Already missing the warm weather and awesome chicken rice in Singapore! Huge thanks to Adam Rahim for letting me stay at his place (and being my manager), Leonard Goh, Gracia Yap, and Sunil Kaul from Leica for hosting my workshop – as well as Invisible Photographer Asia for letting us use their gallery space. Let me not forget AikBengChia for being my guest speaker at the workshop as well!
Keep reading to check out all the snapshots of the workshop and exhibition!
Going to Korea was a trip to be remembered for me. Not only did I have the chance to teach my first street photography workshop (in my mother country) but also taught it in both English and Korean! Huge thanks goes to Josh White, Dani Kim, Jasmine Aum, Olivia Lee, Jinhwan Roh, Summer and the rest of the Leica Korea team. I also had my first solo exhibition at the Illum Gallery at the Leica Store in Seoul.
Check out some snapshots from the workshop and exhibition below!
I recently read a critique on Severin Koller’s blog regarding the ethics of street photography and shooting street photography close, with a wide-angle, and a flash (similar to Bruce Gilden). He brings up issues that I think that all street photographers should consider when they think about why they shoot street photography and whether there is a “right or wrong” approach in street photography.
For this post, I will try to type out some of my personal thoughts on the topic at hand. There will be many flaws in my argument but please bear with me—I consider it more of a personal essay that will help me explicate my own thoughts. I will try to draw from street photography books, my personal experiences, as well as some pseudo-philosophy to back up any of my claims.
My ultimate claim is that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to shoot street photography (as there is an abundance of street photography styles out there). However when it comes to street photography, we should argue less about the aesthetics, styles, technique, and approach and —and concentrate on the question: “Why do we photograph?” It doesn’t matter if you use a wide-angle lens or a normal lens or if you use a flash or not. In the end the most important question remains: “Am I creating images that makes a statement on humanity, and will my images have the power to influence others to see differently?”
Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Do you want to learn the best settings to use on your camera to capture the decisive moment on your camera? Do you want to meet other street photographers that are as equally passionate about street photography or interested in learning like you?
If you are an beginner or intermediate street photographer and want to conquer your fear of shooting in the streets or looking to improve your skills, this workshop is for you. Through this dynamic and hands-on 2-day workshop you will get to learn:
At The Beach (1) Shot in Normandy, France in 2006. What goes through Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work is a certain lightness of life. It has to do with the subjects he picks, the way he handles them, and also with the print expression that he seems to insists on. Decisive moments and precise compositions, sure, but the lightness of life is the thread that carries it all.
Eric’s Note: I am pleased to feature Knut Skjærven to the blog today, a street photographer with a fantastic eye which I see mirrors many of the aesthetics of Henri Cartier-Bresson. The interview is quite long, but very informative. Keep reading!
Knut: First of all, Eric, thank you for asking me for this interview. I am flattered that you suggest that there is a certain inspiration, and maybe even a likeness, in some of my pictures to those of Henri Cartier-Bresson. You said: “I love how your images convey a similar aesthetic to Henri Cartier-Bresson”.
That is a great, great compliment. I am not sure that I deserve it. I know I don’t. After all, it is not that long ago that I started taking photography seriously.
Sure, I have been taking pictures for many years, but it never occurred to me that I perhaps should spend more time with it. It was not till 2010 that I decided to start a proper photographic project. That project is still running. That brought about a change.
I am very excited to be part of the Street Photography Now Community’s Instruction #10. Check out the link below to participate!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/spnc-year2-instruction10/
This is the tenth Instruction for the Year 2 of the Street Photography Now Project, written to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we all live in. Photographs you contribute should be new work made in response to the Instruction.
The group will open on Friday 03.02.12 at 10.00 GMT. You have until 10.00 GMT on 17.02.12 to upload one photograph in response to this instruction.
For more info on the project, join the mother group here: www.flickr.com/groups/spnc/
Recommended bedside reading if you haven’t bought it yet:www.thamesandhudson.com/streetphotography.html
Wonder what the instructions were in Year 1? streetphotographynowproject.wordpress.com/
Ollie: Let me start this with an apology. I haven’t had time this week to produce a nice in-depth interview or to find something or someone to write massively about, (the reason is stated below) so as much as I dislike talking and promoting my own work, this week I haven’t really got a choice.
So, as a lot of you will have known from observing my Twitter and Google+ accounts, I have recently spent a night in hospital whilst undergoing tests for a sleeping disorder. It was nothing major, just an uncomfortable night of being hooked up to a computer that monitors my brain activity. I decided to make use of this situation and bring a few cameras with me to enable me to produce some work.
Eric’s Note: This guest blog post is by Alex Coghe, a passionate street photographer from Mexico City. I had the great pleasure of meeting Alex in Los Angeles for the ThinkTank Gallery “YOU ARE HERE” street photography event sponsored by Leica. See this post why he loves street photography, and see how it echoes with you too!
