Note: Recently New York Street Photographer James Maher got in contact with me asking for some points and tips regarding building his online social media presence. He noticed that I had a great community backing me up (you guys), and he was curious how I did it. I thought about it long and hard, and came up with this blog post. Hope you guys enjoy!
The modern-day photographer is more blessed than ever having a wide-array of online social media networking tools at his/her fingertips. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, DeviantART, and online Forums/Blogs allow photographers not only to build up their own online social media presence, but also to connect to the rest of the photographic community. The benefits of having a strong online social media presence are numerous. One of the most apparent benefits is that photographers are able to get more comments & critique on their work, which help them develop their own style and composition.
However for an aspiring photographer with no experience with online social media, building a presence can be difficult. In this blog post, I will give you a small summary of my experiences, and hopefully give you information which can help you in the long-run as well.
During my time in Beirut, Lebanon– I was fortunate enough to meet some of the nicest and most fascinating people in the world. Not only were the people extremely cordial here, but they actually liked getting their photos taken (compare this to Los Angeles and New York). Regardless of the fact that I was a blatant tourist (I was probably one of the only few Asians in the city), people were genuinely interested about my life story and why I was “gracing” their presence by visiting Beirut, Lebanon. Considering the fact that everybody there is trilingual (speaks English, French, and Arabic), it was extremely easy to converse with everybody I met.
I will forever remember Beirut, Lebanon for not only having some of the friendliest people in the world, but also for being extremely photo-friendly as well. Considering that there are practically no laws against street photography (except taking photos of military personnel and embassy buildings), it is truly the street photographers’ dream city.
If you are an avid street photographer and looking for a new place to travel to, definitely check out Beirut. When you go there, say hi to all the people in the street and tell them that “Eric says hi.”
Street photography is one of the biggest passions in my life. I spend a large amount of time either shooting on the streets, blogging about street photography, tweeting about street photography, and talking/thinking about street photography. But why do I love it so much and why does it bring me a lot of happiness?
The answer is “Flow“–as psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes it. I’m sure all of you guys have experienced this when shooting on the streets. You go out and take photos, and become totally immersed in the experience and forget a sense of time or space. You can be out for hours shooting, and don’t even realize that time is passing by.
Whenever I am on the streets and shooting, I feel pure euphoria. I am out there in almost a zen-like state–simply wandering wherever I want to go, while capturing the beauty in the mundane. I meet interesting people, and I experience fascinating and new places. There is no feeling quite like it.
However the problem that many street photographers (myself included) face is that we lose sight of what really makes us happy (shooting photos) and we chase other things such as fame, wealth, or prestige. Would making a few bucks out of our photographs really make us happier? Will the $6900 Leica M9 make us happier? If we become as famous as Henri Cartier-Bresson–will that make us happier? I beg to disagree.
After watching the TED talk by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow and his theory on the matter– I am convinced that the true happiness I will gain out of street photography is quite simple and in front of me. Shooting in the streets.
For those of you who are interested in watching the TED video that inspired me, take 20 minutes out of your day to truly change your perception about photography, happiness, and life. And if you are really interested in the subject, purchase his book on Amazon titled Flow: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness.
So my question to you guys is that do you experience this zen-like feeling of “flow” when you are shooting on the streets as well? Leave a comment below and let us know what your experiences are like!
After having the time of my life teaching my Street Photography 101 workshop in Beirut, Lebanon with Thomas Leuthard, I thought that I’d spread the love to those of you who couldn’t make it! In alignment with my ideas on open source photography, I will be providing all of my slides as well as my outline to those who are interested. Feel free to use this information in any way you’d like–but all I ask is credit back to myself or to Thomas Leuthard (for his slides). I hope you guys enjoy and spread the love as well!
If you are interested in having me lead a street photography workshop in your city, please shoot me an email to erickimphotography@gmail.com. You can also contact Thomas Leuthard at photography@leuthard.ch.
When I was in Beirut, Lebanon–the city was full of fascinating old cars. They came in so many different varieties, colors, as well in various places. They caught my eye, and I thought they would make a gorgeous photo-essay.
