quickly learned is there's nothing typical about a day in New York City. There is so much to see and so many images to capture. The only thing typical about a day in New York is there's never enough time in the day.

I decided to spend a day focusing on my black and white street photography, so I headed out with my Leica Monochrom kit which included a 35mm, 21mm, and 50mm. Generally I shoot with my 35mm, but I love my 21mm for architecture and hip shooting. The 50mm is a challenge for me, but I have come to embrace it's constraints in framing and adore it's efficiencies.

I had recently upgraded my Monochrom to the 246 model and heard the battery life was fantastic, but I thought I would put it to the test and make it my goal to just shoot until the battery died. I planned on about 5-6 hours of shoot time, but this new battery just wouldn't give up the ghost.

Thankfully those roasted peanuts from the street vendors provided the fuel for this journey since the Frosted Mini Wheats were not cutting it after about the 15,000th step. While I was slowly losing steam after 9 hours, the Leica battery seemed like it would never die, so I finally started heading back. The bugger did eventually give in about 5 blocks from home so I can say I did meet my goal. I'm happy for the new longer battery life, but next time I'll pick a more reasonable goal. I ended up shooting for ten hours straight, putting 39,000+ steps on my pedometer, and hitting the shutter over 700 times.

Oculus Rush

Oculus Rush

Most of the 700 shots were blurry hip shots from playing around, but I got a few keepers too. What follows is a short slideshow of a few of my favorite shots from a day in New York with just me, my Leica, three lenses, and a battery that wouldn't quit.

I hope you enjoy.

p.s. If you received this post via email then you'll need to visit the blog to see the slideshow below.  🙂

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Comments

  1. Theresa says

    November 1, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    Especially enjoyed Reflecting on the 9/11 Museum

    Reply
    • Staci Prince says

      November 1, 2016 at 8:11 pm

      Thanks so much Theresa.

      Reply
  2. Gordon says

    November 2, 2016 at 6:10 am

    No one is a more dedicated visitor to NY than myself! So I am envious of your visit and even more so of your wonderful B/W shots. So many capture the moment to perfection, in short I loved them. Please keep me in the loop with your future plans.
    Gordon

    Reply
    • John Batdorff says

      December 11, 2016 at 10:44 am

      Looking forward to seeing you again soon. We’ve missed you 🙂

      Reply

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