Sometimes photos are easy, just find a real character, pluck up a little courage and click.
Friday 11 January 2013
Posted with Blogsy
Theatre lane
Street signs often work well in an image I think and this one caught my eye. http://flic.kr/p/dkQoDM
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Street Snippets - Working the 'art' muscle
This is just something I've been trying and I think it has the potential for evolving into something interesting.
Now I don't consider myself to have any artistic talent of note but street photography has begun to tap into whatever creativity my DNA will allow me to produce. I'm also lucky enough to have an iPad and I stumbled across an application called 'Paper by FiftyThree' that is a sketchbook app. You have to try it for yourself really, but suffice to say it flatters my sketching and I had the idea of generating some 'art' using my images as my muse.
As with my street photography and blogging, I'm in the novice stage with this but it's something I'll be continuing with. I'm trying to think of a way to combine my 'art' with the image as a print but haven't found a nice way to do it yet.
The benefit on the street is that it encourages me to look at scenes in regards to 'art' and this does help me to get into the zone when shooting. You can argue all day about whether street photography is art, I have no doubt that it can be and an artistic eye can only be an advantage when shooting.
My 'art' muscle is certainly one I'll be working on alongside my photography, as years of neglect have left it a little saggy.
Now I don't consider myself to have any artistic talent of note but street photography has begun to tap into whatever creativity my DNA will allow me to produce. I'm also lucky enough to have an iPad and I stumbled across an application called 'Paper by FiftyThree' that is a sketchbook app. You have to try it for yourself really, but suffice to say it flatters my sketching and I had the idea of generating some 'art' using my images as my muse.
'Just standing'
'Just street, 70's style' *
* Not one my best titles or images, I just thought his jacket looked a bit 70's.
As with my street photography and blogging, I'm in the novice stage with this but it's something I'll be continuing with. I'm trying to think of a way to combine my 'art' with the image as a print but haven't found a nice way to do it yet.
The benefit on the street is that it encourages me to look at scenes in regards to 'art' and this does help me to get into the zone when shooting. You can argue all day about whether street photography is art, I have no doubt that it can be and an artistic eye can only be an advantage when shooting.
My 'art' muscle is certainly one I'll be working on alongside my photography, as years of neglect have left it a little saggy.
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Monday 18 June 2012
Street Snippets - Blending in
This is just a quick thought that I'm putting out there.
For street photography all the advice you'll read suggests that you should blend in to your environment. So dress appropriately i.e. if you're somewhere 'touristy' dress like all the other tourists and if you're in a more urban environment go for 'street casual'' and don't stand out too much.
This technique promises a more stealthy approach where you can hopefully shoot some great candid images without alerting your prey, this is currently the advice I follow myself.
However I was in Stratford-upon-Avon a while ago and there was a guy walking around with a huge video camera strapped on to his shoulder, like a proper full on professional video camera. He was a big tall guy and he was just walking around capturing street scenes. He wasn't interacting with anyone or taking interviews and the strange thing was that no one paid him any attention at all, not even glancing at him. He was this huge unusual presence on the street and I was getting more attention than him with my little Pentax camera.
So this got me thinking, if I went completely the other way and dressed as a professional photographer with an ID tag hanging around my neck would I be able to attain this mysterious 'cloaking' the video man achieved?
I haven't tried I yet, but I will and I'll let you know how I get on.
For street photography all the advice you'll read suggests that you should blend in to your environment. So dress appropriately i.e. if you're somewhere 'touristy' dress like all the other tourists and if you're in a more urban environment go for 'street casual'' and don't stand out too much.
This technique promises a more stealthy approach where you can hopefully shoot some great candid images without alerting your prey, this is currently the advice I follow myself.
However I was in Stratford-upon-Avon a while ago and there was a guy walking around with a huge video camera strapped on to his shoulder, like a proper full on professional video camera. He was a big tall guy and he was just walking around capturing street scenes. He wasn't interacting with anyone or taking interviews and the strange thing was that no one paid him any attention at all, not even glancing at him. He was this huge unusual presence on the street and I was getting more attention than him with my little Pentax camera.
Didn't get an image of the cameraman so here's a big fairy instead
I haven't tried I yet, but I will and I'll let you know how I get on.
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Saturday 16 June 2012
Image appreciation - a respectful critique
I thought I’d start showing some images that I like from other photographers and try and explain why I like them. Critiquing an image is something I’m very new to so this will be a learning curve for me and I hope I can do the images some justice.
I wanted to start with something by Thomas Leuthard as it was his work that first inspired me to try street photography. I could have picked from any one from the first dozen or so of his I encountered but I decided on a recent one he’s published.