I tried to shoot all of these cars with roughly the same framing, all using my 35mm. These images were taken from all different neighborhoods in Beirut, Lebanon–and I feel each car has so much character and a story to tell. However when looking at these images, don’t get the impression that all the cars in Lebanon look like this. The streets are full of very nice cars as well– such as BMW’s, Mercedes, Audis, and even Ferraris!
However, I hope you enjoy these images, and that your eyes get a nice feast.
Found this beautiful picture of a Rolleiflex on the internet today. Thought I’d share it with you guys (drool). You can read more about this amazing camera here on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolleiflex.
(11-17-10, waiting for my flight at 6:25AM at the Beirut, Lebanon Airport)
My beautiful morning view
My last week in Beirut, Lebanon has truly been a very humbling experience. I left leaving Los Angeles to teach my street photography workshop in Beirut, Lebanon with my friends/family telling me to “be careful†in Lebanon as it was still “politically unstable†and that I might “get shot†while here. Many also suggested for me not to go, but I decided to take my chances and plunged both feet in.
Thomas Leuthard and I at the end of our Street Photography 101 Workshop in Beirut, Lebanon
After teaching my Street Photography 101 workshop in Beirut, Lebanon–I got interviewed by a magazine called NowLebanon. One of the questions that Naziha (the reporter) asked me was how in the world I raised $1100 for my plane ticket to fly to Beirut, Lebanon in only 3 days. My answer for her was (you) the community.
Despite what the media and general public says, Beirut, Lebanon is not full of terrorists and no– you will not get shot here. First coming to Beirut, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Everybody told me to be careful and that it was a dangerous place. However after being here for about 4 days, I highly recommend everyone I know to come visit here. Not only does everybody speak English, French, and Arabic–but there are some of the kindest people here in the world.
In this post, I will give you some reasons which show why Beirut, Lebanon is indeed “The Paris of the Middle East,” and why it is such a beautiful country and why I don’t want to leave. In 2009, The New York Times also called Beirut the #1 place to visit as well! [Link]
1. It is a street photographer’s paradise
"The Printer" – Beirut, Lebanon
I would say that Beirut, Lebanon has one of the most lax laws on street photography, as there are no laws concerning photography here. Sure you don’t want to do things such as shoot photos of military or embassy buildings, but everything else is free reign.
I was surprised that most people here didn’t mind getting their photos taken of. In-fact, there were many people who would approach me in the streets and ask me to take photographs of them. Some of them even invited me into their homes to talk and some even offered me coffee.
When you are walking around the streets, you will find street photographs around every corner. Beirut, Lebanon is a city of contrasts. On one side of the street you will see a decrepit and abandoned building, while on the other side you will see new apartments and shopping centers. Not only that, but the streets are always full of hustle and bustle and people are constantly interacting with one another.
2. It has amazing food
Eating a traditional dinner in Beirut, Lebanon
Sure every country has its great foods, but Lebanese food is on a totally different level. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have probably gained 10 pounds in the last few days getting my hands on all these different types of foods. The food here is fresh, hearty, and always satisfying appetites.
Fallafels, lamb, hummus, olive oil, pitas, wraps, tomatoes, barbeque beef, and grilled onions are only a few of the things that will delight your tastebuds.
3. The people treat you like family
My Street Photography 101 Workshop Group Picture
As I write this, I am currently staying at my host (Mohamad Badr’s) house. Although I did not know him at all before, he treated me like family and truly opened up his home to me. Not only that, but all the times that I went to his families’ houses to eat dinner, they were always open to me and really spread their love with me as well. Mohamad’s aunt even told me if I stayed in Beirut, she would find me a beautiful wife! (of course I declined as I already have a beautiful girlfriend/manager back home).
But regardless, the feeling of community here is very real. In Los Angeles I often feel that everybody is always out their for themselves and don’t spend enough time with friends and family. Here, people have a huge emphasis on spending time with one another and are always out on the streets having a great time.
