Tag: video

Street Photography Shootout: iPhone vs Samsung Galaxy S6

Probably the most fun video I’ve done in a long time: a street photography “Shootout” with bigheadtaco in Vancouver. He used his iPhone 5s while I used my Galaxy S6. The point of the video was to show that smartphones are more than capable cameras for street photography, and often more fun, accessible, and easy.

What are your thoughts on shooting street photography on your smartphone? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Paris GoPro Street Photography POV #4

Hey Streettogs, here is the last gopro video I got from Paris! I hope this gives you some ideas and insights on how I shoot street photography.

My ultimate lesson in Paris (as well in every country), as long as you shoot with confidence, a smile, and without hesitating, you generally have no problems. I shot there for about 2 weeks solid, and only had one negative incident of a confrontation.

I have found most Parisians to be very friendly and open (despite what foreigners have told me). I’ve picked up some French phrases, make an effort to try to speak French, and people are generally very happy to see me try.

Paris is certainly one of the most beautiful places to shoot street photography in the world. If you ever have the chance, come visit, and don’t forget to tell people: “Merci beaucoup” (thank you very much).

Seattle Street Portrait Photography POV with the Samsung Galaxy S6

Seattle, 2015. Galaxy S6 processed with VSCO b5 preset

If you’ve been enjoying these POV videos, I got more of them for you! This is of a recent street portrait session I did in Seattle with this beautiful woman we met in the streets during a workshop. I recorded a video of me directing her on my Samsung Galaxy S6, and also shot while recording. Post-processing done in VSCO with the “dramatic black and white” preset.

Processed with VSCOcam with b5 preset
Processed with VSCOcam with b5 preset

Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV with Ricoh GR #3

Hey streettogs, thanks for your feedback. Just recorded a new GoPro POV street photography here in Paris with my Ricoh GR (and edited in the shots as some of you asked).

My recording setup
My recording setup

Here are some of my favorite photos from the video:

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Other Paris GoPro Street Photography POV Videos

Both videos are shot with my GoPro and Film Leica MP:

Paris GoPro Street Photography POV #2

Paris GoPro Street Photography POV #1

More Street Photography GoPro POV Videos:

Stay tuned for more videos to come! :)

Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV #2

Hey streettogs, just put out another new Paris GoPro Street Photography Video (been having a lot of fun making these). You can see the previous video I shot in Paris here.

More Street Photography GoPro POV Videos:

Stay tuned for more videos to come! :)

“Photography is Photography, a Photo is a Photo”: Interview with Neil Ta

I just had a recent chat with my manager and good friend Neil Ta. Neil is a professional photographer based in Toronto (shoots wedding and commercial work), and his passion is photography. He has dabbled in many different genres of photography, including “urbex” (urban exploration), “rooftopping” (getting to really high places), documentary photography (he is working on a long-term project on “Alexandra Park“, a public-housing complex for low-income families which is being gentrified for expensive condos), and street photography.

In this video interview, we delve deep into lots of different topics. Neil shares how he first got into photography, why he decided to quit his job and travel the world for 6 months+, how we met, not being pigeon-holed in photography, his love (and hate) relationship with film, and why he is currently shooting on a Hasselblad Xpan.

Podcast:

You can listen to the audio podcast below:

Read more to see the topics we covered in the interview, and lots of inspirational links:

Continue reading “Photography is Photography, a Photo is a Photo”: Interview with Neil Ta

Video: Why I’m Switching Back to Black and White Film for Street Photography

In this video I talk to Karl Edwards from StreetShootr on why I plan on switching back to black and white film (Kodak Tri-X pushed to 1600) and we just geek out about black and white film in general, enjoy!

If you want to learn how to shoot street photography on film, I recommend reading these articles below:

  1. Introduction to Shooting Film in Street Photography
  2. A Guide on How to Shoot Street Photography on a Film Leica (or Rangefinder)
  3. What I Learned Processing 164 Rolls of Film After Waiting a Year
  4. Why Digital Is Dead For Me In Street Photography
  5. The Benefits Shooting Both Film and Digital in Street Photography
  6. 10 Tips on Shooting Street Photography on Film

Video Interview with Narrative in SF

I recently met up with Ryan Lum, one of the awesome guys at Narrative, a wearable camera startup. I joined them in their office last week, and talked about my beginnings in street photography and my blog, how it was getting fired (and running this blog full-time), how to shoot street photography (and not get punched in the face), and more. I hope you enjoy the video interview above (and pardon the immature masturbation jokes).