The reason for this is a little convoluted but I’ll keep it brief. In the main I use Flickr to sate my appetite for fresh images and most days I’ll go through any newly submitted work from both my contacts and those added to the street photography groups I subscribe to. To do this I use some software I have on the iPad called flickstackr that is great to view images with. I tend to view the images in full screen without any detail so that I see the image on its own merit, not influenced by the photographer taking it. I first saw this image in one of the group streams and I loved it the moment I saw it but had no idea it was by Thomas Leuthard, with hindsight it does have his fingerprints all over it and I should have realised.
So why do I like it?
From the moment I saw it I reacted to it in a positive way, the impact was instantaneous. The more I look at it the more I can see why it’s working as a strong image but in that first few seconds I didn’t have time to take in any detail. By their very nature those first few seconds are fleeting and the more you look at an image the more you’re influenced by what you see in it subsequently, it is also difficult to recreate those first few seconds and understand why it had such an impact.
That being said I think it must have been the guy bottom left with his head on an angle that drew me in at first. He has such a great expression and the angle of his head against the bold curved window frame is a great composition. That coupled with the overall processing of the black and white image, seeming to be so well lit in an environment that must have been difficult to correctly expose.
I think if I’d been taking this image I’d have been much closer in on this guy for a more candid portrait approach. It would still have been a really good image but nowhere near as strong as the one Thomas Leuthard has produced.
The rest of the image has a great variety of eye contact from the other subjects, each to a different degree. There is even ‘eye contact’ from the advertising banner on the far platform. I can’t believe that was an intentional inclusion, but a little luck is a blessing. You could weave a great short story around this image and that would be a story I’d love to read.
The only thing I don’t like is the ‘seating sticker’ on the top left of the window as it’s a little distracting, but what can you do, this is street photography after all.
This is an inspiring image that I will certainly try to emulate and pay homage to when the chance arises.
I should add that I don't consider this to be one of Thomas Leuthard's best images, he has many that are even better, so please go and take a look.
PS The only bad thing about looking at great street photography like this is that you may just decide to sell your camera kit on ebay and take up golf instead.
I wanted to start with something by Thomas Leuthard as it was his work that first inspired me to try street photography. I could have picked from any one from the first dozen or so of his I encountered but I decided on a recent one he’s published.
The reason for this is a little convoluted but I’ll keep it brief. In the main I use Flickr to sate my appetite for fresh images and most days I’ll go through any newly submitted work from both my contacts and those added to the street photography groups I subscribe to. To do this I use some software I have on the iPad called flickstackr that is great to view images with. I tend to view the images in full screen without any detail so that I see the image on its own merit, not influenced by the photographer taking it. I first saw this image in one of the group streams and I loved it the moment I saw it but had no idea it was by Thomas Leuthard, with hindsight it does have his fingerprints all over it and I should have realised.
Untitled by Thomas Leuthard 85mm.ch
So why do I like it?
From the moment I saw it I reacted to it in a positive way, the impact was instantaneous. The more I look at it the more I can see why it’s working as a strong image but in that first few seconds I didn’t have time to take in any detail. By their very nature those first few seconds are fleeting and the more you look at an image the more you’re influenced by what you see in it subsequently, it is also difficult to recreate those first few seconds and understand why it had such an impact.
That being said I think it must have been the guy bottom left with his head on an angle that drew me in at first. He has such a great expression and the angle of his head against the bold curved window frame is a great composition. That coupled with the overall processing of the black and white image, seeming to be so well lit in an environment that must have been difficult to correctly expose.
I think if I’d been taking this image I’d have been much closer in on this guy for a more candid portrait approach. It would still have been a really good image but nowhere near as strong as the one Thomas Leuthard has produced.
The rest of the image has a great variety of eye contact from the other subjects, each to a different degree. There is even ‘eye contact’ from the advertising banner on the far platform. I can’t believe that was an intentional inclusion, but a little luck is a blessing. You could weave a great short story around this image and that would be a story I’d love to read.
The only thing I don’t like is the ‘seating sticker’ on the top left of the window as it’s a little distracting, but what can you do, this is street photography after all.
This is an inspiring image that I will certainly try to emulate and pay homage to when the chance arises.
I should add that I don't consider this to be one of Thomas Leuthard's best images, he has many that are even better, so please go and take a look.
PS The only bad thing about looking at great street photography like this is that you may just decide to sell your camera kit on ebay and take up golf instead.
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Friday 15 June 2012
Street snippets - Putting your images out there
I'll quickly remind you that you're joining me on my journey from enthusiast to veteran street photographer and we're still very near the beginning. I don't have all or even many of the answers and on the subject of editing your own work and deciding what and where to publish I have mixed feelings.
