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Fun new rule: any ~street photo~ whose primary subject is the back of someone / the back of someone's head gets a week off until further notice or I forget. Walker Evans wrote that “the photographer is in effect voyeur by nature, he is also reporter, tinker and spy”. That is what, to me at least, street photography is all about. Being a voyeuristic, unobtrusive observer, and it takes no more than going for a walk with a camera around your neck. I think its both one of the easiest and hardest forms of photography to get involved in, easy because there are people, streets and moments everywhere, all waiting to be photographed. But on the other hand you have to overcome shyness, uneasiness and a nagging guilt to capture people at there most primitive and without there knowledge. I know there are a few street photographers in CC so this thread is to discuss, help, admire, get inspiration from and show off our work. Inspiration Henri Cartier-Bresson A French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. He helped develop the "street photography" or "real life reportage" style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed.  Brassaï Brassai's camera, tripod, and lighting equipment required him to be bold rather than inconspicuous if he were to show Paris in the mood of the city through its walls and deserted streets and the activities they concealed. His passion was not for the pure photographic rendition of static objects or in the split-second exposures that uncovered the interior of the moment. Rather, his aspiration was to be a kind of recording secretary to the act of living.  Robert Frank born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photographic book titled simply The Americans, was heavily influential in the post-war period.  Garry Winogrand Winogrand was known for his portrayal of American life in the early 1960s, Many of his photographs depict the social issues of his time day and in the role of media in shaping attitudes. He roamed the streets of New York with his 35mm Leica camera rapidly taking photographs using a prefocused wide angle lens. His pictures frequently appeared as if they were driven by the energy of the events he was witnessing.  Bruce Gilden A noted street photographer and member of Magnum Photos, he shot images of Japan's Yakuza mobsters, the homeless, prostitutes, and members of bike gangs between 1995 and 2000. According to Gilden, he was fascinated by the duality and double lives of the individuals he photographed.  Photographing without permission In the USA and the UK, anything visible from a public area can generally be freely photographed. There are a number of restrictions, see Photography and the law for a detailed account. It is, however, common for police, security personnel and members of the public to use intimidation, or other tactics to attempt to prevent unwanted photography. To prevent, for example, industrial espionage or the photographing of children. On 16th of February 2009 in the UK, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 introduced amendments to the Terrorism Act 2000 to prohibit the "eliciting of information" of members of a number of protected groups, including the armed forces and the police. This covers the taking of photographs, and does introduce some new restrictions on the rights of the photographer. In recent years, some building owners have claimed a copyright on the appearance of their building; such landmarks as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Pittsburgh's PPG Place, etc. United States copyright law, however, explicitly exempts the appearance of standing buildings from copyright protection Legality of recording by civilians Photography and the law My site flickr Somebody fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Sep 20, 2013 |
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Aug 17, 2009 15:34
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I like the idea of street photography but it has become such a crazy genre to express myself in. For me, the more people there are, the less timid I am. Thats why I always wait for a festival or travel to a metropolitan area. I like using wide angles. The 50mm on a crop body was too difficult to frame while walking around and seemed unnatural. My biggest compositional problem now is isolating subjects. I will see someone I want to photograph, walk towards them, take the picture, but no matter what aperture I am at, I can never get the contrast I want to make them pop. As a result it seems kind of busy. Also, to me it's weird that because there are so many famous black and white street photos, black and white just seems to look 'right' for this genre.
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Aug 17, 2009 19:46
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:Also, to me it's weird that because there are so many famous black and white street photos, black and white just seems to look 'right' for this genre. I find it weird that all the street photographer kids running around haven't adopted the selective colouring fad yet.
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Aug 17, 2009 19:51
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:Also, to me it's weird that because there are so many famous black and white street photos, black and white just seems to look 'right' for this genre. Street photographers typically use black and white film because it takes the mind away from A LOT of the distracting elements that come with colour photography and distil the impact of the image to the strength of the subject, and their action, alone. That's why subject is so important in street photography and why so many budding street photogs fail because they think it's the same as just taking a photo of any random person walking around.
