Mystery Duck In Central Park

This was a ordinary morning meeting with photographers from instagram in New York. It was about 6:00a.m. at 5th ave. and 60th st. when we decided to meet up. We made our way into the park right before the sun came up behind the horizon. The location we started at was near Gapstow Bridge over the pond. There was a flock of ducks swimming in the pond and I took out my 70-200mm lens to get a closer view of them. After a few photos, I looked to review them and noticed something unusual about one of the ducks. All I could notice was the bright orange feathers coming out of the tail of the duck and the colors behind its head. The hair on the chest laid like a lion's mane. When I was done looking at the back of my camera a stranger came up to me and said 

"Did you see the Mandarin Duck?"  

Magical Blue Hour Sunset

Blue Sky Flame

Every night before I leave Manhattan I watch the sun set. On this particular night the sky was looking very different. My back is turned to the windows looking out at the city. One moment I looked behind me, something caught my eye. I searched and searched around the office to find the perfect point of view to capture the sunset. The glow off Goldman Sachs Headquarters in Jersey City, NJ is what really made me take this photo. You don't normally see the sky look like this near a city. Most of the time you this type of sky is if you're out on a deserted island with nothing but you and the stars shinning in a clear sky.

* All photos are available for print!

Epic Vantage Point 70 Floors View

Lightning Chasing to Sunrise

Thunder Bolt

The past few days have been great capturing the city. I've always wanted to try and catch lightning hitting the spire of the World Trade Center. After work I kept watching the way the clouds were starting to develop. A few people I'm friends with on Instagram were reporting that it was going to be a great night to try and capture some lightning strikes. I got all my gear together and headed out to Exchange Place, Jersey City, NJ and say the clouds forming up what was about to be some lightning strikes. One thing I was told to do to capture the lightning was to time out how fast it took for the lightning to strike then I would adjust my camera settings. As soon as the image showed up on the back of the LCD screen, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was counted as one of the best night photos I every captured in my life. 

70th Floor Sunrise over 99 Hudson

A good friend of mine I met a few years ago started to study construction after working in a cigar shop, which he still works on the weekends gave me a great vantage point of Lower Manhattan that I couldn't pass up. He has sent me photos from the view he gets to look at just about every day. In a few years this view will be in someone's living room, dinning room, or bedroom. What a crazy way to start your day before heading into the crowded city across the Hudson River... 

Empire Opening

As best to use objects to frame subjects in trying to be creative, use the obvious things right in front of you. Once you start taking photos your world starts to change into something a normal person won't be able to see. This is one view of the Empire State Building you will never get to see unless you were in my shoes or if you were a construction worker working on the site....

Check these photos and drop a comment on my Instagram Page !!!

*All photos are available for print!

Working On The Edge

Some people cross bridges to get to the other side, some people climb bridges to get a better perspective. I decided I wanted to sit on the edge of a walk way path leading to the Manhattan Bridge. So many urban explorers take things to extreme measures and get as close to the clouds. The only way I would ever do something like that is if it was legal. None of the view points of my photos in my gallery are illegal. As many times as I've been on the walk path of bridges, I always wondered what it felt like to be on the edge looking down. Once I got to the location the street down below had a direct view of the World Trade Center dead center for a great photo. Down below is a video I put together of me exploring Chinatown New York. The video contains everything that I believe needs to show what beauty the city has to offer to visitors from all over the world. I will be making more videos in the near future.

Chinatown NYC

A Sunset That Ends The Day

A sunset normally means the end of the day is near. For me, it means that it's time to go out in the city to explore. Night photography is a major skill to learn. You have to make sure there is enough light for the camera sensor to focus on. To our natural vision, it may seem the lighting is right and we can just take a photo. Not the case with cameras, the cameras' sensor is always looking for a light source to lock on for a perfect shot. You have to consider shadows, contrast, exposure, motion, lastly, how fast it matters to get the photo sharp or blurry. Each photographer has his/her vision of each photo they take. There is a thinking process for each press of the shutter button. A lot has to do with buildings and people being framed the perfect way possible to tell a story. Night time is 

"Light Hunting."