From reading other blogs and articles the general consensus is that you should only publish your best work, this will build a branding and set an associated level of quality that can only enhance your reputation. It's hard to argue with this and as I move forward it may be something I can get onboard with, at this stage though it throws up some issues for me.
When you get your first batch of street images, they are laced with the thrill and excitement you had when you took them and you'll want to share them, but in the main they'll be pretty ordinary. Seasoned street photographers won't give them a second look but my guess is that they'll have a bundle of similar images either backed up on their computer somewhere or in the darker recesses of their Flickr account.
When your faced with your new Flickr account and all its bare walls, you'll probably be like me and upload many of your earlier shots. As the quality of your work improves you'll look back at the earlier ones and want to remove them from public view. I did go back through my early images on Flickr and start removing them but then I thought I'd leave them as they will hopefully show my growth as a photographer over time.
I still take my fair share of 'ordinary' images and some of them still get published to my photo stream, this is in the main because I don't really know which of my images are the best.
I always try to take images that I like and not ones that I think everyone else will like and it may just be that I have unusual or naive tastes. In general, the images of mine that I really like don't get a lot of traction on Flickr whereas some of the ones I consider borderline generate some activity. I think this is partly down to the culture of the Flickr community and the feedback you receive there can be flattering but often unwarranted.
I have dabbled a little in the photography groups on Flickr where you get critique from a smaller group of 'like minded' members, this sometimes goes the other way and and can be overly critical without being constructive. Entering your photos in these groups too early may knock your confidence a bit and I'll be waiting awhile before I dip my toe again. To be a respected member of these groups you also have the responsibility to provide a well balanced, constructive critique of other peoples images and that is a skill I'm still working on.
There are of course other platforms on which to display your work and 500px is a fine example. The level of quality on that site is incredible and the culture is definitely to only publish your very best work. I have yet to publish to 500px, when I do I want to be confident that I'm putting my best foot forward.
So my current thinking on publishing photos is that on Flickr I'll post all that I consider worthy at the time and give the benefit of the doubt to any borderline images. Once I feel I'm producing work of a high enough standard I'll look for some constructive groups to join and fine tune my portfolio. I'll leave 500px until I have a selection of excellent images that will not be out of place in that environment.
From reading other blogs and articles the general consensus is that you should only publish your best work, this will build a branding and set an associated level of quality that can only enhance your reputation. It's hard to argue with this and as I move forward it may be something I can get onboard with, at this stage though it throws up some issues for me.
When you get your first batch of street images, they are laced with the thrill and excitement you had when you took them and you'll want to share them, but in the main they'll be pretty ordinary. Seasoned street photographers won't give them a second look but my guess is that they'll have a bundle of similar images either backed up on their computer somewhere or in the darker recesses of their Flickr account.
When your faced with your new Flickr account and all its bare walls, you'll probably be like me and upload many of your earlier shots. As the quality of your work improves you'll look back at the earlier ones and want to remove them from public view. I did go back through my early images on Flickr and start removing them but then I thought I'd leave them as they will hopefully show my growth as a photographer over time.
One of my earlier images
I still take my fair share of 'ordinary' images and some of them still get published to my photo stream, this is in the main because I don't really know which of my images are the best.
One of mine I really like
I always try to take images that I like and not ones that I think everyone else will like and it may just be that I have unusual or naive tastes. In general, the images of mine that I really like don't get a lot of traction on Flickr whereas some of the ones I consider borderline generate some activity. I think this is partly down to the culture of the Flickr community and the feedback you receive there can be flattering but often unwarranted.
My 'most viewed' on Flickr, as of 15/06/2012
I have dabbled a little in the photography groups on Flickr where you get critique from a smaller group of 'like minded' members, this sometimes goes the other way and and can be overly critical without being constructive. Entering your photos in these groups too early may knock your confidence a bit and I'll be waiting awhile before I dip my toe again. To be a respected member of these groups you also have the responsibility to provide a well balanced, constructive critique of other peoples images and that is a skill I'm still working on.
There are of course other platforms on which to display your work and 500px is a fine example. The level of quality on that site is incredible and the culture is definitely to only publish your very best work. I have yet to publish to 500px, when I do I want to be confident that I'm putting my best foot forward.
So my current thinking on publishing photos is that on Flickr I'll post all that I consider worthy at the time and give the benefit of the doubt to any borderline images. Once I feel I'm producing work of a high enough standard I'll look for some constructive groups to join and fine tune my portfolio. I'll leave 500px until I have a selection of excellent images that will not be out of place in that environment.