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Aug 17, 2009 19:54
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Snaily posted:I find it weird that all the street photographer kids running around haven't adopted the selective colouring fad yet. Haha, what?
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Aug 17, 2009 19:54
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Snaily posted:I find it weird that all the street photographer kids running around haven't adopted the selective colouring fad yet. maybe we can start the tone mapped street photography fad
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Aug 17, 2009 20:00
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Twenties Superstar posted:Haha, what? While good street photography is very good, there are also a lot of people running around doing street photography because it seems easy, slightly disruptive, lets you flash your expensive camera, and gives artistic credibility. The same argument can be made for the horrible fad of selectively desaturating photos so only the subject is in color, which is something I've very seldom seen done well. I imagined the intersection of these would be bigger by now. e: intersection, not union Snaily fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Aug 17, 2009 |
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Aug 17, 2009 20:03
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:I like the idea of street photography but it has become such a crazy genre to express myself in. For me, the more people there are, the less timid I am. Thats why I always wait for a festival or travel to a metropolitan area. I like using wide angles. The 50mm on a crop body was too difficult to frame while walking around and seemed unnatural. Im also guilty of only photographing in busy areas, im fine in the town centre, even if theres not that many people there, im not sure why it just seems you can get away with it more. But when you look at some of the images from the big names they have a couple of small children on a corner, or a quiet cafe with a lone figure, I couldnt even approach a situation like that and think of photographing it, i just wouldnt have the guts. Twenties Superstar posted:
Do you think you have to make a conscious decision to get over that? or it just comes with experience?
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Aug 17, 2009 20:21
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Great OP, I was hoping someone would make this thread. I've been getting into street photography, but more specifically street portraiture so to speak. I'm finding myself interested more in the people than their surroundings. To this end I usually pack my 70-200 at ~135+ so I can get a tight crop on an individual. I usually end up doing a fair bit of post to make the subject try to stand out. I guess you could say this goes against the nature of street photography, but I'm not pretending to be a journalist and in the end I'm just in it to make images that I find personally interesting. I've got a few on my flickr. Going to hit up the CNE next week, hoping for some great crowds!
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Aug 17, 2009 20:37
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Not sure how Bruce Gilden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Gilden) wasn't mentioned (If he was and my reading comp sucks I apologize). I don't think there's many street photographers that push the ethical boundaries of the medium more than this gentleman. The results are pretty good too...
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Aug 17, 2009 20:46
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Luk3 posted:Not sure how Bruce Gilden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Gilden) wasn't mentioned (If he was and my reading comp sucks I apologize). I don't think there's many street photographers that push the ethical boundaries of the medium more than this gentleman. The results are pretty good too... Added to OP. I do love his street portraits, his style is very aggresive though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkIWW6vwrvM Video that shows just how in your face he gets.
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Aug 17, 2009 20:59
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Yes, he's the one photographer I've seen who's style genuinely makes me uncomfortable. Mainly because I wouldn't like having someone shove a flash and camera in my face.
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Aug 17, 2009 21:01
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fronkpies posted:Do you think you have to make a conscious decision to get over that? or it just comes with experience? In a way, I suppose. You have to understand the difference before you can actually strive for the more interesting captures and that requires a certain way of looking at things and analytical thinking that only really comes from experience. This applies to most other forms of artistic expression as well, not just photography.
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Aug 17, 2009 22:45
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Snaily posted:I find it weird that all the street photographer kids running around haven't adopted the selective colouring fad yet. This is one of the funniest posts I've seen in awhile.
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Aug 18, 2009 00:35
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I'm really happy to see this thread. I don't try to shoot much street these days. Its a lot of work to find the combination of great light and a decent concentration of people to photograph that won't avert their eyes or whatever around these parts. Even when I do manage straight street photos I find I'm always too quick to hit the shutter and the composition often suffers. Excuses aside, and though they are certainly un-Winogrand or Meyerowitzish, here are a few photos that I've taken and like that I think can certainly technically qualify as street:   
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Aug 18, 2009 01:00
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Those are quite nice, dunno. The light is amazing.