There are a million other reasons why you got to travel to Beirut, Lebanon before you die. I highly encourage everybody out there to disregard the public inaccuracies of the media and the general consensus about Lebanon being a “terrorist country.” Definitely swoop on in and you will definitely have the time of your life.
Just wanted to update you on my travel in Beirut, Lebanon. After 5 hours waiting at LAX, 11 hours on a flight from LAX to London, a 5 hour layover in London, and a 7 hour plane trip from London to Beirut, I have finally landed in Beirut, Lebanon. My flight arrived about an hour later than expected, but it was a great pleasure meeting my host Mohamad Bahr and Thomas Leuthard at the airport. I was a bit worried that they wouldn’t be able to find me at the airport, but then I realized that I am probably the only Asian in Lebanon (so it was really easy).
After landing down, Mohamad took Thomas and I to one of the downtown districts where I had some of the most amazing Lebanese street food. They were chicken skewers marinated in Garlic, roasted over a charcoal fire, then wrapped with some sauces I am not quite sure what they are. Regardless, they were delicious beyond belief. After downing a Pepsi as well, we hit the streets and walked around at 12AM in the morning.
Beirut definitely has a fascinating vibe and soul to it. It reminds me a lot of Seoul, Korea–with the narrow streets and the tall buildings. In the area that we were shooting, there were many art/movie posters plastered all over the walls, which gave the area a very artsy feel. Not only that, but the city was hustling and bustling with cars and people in the street. It truly felt alive.
Anyways, we arrived at Mohamad’s place, and after a nice little chat with him and Thomas, I passed out and am currently writing this at 10:09AM in the morning, waiting on one of our friends here to get us traditional Lebanese breakfast.
For the record, my workshop here is going to be from Saturday to Sunday, and there are already quite a bit of people signed up on Facebook. I am quite excited to do my presentation, and I am sure it will be a great learning experience as well. I already feel the warmth and love of the Lebanese people, and my stomach is already in love with the food here.
Also per the request of Piotr and a few others, I will be posting my slides online via slideshare or some other medium for you guys (who can’t attend) to check out. Stay posted and wish me luck! I hope to post some pictures soon as well!
Note: Every Wednesday, I feature street photographers with great skill and soul. For this week, I decided to feature talented street photographer Jonathan Murray. I first met Jonathan Murray on Twitter, and witnessed his great images and thoughts on his blog. Not only that, but he generously donated 11 brand-new Canon Powershots to the photography class that I teach to under-privileged high school students. Oh yeah, also feel free to check out all of the other featured street photographers of the week here!
1. How did you get started in street photography?
Burmese Karen Refugee Child, Tham Hin Camp, Thailand
My interest in ‘street’ photography has emerged over recent years driven by both necessity and a desire to overcome my own personal limitations as a photographer.
I am excited to tell you guys I am heading to Beirut, Lebanon tomorrow! Through all of your generous donations and sponsorships, I am able to make this trip. My heart goes out to everybody in this community who has not only gave me so much, but has helped me support my journey through creating this street photography blog.
The workshop will be two days long, and will involve myself presenting tips & techniques regarding street photography. Not only that, but participants of the workshop will actually be given time to go out and shoot with me! In addition, I also have a guest street photographer, Thomas Leuthard, who will also be a guest speaker. I have never done a workshop or anything like this, but I have definitely put a lot of time, energy, and love into this presentation. Hopefully all goes well!
As with the blog, I will continue posting once I come back from my trip, which is next Thursday (11/18). Hopefully I will be able to blog while I am there, but in reality– I will probably be too preoccupied traveling, meeting new people, and of course–taking photos.
If you want to know more about the event, check out the Facebook event for my workshop here.
You can also check out my original blog post here.
