Exposure Center

Photo © Suzanne Stein

5 minute read

A Broader View of the NYC Streets

Street photographer Suzanne Stein uses FUJIFILM X-S10 camera, combined with superwide XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR and standard XF35mmF2 R WR lenses, to document the streets of New York City

Suzanne Stein’s photography is the kind that offers the viewer an unapologetically honest window on life in the city. She actively avoids squeaky clean postcard perfection in favor of images that speak of the often tough realities that many people face every day, but otherwise go unreported.

“I think, especially these days, when you make a picture of a street scene, it should reflect reality. I mean, I see a lot of stuff out there that’s just postcard kind of stuff, but it doesn’t really tell the story of New York right now,” explains Suzanne.

Suzanne Stein shoots street photography with FUJIFILM X-S10 camera — Photo © Suzanne Stein | FUJIFILM X-S10 camera and XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR lens, 1/180 sec at F4.5, ISO 2500

“New York is not an easy place to be for a lot of people. It’s not the pleasant funhouse that it was six or seven months ago. It just isn’t. Life, for a lot of people, is not going to bars and getting your nails done, and eating cupcakes,” she continues.

A perfect example of this honesty and grittiness is this article’s header image. “I really like that picture, because the flag is really worn, it’s got holes in it, and it’s in the shadows. He’s clearly pretty grizzled, but he’s still got this flag. So, that tells a story about our flag and about the state of our country; there’s people that are sticking with it, but it’s getting difficult. We’re fraying at the edges,” elaborates Suzanne.

Photo © Suzanne Stein | FUJIFILM X-S10 camera and XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR lens, 1/20 sec at F4.5, ISO 2500

Although her powerful images provoke lots of thought, Suzanne tells us it’s not something that she plans. Instead, she relies on her passion to spontaneously fuel her storytelling.

“I don’t intend to make somebody think something. I approach things with my own emotions. I see an image and I just immediately have a painting in my mind that I’m creating,” she says. “I try to photograph an accurate representation – in mood and also in composition – of the subject’s state of being. A lot of the time, it’s motivated by my own anger. I have a strong sense of fairness, so when I see inequality, I get angry. So, I try to make pictures that tell that story, even if it’s just a fraction of reality.”

Photo © Suzanne Stein | FUJIFILM X-S10 camera and XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR lens, 1/125 sec at F5, ISO 2000

For this set of images, Suzanne combined FUJIFILM X-S10 camera with XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR and XF35mmF2 R WR lenses. Although she’s used to creating with wide lenses, the superwide focal length of XF8-16mmF2.8 took Suzanne out of her comfort zone. Nonetheless, she used it to great effect to complement the big characters she was documenting, one of whom was Joseph, shown above.

“I met him on the street, and he wanted me to photograph him. He was smoking a cigar in Chinatown and he enjoys being photographed, so I created a crazy wide-angle portrait of him using XF8-16mmF2.8,” Suzanne recalls.

“I felt that was a good way to present him, because Joseph is in his own world and a wide-angle lens is great for forming a character and the world around them. It allows you to fill the picture and it distorts the subject, so you can create a kind of a characterization of someone.”

Photo © Suzanne Stein | FUJIFILM X-S10 camera and XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR lens, 1/125 sec at F4.5, ISO 1000

Suzanne also used XF35mmF2 to create some portraits that, once again, tell the story of real life for New Yorkers, and indeed all Americans, in these difficult times. Particularly, this is evident in the image of the masked woman through the window, shown below.

“We’re all feeling kind of trapped. You have beautiful young people that can’t go to school, go to restaurants or go out. So, I used the window and the mask to express how I feel and how she feels about Covid visually, creating a wall between herself and the rest of the world,” Suzanne tells us.

Photo © Suzanne Stein | FUJIFILM X-S10 camera and XF35mmF2 R WR lens, 1/125 sec at F5, ISO 640

Moving on, Suzanne discusses how she found using X-S10 for this type of photography. Specifically, she praises the ability to make so many adjustments in-camera, and how this is used to great effect, with the 18 exclusive FUJIFILM Film Simulations as a foundation.

“The Film Simulations, combined with white balance adjustments and your ability to adjust contrast and saturation, are almost like creating your own palette as an artist, which you can’t do with other systems. You really can’t,” she says.

Not only that, the convenience of having such a lightweight and portable camera that doesn’t sacrifice a comfortable and stable grip was key. But the most important thing for her was the capabilities of the 26.1MP back-side illuminated X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor.

“It’s the sensor that is the most important thing and the sensor creates stunning pictures,” enthuses Suzanne. “This gives you the same creative freedoms as the higher-end FUJIFILM cameras, but with less weight and simpler controls.”

According to Suzanne, X-S10’s accessibility makes it the perfect option to get started with the FUJIFILM system. “I think that X-S10 is really good for people who are starting out with street photography and who want to have an interchangeable lens camera with a body that’s small, light, and not scary to learn to use.

“For a certain type of image, there is no other sensor that’s going to give you the look that the FUJIFILM X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor gives you. So, X-S10 enables people who might have another system to get their feet wet with Fujifilm.”

FUJIFILM X-S10 is available now at your nearest FUJIFILM Authorized Dealer. Learn more and read the full specifications here.

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Suzanne Stein