Alex: Street Photography for me is all about the photography. There are so many genres of art, but street photography is the most powerful to me.
Street photography is one of the biggest passions in my life. My mind is always on street photography. I spend a large amount of time either shooting on the streets, blogging about street photography, networking with street photography, and thinking about street photography.
Eric’s Note: I am pleased to announce the great concept of the “Streettogs Gallery” — a concept by A.g. De Mesa, a passionate street photographer from Manila in the Philippines. Hopefully his idea can help bring more great photo series, documentary series, and photo essays!
A.g.: Stemming from Eric’s piece on making a series, Streettogs Gallery is a column appearing every Wednesday wherein I will showcase street photography based photo series, documentary projects, and photography essays together with my thoughts on the stories and the artist which could hopefully contribute to the aesthetic and knowledge of you, the readers.
I also hope to encourage a healthy discussion and show our opinions about the work presented and to judge it not whether if it is good or bad technically (an area in which Ollie’s CritiqueMe series is all about) but rather if it contributes to the art form that is street photography and to push it further.
Read more to see how you can get your work featured here!
Just out shooting the streets of the fashion district in Downtown LA with my film Leica M6 and recorded with a GoPro HD Hero 960 mounted on top of my hotshoe.
Joel Sheiner:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65951850@N08/
Dana Barsuhn:
http://www.danabarsuhn.com/
Rinzi Ruiz:
http://www.rinziruizphotography.com/
Today I turn 24, and by chance it also happens to be around the 6-month mark since I last got laid off my previous job and decided to pursue street photography full-time. I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to thank you guys personally for all your support and faith, and take a moment to reflect. Please watch the video above where I talk a bit about my fortunes, misfortunes, and the amazing journey I have been blessed with.
People I would like to especially thank in no particular order (sorry if I forgot to include your name!):
If you have gotten something meaningful out of this blog or I have helped you on your personal street photography journey, please wish me a happy birthday and consider getting me some film to work on my future projects! I would love some Portra and some Tri-X!
Love you all,
Eric
Eric’s Note: I am pleased to have street photographer Kramer O’Neill share in this guest blog post his experiences about self-publishing two of his books. It is an incredibly difficult process–check out what he learned through the process in the post below!
Kramer: In 2011, I designed, printed, and distributed two photo books: Pictures of People and Things 1, an A5-sized paperback, and Till Human Voices Wake Us, a large-format hardcover. The two books are quite different: Pictures of People and Things is an associatively-edited, diverse collection of photos that work as two-page diptychs, while Till Human Voicesis a narrowly-focused, abstract, semi-narrative aquatic series in the street photography tradition, about swimming and the dark pull of the ocean. In both cases, though, I had no idea what I was getting into. In the interest of spreading some knowledge to other would-be self-publishers, here are a few things I learned.
Kip Praslowicz, a very active street photographer in the community, recently got filmed by PBS on his street photography and portraiture work. Check out the video to find out more about Kip’s approach and thoughts behind street photography and portraiture (and his love for medium-format and large-format film).
Check out more of Kip’s work at: http://www.kpraslowicz.com/
Eric’s Note: This article is by Trevor Marczylo, a street photographer based out of Winnipeg. He is actually heading out to Korea soon, so after reading this article, make sure to wish him a safe trip!
Trevor: The other night I stayed up until 5am printing. I was working on this one shot that took me about 4 tries to get right; burn here, dodge there. I couldn’t stop till I had just the right print. In this digital age where I could achieve what I want on my Mac in just 5 minutes, why should street photographers continue to print black and white in the darkroom? Read more and find out!
Eric’s Note: CritiqueMe is an on-going street photography critique series by Ollie Gapper, a street photographer based in the UK.
Ollie: For this weeks CritiqueMe I chose to comb through the work of prolific Tweeter, Gustavo Mondragon. I was sucked into the portrayla of life Mondragon presents from his hometown of Mexico City. I always find it interesting to see, not only different lifestyles, but those lifestyles presented by someone who actually lives them.
(Above image by Alex Webb from his Istanbul Book)
Something I have becoming more focused on is working on street photography projects. Street photography projects are important because they help you stay focused when shooting, and help you make more of a statement with a collection of images (rather than just individual images). If you have never started your own street photography project (or want some inspiration), keep reading to learn how you can start your own street photography project!
In this post I’m honoured to have the privilege to present an interview with one of the original members of In-Public and practicing street photographer, David Gibson. David’s work is among the strongest I’ve seen from a practicing contemporary street photographer, and has inspired me to refine my eye even more, to try and make images as graphically enthralling as his.
To this day, there are countless street photographers pounding the pavement and shooting anything that moves with their cameras and smartphones. How does one stand out from the crowd? How does one build a strong, unique look to their photos to make them memorable and worthwhile to look at? How does one get photos worthy of gallery exhibitions and photobooks?