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Wednesday 13 June 2012
Building on the cherry popping
So my trip to Stratford-upon-Avon had taken my street photography virginity and the question in my mind was, what's next?
Of course the answer was another trip to Stratford-upon-Avon two days later, I'd told my wife Helen all about it and how enjoyable it had been, so she agreed to tag along.
Checking the exif data on my images from that day, it would seem I was still using the kit lens and wasn't sure of the best camera settings to use. So although I was finding it easier to point the camera around at strangers, my camera technique was left wanting.
I baited my camera hook for images in the 'candid portrait' area of street photography, so trying to get unposed close-in shots of interesting people. Lack of courage meant I struggled to get in close enough and found myself trying to avoid direct eye contact in a hope to minimise any confrontation.
When you're in the early days of street photography you'll have to try and avoid the trap of plumping for the easy shots, this was a trap I fell straight into. Street performers, people using mobile phones, cameras or taking surveys are all easy pickings for street photography and you'll have to develop your own set of standards regarding the such validity of such targets as you gain experience.
Now I'm not saying these subjects can't make interesting images but in the main they don't and I'll happily include all of mine in the 'not so good pile'. I think it's fine to target these people to practise technique and build confidence but don't expect to set the world alight with your images.
I do draw the moral line on homeless people though and I wouldn't take street shots of them unless there was some strong artistic merit to doing so, certainly not just for practise. I also have some issues taking photos of people through windows, not in a Peeping Tom kinda way but like in a cafe situation for example. I am a little more flexible on this rule as I do like a lot of the images I have seen in this style but for me if someone is sitting down having a meal, the level of intrusion on personal space is a little too high to warrant the taking of a photo.
I think it was on this day that the 'Big 5' idea was of mine was formed, it was when 'ear muffs' started to catch my eye, I'd see them and it felt like it was my right to photograph anyone interesting wearing them.
Fear and nervousness waned a little and I openly risked eye contact for the first time.
I fired off two shots of this girl as she was crossing the road, the first had eye contact but was way out of focus. In this one she's trying to look away, I liked it at the time but as with all these early shots of mine their appeal is more about the emotional connection they have for me personally than image quality.
The photo does highlight a couple of quick points though.
Firstly, is that when you're building up confidence and trying to control your fears, taking photos as you're using a crossing is a good idea as they're less likely to cross back over the road to confront you. I should add at this point that fear of confrontation is just that, it's a perceived fear and actual confrontational issues are rare. I have yet to have anyone be confrontational with me when I've been photographing them, I'll save my futher thoughts on this issue for another posting.
Secondly, is the use of black and white in your images, many would disagree with this but I think in general that black and white processing will add impact to an 'ordinary' image and most of my early shots are just that. Once you start to know your style and what makes good images you'll be more able to decide where colour/black and white should be used. I'll do a longer post on this topic and post proceesing in general soon.
The only image from this day's shooting that I left in colour was this one, I was still not sure how to set my camera up, so as with many that day it was out of focus. I thought at the time that it had more energy when processed in colour and is at the very least, evidence that I was starting to risk eye contact.
The highlight of the day were three couples who were driving through in these strange open top cars, as they slowed up at the roundabout I ran over and snapped away. They saw me coming so they were more posed than candid but some nice smiles were my reward and it was my first time actively interacting with my subjects (ooh I sound like the Queen).
I was such a novice that I completely forgot to get a shot of the cars, and they were even cooler than the people.
By the way, Helen took the 'point and shoot' camera and had a go, the speed of the camera caused her some problems. To alleviate her nervousness she targeted dogs and their owners, this is a great option if you like to interact with your subject as the dog gives you an easy 'in'.
I really enjoyed the day and was loving street photography, my next challenge was to learn how to set the camera up correctly and improve the quality of my images.
So off to google I did go.
Of course the answer was another trip to Stratford-upon-Avon two days later, I'd told my wife Helen all about it and how enjoyable it had been, so she agreed to tag along.
Checking the exif data on my images from that day, it would seem I was still using the kit lens and wasn't sure of the best camera settings to use. So although I was finding it easier to point the camera around at strangers, my camera technique was left wanting.
I baited my camera hook for images in the 'candid portrait' area of street photography, so trying to get unposed close-in shots of interesting people. Lack of courage meant I struggled to get in close enough and found myself trying to avoid direct eye contact in a hope to minimise any confrontation.
When you're in the early days of street photography you'll have to try and avoid the trap of plumping for the easy shots, this was a trap I fell straight into. Street performers, people using mobile phones, cameras or taking surveys are all easy pickings for street photography and you'll have to develop your own set of standards regarding the such validity of such targets as you gain experience.