Video Presentation: Introduction to Street Photography Projects

In this presentation, I share how to come up with and shoot a street photography project, and also cover what makes a great street photography project. Some of the projects we cover are:

Project tips/advice:

  • 1. Work on them for a long time (2-10 years).
  • 2. Make it personal.
  • 3. Stay consistent (camera, lens, film, post-processing technique)
  • 4. Focus on the sequencing of images (study films, books, literature). What kind of story you are trying to tell?
  • 5. Project types: “Sense of place”, “Typology”, “Concept”
  • 6. Lots of projects fail (don’t be too rigid, also be flexible)
  • 7. Don’t have pre-conceived notions
  • 8. Have fun!

Ways to stay motivated

  • 1. Get feedback/critique
  • 2. Keep pushing forward
  • 3. Look at photo books

Links:

  1. You can see the slides for free here.
  2. For more inspiration, download my free e-book: “The Street Photography Project Manual.”
  3. If you want to take your street photography project to the next level, check out my upcoming street photography workshops.

Video Podcast Interview about Street Photography on ISO 400 (The Phoblographer)

Julius Motal (passionate street photographer) from The Phoblographer recently did a podcast interview with me on their new podcast series, ISO 400. We talked about how I joined my interests in sociology and photography (to grow my interest in street photography), the projects I am currently working on, as well as tips and advice for street photographers.

Enjoy the video interview above!

Video: Introduction to Editing, Processing, and Workflow in Lightroom

Hey streettogs, I just put together a video introduction to using Lightroom 5 for editing, post-processing, and workflow. In the video I share some fundamental hotkeys, tips, and suggestions. I hope you enjoy the video, and please let me know what other questions you have about using Lightroom 5 (or editing/post-processing in general) in the comments section!

Hotkeys

  • E: “Enlarge”
  • G: “Grid” / “Gallery”
  • F: “Full screen”
  • Tab: Collapse side columns
  • Tab + Shift: Collapse all columns
  • D: “Develop”

Workflow

  1. “F” : Make full screen

  2. Turn on the “Caps lock” key

  3. “P” or “X” :

  • P: Pick (if you think it is a good shot): 5-10%
  • X: Reject (if you think it is a bad shot or a ‘Maybe’ shot): “When in doubt, ditch:” 90%

  1. Go through all of the photos

  2. “Filters off” -> “Flagged”

Video Interview with Blake Andrews from In-Public (#2)

In 2011 I did a video interview with Blake Andrews, and a lot has changed since then. I recently did an interview on Blake’s blog (Q&A with Eric Kim) and wanted to see what he has been up to since the last time we chatted.

In this hour-long interview, we talk about his trip to LA, how it is to shoot in Eugene and Portland, the philosophy and psychology behind blogging, shooting in color vs black and white, as well as his advice for street photographers.

Also as a note, there are some parts of the video where the audio is scratchy, and the video isn’t the highest quality. But I hope you enjoy this feature as much as I did! You can follow Blake below:

Follow Blake on Social Media:

Photography:

Video: How to Use a Leica M Camera for Street Photography with Craig Semetko

Check out this new helpful video by Craig Semetko (author of “Unposed“) on how to shoot street photography with a Leica M camera. Here are some of the tips he shares in the video:

  • Know the camera well enough to not think about it. Then pure seeing and personal vision takes over.
  • Study the masters, in photography and painting, movies, literature, etc. Looking at Cartier-Bresson’s work never hurt anybody.
  • Practice observing and spend a great deal of time roaming the street. You don’t need an assistant to start.
  • Every situation is different. Work fast. Act like you’re looking elsewhere and don’t know how to use the camera.
  • A sense of humor is fundamental to me, as I believe it is for most people. In my opinion, a story without humor is not being truthful–at any given moment, someone is laughing about something somewhere.
  • Do what you are passionate about. The rest takes care of itself.

 

Video Lecture: Introduction to Composition for Street Photography

In this video presentation I share compositional techniques to make better street photographs (diagonals, figure-to-ground, curves, leading lines, framing). You can see all the slides for this presentation here.

