I’m currently reading a book titled: “Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Thinkâ€. In the book, the author defines happiness as being primarly composed of two things: pleasure and purpose. To find “optimal†happiness in life, the author encourages us to find a balance between pleasure and purpose in our life.
I have read dozens of books on the topic of happiness. When I studied sociology as an undergraduate I would ask myself questions such as: Why is it that the richest people in the world are often the most miserable people? How much money do you need to be really happy? Does more money bring you happiness? What things could I do (or change) in my everyday life to make me be more happy?
Welcome to a new era of the photography festival in Turkey. We are bridging the gap between east and west, classic and modern, master and student, making Istanbul the regional hub of the international photography scene for years to come with FotoIstanbul.
Ronald Fischer, beekeeper, Davis, California, May 9, 1981.
Richard Avedon isn’t a street photographer— nor did he consider himself one. However, he did shoot street photography in his life, in Italy, New York, Santa Monica, and more.
I was particularly drawn to Richard Avedon because I have a fascination with portraiture and the human face. Even for my personal street photography, I might consider it “street portraiture.â€
I have recently binged on everything I could about Avedon— and have gained a ton of inspiration from his photography, his love of life, and his personal philosophies. I hope you enjoy these lessons as much as I did.
A.g.’s Note: Here we have another guest post from Sven Kraeuter. He previously shared to us a story of his interesting encounter while shooting medium format film. He’s back sharing his experience during a workshop with Alex Webb and Rebecca Webb. Enjoy! Words and Photographs by Sven Kraeuter.
Sven: Stockholm, Sweden, early summer 2014. I’m in a meeting room named “Daido Moriyama” and getting a little tense. I’m about to present some prints on a table to somebody who’s name could be on the door plate as well. Perhaps there’s another room here named after Alex Webb, too?
When I read the e-mail that confirmed I would be going to participate in one of Fotografiska’s “Masters Of Photography” workshops with the legendary Magnum photographer I couldn’t quite believe it. Now I’m here with about fifteen other photographers who prepared thirty prints to present in order to get n overview of their bodies of work. Quite amazing sets so far, a talented group presenting a broad variety of different styles ranging from personal documentary over street photography to still life.
I’m next, having different sets ready: my portfolio as well as experiments that are spreading over the table side by side. When four prints get picked that are actually part of my portfolio edit I’m quite relieved already. When Alex and his creative partner and wife Rebecca have some kind words for my playfull approach in general and two prints in particular, I am stoked. I know that kindness and hospitality play a role – probably a major one – in these sweet sentences, but I decide: I am going to produce at least one more good image during this workshop.
I’ve had the photographic week of my life in Provincetown with Magnum last week. I wanted to use this opportunity to reflect on some of my thoughts and experiences– and I will try my best to be as candid as I can (pun intended).
You can see the original article I wrote on David Alan Harvey here.
I just finished a week-long workshop with David Alan Harvey as a part of the Provincetown Magnum Days event. I have already written an article on the lessons I’ve learned from David Alan Harvey– but wanted to use this opportunity to further expand on what I’ve learned from him, and also add some new things I’ve learned. Here I go!
Recently I had the great pleasure of being accepted as a scholarship student (under 30) for the Magnum workshop in Provincetown, Massachusetts with David Alan Harvey. Unfortunately David got stuck in Paris en route, so the first two days I spent with Costa Manos. And I’m glad I did, I learned so much from his decades of experience (he has been in Magnum for over 50 years).
So based on my two days with him, I wanted to distill some wisdom he shared during the workshop. Here I go:
The legend Bruce Davidson was in town for the Magnum Days in Provincetown, and did a slideshow of his best images and some of the great stories behind them.
Student photo by Kile Brewer, in Constantine Manos’ class.
I had an absolutely phenomenal time at the Magnum Days workshop and slideshow in Provincetown this week. Below are some of the video slideshows of each teacher’s students– I was really impressed by everyone’s progress. Read more to see all the student photos.
I met Kile Brewer at the Magnum workshop here in Provincetown. He is a 24-year old working photo-journalist, who attended the University of Missouri’s Journalism program. He was one of the under-30 scholarship winners, attending a workshop with Costa Manos, and also my roommate for the week here in Provincetown (we go on romantic walks in the morning). Check out my casual interview him (shot on the iPad) with him above, and follow him below:
Today David Alan Harvey just arrived from France, and I had one last morning session with Constantine Manos. Below are my notes and video critique recordings:
Thank you to all the street photographers who are keeping our Streettogs Academy Facebook page a very nice and active community. Thank you for all of your participation and to Jomel “Dada Bear” Bartolome for our previous assignment. Our Assignment no. 3 editor’s choice, Bertrand Domas came up with a nice assignment for us. It was inspired by one of his favorite photographers. To pull it off, you need to have mastery of one of the basic types of light a street photographer encounters.
Given those thoughts, Bertand’s assignment for us is….
Today I went for a lovely 6am walk with Karl Edwards in Provincetown. Karl Edwards is a street photographer based in Toronto, and is also doing the Magnum workshop with Constantine Manos. We have a lively chat about street photography, shooting on the Leica M-E, and his new venture: “Street Shootr” — which is the Petapixel for street photography (breaking news on street photography).
