We were waiting for museum to open. I took advantage and was shooting fall color. Spectacular! A girl wandered by trying to take pictures of her dog? She was aiming in the wrong direction. Maybe not?! I assume the obvious but am often mistaken.
An overcast day – it would rain shortly – has different light. It’s soft, not harsh, tending toward blue tones. Take it. Street photography, yes, this was. Just do it. Puzzle over it later. I hope she got her shot. I got mine.
Where was I before the word processor cut me off?
I started in photography late. And I was even later into what I am today. It’s a hobby. Right? My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic 100. Yes, the first model. My first SLR was an Exakta. Yes, an old brand. And finally, Nikon F. Everyone has/had a Nikon! I developed black and white in my basement. Tri-X. Finally, slide film was my film of choice, but by then I was an adult. Well, nearly so. Maybe so?
Keeping track? Following? My photographic catalogs begin late into my life – early adulthood. It would have been fun… but I was fortunate to get my kids and everything that followed. I regret the lost photos and everything I missed. I am grateful for having a hobby that pursued me into retirement.
Street photography. London. Street fair. Portobello road.
“The west London site is most famous for having one of the world’s largest antique, bric-a-brac and vintage clothing markets.”
I was but an innocent tourist with very little knowledge of how to photograph. I could aim focus and shoot. In those days one had to set the shutter speed, f-stop, and manually focus. Eh? Not bad!
Red headed Scottish schoolgirl. Cruise ship on the loch. Loch Lomond.
A grab shot. I just turned and fired. It was a worthy shot. We will never meet again. It’s street photography.
“Street photography at its essence means candid photography of humanity. A street photograph is a real moment. The genre is both about the photographer and their …”
Lighting as seen on the cruise ship is special occurring infrequently usually toward the beginning or end of the day when the background is in shadow. This lighting is warm. The subject stands out. It’s not a particularly outstanding subject but it is enhanced by the lighting. No complaint from me. Considering the location, I was in a pretty well known place. Eh? …. take the high road….
Consider that my audience is small, we will never meet again, there is not much worry about your anonymity being preserved. Stay warm.
I’m about as surprised as you. Not surprised at you, but surprised to see this image. Yeah, yeah, I took it. But actually…. we were stopped in traffic and I was trying to read the sign behind the woman in the bus shelter. We could not make out what was being advertised. I don’t think we are more informed now. I shot the image to enlarge so as to read the print better. The woman stubbornly stood in front of the sign and did not budge. She was just standin’ there… but I guess she moved as I pressed the shutter. A moment later traffic was moving and I did not see this shot until the next morning. Funny! She wuz looking for her bus. I wuz looking at the sign. I’m not sure that either of us were happy. Nice scowl, lady.
Selfie? Did I do this to myself to myself? Early morning? I can’t tell. But by evening I am usually showered and dressed. It looks like I still don’t have a shirt. What?
Does the picture work? Focus is ok. Soft but sharp enough. Surprise? Surprised? What? There is a story here. Who knows? It’s fun. It catches you off guard. Just move on. Not much more to report here. Laugh. Smile. It’s up to you. Critical? In almost any other context this would be in the discard pile.
I was on a cruise once and only once. Cruise ships are large. And there are a lot of people. And when the ship is at sea everyone gathers around the pool.
The shot conveys the madness of so many people in close quarters. It was sitting in my files and merited a second look. Well, you cannot tell it is a cruise ship without my narrative. Otherwise the crowd is obvious. It seems everyone is working on a tan. The story is unfinished leaving the viewer hanging.
Technical: Ektachrome slide film
Sometimes you want blur. It implies motion. If you stop the action with a fast shutter speed, it’s great. But you may in fact want the image blurred. There is a fine line between out of focus and making a point. One is technical understanding of your equipment and the other is serendipity. On this image taken many years ago with a manual camera and slide film, serendipity was the order of the day. I had no clue [no LCD screen] as to what I got until long after I was gone to have the film developed.
Technical: Nikon camera, slide film, exposure unknown
The critical moment – the critical shot. I took this picture in London many years (decades) ago. Julia was right. There is a difference between slide film and digital capture. I won’t be going back to film anytime soon, but I can now see her point. I haven’t looked at these slides in a long while. To illustrate, I was careful about shooting photos because in those days you really didn’t shoot freely. I took about 30 to 40 rolls for a trip of two weeks and shot much less. That’s roughly about a thousand images? Now, I shoot that many in a few hours sometimes. Anyway a pet peeve is that the motor drive won’t save you. But at the same time the critical moment is easy enough to miss. This image was taken as the third in the series. If I had only one of the first two that would have been ok and I would otherwise be happy. But the last shot, that’s a keeper. In the days of film, you would have to wait to see the image after it was developed. Now, you can cheat and look at the LCD screen. But by the time you review, the moment has passed. Anyway the point is to stick with the situation until you have the shot. And remember it’s quality not quantity.
Technical: Nikon D200, 1/200 sec, f5.6, focal length 400mm
I have the VR setting on. Ordinarily the rule is 1/focal length. I should have been at 1/400 sec. The point of this image is to try to demonstrate telephoto perspective. At full 400mm the depth of field is compressed. Objects near to far are compressed upon one another. It serves to enhance the crowding effect. Here I wanted to emphasize the crowd. Large as it was it seems even more crowded. Then, the buildings on this winding street meet and contribute to make it more so.
Technical: Nikon D200, 1/200 sec, f4.8, focal length 56mm
At the Chinese New Year Parade, we were in close quarters. There are some points to keep in mind. Perspective is an issue. But I believe it adds some tension to the image. It emphasizes the grill, which is ok. The camera is not at eye level but more horizontal to the car. Also I tilted the camera slightly to get a more dynamic image. Just enough of the back of the car is showing. The image is in motion even though the car is not. So for cars, get low and go for a low angle distortion. Depending on what you wish, this effect can be exaggerated more.
PhotoCritical 