Sponsors who made this trip possible:
-Raoul Marinescu
-Kay-Won Chang
-Pamela Mandeville
-Neal Bingham
-Bob Soltys
-Justin Tzou
-Amy Huang
-Shawn Murphy
-Graham Alderton
-Ziga Puh
-Juan Carlos Olivo
-Irma Jessica Salgado
-Jan Klomp
-Ziga Puh
-Aleksandr Bortnik
-Eivind Sandstad
-Don Crossland
-Matthias Mariacher
-Jim Kneuper
-Holly Pyon
-Stephanie Chiang & Kenneth Kim
-Pamela Mandeville
-Aldrin Gamos
-Lisa Kim
-Rosa Seo
-Justin Lee
–Thomas Leuthard
Let’s admit it–if you are a street photographer and not driving a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, you probably want the Leica M9. Trust me, I want it really badly too–it has been on my mind for quite a while. But honestly, can we justify purchasing a $6,900 camera just because the camera we have doesn’t pay an homage to Henri Cartier-Bresson and all of the other street photography masters? Mind that this is not taking into account the extra $2000 or so you need to purchase Leica lenses as well. So before you plunge yourself $6,900 deeper into debt, perhaps you should read this:
Note: I got this email from aspiring street photographer named Tasos. It was quite inspirational and eye-opening. I thought I would share it with you guys!
"Hey this guys shooting us!" – Tasos
The other day I was out, and as usual I had the camera with me.
I took a photo of 2 gentlemen. It was a great learning experience.
I shared my thought with another member on flickr who was kind enough to comment on my photo.
Here is my letter to Mary (fellow flickr(er)):
Hi Mary. Thanks for your comments.
You know this photo is very important to me. Not because of the subjects, composition, lighting etc. I am hoping to take much better photos than this one. The reason why this photo is important to me is because it taught me something about shooting “street”. I am getting my courage up shooting with a wide angle lens, and getting close to people. I think that it is important/necessary when shooting street. So I think I’m getting comfortable with that part. I practice even when the camera isn’t to my eye, by trying to hold eye contact with strangers for as long as possible, seeing if the other will turn away first (something that was hard for me because I’m normally not that type of personality). Sometimes the other person looks away first, sometimes they smile, and sometimes they scowl (that’s when you have to break a smile). Having said this, here I am in this parking lot. I get out of my car, full of confidence, and I am walking up to these guys. At first they are unaware of me and I snap a couple of photos. Nothing special. but then on the last shot, the man on the right takes notice. He didn’t seem all that enthused. I had my shot, and I moved on. At that moment I thought highly of myself as I had the shot, wasn’t timid etc.
When it came time to leave I got into my car.
The man on the right had left. The man on the left was still sitting there.
As I drove by him. He was looking at me, with a sort of questioning look, and at the same time kind of upset. I didn’t break eye contact, and he looked away first. This time I felt very poorly of myself. It was as if I had broken him. As if I had taken something from him that he wasn’t willing to give.
It was at that moment I learned my lesson.
You see, street photography (I am learning) walks a thin line. On one hand you are documenting the human condition, and you want people to be natural and unposed, unaware of you. But what happens when you get noticed (like I was)? My reaction (just walk on by), at least in this case, wasn’t the right one. I should have approached them, made some small talk, and let them know what I was doing. Instead, I felt as if I had been caught taking something that wasn’t mine.
Later that night I came home and found a link to this article titled: “People Like to be Honored.” It clarified what I had experience earlier that day (almost as if fate had it waiting for me).
Links:
Add Tasos as a contact on Flickr and follow him on Twitter!
Have any of you guys had an epiphany or lesson you learned about Street Photography? Leave a comment below and share your story with us!
“Buy a good pair of comfortable shoes, have a camera around your neck at all times, keep your elbows in, be patient, optimistic and don’t forget to smile.”
Some may argue that posed portraits of people on the streets is not “street photography” per-se. However regardless of all these definitions, I still feel that there is merit in taking portraits of people you might encounter on the street who have fascinating stories to share. There have been many occasions in which I have randomly started talking to people and wanted to simply take their portrait as it interests me as a photographer. However one problem that many people have is that they feel “awkward” doing so. Therefore I will teach you guys some practical tips how to take street portraits without being awkward.
1. Use a preface
Shinji – An amazing hot-dog chef I met in Los Angeles. He had an incredible life story he shared with me.