Articles on Street Photography Composition

If you want to learn how to improve your compositions in street photography, enjoy these articles:

Video Lecture: Why it is Important to “Work the Scene” in Street Photography

In this presentation, I share the work of the master Magnum photographers (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Diane Arbus, Martine Franck) and share the importance of “working the scene” (via contact sheets). So pretty much– you don’t want to just shoot one photograph of a stranger and move on. Rather, you want to continue to “work the scene” and take lots of shots.

You can see the slides for the presentation on Slideshare here.

More articles on “working the scene” in street photography

  1. Debunking the “Myth of the Decisive Moment”
  2. How Studying Contact Sheets Can Make You a Better Street Photographer
  3. 10 Things Street Photographers Can Learn From Magnum Contact Sheets

 

Video Lecture: How to Be Invisible When Shooting Street Photography

In this video lecture above, I share some practical tips, thoughts, and philosophies about being “invisible when shooting street photography. You can check out the slides here.

If you want to learn how to overcome your fear of shooting street photography, I also recommend watching my video lecture: “How to Overcome Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography” and/or join me at one of my upcoming street photography workshops!

Behind-the-Scenes Video: Downtown LA Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Workshop 2015

I just finished an epic “Conquer Your Fears of Shooting Street Photography Workshop” in Downtown LA this past weekend and put together a fun behind-the-scenes video above. All of the students did an incredible job building their confidence in the streets, getting closer to strangers, and had a lot of fun getting to know one another.

You can see the final student photos on my Facebook fan page and you can also see my upcoming street photography workshops in SF, Chicago, Toronto, NYC, Vienna, & more!

Read more to see snapshots from the workshop as well:

Continue reading Behind-the-Scenes Video: Downtown LA Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Workshop 2015

Video Review of the Fujifilm X100T for Street Photography

I recently put together a “real-world” review of the Fujifilm X100T for street photography (which you can read here). I also wanted to record a video of some of my thoughts of the X100T (I really like it), and some of the settings, functions, aesthetic differences of the camera. In my opinion it is the best “bang-for-the-buck” camera for street photography on the market right now, and a great companion if you want to upgrade to a smaller body.

If you have any other questions about the camera, leave a comment below and I will try to reply to as many as I can! For those of you who have the new X100T, how do you like the camera?

Video Shooting Street Photography with the Fujifilm XT-1 and x100s in Saigon, Vietnam

Thank you to Fujifilm Vietnam and Gin Tran for putting together this feature of me shooting street photography in Saigon this summer. I hope the tips I share in this video can help you when it comes to traveling and shooting street photography. I also give some tips when it comes to shooting with the Fujifilm XT-1 with the 27mm f/2.8 lens (read my review here) and the Fujifilm x100s (read my review here). You can also read my new review of the Fujifilm x100T on the blog here.

If you are curious what it like shooting street photography in Vietnam, check out my “Saigon Diary” series below:

 

Video Lecture: How to Overcome Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography

In an effort to be more helpful, I am going to start putting together more video lectures and features for YouTube. In this presentation, I give some practical advice how to overcome your fears of shooting street photography– including the philosophy, approach, and tips.

Articles on Conquering Your Fear

Check out my Free Ebook: “31 Days to Overcome Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography“

My recent article: “How to Harness Your Fear to Become a More Confident Street Photographer”

Slides

You can see the slides on Slideshare here.

Listen to the Audio

If you want to build up your confidence in shooting street photography, you can also join me at one of my upcoming street photography workshops.

Dubai 2014 Round-up Videos

Hey streettogs, I just got back from an epic 5-week trip in Stockholm, London, and Dubai– and now finally have some time to decompress and recover from my travels. Below is a round-up of some of the videos I shot in Dubai, lots more stuff to come! :)

1. How to Load a Hasselblad in Dubai with Imraan

Over a nice local meal in Dubai, my buddy Imraan and I have fun with my Hasselblad– and show a brief tour of how to use it:

2. Tour of Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai and Interview

Ever curious what Gulf Photo Plus is? Mohamed Somji (one of the head folks at GPP) gives us a tour of their office in Dubai– and I also interview his background in documentary photography as well!

