It had been raining all day in New York City. After meeting a friend in a coffee shop near Manhattan’s Theater District, professional photographer Eric Van Nynatten decided on a spontaneous street photography session.
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“The rain had been nonstop, which most people would find messy and chaotic, but I feel it brings out a cinematic quality in the city,” he says. “The wet streets become shiny and reflective, and at night it looks a lot like a painting. I ended up walking down Broadway as evening fell. It’s an area that’s already a visual spectacle – there are all these amazing retro marquees, billboards and neon signs. I spotted this sign reflected in a puddle just off the sidewalk and set up my composition.”
Nynatten didn’t have to wait long for a person to pass by. He didn’t speak to to the stranger, nor does he remember what was written on the sign, but, he says: “I like that. It makes it abstract, enigmatic; it keeps people guessing.”
He later made minor adjustments to the brightness, contrast and white balance. Nynatten hopes that his images make people feel as though they have watched a “really great five-second movie teaser. I find the pop of colour on an otherwise bleak sidewalk intriguing. It’s a hint that there might be something exciting to see just off camera.”