Now I'm not saying these subjects can't make interesting images but in the main they don't and I'll happily include all of mine in the 'not so good pile'. I think it's fine to target these people to practise technique and build confidence but don't expect to set the world alight with your images.
I do draw the moral line on homeless people though and I wouldn't take street shots of them unless there was some strong artistic merit to doing so, certainly not just for practise. I also have some issues taking photos of people through windows, not in a Peeping Tom kinda way but like in a cafe situation for example. I am a little more flexible on this rule as I do like a lot of the images I have seen in this style but for me if someone is sitting down having a meal, the level of intrusion on personal space is a little too high to warrant the taking of a photo.
I think it was on this day that the 'Big 5' idea was of mine was formed, it was when 'ear muffs' started to catch my eye, I'd see them and it felt like it was my right to photograph anyone interesting wearing them.
Fear and nervousness waned a little and I openly risked eye contact for the first time.
I fired off two shots of this girl as she was crossing the road, the first had eye contact but was way out of focus. In this one she's trying to look away, I liked it at the time but as with all these early shots of mine their appeal is more about the emotional connection they have for me personally than image quality.
The photo does highlight a couple of quick points though.
Firstly, is that when you're building up confidence and trying to control your fears, taking photos as you're using a crossing is a good idea as they're less likely to cross back over the road to confront you. I should add at this point that fear of confrontation is just that, it's a perceived fear and actual confrontational issues are rare. I have yet to have anyone be confrontational with me when I've been photographing them, I'll save my futher thoughts on this issue for another posting.
Secondly, is the use of black and white in your images, many would disagree with this but I think in general that black and white processing will add impact to an 'ordinary' image and most of my early shots are just that. Once you start to know your style and what makes good images you'll be more able to decide where colour/black and white should be used. I'll do a longer post on this topic and post proceesing in general soon.
The only image from this day's shooting that I left in colour was this one, I was still not sure how to set my camera up, so as with many that day it was out of focus. I thought at the time that it had more energy when processed in colour and is at the very least, evidence that I was starting to risk eye contact.
The highlight of the day were three couples who were driving through in these strange open top cars, as they slowed up at the roundabout I ran over and snapped away. They saw me coming so they were more posed than candid but some nice smiles were my reward and it was my first time actively interacting with my subjects (ooh I sound like the Queen).
I was such a novice that I completely forgot to get a shot of the cars, and they were even cooler than the people.
By the way, Helen took the 'point and shoot' camera and had a go, the speed of the camera caused her some problems. To alleviate her nervousness she targeted dogs and their owners, this is a great option if you like to interact with your subject as the dog gives you an easy 'in'.
This was one of Helen's.
I really enjoyed the day and was loving street photography, my next challenge was to learn how to set the camera up correctly and improve the quality of my images.
So off to google I did go.
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Tuesday 12 June 2012
Street Snippets - The 'Big 5'
'Street Snippets' are going to be short articles on technique, exercise and tips etc.
The 'Big 5' is something that came to me quite early on and is inspired by the 'Big 5' animals most difficult to hunt on foot in Africa. In our more animal loving times they are also the 5 animals everyone wants to tick off their list on an African safari. My wife and I were lucky enough to manage this feat in 2008, although my favourite animal was the humble warthog and he doesn't make the list.
To save you googling it the 'Big 5' are elephant, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, lion and leopard.
My suggestion is to establish your own personal 'Big 5' for street photography, the key is to make it something that stimulates you.
My first 5 were:
You'll find when you're out and about that something will strike you as interesting, could be tattoos, piercings, sunglasses, thigh length boots, mock stockings or anything, choose 5 that stimulate you the most.
The great thing is that once you have them lying dormant in your head, you'll be walking around looking for interesting people and you're eye will catch one of your 5 in the crowd and you'll be overcome with the need to make the shot. Your nervousness and fear will just drop away and for that few seconds your whole world will revolve around capturing that image.
If you get it, you'll be rewarded with elation.
Failure will not feel so good but at least you'll have your first 'one that got away story', feel free to let me know about it.
The 'Big 5' is something that came to me quite early on and is inspired by the 'Big 5' animals most difficult to hunt on foot in Africa. In our more animal loving times they are also the 5 animals everyone wants to tick off their list on an African safari. My wife and I were lucky enough to manage this feat in 2008, although my favourite animal was the humble warthog and he doesn't make the list.
To save you googling it the 'Big 5' are elephant, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, lion and leopard.
My suggestion is to establish your own personal 'Big 5' for street photography, the key is to make it something that stimulates you.