3. Dubai International Street Photography Exhibition

Behind-the-scenes look for the opening for the Dubai International Street Photography Exhibition I helped curate:

You can also check out more of my new videos on my YouTube channel.

Video Interview with Kile Brewer, Photojournalist and Street Photographer from Missouri

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:

Continue reading Video Interview with Kile Brewer, Photojournalist and Street Photographer from Missouri

Video Interview with Karl Edwards on Leica M-E & Street Shootr

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).

Follow Karl

Eric Kim Ice Bucket Challenge in Sydney

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!

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Categorized as Video Tagged

Interview with Bellamy Hunt (Japan Camera Hunter) and Tour of His Office in Tokyo

I recently had the chance to catch up with Bellamy Hunt (Japan Camera Hunter) in Tokyo. In this video he gives us a tour of his office, shares why he does what he does, and advice regarding photography, film, and life.

See my video interview with him from 2 years ago and a video of us camera shopping.

Follow Bellamy

Street Photography Interview with John Goldsmith in Vancouver

Funny story– Take Kayo was interviewing me in the streets of Vancouver when John Goldsmith (in my opinion the best street photographer in Vancouver) pops out of some bushes and starts photographing us. We then turned the lens onto John, and I do a brief interview with him on the streets– asking him about his techniques, his “keeper” rates, and his passion for street photography.

You can check a longer interview I’ve done with John on the blog here.

Follow John

Behind-the-Scenes: LA Street Photography Workshop Video Testimonial & Review

Chris Stoltz, a talented photographer and videographer (and workshop attendee), just put together an awesome behind-the-scenes video of my recent LA Street Photography Workshop. He interviews me about my passion for teaching workshops, and also the students and what they gained from the workshop.

If you’re interested in breaking outside of your comfort zone, growing creatively, and meeting other passionate street photographers– join me at one of my future street photography workshops.

Rare Interview with Garry Winogrand at Rice University, 1977

If you are a Garry Winogrand fan, don’t miss out on this rare video interview with him. He talks about everything, including the “ultimate justification” for shooting with a rangefinder (along other things). Gotta love Lee Friedlander’s introduction: “Welcome to the Garry Winogrand Circus– he’ll explain all his pictures!”

Thanks to Tom Kaszuba and Gary Gumanow for sending this to me!

Introduction to Darkroom Film Developing and Printing with Taylan Bagci in Istanbul

While I was in Istanbul teaching my Week-Long Travel Street Photography Workshop with Charlie Kirk, we both attended an Introduction to Darkroom Film with Taylan Bagci. I hope this video can give you some helpful insight into the developing and printing process, if you’ve never done it before. The entire film is quite long at 2 hours, so I’ve chopped it into the relevant sections below:

Part 1: Introduction to Taylan and Darkroom (Beginning to 10:00)

Part 2: Developing the Film (9min:50)

Part 3: Inspecting the Processed Film (1hr:11mins)

Part 4: Printing Preparation (1hr:22mins)

Part 5: Printing the Test Strips (1 hr:55mins)

If you want to learn about darkroom printing in Istanbul, contact Taylan at taylan@taylan.net or check out his website.

Video Interview with Joe Aguirre in San Francisco

Warning: Some of the photos in this video are NSFW

Today I had the chance to interview a good friend of mine, Joe Aguirre — a street photographer based in San Francisco. I just found out that he is moving to LA soon, so we had a “farewell” interview at his apartment. He is one of the most down-to-earth and prolific photographers I know. He has a huge heart, and a lot of passion for his photographic art.

In the video apartment, we talk about his passion for shooting film, his self-publication, and passion for street and other forms of photography.

Photos by Joe

Below are some of my favorite photos by Joe:

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Video Interview with Hector Isaac from the Strata Collective

Earlier this year I met up with Hector Isaac, a street photographer originally from Cuba who moved and started shooting street photography in Miami, and now is based in LA. He is a part of the Strata collective.

In the video Interview I talk with him about his start in street photography, about the Miami Street Photography Festival, and his thoughts about working in color!

Hector recommends street photographers to check out the Observe Collective, and especially the work of Ilya Shtutsa (krysolove).