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Aug 18, 2009 01:18
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fronkpies posted:Added to OP. He IS a New Yorker after all...
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Aug 18, 2009 02:24
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I thought this "Street Shots" episode was fascinating. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-IOEAlBpSo Quite a different approach than Gilden's, but his photos are really quite good. Plus, he's on flickr.
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Aug 18, 2009 02:29
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Radbot posted:I thought this "Street Shots" episode was fascinating. When I watched all those videos the first time his was the one I most enjoyed, but probably because his charisma and humour make him a more interesting subject than the photographs themselves necessarily, but he has some very wise words too. I'd really like to have his no-look confidence. dunno fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Aug 18, 2009 |
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Aug 18, 2009 02:34
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dunno posted:When I watched all those videos the first time his was the one I most enjoyed, but probably more because his charisma and humour make him a more interesting subject, but he has some wise words too. I'd really like to have his no-look confidence. Definitely. I'm not sure how I feel about the spray-and-pray method with which he shoots, because for me it raises the question of whether the shots he comes up with are more luck or skill. This would be a difficult method of photography were one shooting with film. However, he certainly produces the goods, and that's what really matters to me.
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Aug 18, 2009 02:38
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From yesterday: Not exactly how I visualized it before releasing the shutter, so I don't know if I like it or not.
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Aug 18, 2009 05:37
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Snaily posted:While good street photography is very good, there are also a lot of people running around doing street photography because it seems easy, slightly disruptive, lets you flash your expensive camera, and gives artistic credibility. Look at me attempt to call people out  dunno posted:I'm really happy to see this thread. I think these are nice, but with the first two, especially, you are shooting a lot of backs-of-heads. Just doesn't make a strong image like the other way 'round might. Reichstag posted:From yesterday: Obviously I don't know what you were thinking in your head when you shot it, but to me, it just feels somewhat lacking when measured as a traditional street photo. There's nothing about the woman or the scene to really justify it to me as an interesting scene.
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Aug 18, 2009 05:45
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TsarAleksi posted:I think these are nice, but with the first two, especially, you are shooting a lot of backs-of-heads. Just doesn't make a strong image like the other way 'round might. That's probably why I prefaced them with a stylistic discalimer... I haven't really tried my hand at "hardcore street" very often, and when I have the results have been mediocre to OK, so I thought I might post post what I thought were stronger photos rather than "streeter" photos. I'm also partial to abusing human figures as compositional elements rather than fully considered subjects themselves. They invariably draw the eye, but the emotional tone of the images is subdued as you can't see a face. I've become a big fan of this flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/acrossthestreet/
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Aug 18, 2009 06:36
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Sometimes color suits an image better than black and white, I find. 
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Aug 18, 2009 06:55
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dunno posted:Great shot. Reichstag posted:
I still like it, the frame or whatever it is blocking out her husband is nice. from today. As he fell.  After he fell.  Kid was alright I think, his sister in the pram didnt care though.
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Aug 18, 2009 18:56
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fronkpies posted:As he fell. Too bad it's focused on the hand in the front, I guess that's the annoying thing of shooting from your hip. (You did shoot from your hip, right?) One my favourite street shots.  
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Aug 18, 2009 20:14
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dunno posted:I'm really happy to see this thread. These are great .. love the light, and the overall look of them. Favorite of mine:  Edit: One more: 
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Aug 18, 2009 20:37
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Do you guys set out to take street photos, or do you just take your camera along whenever you plan to be walking about?
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Aug 18, 2009 21:53
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Fragrag posted:Too bad it's focused on the hand in the front, I guess that's the annoying thing of shooting from your hip. (You did shoot from your hip, right?) Yer they where from the hip, well I hang the camera around my neck and rest my hand on it. Radbot posted:Do you guys set out to take street photos, or do you just take your camera along whenever you plan to be walking about? I set out to, I have my camera with me when I go out most of the time anyway, incase something happens, but must of my photos are from when ive gone out specifically to shoot.