To find out, join me at my intensive intermediate street photography workshop to be held in Downtown LA from February 3rd to the 5th in association with the Hatakeyama Gallery.
(Above image by Magnum Photographer Elliott Erwitt)
I consider myself first a sociologist, then a photographer. If anything, being a street photographer allows me to synthesize these two loves. On top of that, I am a lover of knowledge, theory, experimentation, as well as teaching. Fortunately being able to teach street photography for a living makes my life fulfilled.
I am currently reading an essay by Howard Becker (a famous sociologist) who also happened to be interested in art worlds (and especially photography). He is the author in which most of the sociological backbone of my upcoming UC Riverside Online course is coming from when teaching some of the theory behind street photography.
Eric’s Note: This is part of an on-going critique series called “CritiqueMe” by Ollie Gapper. Enjoy the feature below!
Ollie Gapper: Well I’d like to first off say thank you to everyone who took the time to enter for the first installment of CritiqueMe, I’ve had the great pleasure of looking at some truly fantastic work. I’d also like to congratulate Nicolas Hermann for being selected! The reason I chose Nicolas for the first installment of CritiqueMe is that I wanted to be really challenged for finding points for improvement (not that some of the work you guys turned in wouldn’t do the same) as the ones I would find will inevitably help a lot more of you.
(Above image by Devin Yalkin)
Recently when I went to Tokyo, I had a ton of fun shooting in the streets with Charlie Kirk and Bellamy Hunt—both who shoot film. I never really understood the rationale why people shot with film. To me at the time, it seemed like a burden. First of all, you had to buy the film. Secondly, after you took the photos you couldn’t see them instantly. And lastly, it was expensive to develop it (and even more money to scan). For these three reasons, I was mostly put off by film. Although I did shoot a bit with my Contax IIIa film rangefinder and did enjoy it—at the end of the day I preferred my digital camera.
Nevertheless, I was intrigued with film once I came to Tokyo. In Tokyo, the analog culture is strong. There are tons of used film camera shops, and tons of other places where you can buy film as well. Not only that, but there are many photographers who shoot film who support one another as well and have their own communities. I had no idea how much influence the analog culture would have on me when I was in Tokyo.
I am excited to announce that I am having a street photography exhibition at the Leica Singapore store this upcoming Jan 13th at 7:00pm of some of my best photos from all around the world. If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by!
Also I will be hosting an Advanced Street Photography Workshop in partnership with Leica Camera Asia Pacific on January 14-15th as well. The workshop will be focused on making your own street photography projects. Click the link below for more info!
In this article I was fortunate enough to be able to conduct an interview through email with NY-based photographer Mike Peters. His style of street portraiture is one that has been attempted many times by many names, but never quite to the extent or success of Mike’s work. He is consistent and his work flows well together, but he is not held down by his style and does not limit himself in what he creates. I hope you guys enjoy his work and words as much as I have, and that you may find some inspiration in this article that will help guide and refine your work, I know I certainly have.
(Above image by Matt Stuart)
One of the books that has profoundly changed my understanding of the world is “The Black Swan” by Nassim Taleb. His thesis is that much of what happens in the world is by pure luck and randomness. He uses The analogy of the “black swan” is that scientists for hundreds of years assumed that because only because white swans were seen, no black swans existed. However the day that a black swan was discovered, their understanding of swans changed dramatically.
In life there are two types of black swans: positiv black swans that bring us fortune, and negative black swans that bring us misfortune.
Recently every book I have been reading (whether it be a finance book, an economics book, a sociology book, or philosophy book) I have been able to always link it back to street photography.
(Above image by Trevor Marczylo)
Eric’s Note: I am pleased to announce Trevor Marczylo, a street photographer eating, living, and surviving in Winnipeg, Manitoba as a new weekly contributor to the blog! He is a full-time photographer, making a living selling prints that he takes on a daily basis. Make sure to check out his last feature on my blog with his photos here. Also keep posted for his Friday features!
I think a “subjective street photograph” contains the attitude of photographer.
The pure photographic image without thinking of any composition but only capturing the moment of a situation with limited time to only think or react and relay on his/her trained eye and how they view/see through their own camera in a moment.
That being said… It all comes down to the street photograph and how that photograph was taken. I’ll try my best to explain myself and using a few of my photos in this article.
With the New Year fast approaching, what better way to start than having a professional critique on the worlds leading street photography blog?
I am excited to announce I will be teaching my first university-level course on street photography at the UC Riverside Extension program! The course will be an online/offline hybrid class- with the majority of the coursework being online, with street photography outings, exhibition outings, as well as a final student exhibition in-person.