Having some fun shooting portraits with Quoc and Kile in Provincetown with Heather Bruce, a local painter here. We met her at a local bar at night, shared her life story, and showed us her beautiful home by the water on commercial drive.
If you want to contact Heather Bruce regarding her work (or anything else), email her at: hbruce2800@yahoo.com
As always, thank you to everyone who participated in our Assignment No. 3. Special thanks goes to our editor’s choice Jomel Bartolome a.k.a. Dada Bear for picking this very interesting and challenging assignment for. It not only tests our skills in making a street photograph but it also asks us to challenge how to tell a story with a single photograph with his added task of showing what it feels like to be in a land foreign and different from yours. Offcourse, that isn’t the only way to interpret the theme.
Without further ado, here are some of the interpretations of Assignment No. 3, Foreigners!
Dana Danzel, a drag queen at a bar. I approached and asked her if I could take a few photos. I loved her personality, and blue accents. Shot a roll of Kodak Portra 400 on her on my Leica, and shot a few photos with my phone to email her. Provincetown, 2014.
Just flew out from sfo this morning at 6am and arrived for the meet and greet for the Magnum Workshop. Was met with a beautiful sunset, and was able to meet some great folks. Also had a great chat with Song, the Magnum workshops coordinator.
I’m currently re-reading “Antifragile†by Nassim Taleb, one of my favorite authors.
One of the views he has on life is to trust to trust disconfirmation over confirmation, and that much of happiness in life is knowing what not to do (relying on external validation from others, falling into consumerism, being a consumer over being a producer, deal with a miserable commute) than what to do.
Street photography is the most difficult type of photography out there. There is so little we can control, and it takes a lot of courage and confidence to shoot in the streets.
Huge thanks to Gary Tyson and Vishal S from Camera Film Photo for putting together this interview video and questions while I was in Hong Kong. We talk about my fears in street photography, books, film, and more.
I am often frustrated with my photography. Sometimes I will prowl the streets for hours, without getting any decent shots. Sometimes I ask myself, “what is the point of all of thisâ€â€“ does it all really matter?
One of the biggest inspirations in my photography is Josef Koudelka. He is the type of photographer who takes 10 years to publish one book, and the book is damn good. He takes his time with his photography, and the only person he has to impress is himself.
We often have tons of excuses in life. We don’t have enough time. We don’t have enough money. We don’t have the opportunities to do what we love.
I always make tons of excuses in my street photography. When I am traveling on the road, I have tons of opportunities to shoot and always feel inspired. However, when I’m back home— I don’t feel the same inspiration. I fall into the same boring routines of my everyday life.
(A.g.’s note:Â Some of the photographs in the article are for mature audiences only. Viewer discretion is advised. Words by A.g. De Mesa. Interview and questions by Eric Kim. All photographs are the respected copyright of Dougie Wallace)
Through the years of photography, the question weather the photographer is but a mere passive participant in the scene and subjects has been debated through in through. For a person like Dougie Wallace who actively documented Blackpool, witnessing how England’s generation is growing up in a place where Lads go to get hammered and ladies let go of their inhibitions, can we argue that the photographer itself is merely an observer? Or perhaps the mere presence of the photographer brings about a certain personality or performance in the subject since they know they are going to end up in a photograph somewhere?
I am really excited to share that Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “The Decisive Moment” in addition to “Exiles” by Josef Koudelka is going to be reprinted. These are two of the greatest street photography books published in history, and once sold for hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars.
A.g.’s note: Here’s a guest post for Sven Kraeuter that was originally posted in his blog. He shares to us an encounter he had while shooting around his neighborhood with a medium format camera that lead to an interesting encounter. Text and photographs belong to Sven Kraeuter.
Sven: Resurrecting my old east German medium format camera is a great experience so far. Coming from a rangefinder where you don’t look through the lens, hence have no visible indication of the depth of field, the first astonishing difference was to see this huge 6 by 6 centimeter view through the open aperture lens. This is a problem since everything looks gorgeous with that massive three dimensional pop and you could snap pretty much everything you frame right away ;-).
I know a lot of street photographers who have gotten into film recently, and have recently invested in film Leicas (specifically Leica m6’s). I wanted to write this guide to share everything I personally know about shooting on a film Leica based on my 3 years of experience.
Disclaimer: I am not a Leica expert, nor do I claim to be. But I will to share some practical tips and insights about film Leicas and how to shoot them on the streets.
Sean Lotman is a street photographer based in Kyoto. I recently met up with him in Kyoto and he showed me his beautiful 8×10 color darkroom prints. I was amazed by the colors, poetry, and beauty of the images– and wanted to share some of his work on the blog. You can see my past feature with him here.
Charlie Kirk nominated me for the Ice Bucket challenge and I just donated $100 to support ALS. If this blog has helped you out in any way (or this video entertained you) please consider also donating to ALS. There is no better joy than paying it forward and helping others :)
To pass on the torch, I nominate Justin Vogel to do the Ice Bucket Challenge! Special thanks to Greg Marsden for helping out make this video!
Recently I hooked up with my buddy Vishal from Hong Kong (he runs Camera Film Photo) and he hooked it up with some Rollei Digibase CN200 film. I was quite excited about the film (as it is new) — and decided to have a go. I shot around 2 rolls of film, and wanted to share some images and share some thoughts about the film.