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Aug 18, 2009 22:03
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:The 50mm on a crop body was too difficult to frame while walking around and seemed unnatural. My biggest compositional problem now is isolating subjects. I will see someone I want to photograph, walk towards them, take the picture, but no matter what aperture I am at, I can never get the contrast I want to make them pop. As a result it seems kind of busy. One thing about wide angle lenses is that the distance at which they go to infinity focus is much, much shorter than with a standard lens. With a wide angle, you can put the focus on infinity and f/8 and you'll be able to get a lot of things in focus most of the time. When I'm messing around with street-style photography (I'm pretty awful at actual street photography), I usually use a 28mm lens with 400 film.
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Aug 18, 2009 22:25
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Whoo hoo, street photography thread  .dunno posted:Street photography makes up the majority of my work. I was inspired by Severin Koller and Chris Weeks, both of which have done amazing work. I have a problem with a lot of the street photography groups on Flickr. The most popular ones I know of are called things like hardcore or raw and I find that my work doesn't exactly fall into those two categories (or anything like that). If anything, I'd like to think that my work is more honest and truthful, giving great respect to what I capture. Regardless, I enjoy doing it. Some recent stuff:    Radbot posted:Do you guys set out to take street photos, or do you just take your camera along whenever you plan to be walking about? I do both. My most recent trip was to Venice Beach. Went there specifically to shoot, but I always have my camera on me. Feels weird walking around without it now.
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Aug 18, 2009 22:57
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fronkpies posted:After he fell. this is fantastic.
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Aug 18, 2009 22:58
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Kaerf posted:I was inspired by Severin Koller and Chris Weeks Same. Reading Chris's blog a few years back inspired me a lot, though these days I find myself doing less and less street. Maybe it'll be rekindled a bit when he releases the new version of his Street manifesto that he's been working on. Some of my favorite street shots from the last few months:   
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Aug 18, 2009 23:21
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Reichstag posted:Same. Reading Chris's blog a few years back inspired me a lot, though these days I find myself doing less and less street. Maybe it'll be rekindled a bit when he releases the new version of his Street manifesto that he's been working on. I still read Chris's blog, and though he updates pretty rarely these days, it's always really good.
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Aug 18, 2009 23:39
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I HATE CARS posted:I still read Chris's blog, and though he updates pretty rarely these days, it's always really good. I still subscribe to it (APhotographer these days, but I miss bbq iguana), but the updates are infrequent, and more often than not he seems to post a batch of photos of his dog.
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Aug 18, 2009 23:41
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TsarAleksi posted:Sometimes color suits an image better than black and white, I find. I like this, you are right - colour sometimes does make a street photo really work. However I wonder if this is because the pigeons and woman are so in your face and the building in the background is so pretty that nothing else is a distraction. This is my only attempt at street photography and I think it was more luck than anything:  I played around with levels and contrast for ages before finally settling on using a very high contrast black and white. I want to do more street photography but find it difficult to get the camera out and start pointing it at people. After watching the video of Gilden I don't know how he gets away with it without being punched.
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Aug 18, 2009 23:42
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Kaerf posted:I have a problem with a lot of the street photography groups on Flickr. The most popular ones I know of are called things like hardcore or raw and I find that my work doesn't exactly fall into those two categories (or anything like that). If anything, I'd like to think that my work is more honest and truthful, giving great respect to what I capture. What a refreshing mindset. I think it's very tempting (and easy) to be exploitative within the realm of street photography. Showing respect towards your subject seems to be a value in short supply these days.
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Aug 18, 2009 23:57
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Kaerf posted:I love this shot, at first glance, it's just a shot of people's backs, but then you start to notice the parallels between them. The gait, the right foot taking a step, the hands in pockets and the headwear.
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Aug 19, 2009 02:59
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TsarAleksi fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Apr 20, 2019 |
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Aug 19, 2009 05:42
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Reichstag posted:Reichstag you've posted this before and I love it. Fragrag posted:Too bad it's focused on the hand in the front, I guess that's the annoying thing of shooting from your hip. (You did shoot from your hip, right?) Waist level finders are fantastic for street photography.
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Aug 19, 2009 08:48
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