Street Shooting

[Brian Moore]

I have noticed quite often people sat down on benches in cities with cam on tripod and remote in there hands, this would be a great, discreet and probably very effective method waiting for the subject to walk into the frame then snap away discreetl

That was the idea Gavin proposed early in this thread. Its a very interesting idea.

 

[alfie Wright]

Not sure digital wins quite so easily though. As you point out, with film you'll have fewer frames to learn with. I think that would force you to apply more care to your shot selection, and perhaps--just perhaps--produce better results a bit quicker.

I think there may be a bit of truth in this, Brian.

I've been trying to get my Fathers old, not used for years, Werra film camera from him. The idea was not to improve quicker, but to slow me down a little & get me thinking more about each exposure I take. With the K-5 when looking for a street portrait I have the camera set to continous & get maybe 3 or 4 shots of the subject in less than a second & then find the best, most sharp to work with in PP. I suspect using film & the added costs would make me work harder to get the shot right out of the camera & think this may help to improve my techneque, comp & thinking.

I think for what I'm trying to shoot atm that digital with an auto-focus lens is the way to go. Once i'm in a close position I want them to see me & look right into my waiting lens for me to catch that moment. But for more traditonal street shots where there's perhaps just a fraction more time I'd like to try film, with the lens zone focused & look for better composed shots.

 

[Brian Moore]

I'd love to see some images from yer pa's old Werra camera, Alfie. Good luck.

Also, I think you're right on with the zone focus idea.

 

[alfie Wright]

I'd love to get my hands on it, Brian. He doesn't seem that happy to part with it though & it's a shame as it just sits idle.

I remember it with fondness, because a. it took lovely images & b. he didn't use very often due to the cost & it meant we were doing something special if he'd got the camera out

I had a play around with zone focus using my A-50mm, but tbh I got very little, no keepers. I found I was pre setting it for closer than I was getting. So I need to work on judging distances by eye.

 

[Brian Moore]

I had a play around with zone focus using my A-50mm, but tbh I got very little, no keepers. I found I was pre setting it for closer than I was getting. So I need to work on judging distances by eye.

My Olympus XA has "8" and "5.6" offset from the other numbers by being colored red. The idea being if I you set the focus to 8 feet and the aperture to f5.6, pretty much everything you shoot will be in focus.

I took a look at my Canon FD 50mm lens. If I shoot at f5.6 and set the focus to 30 feet, I'll get everything from 15 feet to near infinity in focus, at least according to the DOF scale on the lens.

 

[alfie Wright]

I suspect lenses must vary a little then, Brian. With the Pentax-A 50mm at f5.6 I can get 6 to 8 feet 8 to 13 feet, it takes stopping down to f8 to get close to 15 feet to infinity. I suspect I was trying to use to small an F-stop to get some bokeh to have enough DOF with this lens. I guess with this lens I need to practice more with a bigger F-stop & forget the OOF.

 

[Brian Moore]

That's it Alfie. I think street photography is not about OOF as first priority. (I hope I don't sound in this thread like I am trying to portray myself as some kind of expert in street photography because I'm far from it.)

 

[Hamish Gill]

LOL! Ain't gonna happen, Gavin. But it's a very cool idea. In fact I love the notion of a stationary camera fired remotely. But I don't use a tripod anyway. (Parkbenchpod, pitcherpod, wallpod, fencepod, car-roofpod, treepod<--closest I've come to using a tripod in some time--discarded4x4blockpod, pavementpod, two-fingerstabilizerpod--sometimes one or thumb--setofkeysoncarroofpod, tablepod, tumblerpod, winebottlepod, beercanpod, chairpod, sumdayelse'sshoulderpod, sidewalkpod, carwindowpod, coffeecuppod--sometimes tea--rockpod, boulderpod, balletbarpod, beerbarbarpod, etc. I've used all of these as stabilizers in recent months but not a tripod.

This is the best thing I have ever read in my life!

 

[Hamish Gill]

We have discussed this before
Save me wittering again there is some thoughts from me here

http://www.realphotographersforum.com/general-discussion/3735-street-photography-2.html

since then I suppose my feeling have changed slightly... although not profoundly ... more developed a bit i suppose
i mention that i dont like "candid portraiture" ... I suppose more accurately i would say that i don't really like photos of folk in the street without there seeming to be any reason behind the photo ...
An example of this Alfie would be your shot of the two ladies (with the little chap growing out of one of their heads) ... there isn't context, and their isn't really a story, whereas the rest of the shots in that series seemed to say something, even if it was just through eye contact or the inclusion of a weathered hand etc

 

[Brian Moore]

Hamish,...you said this in your previous post on the subject:

What I try and take is people within the context of their surroundings...

I think this may be the essential ingredient that defines "street photography."

 

[alfie Wright]

We have discussed this before
Save me wittering again there is some thoughts from me here

http://www.realphotographersforum.com/general-discussion/3735-street-photography-2.html

since then I suppose my feeling have changed slightly... although not profoundly ... more developed a bit i suppose
i mention that i dont like "candid portraiture" ... I suppose more accurately i would say that i don't really like photos of folk in the street without there seeming to be any reason behind the photo ...
An example of this Alfie would be your shot of the two ladies (with the little chap growing out of one of their heads) ... there isn't context, and their isn't really a story, whereas the rest of the shots in that series seemed to say something, even if it was just through eye contact or the inclusion of a weathered hand etc

Intereting post Hamish. I've not found the other thread so thanks for pointing it out & will have a read soon.

I think that whilst under the "Street Photography" umbrella that "Candid Portraiture" is a little different. The street imagery that works for me, tells a story or at least intimates one, it strikes a nerve that could be through humour, juxtaposition, joy, desperation or anything else that hooks into an emotion. It then seems to be able to go up a level with the photographers skill & experiance, in using the light to best effect or great composition, lines etc & great camera craft.

A candid portrait hasn't got the same amount of elements to make the image, it has really only the one, the person. The story has to be in the face, hair & body. There still can be a story in this, with humour, expression or facial character, body language, clothes & hair etc & again the photographers skill with lighting & comp etc can add more interest, but ultimately I think the image will appeal to less people as there's less content. I find people very interesting, even just looking at them & some of these portraits really capture something interesting, alot don't though.

For me, I just want to get better at capturing them & better at judging which ones have a bit of something & are really worth keeping or sharing. I've been looking at the 100 strangers group on Flickr & think this may be a good learning curve for me, in that I'd have time to experiment. I'd like to try more traditional street type stuff too, then again, there's loads of stuff I'd like to try to photograph too.

 

[Lesley Jones]

I don't know how I missed two whole pages of this thread! Some of it is getting quite deep for me (especially with a thumping headache), but I think I prefer subjects to be unaware, to look interesting and to be either involved in something or that they somehow fit their surroundings. It's one of the reasons I hate street photography in London in the summer. Too many people, too much flesh on show - I think it helps put a date and location on the image. In the winter you get anonymous figures wrapped up against the cold with perhaps a more timeless feel. Does that make sense to anyone?

 

[Brian Moore]

Yes. Makes perfect sense.