Who would have thought that 146 years after the photographic negatives were added to protected works under copyright – people would still use the technique even though there’s an almost futuristic alternative?
In the late 90s photographic film made, what would seem, a last push to stay on top of the photography market with a row of new cameras such as the Olympus Mju-II that quickly sold around 3.8 million examples. Or the Canon EOS 1-N that served the purpose of showcasing just how advanced Canon’s technology really was at the time.
But with the millennium came a new king of the market: the digital camera. With the new Canon 1D and Nikon D1 film truly appeared to be losing the battle. And today when technology has reached a level that was a mere fantasy of science fiction fans a couple of years ago, it would seem like film is dead.
Interview conducted by Jacob Patterson, co-founder of the ThinkTank Gallery in Los Angeles.
YOU ARE HERE is a street photography show at the ThinkTank Gallery at 939 Maple Ave in Downtown LA on October 13th which is sponsored by Leica Camera. Over 30 photographers were given 10 days to shoot the same one square block, and their three images which best capture the spirit of the area shot will be displayed together alongside a few installation pieces. Come out at 7pm or after you visit the Downtown Artwalk and see this unique show! You can RSVP via Facebook, and keep reading to hear about Eric’s involvement in the exhibition and see some of his best images.
Justin Vogel (aka justinsdisgustin) was born and raised in Hells Kitchen in New York City and describes himself as a 42-year old unemployed stay-at-home father of a two year old baby boy. Although he refers to himself as a “dirt bag†his insight and ability to create captivating images is incredible. He captures a unique vision of his neighborhood that is often raw and gritty primarily in film. Opionated and full of vigor, he is definitely a seminal figure in the street photography and his work with the Hardcore Street Photography Group on Flickr. We caught up with Justin and found more about the man behind the camera.
I recently received my copy of Tenderloin USA, which is a 50-page black and white introspection of the Tenderloin, one of San Francisco’s most vibrant yet often overlooked neighborhoods. Street photographers Brad Evans and Travis Jensen go into the heart of the Tenderloin, and capture soulful images of the people who work, hustle, hang out, and live in the colorful and culturally diverse neigborhood.
The most inspirational part of Tenderloin USA is that 100% of the profits will go to the Larkin Street Youth Services, a San Francisco charitable organization that helps at-risk youth in the area. I am a huge advocate for helping out the community through photography, so do your part and pick up a copy! The journal is only $20 through HP’s Magcloud, and you can buy a copy here.
I know this is a bit late, but finally got the best images from my workshop participants from my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop in San Francisco. You can see a recap of how the workshop went, and make sure to stay posted for my upcoming workshops in San Diego, Los Angeles, Toronto, India, Tokyo, and Malaysia on my workshops page!
Nick Turpin recently put up the full 38 min version of in-public’s ‘in-sight’ documentary film which shows them shooting on the streets of New York, London, Melbourne and Rotterdam. Each street photographer had an HD camera mounted on their camera hotshoe to show them in action. Each photographer also discusses their motivation and approach to street photography.
You can pay a small fee to support the film through Paypal. I highly recommend everyone watch it. Save the money you would spend on having a Starbucks coffee and watch it!
Eric’s Note: This is article is part of an on-going weekly column by Japancamerahunter (Bellamy Hunt) where he talks about vintage cameras, film, and street photography. You can check out his part articles here.Â
So, it looks like Eric has got himself a Leica M9, the lucky little so and so. So I thought that this would be as good a time as any to write a post about the perceived benefits of shooting with a rangefinder, or more specifically a Leica.
Now It has to be said that I am a big Leica fan, but that does not mean that they are the only rangefinders. I also have a Contax G2, a Konica Hexar and a Canon 7. They all have their differences, so good, some bad. What I am going to talk about in this is the general benefits that I have found using a rangefinder.