Follow Hector

How to Post-Process Your Street Photography into Black & White in Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro 2

My good friend and talented photographer Gary Tyson from F8 Photography in Hong Kong has recently put together a very helpful video on how to convert Fujifilm X-T1 RAW files into black & white with Lightroom 5.4 and Silver Efex Pro 2.

If you are unfamiliar with post-processing your street photography into black & white, the instructions is a great starting point for any camera. You can also download my black & white Neopan 1600 for Lightroom here. You can download all my Lightroom presets for free here.

Also if you want to take your street photography to the next level, don’t miss out on my Hong Kong Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop with Gary on August 22-24th, 2014.

Video Interview with Ola Billmont in Stockholm

When I was in Stockholm end of last year, I interviewed Ola Billmont— a very likable and talented street photographer. He is one of the co-founders of CUP (Contemporary Urban Photography) in Stockholm, and also shared some of his work at my workshop there. He frequents LA quite often for shooting– and he specializes in shooting with a flash in multiple formats (35mm, medium-format, large-format) in both black and white and color. I put together this video interview at a bar, apologies if it is a bit loud in here!

Read more to see the full transcript and his images from the interview.

Continue reading Video Interview with Ola Billmont in Stockholm

Embracing Surrealism and Symbolism: Video Interview with Dimitris Makrygiannakis in Stockholm

Dimitris Makrygiannakis is one of the up-and-coming rising stars when it comes to street photography. He has only been shooting seriously the last two years, and has made a huge leap in his work. I love the sense of surrealism, symbolism, and emotion in his work. He also breaks the “street photography” boundaries by embracing multiple types of work: posed portraiture and “still life” work.

See more of Dimitris’ work on Flickr. You can also see my past feature with his work here. Read more to see the entire transcript.

Continue reading Embracing Surrealism and Symbolism: Video Interview with Dimitris Makrygiannakis in Stockholm

On the Streets of San Francisco with Jack Simon

I recently had the pleasure of shooting on the streets of San Francisco with Jack Simon, a well-known street photographer in the community for this month’s fiestamovement mission. I followed Jack around the streets of San Francisco, seeing how he worked the streets, his philosophies on street photography, while listening to his tips and learned a ton from him.

I also have an hour-long interview that I am in the middle of transcribing that will be live on the blog soon as well. Stay tuned!

How to Talk to Strangers: 7 Tips For Photographing People

My buddy Adam Marelli just presented a talk at the B&H Photo Space talking about feeling more comfortable approaching strangers and photographing them while incorporating compositions and more. Definitely recommend the in-depth 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Also to learn more from Adam, check out his other talk on how to incorporate design & composition into your work (one of the finest out there). If you want to learn more from Adam, check out his upcoming workshops here.

3 Tips To Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Portraits

Last November I shot a campaign for Samsung’s NX20 camera using a video camera strapped to my head to record the footage of me shooting street portraits in Chicago with permission. It was a project that was intensive: I shot for 2 days straight from 5am-noon on little sleep.

The thing I loved most about the project is that although I certainly didn’t take photos that made it into my portfolio — it forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and interact with lots of people on the streets in a short period of time. The fact that the video was being played live in Amsterdam while I was shooting did give me healthy pressure which ended up being a great learning experience.

Continue reading 3 Tips To Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Portraits

Exciting New Trailer for “Finding Vivian Maier” Feature-Length Documentary Film

About two years ago, John Maloof started a Kickstarter to fund a feature-length documentary film: “Finding Vivian Maier“. Since then, the film has made a lot of progress (it will be released later this year) and an official trailer has just been released (watch above). After watching the trailer, I am confident that the film will do a great job uncovering the hidden life and photography of Vivian Maier.

For those of you who are not familiar with Vivian Maier, you can read more about some words I have written about her story here.

You can also see more work by Vivian Maier on her official website here.

Follow the Progress of the Film

To follow the progress of the film, follow the Vivian Maier film below:

Capturing the Constantly Vanishing Tokyo: Interview with Photographer Mike Nguyen

One of the guys I have been spending the most time with here in Tokyo is Mike Nguyen, a street photographer based in Tokyo. What I love about his work is that he is a very versatile photographer – combining landscapes, portraits, and street shots into his distinctive style. His photos are a visual diary of Tokyo and his life’s experiences – allowing him to “…hang onto what continually vanishes” and to “capture the minute splinter of reality that is a fleeting moment” (from his bio).

