April 2025 In Review: Slowing Down and Being Intentional | Trying Something New

Shot on Leica IIIc and Mamiya RB67

The images captured in April (shown below) represent going out on leisurely walks throughout NYC and shooting architecture/ cityscapes which I have always enjoyed, as well as documenting new scenes and moments as the city starts to comeback to life after a long winter. Though I still love to capture the grand sunsets and epic landscapes, I am beginning to to find that there is a lot to explore in everyday moments. Also, I brought the camera back to Connecticut to capture some moments from Easter weekend.

The IIIc has forced me to slow down with my photography and be more intentional. It has not only improved the quality of my photography, but also has increased the number of "keepers" that I come back with after each outing. Not being able to review the photo right after I take it keeps me in the moment and my eye up looking for more compositions while also allowing me not to dwell on the last photo, good or bad.

One of my favorite images I captured was of two men blasting music and singing on the West Side Highway on an unusually hot Saturday afternoon. A genre of photography I have always respected and wanted to practice is street photography, but I have always shied away from shooting people in fear of how someone may react to me invading their space and randomly taking a photo of them. When I noticed these two guys, I knew there was a great image to be had, but I didn't know how to go about it. In that moment, I decided I needed to get over this fear, so I metered in their general direction, set up my camera, and raised the lens toward the two. Immediately, they both put their hands up to try and cover their faces in tandem, yet said absolutely nothing and kept singing. While I hoped they would not have reacted to me photographing them, this almost added to the image and helped me get more comfortable photographing people. After snapping the image and as I walked away, I knew I had captured something. While not the best photo I have ever taken in a technical sense, the story and its significance to the evolution of my photography is what makes it special.

After working out a few kinks and getting a little more comfortable with the IIIc, I have started to be able to focus on my compositions more rather than worrying about making sure everything is in focus and exposed correctly. Though still using a light meter via my iPhone, I am starting to get a good sense of how to achieve a proper exposure in different lighting situations. I am really happy with how some of the images turned out.

*Film: HP5 (35mm) & CineStill 400 (120)