Bill Reeves, a passionate photographer who is fortunate enough to have Magnum photographers Eli Reed and Paolo Pellegrin as his mentors, told me about a blog post that Magnum had a while back regarding advice to young photographers. It was put together by Alec Soth, who has done a series of fascinating projects such as his most popular, “Sleeping by the Missisippi” which was done on a 8×10 view camera. An interesting excerpt that Bill put together about Alec is below:
Alec writes up lists of things to shoot. Some normal objects, like suitcases, and others more weird, like unusually tall people. He would tape this list to his steering wheel, and be reminded to shoot those things when he saw them. When he found someone to shoot, he would talk to them, and from that conversation find the next thing to go looking for. An example is he did a portrait of a guy who built model airplanes, and then a portrait of a hooker. The link? She had airplanes painted on her nails. He then went to photograph Charles Lindberg’s childhood home, which led him to photograph Johnny Cash’s boyhood home and so on and so forth.
I found the advice that these Magnum photographers is golden–and have shared it here to spread the love and knowledge. Keep reading to see their inspirational images and advice. You can also download the free PDF here.
I am excited to say that I am teaching my Intermediate Street Photography Workshop in San Diego this up-coming 10/8-10/9 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel. The workshop will be focused on finding your own street photography style, and we will be studying the work of the masters (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Elliott Erwitt, and more). There is a cap of only 8 participants, so make sure to click below for more information before spots run out!
Sorry for the delay, but finally chose the Top-3 Winners of my first international “Decisive Moment” street photography contest! Many of you voted on your favorite submissions to make it to the top 10, and I chose the top three which I felt captured Henri Cartier-Bresson’s aesthetic of what he would have believed to be the “The Decisive Moment”. Congratulations to everyone who submitted and the winners will be awarded Lens Bracelets of their choice!
Stay updated as I have lots of other new street photography contests coming up! Keep reading to see all the amazing images and the stories behind them!
When I was at the Leica + Magnum event in Paris a few months back, I had the huge pleasure of interviewing incredibly talented (and humble) photographer Alex Majoli. Part of the highly respected Magnum agency, he has traveled the world and shot a wide gamut of images. This ranges from his personal work of documenting the closing of an asylum in Leros, Greece to various conflicts in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq.
I interviewed Alex alongside Bart Goossens, a freelance journalist and photographer living in Antwerp.
I am pleased to announce that Adrian Storey (aka Uchujin) has just put up the documentary of two cute dogs. Having met him in Paris for the Leica Magnum Event, I would say it captures his eclectic personality quite well. He is quite the character and an awesome guy to hang around with. He takes street photography very seriously, and has created some amazing photos in the last year or two he has been shooting. In addition to his love for street photography, he was one of the major contributors to the Japan Earthquake Charity Print Auction.
Regardless of all the controversy online shooting flash, you can see in the documentary how he is able to interact with his subjects and get personal with them. He isn’t sneaky with his photography, but does it openly and honestly. I also consider him one of my good friends and also a mentor–who has really pushed me to take my photography (and blog) much more seriously. Although he may come off as brash at times, he has a huge heart and is one of the most generous people I know.
And why is his name “two cute dogs”? Well he has two cute dogs.
The day has finally come that I got my Leica M9 and 35mm 1.4 Summilux in the mail! I have always wanted one, and with the generous support of my loving mother paying for half of it, I am now a proud owner! I just wanted to thank everyone for my street photography journey and helping me live out my dreams. After all, if it weren’t you guys attending my workshops, writing comments, or spreading the word I couldn’t do street photography full-time. Also remember, the Leica is still just a tool. Don’t feel that you need to own a Leica to get good photos.
Also for those of you who are curious, I am using the Custom SLR strap and YN 560 Flash. You can also pick up some gaffers tape here.
I’m also planning on making a review for the Leica M9. Anything in particular you guys want me to go over? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
I was once a very shy person. Like every other photographer, I started off shooting animals and  concrete stuff. People were a bit too complicated and difficult for me to approach. So I concentrated on nature, the environment and buildings where I discovered technical aspects of the camera. However my dream was always to shoot social life and humans. When I took the camera to my hands for the first time, I realized that I needed to get closer to people. Over time I have become much more comfortable doing this. Nowadays when I approach people I do it with a smile on my face which makes them feel much more comfortable.