The course is open to 20 students, and you can find out more information about the course (or register) here.
| Instructor: | Eric Kim | |
| Schedule: | Jan. 16 – Mar. 23 (Two field trips to be arranged.) | |
| Preregistration: | Requested by January 13th | |
| Location: | Online | |
| Textbook: | “Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art,” John Szarkowski ISBN: 0870705156 Buy Online | |
| Credit: | 3 units | |
| Fees: | $375 | |
Have you ever seen somebody on the streets and had the irresistible urge to take a photo of them? Whether it was their face, the shadow they cast, or the background they were standing in front of. In this introductory course, you learn how to: capture the beauty in the mundane of everyday life and “decisive moments,” shoot candid photos of strangers up-close and personal, study street photography in a sociological context, use the camera to explore society.
Develop your eye for street photography by studying the masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, and others. The class is a hybrid of an online and offline course. Utilize online tools to study the work of the masters and create an online community where you critique & comment on one another’s images.
The offline aspect will go on field trips to photography museums/galleries, to go out and shoot with one another, and have a final exhibition of all the student work.
Sign up before it’s too late–and let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment 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 or if you need to get hooked up with a lens or camera, contact him here!
Well well, good old Uncle Eric has asked me to write another article for you. This time on the joys of shooting street with a compact camera. Eric and many of us spend a lot of time shooting with rangefinders and DSLR’s, but I think it important for people to realize that there are other ways to shoot street. The compact camera is one of these ways (medium format is another, but that is a whole different barrel of fish and something I may talk about another time).
So, why shoot a compact camera for street? Well, there are several reasons, but let me start with the most obvious…
(Above image “Untitled” by Christos Kapatos)
I just finished reading “The Black Swan” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, where he discusses many misconceptions and fallacies that we face as humans. He talks from a scientific-philosophical viewpoint, and has many fascinating insights.
One of them was about knowledge—and that it isn’t necessarily additive—rather something subtractive. For example, a good stock-broker won’t tell you what to do, but rather what not to do.
Therefore for this blog post I will share some of my insights and experiences in street photography in terms of what not to do. Hopefully this will help you get more compelling images when out on the streets!
(Group photo at the Leica Singapore Store)
Never have been to Singapore, but had a great time! Not only was I able to teach a street photography workshop with the famous Danny Santos as my guest speaker, but was also able to check out the IPA gallery and meet Kevin WY Lee, and a bunch of other guys there! Huge thanks to Leica in Singapore for sponsoring the event and giving everyone a fantastic time on the last night!
Planning on going back to Singapore Jan 14th-15th for an Advanced workshop. Hope to see all of you guys there soon! :)
(My students absolutely adore me!)
Most of you guys have no idea where Kota Kinabalu is, but it is an absolutely charming city on the coast of Malaysia. I had a ton of fun with the guys here, and it was somewhere very unique and interesting to shoot street photography. One of the highlights was shooting near the pier, where the fisherman let us jump onto their boats (not for the faint of heart!). Hope to see all my buddies in KK soon :)
Huge thanks again to Ryan Ong, my good friend and host during the workshop. We did the workshop in his studio, so if you are in KK and need anything shot, hit him up!
(Attend an Eric Kim street photography workshop, get a free Leica!)
Had an absolutely incredible time in Tokyo teaching my street photography workshop with Charlie Kirk, Bellamy Hunt, and Alfie Goodrich in association with the Leica Ginza store in Tokyo. Sorry for the delay, here are the snapshots from the workshop (warning, there is a lot of photos!)
(Above image copyrighted by Joel Meyerowitz)
Eric’s Note: This article is by Ollie Gapper, a street photographer based in the UK- and now a weekly contributor to the blog. Stay tuned for more of his “Ollie Gapper Thursday” posts!
With any genre of photography its easy to become saturated in your work and the work of others around you. In street photography, regardless of the numerous variations in individual photographers approaches and the wealth of locations and types of people we are granted visual access to, we still, slowly, become numb to the photographic impacts that once enthralled us. This is why I, for one, enjoy periodically dabbling in different genres of photography, whether it is shooting or viewing, to allow my mind to refresh and recharge from the relentless practice that is street photography.
(Above image copyrighted by Albert Watson)
I just finished the behemoth of a biography on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and I gotta say—I am deeply moved. The biography was not only brutally honest, but gave inspirational insights into the thoughts and motivations behind Steve Jobs and Apple.
Although controversial, he made some of the most revolutionary products this generation (the Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc) and had the vigor, discipline, and drive to do it.
Whenever I read books, it always helps me inspire in both my personal life and even more—my own photography. Although Steve Jobs was not a photographer (he actually dabbled in the idea of getting Apple more into photography) his vision, drive, and passion are all things we can learn from. For this article I will outline 10 traits of Steve Jobs which I feel could make you a better street photographer.
Eric’s Note: This article is by Ollie Gapper, a street photographer based in the UK- and now a weekly contributor to the blog. Stay tuned for more of his “Ollie Gapper Thursday” posts!