My first 5 were:
- Union (Jack) flag - When I started late last year you'd occasionally see it on hats, scarfs, shoes etc, it became far to common once the Jubilee and Olympic hype started to take hold.
- Redheads - Gingers are the marmite of hair colours and I think they make for nice images.
- Ear muffs - It was winter when I started so there were quite a few about.
- Letters of the alphabet - i.e. the 'P' on a parking meter, I only have 'L' and 'P' so 24 to go.
- Earphones - A surprising amount of design variety and often make for interesting image.
You'll find when you're out and about that something will strike you as interesting, could be tattoos, piercings, sunglasses, thigh length boots, mock stockings or anything, choose 5 that stimulate you the most.
The great thing is that once you have them lying dormant in your head, you'll be walking around looking for interesting people and you're eye will catch one of your 5 in the crowd and you'll be overcome with the need to make the shot. Your nervousness and fear will just drop away and for that few seconds your whole world will revolve around capturing that image.
If you get it, you'll be rewarded with elation.
Failure will not feel so good but at least you'll have your first 'one that got away story', feel free to let me know about it.
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Sunday 10 June 2012
My first 'informed' street photography adventure
So there were no excuses now, I knew a little of street photography and inspired by Thomas Leuthard, off to Stratford upon Avon I did go. I chose Stratford mainly because it's a touristy town and I was confident there'd be a lot of cameras about.
As far as understanding the basics of photography, I was still very much in the learning stage and did not know how to set the camera up for the streets. These days I tend to shoot primarily in aperture priority mode and keep a high shutter speed, on this day in Stratford I was probably in program or full auto mode. But today's exercise wasn't about technique or image quality, it was all about me 'growing some' and taking some photos of total strangers.
I started by taking a few photos of people from behind, on phones or using cameras, any composition that didn't risk being noticed.
Every time I lifted the camera to take a photo with any chance of my subject noticing I just bottled it. I was getting a little disheartened and starting to think I'd never do it.
Then I saw this girl about to use a parking meter and she had this headband on with a Union Flag, I was really drawn to it and felt compelled to go for a shot. I still panicked and couldn't stay steady so it's a bit out of focus, but it looked fantastic to me on the camera screen as i hurried away and I got such a buzz from taking it.
Now with the emotions and memory I have attached to this image stripped away I can see that it's pretty poor and I would never even consider taking the shot today. But it broke the 'stranger danger' barrier for me and for that I'm forever indebted to it. Oh and if by some miracle I ever bump into this girl I will certainly thank her.
Almost all the photos I took that day fail to measure up to my evolving standards but this one of 'The Boys' is one I still like. I had to have two stabs at this one, I'd seen them earlier in the day in a similar situation and had bottled the shot. So when I got my second chance I just had to take it, I didn't realise until later that the guy on left was playing up to the camera.
My first proper day of street photography didn't end there as I had the luck of shooting a celebrity as well, it was from a fair distance and had to be cropped.
From such shows as 'Cold Feet' and 'The Fast Show' it's John Thomson doing something Shakespearean at the Bard's birthplace.
So from this day on I was hooked on street photography and felt confident that my balls were big enough to continue.
As far as understanding the basics of photography, I was still very much in the learning stage and did not know how to set the camera up for the streets. These days I tend to shoot primarily in aperture priority mode and keep a high shutter speed, on this day in Stratford I was probably in program or full auto mode. But today's exercise wasn't about technique or image quality, it was all about me 'growing some' and taking some photos of total strangers.
I started by taking a few photos of people from behind, on phones or using cameras, any composition that didn't risk being noticed.
Every time I lifted the camera to take a photo with any chance of my subject noticing I just bottled it. I was getting a little disheartened and starting to think I'd never do it.
Then I saw this girl about to use a parking meter and she had this headband on with a Union Flag, I was really drawn to it and felt compelled to go for a shot. I still panicked and couldn't stay steady so it's a bit out of focus, but it looked fantastic to me on the camera screen as i hurried away and I got such a buzz from taking it.
Now with the emotions and memory I have attached to this image stripped away I can see that it's pretty poor and I would never even consider taking the shot today. But it broke the 'stranger danger' barrier for me and for that I'm forever indebted to it. Oh and if by some miracle I ever bump into this girl I will certainly thank her.
Almost all the photos I took that day fail to measure up to my evolving standards but this one of 'The Boys' is one I still like. I had to have two stabs at this one, I'd seen them earlier in the day in a similar situation and had bottled the shot. So when I got my second chance I just had to take it, I didn't realise until later that the guy on left was playing up to the camera.