I recently got these 10 street photography tips from an anonymous street photographer who wanted to share this information with you. I found these tips to be very insightful, and I hope you will too! Keep reading more to learn about all the goodness.
Man, I am pooped. After 2 fun and engaging days of learning about street photography and shooting in the streets I gotta say I have mad love for the Windy City. Some of the nicest folks out there, and Downtown Chicago is definitely one of my new favorite places to shoot. I will miss the hospitality of my beloved cousin Holly and Ian’s pizza, Goose Island Beer, as well as the famous deep-dish pizzas here!
Huge thanks for all the participants who came out, including George, Rod, Margarett, Josh, Ryan, Alex, Darci, Bob, Jayme, Sam, Angelo, and especially Souvik for helping with logistical details and Jason for leading the workshop with me! I will be posting their 5 best images from the workshop soon, so stay posted!
Also if you are interested in one of my upcoming street photography workshops, please check out my workshops page for a workshop coming near you! Below is my upcoming calendar. If you have any questions shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com
October
10/8-10/9: San Diego –  Sheraton San Diego Hotel –  Info
10/15-10/16: Downtown Los Angeles - Think Tank Gallery - Info
Today was a phenomenal Day 1 of my Introductory Street Photography Workshop with Jason Martini in Chicago! It was my first time doing a workshop in Chicago and I was a bit nervous about all the logistical details, but in the end– everything worked well! Huge thanks to Souvik for helping with the accommodations and helping make this thing happen!
It is crazy to think that three months ago I was talking to Charlie Kirk about how I wanted to do street photography full-time and now it is a reality. It reminds me how important it is for me to stay humble (thanks Mom for the advice!) as well continuing to give back to the community. Thomas Leuthard (85mm) was the one who helped me start my street photography career by supporting my trip to Beirut, Lebanon to teach my first workshop— and in his words, I want to pay it forward. I taught my photography class at Phoenix High School in Los Angeles to under-privileged students and now plan on helping expand this network hopefully world-wide. Watching Born into Brothels (a documentary about a photographer teaching photography to kids in the red-light district in India) truly inspired me, and I just want to continue to spread the love of photography. Therefore stay tuned for some great projects that we can all help support! :)
Thanks all of you for your never-ending support and encouragement. I truly love you all. Keep reading to see the rest of the photos of the workshop!
One of the most important parts about street photography is to only show your best work. Below are some of the best 5 street photographs taken by my Downtown Los Angeles Street Photography Intermediate Course participants. Add them on Flickr, Twitter, 500px, and take a look at their respective websites and let us know whose work you really dig by leaving a comment!
You can also check out a recap of Day 1 and Day 2 of the Downtown LA Intermediate Workshop. Keep reading more to check out all the inspirational images below!
Eric’s Note: This is article is part of an on-going weekly column by Japancamerahunter (Bellamy Hunt) where he talks about vintage cameras, film, and street photography. You can check out his part articles here.Â
Now that you have taken the plunge and bought yourself a film camera you might be wondering what film you should be using. Well, this is a rather difficult one to answer, as one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
But, never fear, Eric asked me, your charming uncle Japancamerahunter to try and steer you through the rough (and sometimes expensive) seas that make up camera film.
Now this article is timely in that it comes off the back of an announcement last week by Fujifilm that they will be cutting production of a number of films. This seems to be a growing trend, and I can imagine it will not be long before only the smaller specialized companies like Ilford and Efke are making film. So if you are fancying a crack at the film game there is no better time than now. Get on it while the going is good.
Group photo of the SF Introduction to Street Photography Workshop
After a trip visiting Cindy in Michigan for a week, I headed my way over to SF to teach my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop. It was also great to have Tom Brichta from Leica come out and help input his thoughts about street photography while letting us play with some nice Leica equipment! Although hiking up hills was tough, it was wonderful to capture the colorful people of the city. Not only that, but we had great company, food, and support!
