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Category: photography

September 6, 2026

Why I Like to Convert my New York City Photos to Black and White

Though I’m not a black and white photographer, sometimes I choose to pull the color out of my shots after I walk through the streets of New York. Here’s why.

I grew up in New York City. It’s my forever hometown. Though I haven’t lived there in decades, my life forever orbits around it.

I’m as close as the 7:55am Metro North train into Grand Central Terminal.

Discovering What’s Around the Corner

Many of the photos I’ve taken of the Big Apple over the years are simply the result of my commutes and what I’ve run into on the streets of Manhattan. 

And I’ve found that more than a few of my resulting shots look better as black and white versions. 

Prometheus Watches Over the Ice (2021)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Why am I drawn to the black and white look? When you think about New York City, what are a few descriptors that come to mind? For me, I would say:

  • Classic
  • Dramatic
  • Timeless
  • Gritty

And these are also some of the ways that black and white images present themselves. So, the visual and energy alignment is clear.

Better in Black and White 

That’s why I occasionally feel compelled to click on the tiny black and white button when editing my New York City photos on my Mac Studio. (My tool of choice is Adobe Lightroom. It offers a variety of B&W ‘looks.’)

As a result, my selected shots often benefit from their visual conversion into the black and white universe.

Sure, they still look nice in color. I just like them better in black and white. It generates a classic timelessness about them.

Here are more examples.

Atlas Lifts World Cup Awareness (2026)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Scabby the Rat Protests (2026)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Morning Commute at Grand Central Terminal (2025)

Photo by Barrett Lester

East 63rd Street (2022)

Photo by Barrett Lester

48th and 5th Avenue (2021)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Smith & Wollensky (2021)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Bliss (2021)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Outdoor Dining (2016)

Photo by Barrett Lester

Follow Your Flow

I usually don’t go looking for photos to snap on the streets of New York. Certainly not black and white ones. They find me. And I often don’t recognize the opportunity to convert them to black and white till much later… sometimes years later when I review them again.

I’m not sure what that says about me as a photographer, but it does reveal something about my creative process.

We all travel our own road that leads us into inspiration and towards creative execution.You just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you.

New York City Marathon (2008)

Photo by Barrett Lester
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August 9, 2026

Summer Silhouettes by the Ocean

Shadow and glare can often help generate a nice silhouette shot. Here are some examples how I turned harsh sunlight into a photographic advantage at the beach.

Sandy wind and sea spray are often a threat to your camera. So, safely bringing your camera to the beach or a boat trip may be a challenge. But the harsh sunlight you encounter can become your biggest obstacle.

Whether working with a sunrise or sunset or even when the sun is high in the sky, practicing photography with significant glare is tricky.

That’s usually when I embrace the problem and turn it into an advantage. I use it to help me generate nifty silhouette shots. 

You just need to reverse your thinking about getting enough light in front of your subjects… and simply look for the opposite.

Here are few examples of that creative strategy I snapped during this summer by the ocean.

Framed by the Fire

Shadows on the Sand

Balanced in the Blue

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August 2, 2026

Seven Lighthouses in New England

You never know when you might encounter the perfect photo opportunity by a lighthouse. So why not be ready to record a little video clip as well? I’ve been fortunate to capture video b-roll of seven magnificent New England beacons across my travels, and here’s my little video tribute to them.

A few weeks after a wonderful experience capturing my drone footage of Goat Island Lighthouse in Cape Porpoise, Maine, I recognized my interest in this beautiful beacon wasn’t an isolated pursuit. In fact, this creative exercise was part of a larger visual exploration I’ve been organically pursuing for the past four years.

My travels have placed me near other New England lighthouses, and I’ve been drawn to them as well, recording b-roll video clips with the camera gear I carried at the time.

My Video Tribute to New England Lighthouses

I planned to use my DJI Flip drone for my Goat Island Lighthouse project, but my tiny DJI Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera has been an indispensable tool for more spontaneous lighthouse spotting opportunities (such as during harbor cruises with my family).

So, I decided to review my lighthouse b-roll I’ve ‘randomly’ collected across the years, and then I edited together a few of these clips under a music track I created using Google Flow Music. 

Now, the pattern is suddenly much clearer to me: I love shooting videos of lighthouses!

Here’s my salute to seven of them…

From Connecticut and Rhode Island up to Maine

If you should be interested in checking out some of these lighthouses for yourself, here are their names and locations:
(listed in the order first seen)

  • Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, Portland, Maine
  • Goat Island Lighthouse, Cape Porpoise, Maine
  • Peck Ledge Lighthouse, Norwalk, Connecticut
  • Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Norwalk Connecticut
  • Portland Head Light, Portland, Maine
  • Rose Island Lighthouse, Newport, Rhode Island
  • Ram Island Ledge Light, Portland, Maine

A Guiding Light

The destination for any creative process is often unknown. But the path that leads me to capture the powerful beauty of lighthouses appears well lit.

Yes, I will continue on this journey…

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