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

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

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.  🙂

Midday nap on 5th Avenue

Longboarding in the park

Selfie time

Shadows, shapes, and lines

Wine Time

Reading in the park

Lion King and friend

Shadow People

NYC Reflections

Wall Street Chaos

Angles

Designated smoking area

White Out

Shapes

Cloudscraper

Building of the Oculus

One World Trade Center

Reflecting on the 9/11 Museum

Courage and Respect

Remembering 9/11

Walking Tall

World Trade Center

Rebuilding America

Oculus Wings

Oculus Rush

Oculus Train Station

Respect

The State of Independence

Walker Street back office

Napping on the job

Chinatown Chatter

Organized Chaos

Dapper Gentleman

Chinatown Meat Market

Chinatown Market

Stand Up and Shut Up

Always watching

Looking at me?

Permit Protest

A young street photographer caught in action

Chess in Washington Square Park

Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park

Flatiron from below

Flatiron building

In the shadows

Hip Shooting on West 34st

Speaker Phone

Two of a Kind

A women reads a book at dusk in Central Park

Skateboarder performs a trick in Central Park at night

A young couple takes a stroll through Central Park at night

Moonlight in Central Park