I also wanted to thank all the participants Davit, David, Michael Rickey, Michael Cohen, Xiamin, John, Jia, Austin, Justin, Tom, Angela for their willingness to help one another while trying out new street photography techniques! Of course I also want to thank Sarah for letting us use her beautiful home and also to my loving mom for her never-ending support! Make sure to watch the video below– I give each of you guys a shout-out!
Also if you are interested in any of my upcoming workshops in Chicago, Downtown LA, San Diego, Toronto, or Tokyo check out my workshops page for more info!
Video Recap
Read more to check out all the photos from the workshop!
Steve McCurry, Magnum Photographer, and one of the best photographers of the 21st century recently received the first Leica Hall of Fame Award which was recently announced on their blog. According to Leica, “The prize is awarded to photographers who have rendered outstanding service to the Leica brand and to the genre of photography.” The video itself contains some of his most renowned images that tell incredible stories. Sit back with your cup of coffee, relax, and make sure to watch all five minutes!
Which one of Steve’s photos are your favorite? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
Stu Egan, a passionate street photographer and magazine editor from London recently put together the first issue of Radiate Magazine, a new street photography magazine filled with great street photographers from all around the globe. Not only does the magazine include great images, but it includes insightful interviews and features from street photographers such as Paul Trevor, John Battaglia, the un-posed street collective (Michal Adamski, Damian Chrobak, Pawel Piotrowski, Zbigniew Osiowy, Tomasz Lazar and Maciej Dakowicz), Charlie Kirk, Misho Baranovic, Bruce Byers and Justin Sainsbury.
The magazine is 100 pages and is only $21 if you wish to get a real paper-back copy. The magazine isn’t priced to make any profit, and is priced at the basement price to get the thing printed. If you really love street photography, you should pick up the paper-back version and enjoy the beautiful images. I just ordered mine and can’t wait until I get it in the mail!
They also offer a free digital download at the link below.
If you want to get a deeper insight into street photography and take better photos, I feel it is very important to study the work of the street photographers who came before us and paved the way for the rest of us. Not only that, but reading the quotes and words by these influential street photographers is a great way to train your mind to take better photos as well. Below are some of my favorite street photography quotes that are concise, inspirational, and have influenced me in one way or another.
Eric’s Note:Â This original article was published on Ishu Patel’s site and re-published here with permission. It details Ishu Patel’s time with Henri Cartier-Bresson and gets some insightful views into his life and photography.Â
AFTER GRADUATING IN 1963 from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Baroda, India I was lucky enough to be selected by Gira Sarabhai to train as an “apprentice†at the newly formed National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India. And therein lies the story of my valued memories of Henri Cartier-Bresson.
The plan was to select a cohort of talented Fine Arts and Architecture graduates and to apprentice them in various design disciplines in order to become the future faculty of the National Institute of Design. During those amazing early years the giants of contemporary design from all over the world were invited to the Institute, staying on for months, even years at a time, as teachers and mentors, consultants and project heads. Who came? – Designers Ray & Charles Eames, architect Louis Khan, furniture designer Nakashima, graphic designers Armin Hoffman, Bob Gill, Leo Leonni, and Ivan Chermayeff, animation filmmaker Gullio Gianini, typographer Adrian Frutiger, textile designers Alexander Gerard and Helena Perhentupa, music composer John Cage . . . just to mention a few.
Damien Rayuela, an incredibly talented street photographer and former intern at Magnum put together a wonderful new series titled: “Alone“. His raw and gritty images are bursting with emotion, and tell a very personal story from his life. As stated from his site he describes the series: “Encapsulating those moments when breathing alone feels like a triumph”.
For those of you who are curious, he used a Contax G3 and Tri-x 3200 and Neopan 1600 film to shoot these images. Read more to see the full series.