Over the past few months it’s fair to say I’ve spent a lot of time and money on printing. Though it wasn’t entirely through choice, it’s an element of my university course I absolutely would not change. It’s enlightened me, allowed me to look at my work in a totally different way. Being able to hold an image, move it around in the light, hold it close to my face and scrutinise every inch of it, it feels like its making me a better photographer. Seriously.
I’ve learnt a lot in terms of traditional, darkroom printing, both colour and black and white, and in doing so, I’ve learnt a lot about my film and my photographs.
Ive also been reading through the Ansel Adams technical guide books (The Camera, The Negative and The Print) which has taught me to reverse this method of only ever printing for your negative, it instead teaches you to expose your negative for your print. I shant go into the specifics of the Zone System or anything, as thats not what I want to say in this article.
What I want to say is simple: Print your images.
You can check out a list of street photography books I recommend here: Inspirational Street Photography Books You Gotta Own
I was at Charlie Kirk’s apartment in Tokyo, when he turned me onto a book he recently bought and was moved by, which was a book by Alec Soth—a Magnum photographer. It a lovely book, with a yellow cover and several of his photo projects inside, including excerpts from his blog which discussed the role of gear.
He said he constantly got questions about his gear for his projects, and then made the remark that he didn’t mind the question that much—considering that most photographers are nerds/geeks anyways. Therefore he listed a long list of his equipment (mostly large-format stuff) and how he processed his film—specifically for each project he did. He then ended the post mentioning that he wrote the post specifically with an Apple iBook. Funny and snarky way to end the post.
In this blog post my thesis is that we should quit wasting money on gear (lenses, bodies, etc) and more money on photo-books. I feel that the best way to improve your vision as a street photographer is to look at great photography (which is nearly impossible online) and readily found in photo-books. If you are curious about why, please continue reading! (as this post is damn long).
After seeing Eric becoming ever more inundated with his workshop work, videos, Leica work and all the associated travel I decided to get in touch and say “Hey, how about I help out on a more regular basis?”. The result of the following email conversation? OG Thursdays. (My middle name is Mathew (with one ‘T’) but I thought “OMG Thursdays” may have been easily confused with one of the millions of Perez Hilton-style gossip blogs).
Ill be submitting guest posts every Thursday on a plethora of subjects relating to lifestyle, documentary and of course street photography that I think you guys will enjoy reading. Photographers I have met, people I think you should know, projects I’m working on, experiences I’ve had, equipment I’ve used, you name it and I’ll endeavour to cover it one way or another.
I’m studying a BA (Bachelors) in Contemporary Photographic Practice at the University for the Creative Arts in South East Kent, UK, which – along with supplying me with vast spectrums of information, inspiration and experience – also gives me access to lots and lots of rather lovely gear! A vague list for your delectation:
The idea is that you guys put in a request for the gear you want to see reviewed (Ill let Eric handle the Leica stuff..for now) and I’ll get the gear, buy some film and I’ll write up as comprehensive a review as I can.
Im happy to answer any questions regarding my past work or current projects, take a look at www.olliegapperphotography.com www.flickr.com/photos/olliegapper and olliegapper.tumblr.com.
Comment below for what gear you’d like to see reviewed or any topics you’d like to see me review/cover.
Email me: olliegapper@me.com
Tweet me: @olliegapper
Check out my work on a feature on Eric’s Blog here: “My Life and Story about Street Photography” by Ollie Gapper
Having fun camera shopping with Bellamy Hunt in Tokyo. If you need a camera, lens, or film case from Tokyo check him out athttp://www.japancamerahunter.com/
My good friend Todd Hatakeyama (and sponsor over at SimpleStudioLighting.com) and owner of the Hatakeyama Gallery (grand opening in Downtown LA this Saturday from 5pm-10pm) recently gave me a his old Leica M6 to shoot with and have. It has been great shooting with it–as it helps me slow down and be more critical when shooting (compared to my Leica M9). I can’t quite describe it, but I feel much more zen when shooting analog vs digital–as I don’t worry so much about the final image but focus on the process of shooting.
Also if you want to pick up a film case from Bellamy Hunt or find a sweet analog camera from Japan, check him out at JapanCameraHunter.com.
Had the chance to collaborate with Leica Camera and Magnum Photos to ask Bruce Gilden a few questions about his work in Port-au-Prince, Haiti alongside Josh White. Very humbled to have asked him some questions about his work, and found his answers to be very honest and insightful.
Check out the interview here: Leica & Magnum: The Spirit Lives Here by Bruce Gilden
Eric’s Note: Mattias Hyde is an emerging street photographer from Madrid who has only been shooting street photography for 6 months, and has shown a great deal of physical and emotional closeness in his images. Read more of his words below!
I started street photography a few months ago, when I returned to Madrid after a year of cycling and backpacking in several countries.
Since the beginning, I’ve been obsessed with the actual process of photographing, rather than with results. I know that I won’t do anything really interesting until I’ve been on the trade for a couple of years at least, so I’m not focusing on the final image, or expecting to get any great shots either. I’m strictly working on feeling comfortable taking the camera with me on my daily walks around the city centre and neighbourhood.