My first proper day of street photography didn't end there as I had the luck of shooting a celebrity as well, it was from a fair distance and had to be cropped.
From such shows as 'Cold Feet' and 'The Fast Show' it's John Thomson doing something Shakespearean at the Bard's birthplace.
So from this day on I was hooked on street photography and felt confident that my balls were big enough to continue.
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Saturday 9 June 2012
Thomas Leuthard sets me on the right path
Not sure how I stumbled across Thomas Leuthard, it may have been in the talk photography forum.
The great thing was that he had a couple of free e-books (there are 3 now) on street photography so I downloaded them and read them a couple of times.
I've just skimmed back through the books to remind me of their content and I'd forgotten how fantastic the images were, I'll have to go back and have a proper look soon.
These books really fired me up for street photography and I found myself agreeing with most of his thoughts on the genre and therefore trusting his judgement on how to proceed.
I particularly liked his take on watermarking and licensing, he disapproves of both.
His guidance on finding an individual style has stuck with me and is something I have real aspirations to achieve but accept that it is a long term goal.
For anyone just starting out on street photography they provide a great foundation to build on, more importantly they are hugely inspiring and will make you want to get out on the streets and start clicking.
Which is exactly what I did next with a trip to Stratford upon Avon...
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The great thing was that he had a couple of free e-books (there are 3 now) on street photography so I downloaded them and read them a couple of times.
They can be found here
These books really fired me up for street photography and I found myself agreeing with most of his thoughts on the genre and therefore trusting his judgement on how to proceed.
I particularly liked his take on watermarking and licensing, he disapproves of both.
His guidance on finding an individual style has stuck with me and is something I have real aspirations to achieve but accept that it is a long term goal.
For anyone just starting out on street photography they provide a great foundation to build on, more importantly they are hugely inspiring and will make you want to get out on the streets and start clicking.
Which is exactly what I did next with a trip to Stratford upon Avon...
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Friday 8 June 2012
Another new camera
The more I read about photography the more I realised I'd made the wrong choice to go with the Panasonic TZ-10, it's a great little camera but I convinced myself a DSLR was needed for me to really learn the basics and start capturing some decent images.
I was starting to realise that photography had the potential of becoming a quite expensive hobby.
So I started reading up on entry level DSLR's, the big decision was which manufacturer to shake hands with as the 'glass' would not work across brands, so once you started investing money in new lenses it would be difficult to switch allegiances.
'Glass' it took me a while to realise that was a term for lenses. This was one term amongst a myriad of others that caused me grief. Another big one was 'IQ' which kept cropping up in various forums, I eventually realised and by realised I mean google searched and found it to simply mean 'image quality'.
Out of the big two of Canon and Nikon I favoured Canon as that was my father-in-law's camera of choice and I had ideas of borrowing his lenses and his knowledge of the functions.
I finally decided to go with Pentax, as my wife had bought a decent 55-300 telephoto lens for our safari holiday a few years ago and it seemed to make sense as I would no doubt use that a lot.
Worth noting that to date I have never used that lens in any other way than just trying it out, although an upcoming trip to Canada may change that.
Pentax also had the advantage of a huge back catalogue of film camera lenses that would work to some degree on the DSLR.
I finally settled on the Pentax Kr model as it reviewed really well, came with a decent kit lens and was under £400.
So armed with new camera and kit lens I started to learn the art of photography.
It was around this time that I first heard about street photography, it was in one of the online forums and I think the thread was discussing how to have the guts to do it. There were no photos in the thread but the tone of the chat interested me, it seemed to suggest an adrenalin buzz could be had from photography.
Being a keen mountain biker I had my doubts that such a buzz could be achieved from just taking photographs so I decided to take a trip to Cheltenham town centre and see for myself.
I don't remember the trip being particularly eventful, I was still learning how to use the camera. I knew nothing of aperture, shutter speeds, iso etc. I was probably using 'P' or full auto and taking photos of benches and graffiti. Whenever I tried to take a photo of a scene or of anyone interesting I just froze.
The only 'street shot' that I still have from that trip is this one.
Again not worthy of anyone's time to look at really, I still didn't know what street photography was all about.
It was again taken from distance and then some awful filter added to it to spice it up a bit.
One point of interest is that the girl stood on the right looking at the camera was someone I'd seen earlier in the day. She looked quite interesting and I was plucking up the courage to take a photo, as soon as I lifted the camera she sensed what I was doing and stared straight at me and I bottled it. I started pointing the camera around at random objects hoping that she'd think I hadn't been taking her photograph. Whenever I looked at her she just stared straight back almost daring me to try something, I backed down and walked away.
