Suspect Photography

There is a specific kind of silence that falls over New York City when the snow starts to come down. As a street photographer, you spend your life looking for those rare moments where the light, the subject, and the environment align perfectly. This past weekend (January 16–18), during our Passionate Street Photographer Winter Workshop, the city gave us exactly that.

Co-teaching alongside Steve Simon is always a masterclass in itself, but this year was truly unique. We were met with cold, biting wintry conditions, but the reward was a beautiful, magical snowfall that transformed the grit of the Manhattan streets into a cinematic dreamscape.

Chasing the Steam
One of the highlights of this workshop was what I call “chasing the steam.” It’s a bit of NYC lore that many visitors miss: Manhattan is the only city in the world with such a massive district steam system running beneath the streets, allowing buildings to hook up directly for heating.

For a photographer, those iconic white plumes rising from the asphalt are pure gold. They provide layers, texture, and a sense of mystery that is quintessentially “New York.” We spent time teaching the students how to use that steam to back-light subjects and create atmosphere. It was a thrill to see them master the technical challenge of metering for those ephemeral clouds against the dark, wet city streets.

An Intimate Circle of Talent
While the weather and the steam were highlights, the real story of the weekend was the group. With a total of four participants, the workshop became an incredibly intimate intensive. I’ve led many workshops, but I have to say, it was a true honor to be surrounded by such talented students. In such a small group, there is nowhere to hide—and these four didn’t want to. They leaned into the cold, pushed their creative boundaries, and showed a level of technical proficiency and “eye” that made our critique sessions some of the most vibrant I’ve ever been a part of.

Three Days of NYC Soul
We pushed the group hard, covering a massive amount of ground to ensure they saw every facet of the city’s winter personality:

Day 1: The Highs. We kicked things off in Williamsburg before a high-energy shoot at Herald Square. We ended the day at the Edge Observatory and thawed out over a fantastic group dinner at Electric Lemon.

Day 2: The Heart. We moved from the curated art of MoMA to the raw energy of Washington Square Park. The snow began to work its magic as we hit Chinatown, eventually capping the night under the golden light of Grand Central Station.

Day 3: The Icons. We focused on the “Fearless Girl” and the skeletal beauty of the Oculus, wrapping up in the vibrant streets of Nolita and the Lower East Side.

The 10,000 Photographs
We often cite Henri Cartier-Bresson’s famous line: “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” This weekend, I watched four photographers fast-track their way through that count, producing work that was mature, thoughtful, and evocative.

To our four students: thank you for your resilience in the cold and for sharing your vision with us. Seeing the city through your lenses reminded me why I love this craft. I’m already looking forward to our post-workshop Zoom session to see how those snowy, steamy frames look after a final edit.

Keep shooting.

Day One and Day Three images created using Nikon Z9, 24-120 and 14-24. Day two Fujifilm X100VI was used.

What do you think of making work like this in the deep of winter? Leave a comment.

~David