See myself in a bathrobe talking about the Tokyo Street Photography Workshop with Charlie Kirk, Bellamy Hunt, and Alfie Goodrich. You can even see Rinzi Ruiz topless–watch the video!
(Golden Leica???)
Check out my snapshots from Tokyo, which include trips to camera stores, Charlie Kirk’s house, drinking, and fun with Bellamy Hunt!
There is approximately one month left to submit for the International Street Photography Award in London for 2012. The deadline is Jan 5th, make sure to submit before it’s too late! I am also excited to announce I will be one of the judges on the international panel :)
>> More info
A funny story of how I got interrogated for shooting street photography at a racetrack for horses in Tokyo, an interview with Bellamy Hunt (how to best shoot in Tokyo), and fun antics with Charlie Kirk in the background!
(Fibonacci spiral above a photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson)
One of the questions that I have been pondering for quite a while is how much a great street photograph is objective versus subjective. I would say that the general consensus is that great photography, like most of art, is purely subjective. As what they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
However I would disagree with this opinion, and argue that great street photographs are more objective than subjective. This is much more of a controversial position to hold, but I argue it is more fun to play devil’s advocate than just go with the traditional way of thinking.
Many of my thoughts will stem from studying the works of Cartier-Bresson, in which most of his iconic images that an average person will call “great” is based on strict composition from geometry – based out of compositional theories from paiting. After all, Cartier-Bresson did start off as a painter and referred to his images as “instant sketches.” I will also draw upon some of my own personal observations and opinions—which you may or may not agree with.
I will make an attempt to try to discuss how much of composition, story-telling, forms, balances, objectivity, subjectivity, ratios, etc play into great street photographs. Take everything you read with a grain of salt, as this article is more of a personal essay for me to traverse some of my thoughts on the subject.
Be warned, this essay is ridiculously long (4,000+ words) so maybe bookmark this post and find the time to read it. You’re not going to agree with everyone I say, but if you read the entire thing I can assure you that you will start thinking more analytically about what makes a great street photograph.
“There is a big difference between a photographer and someone who clicks a shutter. One learns his craft and the other looks for a quick fix.”
– Winslo
I am an old school photographer born and bred on film. I have been shooting for a long time. When I was in photo school, it was mandatory to shoot 4 x 5 or medium format. Being a stereotypical ‘poor and starving’ student, I did not have a lot of money to spend on film, processing, and development. Every shot had to count. My medium format camera at the time was a Bronica ETRs with an 80 mm lens and one film back. It gave me 15 shots per roll. It had no meter and was manual focus. Shooting street with that camera forces you to shoot with purpose and discipline.
When I do my street shooting, today, with my current DSLR, I applied the same principle of making every shot count. I do not shoot for quantity I shoot for quality. Is every thing I shoot considered good? Of course not, but it makes culling the images easier because I know what I was aiming for when I shot. This is what Ansel Adams’ call “pre-visualization;” knowing what your photo will look like before you shot it. See his classics series on photography, Book II “The Negative,” for more info. The following is how I shoot on the street using one photo as an example.
This is the thought process that occurred as I shot my dog walker photo.
(“Cut” by Rinzi Ruiz)
I am currently reading Malcom Gladwell’s book: “What the Dog Saw” which is a great collection of his best articles published in The New Yorker.
There is a fascinating section talks about the difference between “choking” and “panicking” which I think plays really well into street photography:
If so, I’d like to invite you to my very special intermediate street photography workshop upcoming in Singapore on 12/17-12/18 in association with Leica Asia Pacific. We will be studying and analyzing the work of the great street photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Elliott Erwitt, Vivian Maier, and many more! We will discuss their quotes, images, videos, and documentaries—and learn more about their specific insights into street photography. We will identify what makes these photographers great and apply these principles to your own unique style.
Read more to find out more details!
My Leica M9P* (gaffer tape upgrade) and 35mm Summilux 1.4.
About a few months ago, I finally achieved one of my lifetime goals: purchasing a digital Leica (the Leica M9 to be specific). Although I was enthralled by the camera the first month I tested it (when Leica loaned me one for my Paris trip as well as a 35mm Summilux) the initial glitz and glamor faded away. However after shooting with one, I knew I wanted to get one nonetheless for a variety of reasons (explained in this article).
For this review I am going to give you my honest review of the camera, not focusing much on the technical aspects (other sites have already done this to death) but how it actually performs when it comes to shooting street photography. Considering that I have only been shooting with the camera around 3 months—I am not an expert with the Leica M9. However having shot with it enough when it comes to street photography, I am very confortable discussing how it performs when shooting on the streets.