In this photo, you have the building on the right framing the sunset, the tall tower, the helicopter, and the buildings below in the foreground. The real photo is not the building on the right taking up half of the photo. Put your hand over the right half of the photo and that's what I really wanted to capture. Sometimes you can use objects to frame the real photo you want to take. You can actually use people to frame a photo of someone else. For example, if you see a person standing in between two people, the two people are the frame of the person in the middle of them. That's natural framing. I would like for you to go out and take a minute to look around and different shapes of objects and people and create your photo.

You can find this photo also here!
* Photo is available for print!

Tunnel Vision...

Tunnel Vision

When I'm out in the city with my camera the only thing I have to worry about is getting the image that I have in my mind to create. Even if it's one photo out of walking the streets for a few hours its worth getting nothing. As long as you have one photo to show that's what I call "The Perfect Photo".

Photographers get into a tunnel vision because they want to show others what the camera makes of the scene into a photo. Looking through the view finder is the true tunnel vision of any photo.

You can find this photo here!

The Calm Before The Photo

Every photo takes a few seconds of your life away waiting for the photo to appear on the back of the camera. This photo I took was 15 seconds of my life I will never get back. The main thing is that I was able to capture it before it was gone. Our eyes are our own camera. Imagine everything we ever saw was a photo taken? How many photos do you think your life has up to reading this blog? I've been doing photography for 3 years now. There are sessions I shoot where I've taken over 1000 photos in a day. When you get home and look back on what you shot, not every photo makes the final cut. Those photos in time that don't make the final cut either sit on your computer hard drive for later or they get erased from its ever existing. 

You can find these photos here!

The Urban Street Photographer

Once you start looking at the city with a different chain of thoughts, it's not the same city you're use to walking around every time. I look at every city I travel to by noticing natural shapes, colors, and flow. Manhattan is one city that you can find everything you are looking for in a photo. Sometimes I just stand on a corner and just look around for my shot. People may be curious of what you are doing but in fact they are in their own thoughts moving along their way. If you have a zoom lens you might be able to capture their candid shot before they see you by not disturbing them. I find those are the best moments to capture a person's expression. After you take the photo you may find it to be a great photo of them acting in their normal way. You can approach them and tell them "Hey I took a nice photo of you, do you want me to send it to you?". That might be a potential client to book you for a photo shoot or an event. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and just go for anything you feel is the right thing. Ask yourself how do you want to capture the next city you are in?

My Adventures Of New York

The Day My Life Changed Forever...

Being with someone for 8 years has been the true meaning of my life. We have so many things in common that we never knew two people would every have. December 30, 2017 was one of the coldest days in New York. I decided to take the love of my life to Central Park and have our very first photo shoot. Me being a photographer, it was hard for me not to bring out my own camera and start taking photos. The beginning of the day I treated you to a make-up session when I love your natural beauty. Anything you wanted I wanted for you to have. The whole morning I was nervous while it was snowing outside, not knowing what to expect. Your dream was to always go to Bow Bridge in the middle of Central Park and I wanted to make that dream come true. When we finally made it on the bridge, I had to find the best time to make the big surprise. It was my time to open my heart to you and pop "THE QUESTION". "Atoyia, will you marry me?" The best feeling in the world came upon me and even while it was cold outside, nothing else in the world mattered to me than to put the ring on your finger. It was too cold to get emotional. 

Terrell Shedrick & Atoyia Fitch

I am the happiest man in the world to be with you.... I love you!

New York's Moody Morning

On April 5, 2017 I had a strange feeling the view of Manhattan would never look like any other day. I was on my way into work on the Path Train and decided to get off one stop sooner than the World Trade Center. The night before was a very strong storm that had came on the east coast. Something told me to go and look at the city. It was about 8:00 a.m.when I got out of the train station, there was a view of the city that has been lost in the fog. Within ten minutes I saw the sun breaking through the clouds and the picture developed before my eyes. The trail of fog stretched all the way up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge. I have never seen the city look such a way I was looking at it. I waited to take the photo just to take in the view of what was developing before my eyes.

There are so many people who just try to get to where they need to be all over the city but don't appreciate what the scenery is around them. Me being a street photographer I take a second to realize my surroundings and then find the right composition and take the photo. 

By Terrell Shedrick
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