Eric’s note: The following guest blog post is by Simon Garnier, part scientist and part street photographer who lives and works in New Jersey. Read about his experiences in getting close in street photography–and how he grapples with the idea of getting close in street photography. Interestingly enough this post was written before Fabio Pires’ video came out, but it is more relevant than ever.Â
Simon: I am not an experienced street photographer. I started shooting street and candid pictures about a year ago, after several years of irregular experimentations with film and digital cameras. Everything you will read in this post is therefore the result of an ongoing reflection about something that I thought was true, but that I start to find overestimated, and potentially problematic for street photography in general.
First of all, I don’t like how this guy is deliberately trying to scare people to elicit a type of response. The fact that he hides behind a phonebooth and then jumps out doesn’t feel right to me. When you are shooting street photography you might scare/surprise people on accident, but that shouldn’t be your primary motive. Even with my street photography, I prefer when I capture images of people candidly without them noticing me. I found in many cases when I get really close to people with a wide-angle lens, they don’t even seem to notice me. And for those who say that I shoot flash to elicit a response– people don’t notice the flash until after you take the photo.
Secondly, his technique looks very sloppy. I am not sure if he shoots under his arms/sideways all-the-time, but it looks like he was doing that to be showy. Although I believe shooting from the hip without a viewfinder is a good way to get your feet wet in street photography, I believe that using the viewfinder is the best way to get solid compositions and framing. To say that he is “more of a perfectionist than Bruce Gilden” is absolute blasphemy as many of his images have poor composition.
In addition, his knowledge of street photography seems to very superficial. He mentions that he is out looking for characters, but simply defines “characters” as people who look different. He also mentions that there is no point in shooting “normal people” which I disagree with. Also, I think he should think more about the story he is trying to tell through the people that he captures.
Lastly, he doesn’t seem to have much respect for the people he shoots, especially the homeless. He has no problem scaring people to get his shot, and the aggressive motion he uses with his camera looks more like a punch than photo-taking. In addition, he mentions that he only deliberately shoots the homeless because they are “different”. To say something like that is unethical in my opinion, as the homeless shouldn’t be seen as easy subjects to capture because of their socio-economic differences from us. All-in-all, you must have the right reasons to shoot your subjects to showcase something beautiful about their character, dress, face, or attitude. You must look for unique and special people to shoot, rather than “different” people. Love the people you shoot.
Although the guy does come off as arrogant and cocky, what he is still doing is legal. Whether it is ethical is a completely different story. I don’t know many street photographers that try to elicit a response on purpose from their subjects, but if that is his cup of tea and artistic style I don’t feel right to judge him based on a video. Who knows, maybe the guy is just a bit confused or mislead. I feel that art always needs to push boundaries and although this guy is doing the extreme polar end of street photography, that is his style.
Let us know what your thoughts about the video are in the comments below. And please try to keep the conversation civil.
Update: One thing I want to emphasize is that let’s not all take out our pitchforks and crucify Fabio. Let’s disagree with his actions, rather than himself as a person. I’m sure he has been reading all the negative comments on the web and feels pretty crappy right now. I know how it feels to be criticized on a large-scale and trust me: it feels horrible. After all the negative press I received after my video, I was actually quite depressed and down-in-the-dumps for several weeks.
The Think Tank Gallery is looking for 32 street photographers from Los Angeles for a fascinating project. Selected photographers will have 10 days to shoot in an undisclosed location during October 1st-10th. Those chosen will then have their best 3 images shown in their gallery during the LA Downtown Artwalk on October 13th.
If you are interested in participating, shoot an email at youareherethinktank@gmail.com with your 5 best images in JPEG format (resized to 950px wide). This can be a great opportunity to get more exposure for your work and even get featured in an up-coming gallery!
*Deadline to submit is September 15th, 2011
*You don’t need to be from Los Angeles to participate, but you will have to be in Los Angeles during October 1st-10th to participate.
I am excited to announce that I have chosen the Top 20 “Decisive Moment” Street Photography Contest Finalists. Find the images on Facebook, and vote on your favorite images by “Liking” them! You will have between September 6-14th to vote on the images.
The 10 final images with the most “Like’s” will advance, and I will judge the Top 3 images.