(All photographs copyrighted by John Cranford)
Circle Acres, a project I started in 2008, focuses on documenting the lifestyle of a young couple in rural NC who have devoted their lives to organic farming while distancing themselves from modern living. Originally, I had the intention of making some portraits while doing some casual shooting. No pressure. I was curious about their dedication to sustainable living and how they were working towards this lifestyle. The more I hung out and shot the more I realized there was a story to tell. As I looked through the images, the vocabulary began to present itself. I had started a photo project.
(Chicago, Eric Kim)
I studied Sociology during my undergrad at UCLA. I loved learning all of the ways that people interacted, communicated, and collected in groups. It really opened up my eyes to the world around me. However little did I know that all these things I have learned in Sociology (and trained myself to see) would apply so much to street photography.
Below are some things that I have learned about human nature and interaction – which has helped me along my street photography journey in terms of building my courage and candidly taking photos of strangers. Hope these are as helpful to you as they were helpful to me!
Thomas Leuthard (85mm) is putting together a fun street photography contest that is open to everyone in the world with the topic: “Headlines“. It is free to enter, and can be a great way to get more exposure in your photography. Below is more information about the contest:
The contest is open to everyone around the world. There is no age or any other restriction. The genre is Street Photography and the photos must be taken in a candid way, so don’t setup your photos. There is a minor amount of post processing allowed. This is not a Photoshop contest and your photo will not be accepted, if there are too many changes made. The photos must be uploaded to the “85mm Street Photography Contest” Flickr group. A basic Flickr account is free of charge. There are no special requirements to enter the contest.
The deadline for the contest is December 31, 2011 at the end of the day.
There are also cash prizes for the contest up to $500 (enough money to finally buy that prime-lens you have always wanted!).
Love the street photography by In-Public Blake Andrews or his witty “B” blog? Check out this novel idea: his portfolio from In-Public, family shots, unseen B Sides and outtakes, and other 35 mm personal favorites printed on 52 playing cards.
Grab your preorder for only $12 and support him and his photography. You can check out the cards here.
Also check out my past video interview with Blake Andrews on my blog.
(All images copyrighted by Manu Thomas)
Eric’s Note: Manu Thomas is a street photographer from Mumbai, India who has captured a colorful, playful, and multi-faceted vision of his environment. In a feature according to Nick Turpin, Manu also started off as a watercolor painter:
“While searching for camera and photos, I happened to hear the term street photography for the first time and came to know about some amazing street photographers and saw some wonderful photos. I got hooked up to street photography very soon and it became my passion ever since. I want to continue doing painting, but photography is my biggest passion right now”
The series below is from his photo-essay, “Subrubia“. He draws inspiration from photographers such as Raghubir Singh and Alex Webb.
Manu: I started pursuing photography seriously by the end of 2007. Almost all of my photos are taken from Mumbai, its various suburbs, city and seaside. I consider myself to be extremely lucky to have started photography in this city. Compared to other south Indian cities where I’ve been to, Mumbai is very energetic, fast, but extremely chaotic. It got everything to construct excellent photographs, but the elements are scattered all over the place. Its colors, forms, textures are all hopelessly jumbled up. It encompasses slices of lives from every part of the country. It contains all kind of people and classes from all over the country.
Huge thanks to Leica for making this show and our gallery opening possible.
http://www.leica-camera.com
And congratulations to Jordan Dunn for his VLUX-30 winning “Best of Show” piece:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=265956166775812&set=a.245493168822…
YOU ARE HERE was curated by Neema Sadeghi and Eric Kim
http://www.neemasadeghi.com
http://www.erickimphotography.com
Video Directed by Neema Sadeghi
http://www.neemasadeghi.com
Video Edited by Lonnie Francisco
http://cargocollective.com/lonniefrancisco
Video Shot by Adam Boden, Lonnie Francisco, and Jacob Patterson
Find more about ThinkTank Gallery at http://www.thinktankgallery.org
Stay tuned for more great exhibitions like this in the future!
(Above photo by Debi Sen Gupta)
Below are the 32 best images from my recent Introduction to Street Photography Workshop in Mumbai, India. Read more to see all the images below!
(All images copyrighted by Dirty Harrry)
Eric’s Note: For this article I am pleased to feature the thoughts about Dirty Harrry, a prolific street photographer from Crete in Greece. His images shot with flash are not only surreal but technically well done. Make sure to also check out my interview with him here, and see his images on Flickr.
Hi Eric, thanks for your invitation once again here. My words may be obvious and don’t consider them “rules”. However these are my observations after shooting for 3 years with a flash in my street photography.
Hey streettogs, I am excited to say that I just finished my first batch of my Mumbai, India Street Photography Workshop! (I got two more groups to go). It was great to work with all the street photographers here, and their enthusiasm to learn was overwhelming.
Surprisingly before this workshop, there wasn’t much of a street photography scene in Mumbai. However after seeing all of the passion as well as the great talent from this first batch of the workshop, Kaushal Parikh is going to be starting an Indian Street Photographers collective. If you are interested in being considered in this group, send your portfolio to kaush_par@yahoo.co.in.