Watch the interview I did with him above, and see more of his images below.

Continue reading Capturing the Constantly Vanishing Tokyo: Interview with Photographer Mike Nguyen

Home is Where the Heart Is

After traveling for the last several months, I really enjoyed the last two weeks relaxing and recuperating in East Lansing, my new home in Michigan with Cindy. It has helped me work on some writing that I have been meaning to do (on Magnum Contact Sheets and Bruce Davidson) and catch up on some work. I still have a lot of work to do, but wanted to make this video recapping some of my thoughts about traveling, the importance of friends & family, and the privilege it is to stay at home with your loved ones.

I’m heading to LA today for an interesting project I’m not able to talk about at the moment, but will keep you guys all updated in the next few weeks.

Thanks again for all of your endless support and words of encouragement, it keeps me going! Also if anyone wants to meet up in LA this week, let me know!

Street Photography Google+ Hangout with Rinzi Ruiz and Vivienne Gucwa, hosted by Karen Hutton and Dave Veffer

Thanks to Trey Ratcliff for inviting me to his Google+ Hangout talk on street photography. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to host, but Karen Hutton was generous enough to lead the discussion. I was able to join my good friend Rinzi Ruiz and Vivienne Gucwa in which we talk about street photography and the stories behind some of our work.

Thanks to Dave Veffer for helping out with the whole production!

Some of the photographers we recommended during the Google+ Hangout:
Adam Marelli, Matt Obrey, Nathan Wirth, and DeShaun Craddock.

Thank You Guys For Everything! Moving from Los Angeles to Michigan

I am excited and also sad to announce that as of today morning I am moving from my hometown of the last 6 years (Los Angeles) to Michigan to support my beautiful girlfriend Cindy and her Ph.D. studies (Vietnamese Colonial History) at Michigan State. I have had an incredible last 6 years in Los Angeles, and the people I have met and connected with have truly helped me grow not only as a photographer, but as a fellow human being.

I am leaving behind lots of great friends in LA- but I will be back as often as I can! However in all honesty, I will probably miss everyone in LA more than they miss me (as they now have a phenomenal street photography community to support one another).

I am also very excited for my new life in Michigan, and especially excited to do more collaborations with my good friends and fellow street photographers in Detroit such as Brian Day and Andy Kochanowski. I look forward in doing more positive photography projects (part street and part documentary) about the people of Detroit– and their incredible positive energy & openness.

I think this move to Michigan will be another pivotal point in my life (and street photography career) and I wanted to thank you (yeah you) for your never-ending love and support through your comments, Facebook messages, Tweets, emails, and words of encouragement! I could never do anything without you, and owe you my life!

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Christopher Anderson, Magnum Photographer, Interview with VICE

VICE recently did an episode for their on-going series called “Picture Perfect” with Christopher Anderson, Magnum photographer. It is a great short video documentary on Anderson, that feels very intimate and discusses some of his past, present, and future projects. Also for those who are curious (who finished watching the video) he survived the sinking of a handmade boat in the Caribbean by wearing a EPIRB, a satellite transmitter which sent a signal to the US Coast Guard (that saved everybody on board).

Anderson is one of my favorite Magnum photographers due to his soulful imagery, and intimate and personal approach. His photos make me feel that I am really there- along with all the action, drama, and human conflict. Not only that, but he has done a wide breadth of work that range from conflicts in war, photographs of his son and father, as well as a project he is currently working on in NYC. You can see some of his images on the Magnum Photos site here.

Also make sure to check out my book review of his recently completed work, “Capitolio” here.

Photos from Anderson

Below are some of my favorite photos from Anderson in his book, “Capitolio”.





 Books by Christopher Anderson

Related Links

Travel Update: Seoul, Paris, Marseilles and Going to Istanbul for Street Photography!

Hey guys, just put together a video of my travels in Seoul, Paris, and Marseilles. Unfortunately there seems to be a sound-sync problem with the webcam on my new 11” Macbook Air. Wasn’t an issue I had on my 13” Macbook Air- hopefully it is a bug that Apple will fix soon?

Also if anyone is good with Macs – the issue is I recorded in iMovie and the sound sync is off. If anyone has any suggestions how to fix this please leave a comment below!