Now when I took the photo above I was really looking at the three people at the stall and didn't even notice the stary girl was there. So when I was post processing the image at home later I had a quite a shock and I have to say a little thrill at having caught her on film, not quite the ghost from 'Three men and a baby' but still.
This outing did therefore teach me a few things
I was starting to realise that photography had the potential of becoming a quite expensive hobby.
So I started reading up on entry level DSLR's, the big decision was which manufacturer to shake hands with as the 'glass' would not work across brands, so once you started investing money in new lenses it would be difficult to switch allegiances.
'Glass' it took me a while to realise that was a term for lenses. This was one term amongst a myriad of others that caused me grief. Another big one was 'IQ' which kept cropping up in various forums, I eventually realised and by realised I mean google searched and found it to simply mean 'image quality'.
Out of the big two of Canon and Nikon I favoured Canon as that was my father-in-law's camera of choice and I had ideas of borrowing his lenses and his knowledge of the functions.
I finally decided to go with Pentax, as my wife had bought a decent 55-300 telephoto lens for our safari holiday a few years ago and it seemed to make sense as I would no doubt use that a lot.
Worth noting that to date I have never used that lens in any other way than just trying it out, although an upcoming trip to Canada may change that.
Pentax also had the advantage of a huge back catalogue of film camera lenses that would work to some degree on the DSLR.
I finally settled on the Pentax Kr model as it reviewed really well, came with a decent kit lens and was under £400.
It was around this time that I first heard about street photography, it was in one of the online forums and I think the thread was discussing how to have the guts to do it. There were no photos in the thread but the tone of the chat interested me, it seemed to suggest an adrenalin buzz could be had from photography.
Being a keen mountain biker I had my doubts that such a buzz could be achieved from just taking photographs so I decided to take a trip to Cheltenham town centre and see for myself.
I don't remember the trip being particularly eventful, I was still learning how to use the camera. I knew nothing of aperture, shutter speeds, iso etc. I was probably using 'P' or full auto and taking photos of benches and graffiti. Whenever I tried to take a photo of a scene or of anyone interesting I just froze.
The only 'street shot' that I still have from that trip is this one.
Again not worthy of anyone's time to look at really, I still didn't know what street photography was all about.
It was again taken from distance and then some awful filter added to it to spice it up a bit.
One point of interest is that the girl stood on the right looking at the camera was someone I'd seen earlier in the day. She looked quite interesting and I was plucking up the courage to take a photo, as soon as I lifted the camera she sensed what I was doing and stared straight at me and I bottled it. I started pointing the camera around at random objects hoping that she'd think I hadn't been taking her photograph. Whenever I looked at her she just stared straight back almost daring me to try something, I backed down and walked away.
Now when I took the photo above I was really looking at the three people at the stall and didn't even notice the stary girl was there. So when I was post processing the image at home later I had a quite a shock and I have to say a little thrill at having caught her on film, not quite the ghost from 'Three men and a baby' but still.
This outing did therefore teach me a few things
- Taking photos without permission is scary
- People have a 6th sense when it comes to cameras
- The image captured by the camera is not the same as what your eyes see
- I needed to do some research on street photography
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Humble beginnings
Although not that long ago I can't remember what made me buy a camera and start this new hobby.
Some influence may have come from my father-in-law Graham as he's a keen amateur photographer, another need was to try and record some images and video from my other pastime of mountain biking.
So I looked into a camera that would suit my needs, street photography at that time not part of my requirements. I eventually settled on a Panasonic Lumix TZ10 as it was described as a good travel camera with some scope for creativity for the more knowledgable photographer.
At this stage I still hadn't read Thomas Leuthard's e-books or even heard of street photography, I did however take this photo which I suppose is my first street shot.
'
What an awful image, doesn't really have any redeeming features.
It was taken from quite a distance away on zoom and cropped in, looks like I added a filter in some editing software as well.
All I really remember about it is feeling a bit scared when I took it.
Some influence may have come from my father-in-law Graham as he's a keen amateur photographer, another need was to try and record some images and video from my other pastime of mountain biking.
So I looked into a camera that would suit my needs, street photography at that time not part of my requirements. I eventually settled on a Panasonic Lumix TZ10 as it was described as a good travel camera with some scope for creativity for the more knowledgable photographer.
At this stage I still hadn't read Thomas Leuthard's e-books or even heard of street photography, I did however take this photo which I suppose is my first street shot.
'What an awful image, doesn't really have any redeeming features.
It was taken from quite a distance away on zoom and cropped in, looks like I added a filter in some editing software as well.
All I really remember about it is feeling a bit scared when I took it.