Read more to see all the photos from the workshop!
I have been in Mumbai, India the last 3 days and have been having the blast of my life. Kaushal Parikh, an incredibly talented street photographer from Mumbai, has been my host and not only shown me the wonderful streets here, but has treated me like family and is feeding me well (I probably will gain at least 20 pounds before leaving).
For those of you who have never been to India, here are some of my thoughts about shooting street photography here:
I haven’t had a single negative encounter so far. I just make sure to smile and say “thank you”. People are very receptive here and LOVE to get their photo taken. I have even shot with my flash today, and people seem very amused with it, and appreciate the attention.
India has a massive gap from the wealthy and poor. The wealthy are incredibly rich (drive around Bently’s) while the poor are dying on the streets. It is really heartbreaking to see, but makes me appreciate what I have so much more.
However this can make for interesting juxtapositions between the rich and poor, in terms of the people as well as the buildings, cars, etc.
There is so much to see and so much to shoot. Although this can be a problem at times (there are sometimes too much people on the street). However it seems wherever I go, there is always people and something going on.
I am also preparing for my street photography workshop this weekend (I am hosting 3 of them while I am here). Wish me luck and I will keep everyone updated! :)
Also if you are an Indian street photographer and would like to be considered in the India Street Photographers collective, email Kaushal Parikh at kaush_par@yahoo.co.in
When you are out traveling and shooting street photography, remember to connect with the local people and treat them as “equals”. Don’t see them as objects, but use humor to get more comfortable with them and see them as a “fellow human being”.
Stay tuned with these great One-Minute Masterclass series from Phaidon, as they keep rolling out on their site!
Have you ever used humor to connect with your subjects when shooting? If so, share your experiences below!
(Image above copyrighted by Emilio Morenatti)
Emilio Morenatti is a photo journalist who has covered various events in Spain, Afghanistan, as well as the Middle East. Not only has he covered the war and the fall of the Taliban, but he has also been kidnapped by gunman, and lost his left foot after being struck by a roadside bomb on assignment. In 2008 he was named Newspaper Photographer of the Year by Pictures of the Year International. See some of his images below.
Note: Sara T’Rula was one of the community managers for the “Street Photography Now” project. Read her thoughts about the SPN project and see some of her images as well below!
The SPN Project was a daring and unique year-long project, set up in September 2010 by The Photographers’ Gallery, Sophie Howarth & Stephen McLaren (who authored the book, Street Photography Now), with support from Thames & Hudson. It was daring and unique in bringing together weekly Instructions from 52 photographers featured in the SPN book, and a global community of participants, using social media to make it happen.
If you are in Cambodia or in Asia, make sure to check out the Angkor Photo Festival exhibitions coming up in Cambodia. I am also pleased to announce that some of my images will also be featured in the Asian Street Photography Group Exhibition. Make sure to spread the word, and let me know if you will be there!
Note: This blog post is by Kaushal Parikh, a street photographer from Mumbai, India.
Although this is an article about a camera, I don’t believe that gear alone can create good photographs. But I do believe that a good photographer can be inspired to make good images with the right gear. I recently acquired a Fujifilm FinePix x100 that I have come to love and thought I would just share a few thoughts and tips about this camera.
(In the video above, I share a story of a recent confrontation I had in Toronto (that got physical) and how I defused the situation.)
Edit: In the video I previously mentioned an issue regarding street photography in Vancouver. I actually meant to say Quebec. Read all about the canadian street photography laws here.
Confrontations rarely occur in street photography. As long as you smile and say “thank you” after taking photos of people, 95% of people smile and say “thank you” back or just ignore you.
However 5% of the time, people typically will react in a negative manner. It is usually one of these below (I will add rough estimates in my experience):
In today’s 1-minute masterclass with Steve McCurry, he talks about getting “in the zone” when he is out shooting. He prefers to shoot alone and to quietly explore the streets without speaking much, to get a feel of the environment he is shooting in.
Although I am a big fan of shooting together in groups (it helps you be more comfortable) shooting alone is when you can be in almost a meditative state– enjoying life around yourself alone.
When you are out shooting, do you prefer to go alone or in a group and why? Share your experiences in the comments below!
The folks from Phaidon are continuing their “One-Minute Masterclass” series with Steve McCurry. This new episode features his secret in getting interesting photos from unique vantage points (like a high vantage point). He describes how surprised he was in terms of how accommodating people can be in letting you enter their house or patio to shoot cityscapes. This reflects my own personal experiences, such as when I was shooting in the streets of Beirut, Lebanon– random strangers would start talking to me and even invite me into their house to enjoy some coffee.
The next time you are traveling, make some friends and ask for permission to enter people’s homes and take the time to know them and chat with them. As they like to say on the internet, “ask and you shall receive.”