Asking to take somebody’s portrait is a bit uncommon in western culture, although not everybody is totally opposed to it. To break the ice in asking a person for their portrait, using a preface is always a great way to make the other person feel relaxed.
My favorite preface to use when asking random people on the street to take their portrait is “I know this might seem weird, but would you mind if I took a photo of you?” In saying “I know this might seem weird,” you are acknowledging to the other person that what you are doing is against “the norm”, but it reassures the other person that you have no malicious intent. When asked this, most people shrug their shoulders and say, “Sure I guess so–why not?” Granted that you will get some people who say “no,” but I would say I find much more people who say yes.
Note: Every Wednesday, I feature street photographers with great skill and soul. For this week, I decided to feature amazing Parisian street photographer Yanidel. I first witness Yanidel’s work when I googled “Paris Street Photography,” and his site came up on top. I’m glad it did. He roams the streets of Paris with his Leica M9, and consistently shoots great street images. Continue to read this inspirational interview with him! Oh yeah, also feel free to check out all of the other featured street photographers of the week here!
1. How did you get started in street photography?
"Rebel without a cause" – Yanidel
It started with my move to Paris five years ago. Paris is absolutely wonderful for long walks since there will be something interesting inpretty much any corner of the city. During these walks, I started to notice scenes and atmospheres and took my first snapshot at that time. Parallelly, Paris is also one of the mainstay of photography so I was exposed to the work of famous street photographers through exhibits or magazines. At the same time, as I began looking for a new camera, I got attracted by rangefinders and discovered the big role they played in the history of street photography. All of that came together at the same time and soon after I found myself in the street shooting strangers. Not only was I taking long walk, but I had become a shot hunter with a finger always ready to hit the trigger.
Today I was on Twitter and saw two tweets about this video, one from Jonathan Murray and one from RooshPhotog. It is a wonderful video which shows you Craig Semetko, a street photographer in action. He has been featured in countless exhibitions, and has even had his work side-by-side to street photography master Henri Cartier-Bresson. The music is great and gives you insight into Craig’s philosophies on street photography, which is quite inspirational.
A street shooter in the tradition of Cartier-Bresson, his Leicas capture classic images that reveal the moment
Perhaps this says all you need to know about Craig Semetko’s inspired Leica photography: In 2008 his work was featured along with images by legendary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson at the Open Shutter Gallery in Durango, Colorado, in an exhibition entitled, “Street Photography: From Classic to Contemporary – Henri Cartier-Bresson and Craig Semetko.†In 2009/2010 he mounted one-man shows at the Leica Galleries in Frankfurt, Germany, Salzburg, Austria, and at the Leica headquarters in Solms, Germany. His work was also recently shown opposite renowned photojournalist Elliott Erwitt’s in the group exhibition “The Art of Photography Today†at the Camera Obscura gallery in Denver, Colorado. In June of last year he spoke on street photography at the International Center of Photography in New York City and he was the keynote speaker at the Leica Historical Society of America’s 2009 annual meeting in Seattle, Washington.
Semetko is inspired by the humor and irony that crosses cultural boundaries and he travels the world to find them. A graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and a current masters candidate in Consciousness Studies at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles, Semetko’s photographs have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and numerous other international publications. Twenty of his images were selected to be published in the exhibition book Family of Man 2. Also, his book “Unposed†came out in October from publisher teNeues.
He also has a an interview with the Leica Camera Blog where you can continue to read here.
Every street photographer needs to take more photos. Street photographers (and many other types of photographers) don’t go out and shoot photos nearly as often as we should. In an ideal world, we should be outside every day, trying to capture the beauty of everyday life. Whenever photographers say, “I don’t have enough time” or “I’m too busy”–it is all just excuses. If there is something we care about enough, we will make excuses to go out and take photos. To help you get out on the streets more and shooting, I will outline some quick and practical tips that could help you be more on the streets and shooting photos.
1. Carry your camera with you everywhere you go
The master, Henri Cartier-Bresson with his camera always close to his eye. You know he never made any excuses not having his camera with him.
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