Just Plain Love: A Documentary Film About The Photos and Life of Henri Cartier-Bresson

If you haven’t yet, make sure to watch this documentary on Henri Cartier-Bresson, the grandfather of street photography. The great thing about this documentary is that he reflects not only on his photography, but on his life and relationship with other artists.

The film was titled : L’amour Tout Court (“Just Plain Love”) and was directed by Raphaël O’Byrne back in 2001 when Cartier-Bresson was 92 years old.

Let us know what your favorite part of the documentary was by leaving a comment below! 

Video Interview with Richard Bram, NYC-Based Street Photographer from In-Public

When I started street photography, one of the first website I stumbled upon was In-Public. I was blown away by the work of all the street photographers there and curious to see how they captured the beauty and irony of everyday life.

One of the photographers whose work I admired was Richard Bram. I loved his classic black and white work, and was fascinated to read a feature he wrote for Street Reverb Magazine about his transition into color (something I have recently experienced as well). It was also great to see his insights and stories behind his work in “In-Sight” – a documentary on street photography and In-Public members by Nick Turpin.

The interview is very long (1 hour 30 minutes) and Richard apologies in advance for his squeaky microphone. However for anyone who wants to get incredibly insightful information about street photography I highly recommend you watch it. We talk about Richard’s background in politics and photography, his transition from b&w to color, as well as street photographers who influenced him.

Also one of the favorite parts I appreciate is when he gives advice to aspiring street photographers.

Richard Bram’s Advice for Aspiring Street Photographers

  1. Don’t be easily satisfied
  2. Pay less attention to people who like your work, and more attention to people who offer you harder critiques
  3. Become visually literate. Go to the library, take a course on art history (not just photography history). Learn about what makes a composition. Figure out why you don’t like the work of others, and why you think that others like it. Go to the 779 section at the library for photo books and devour them.
  4. Look at pictures all the time, and internalize them.
  5. Read a lot photo books, art books, literature, politics, science.
  6. Get to know sculptors, actors, writers – because they will give you great advice on your photography. Don’t just live in the photography ghetto.
  7. Great photographers know a lot more than photography.

Richard Bram Black & White Portfolio:

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Color Portfolio

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Richard Bram Street Photography

Watch “In-Sight” (Richard is featured photographing the streets of NYC)

Follow Richard Bram

Which of Richard’s photos touch or inspire you the most? Leave your comments, critique, and feedback in the comments below and show him some love! 

Weekly Video Roundup: Review of the ThinkTank Retrospective 7, Preview of the Leica M Monochrom, and Review of Micro Lens Pouch

Published a bunch of videos to YouTube this week! Here is a weekly roundup of all of them in-case you missed any!

Thinktank Retrospective 7 Review

Had the chance to review the ThinkTank Retrospective 7, a fantastic bag for you street shooters using an iPad or a 11” Macbook Air (has a little slot in the bag!) Also my younger sister Anna guest stars in this video!

Link to the Retrospective 7

Read more to see all of the videos!

Continue reading Weekly Video Roundup: Review of the ThinkTank Retrospective 7, Preview of the Leica M Monochrom, and Review of Micro Lens Pouch
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Categorized as Video Tagged

Street Photography POV Video with Markus Hartel on a Rainy Day in New York City

Street photographer Markus Hartel recently rigged a Kodak Playtouch HD camcorder on his Leica M9 with a straight flash bracket and an additional camera hot shoe mount and recorded some footage of him shooting in the rain in New York City on his 28mm Elmarit. To keep his camera dry, he would hold his camera upside down or put it inside his jacket to keep it dry.

Markus is also holding special 1:1 Street Photography Tours in NYC. Check them out here.

Markus Hartel with his M9 and rig!

Beer, Gear Porn, and Street Photography with Bellamy Hunt, Eddy Boom, and Darren Wong

See you back in LA soon Bellamy!

Having fun with the boys in Koreatown in Los Angeles. Showing Bellamy Hunt (Japan Camera Hunter) a great time during his last night here!

People featured in the video

Bellamy Hunt
http://twitter.com/jpncamerahunter

Eddy Boom
http://twitter.com/lazyedt

Darren Wong
http://twitter.com/sticboy

Cameras mentioned in the video

  • Ricoh GR1v
  • Ricoh GR21
  • Leica M9-P
  • Leica M6
See you back in LA soon Bellamy!

