34th Street at Sunset



New York City is a microcosm of the best and worst of modern urban society. Materialism and entertainment are the two driving forces in the lives of so many today. What do I buy and what do I watch or play? A glimpse into the proclivities of mainstream America can be seen by walking down 34th Street in New York City. This street, from 9th Avenue to 5th is an accurate barometer of what’s popular in urban America. What we are wearing, eating, driving, listening to, and who we consider the icons of pop culture at the moment can be discovered here. If in future history, archeologists want to understand the mind and hearts of 21st Century urban life, they would do well to unearth this street first.

This photos were captured on during a beautifully lit winter sunset. Above all, the natural light makes these photos appealing. I used an older pocket digital camera that I always keep with me, my sturdy Olympus SP-350. This 8-megapixel camera has full manual controls that allow me to override automatic exposure settings. This allows me to control the exposure, thereby having more control over how the final photo will look. The most important thing to do is keep the camera perfectly still to insure a sharp image. For both of these images, I simply braced the camera against a wall as I took the shot. I shot in raw mode, and edited the images in Lightroom 3. Both images were captured at ISO 50, F4.0, 1/30th second exposure. Even pocket digital cameras can create stunning images. The secret is paying attention to the quality of light in the scene before you. The quality of light is what gives your image its personality.

All photography by Donald Peterson