Eric’s note: Steve Foon, a street photographer from the Bay Area, recently offered to write this comparison of the Fujifilm FinePix X100 versus the Leica M9 (which he owns as well). Read his thoughts on the camera and how it stacks up against the M9!Â
Every photographer has a style of photography that just calls their name. Be it wildlife, sports, landscape, architectural, portraitures, models, etc… my personal calling is Street Photography.
Each genre has certain requirements that will demand that a certain photographic tool be used. Let me clarify that you don’t really have to have a specific photographic tool to be able to shoot the genre you like. It’s just that certain cameras just seem to fit the job better than others.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about marketing oneself as a street photographer. Through the past year on my blog, I have featured a great deal of street photographers who are extremely talented yet haven’t had the coverage that they deserved. Thinking more about the subject, I thought especially about Vivian Maier who was indeed one of the great street photographers, but was unknown until after she died. Of course Maier purposely didn’t share her photos with others, but I think that photographers have a duty to share their images with others to inspire and show the beauty of life.
I know there are many street photographers out there who are still very talented yet don’t know how to get their work out there. I have divided up this blog post up to three parts which will hopefully help you understand what you want out of street photography, how to get your work out there, and how to get your work recognized as well.
Eric’s Note: Ollie Gapper is a passionate and  young street photographer who found it as a medium to quite literally take the pain out of his everyday life. Make sure to read his story how he got started with street photography as well as a film he produced for his class!
My childhood was unique. To be born with a disability is a strange experience, feeling like every ache, pain, dislocation, bruise and cut is just normal, but being told by those around you differently causes you to constantly question your own perception of just about everything. As I grew and matured I realized that what I have is both a severe disability and a unique opportunity. An opportunity to make the very best out of a very bad situation. With near constant trips to London for hospital appointments I tried to find something I could do to break the monotony and negative stigma I’d attached to such visits. I found street photography.
Looks like other street photographers (also named Eric) are shooting up-close and personal with a flash. Except the difference is that he is shooting with a medium-format Mamiya 7II and a large Metz flash. No idea how much it costs to develop all that film, but he makes fantastic photos and the process of him shooting in China is interesting as well. Make sure to watch these videos thoroughly to get a sense of his style which is very intimate, casual, and flows very well.
Eric Shooting in Hong Kong
Thanks to Jeff G. Rottman for the tip!
Also check out his book, “Good Luck China” on the Japan Exposures site.
Twitter can be a beautiful place to meet and connect with other street photographers on a 1:1 basis, but the biggest problem is the amount of noise out there. Here are some of the 50+ street photographers I follow religiously on Twitter who always tweet interesting content, communicate well, or are great sources of street photography related news.Sorry if I forgot anybody on the list (I am human after all) so please don’t take offense! Also make sure to use the hashtag #streettogs on Twitter to stay posted with anything street photography related!
For my recent Intermediate Street Photography Workshop in Downtown LA, Todd from Lighting Leica and the kind folks from Clik hooked it up with a Clik Elite Magnesian 20 Camera Bag to test out. When I am out shooting, I typically use the Think Tank Retrospective 5 Camera bag, but at times found it a bit small and with one annoyance: it didn’t have slots for water bottles. The Magnesian 20 Camera Bag is fairly larger than the Think Tank Retrospective 5, and is loaded with two water bottle holders on the side (or you can store lenses or flashes there). Read more to see my mini-review!
Eric’s Note: This following photo-essay is by William R. Reeves, a passionate photographer and Ph.D student who has many of his images exhibited and on permanent collection. His mentors include Eli Reed and Paolo Pellegin from Magnum Photos. Enjoy his soulful images and story below.
Trisomy 13 is a rare genetic disorder that kills 80% of its victims before they see their first birthday. Those that do survive are afflicted with a host of disorders ranging from the physical to mental.
Nathan Huf lived into his twenties, and at the time of his passing was the oldest known living male Trisomy 13 in the world. He was blind, had the intellect of an 8 month old child, and needed around the clock care from his mother Lillie. Despite all of this, he was unanimously voted Homecoming King of Granger High School, a school he never even attended.