Beverly Hills Street Photography POV Video with Leica M6 and GoPro

I have recently been working on a project in Beverly Hills that explores the following themes: wealth, disparity, happiness, image, and gloom. In my last POV video in Downtown LA many of you asked me to edit in the shots, and I did! Note that not every shot is fantastic- but wanted to include the shots as an educational tool to help you better understand how to approach, frame, and capture your subjects.

I am currently shooting with a film Leica M6 and Kodak Portra 400 film. The video was recorded with a GoPro Hero HD 960 video camera.

Featured in the video: Medhi Bouqua. See my past feature with him on the blog here.

What do you think about this video? Let me know how you would like me to change/edit my future videos in the comments below! 

A Personal Reflection on the Last 6 Months of My Life

Happy birthday film! :)

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!):

  • Loryne Atoui
  • Thomas Leuthard
  • Charlie Kirk
  • Bellamy Hunt
  • Damien Rayuela
  • Jason Gritjas
  • Adam Marelli
  • Souvik De
  • Jason Martini
  • Todd Hatakeyama
  • My mom!
  • Cindy Nguyen
  • JJ Viau
  • Christian Erhardt
  • Adam Rahim
  • Jasime Aum
  • Tom Britcha
  • Jacob Patterson
  • Neil Ta
  • Kaushal Parikh
  • Ryan Ong
  • Alfie Goodrich
  • Danny Santos
  • Dav Cheng
  • Rinzi Ruiz
  • Ryan Cabal
  • ABC
  • Kevin WY Lee
  • Ivan Wong
  • Leonard Goh
  • Chris Gampat
  • Josh White
  • Dani Kim
  • David Kim
  • Mijonju
  • Angelo De Mesa
  • My sister (Anna Kim)
  • Olivia Lee
  • Jinhwan Roh
  • Luke Ding
  • Holly Pyon
  • Brian Reilly
  • Francoise Callier
  • And to all of you!

Wish me a happy birthday with film!

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

One-Minute Masterclass Advice from Steve McCurry: Be Humorous

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!

 

One-Minute Masterclass Advice from Steve McCurry: “Don’t Forget To Say Hello”

One of my favorite quotes by Alfred Eisenstaedt is “It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter”. When we are out shooting street photography, it is often difficult to find time to talk to the subjects we capture, as life often moves at a very fast pace.

Steve McCurry, one of the most pivotal photographers of the 21st century, shares the same notion. McCurry has traveled the world and captured subjects in very intimate settings- and one of his pieces of advice is to approach and talk to people (even for a minute) before taking photos of them. I feel that this is a very important piece of advice to take, especially when visiting foreign countries. The video shown above is a feature put together by Phaidon, which can be viewed here.

Although I still feel that street photography should be done without permission and candidly, I see no problem interacting with your subjects before, during, or even after you shoot them.

Portraits by Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Steve McCurry Portrait

Thanks to Ian Pettigrew for the tip, and let us know how much you like to interact with your subjects when shooting by leaving a comment below! 

15+ Inspirational Street Photography Videos You Must Watch

Whenever I am feeling in a street photography slump, looking for inspiration or knowledge, I have found these online street photography videos to be incredibly helpful and useful. These are just a few of my favorites. If you have the time, later tonight– kick back, relax, and watch some of these videos!

In-Public: In-Sight Street Photography Documentary

Read more to see the rest of the great street photography videos in this collection.

Continue reading 15+ Inspirational Street Photography Videos You Must Watch

How to Interact With Your Subjects when Shooting Street Photography

Alfred Eisenstaedt once said, “It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter“. Upon reading this quote, it made me start thinking differently how I approach my street photography. When I started off, I would avoid eye contact at all costs, often shooting from the hip or being a little more sneaky. However nowadays, I actually prefer making eye contact with my subjects the majority of the time and even interacting with them after taking the shot. Often times when things are a bit too hectic on the streets, I don’t talk much with people but whenever I have the opportunity I try. Keep reading to learn how to interact with your subjects more when shooting on the streets.

Continue reading How to Interact With Your Subjects when Shooting Street Photography