Waiting for the bus in Harlem
Apple iPhone 6s
2016
This photo is blotchy. That’s what happens when you zoom with an iPhone. But I’m happy to have it at all. My good cameras were packed, as we had ridden the subway up to Harlem and were waiting on a bus that would take us to LaGuardia. We were headed home after our trip to New York last spring. When I saw we were a block from the famed Apollo Theater, I just had to have a snap, even though that box truck blocked the view.
I like the different elements Jim – the empty truck, the guy on the bike, the workman in the hi-vis jacket, the Apollo Theatre sign…
With a shot like this the essence is most important – I wouldn’t have known (or cared) it was on a zoomed in iPhone.
I like the composition, too, but I just wish the photo were sharper. Zoomed in, the iPhone is not much better sometimes than an old Instamatic.
I, for one, am happy to hear that you had all your cameras safely packed away…
I’m sure I would have been fine to have my little Canon S95 out…it’s so easily pocketable. But my SLR would have been like a giant advertising sign around my neck.
That is so interesting. I always imagined that the Apollo theater would have a huge presence on the outside but it just melds into the street with all the other buildings. Thanks for sharing.
Me too. I was surprised to find it in such a mundane spot, not looking very special!
I really love this scene, and I can clearly see why you wanted to have it printed onto the memory device inside your phone, sharp or unsharpish. It does not look too bad on my monitor, but it’s probably worse when you start looking at the file on your own computer. The iPhone really sucks when you start fiddling with the zoom, I know.
I understand from your discussion above that walking around with a camera around your neck in this area really is a no-no. I can’t even imagine what it would be like for me going to a place like that. I mean, would I recognize the danger and pack away my stuff soon enough, or would I get mugged big time? I’ve been “everywhere” with quite a few cameras (well, obviously not…) but never ever had the feeling anything was about to happen with me.
I guess that’s what growing up in a totally different place and environment does to you. It makes you sort of oblivious to the fact that the world is really quite a bit different than you think it is… and then it’s too late.
Roy, this wasn’t an unsafe place or moment. We were standing at a major intersection in the middle of the morning. Honestly, I felt more anxious on one particular back street of Dublin than I did standing here. But I’m not sure I’d walk down some of the side streets here with my camera to my eye obviously lost in my thoughts as I photographed things.
