Nick Turpin recently put up the full 38 min version of in-public’s ‘in-sight’ documentary film which shows them shooting on the streets of New York, London, Melbourne and Rotterdam. Each street photographer had an HD camera mounted on their camera hotshoe to show them in action. Each photographer also discusses their motivation and approach to street photography.
You can pay a small fee to support the film through Paypal. I highly recommend everyone watch it. Save the money you would spend on having a Starbucks coffee and watch it!
First of all, I don’t like how this guy is deliberately trying to scare people to elicit a type of response. The fact that he hides behind a phonebooth and then jumps out doesn’t feel right to me. When you are shooting street photography you might scare/surprise people on accident, but that shouldn’t be your primary motive. Even with my street photography, I prefer when I capture images of people candidly without them noticing me. I found in many cases when I get really close to people with a wide-angle lens, they don’t even seem to notice me. And for those who say that I shoot flash to elicit a response– people don’t notice the flash until after you take the photo.
Secondly, his technique looks very sloppy. I am not sure if he shoots under his arms/sideways all-the-time, but it looks like he was doing that to be showy. Although I believe shooting from the hip without a viewfinder is a good way to get your feet wet in street photography, I believe that using the viewfinder is the best way to get solid compositions and framing. To say that he is “more of a perfectionist than Bruce Gilden” is absolute blasphemy as many of his images have poor composition.
In addition, his knowledge of street photography seems to very superficial. He mentions that he is out looking for characters, but simply defines “characters” as people who look different. He also mentions that there is no point in shooting “normal people” which I disagree with. Also, I think he should think more about the story he is trying to tell through the people that he captures.
Lastly, he doesn’t seem to have much respect for the people he shoots, especially the homeless. He has no problem scaring people to get his shot, and the aggressive motion he uses with his camera looks more like a punch than photo-taking. In addition, he mentions that he only deliberately shoots the homeless because they are “different”. To say something like that is unethical in my opinion, as the homeless shouldn’t be seen as easy subjects to capture because of their socio-economic differences from us. All-in-all, you must have the right reasons to shoot your subjects to showcase something beautiful about their character, dress, face, or attitude. You must look for unique and special people to shoot, rather than “different” people. Love the people you shoot.
Although the guy does come off as arrogant and cocky, what he is still doing is legal. Whether it is ethical is a completely different story. I don’t know many street photographers that try to elicit a response on purpose from their subjects, but if that is his cup of tea and artistic style I don’t feel right to judge him based on a video. Who knows, maybe the guy is just a bit confused or mislead. I feel that art always needs to push boundaries and although this guy is doing the extreme polar end of street photography, that is his style.
Let us know what your thoughts about the video are in the comments below. And please try to keep the conversation civil.
Update: One thing I want to emphasize is that let’s not all take out our pitchforks and crucify Fabio. Let’s disagree with his actions, rather than himself as a person. I’m sure he has been reading all the negative comments on the web and feels pretty crappy right now. I know how it feels to be criticized on a large-scale and trust me: it feels horrible. After all the negative press I received after my video, I was actually quite depressed and down-in-the-dumps for several weeks.
Looks like other street photographers (also named Eric) are shooting up-close and personal with a flash. Except the difference is that he is shooting with a medium-format Mamiya 7II and a large Metz flash. No idea how much it costs to develop all that film, but he makes fantastic photos and the process of him shooting in China is interesting as well. Make sure to watch these videos thoroughly to get a sense of his style which is very intimate, casual, and flows very well.
Eric Shooting in Hong Kong
Thanks to Jeff G. Rottman for the tip!
Also check out his book, “Good Luck China” on the Japan Exposures site.
Yesterday I put up a video of me shooting flash street photography in Hollywood as a tool to help people understand how I get close to people and shoot them with a flash. My original intention of the video was to help others build their courage, rather than offend people.
In the video above I talk about some of my thoughts about the video.
First of all, I am not Bruce Gilden and don’t claim to be. I am hugely inspired by the work of his and those of others such as Weegee, Charlie Kirk, Mark Cohen, Dirty Harry, and some others. My idea is not original, and I have been copying aspects of their technique I like. Through this experimentation, I have found out I enjoy this style and am curious to keep on trying it out. The experience is much more intimate and has been challenging me both as a street photographer and person.
Secondly, the images I took in the video were not great. I only put them in there to be instructive and helpful to give people a sense of how the images would look. I can shoot street photography for an entire day and get 1-2 decent shots if I am lucky. To get a good photo in 3 minutes flat is almost impossible.
Lastly thank you for the comments & critiques. I see my blog more as a hub for street photography discussion, learning, and debate. I purposely never censor any of the comments that people leave, and appreciate everybody’s thoughts. I don’t claim to be the master or have all the answers. Rather being a street photographer that struggled with getting over his fear of shooting street photography– I simply want to help others get over that as well.
Feel free to leave your thoughts, suggestions, or critiques below. Also thanks so much for the continued feedback and support. Shooting street photography, doing workshops, managing my social networks, and this blog is a ton of work–but it is my passion and I do it all out of love to help you and the community.
Currently the video that I shot with my Leica M9 and GoPro HD 960 has been getting quite popular on the web, and has been creating some interesting discussions on what street photography is/isn’t. In this video I discuss my definition of street photography and whether you should ask for permission when shooting street photography.
I welcome everyone to participate in the discussion and please leave a comment below! How would you define street photography, and do you think you should ask for permission or not–and why? Looking forward to everyone’s thoughts :)
"Headlock" - Leica M9 and 35mm f/1.4 Summilux and Off-shoe Flash
I just arrived safely in Paris and spent an entire doing street photography with my Leica M9 and 35mm f/1.4 Summilux with Charlie Kirk and my host Damien Rayuela. We had a ton of fun, and Charlie even taught me how to shoot street photography with his off-shoe flash, and I got some pretty interesting results. Read more to watch all the videos I recorded and see all the images I shot!
You guys may have heard that Leica has generously sent me a Leica M9 and 35mm f/1.4 Summilux to test out and review. Here is a quick and dirty video I put together unboxing the work of art, and giving my first impressions. I have already taken a ton of great images, and have many exciting things to say about the camera. Stay tuned for more images and a full-review of the Leica M9 and 35mm f/1.4 Summilux.
Got any questions about the M9 or the 35mm? Leave a comment below and I’ll try my best to hit all the questions you may have!
Recently I was cruising around Petapixel and found this wonderful gem of a video– Henri Cartier-Bresson himself talking about street photography and “The Decisive Moment”. It is a bit of a long video (20 minutes) but worth every minute hearing the grandfather of street photography discuss his thoughts and share some of his most iconic images.
Who else has been inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson? Let us know what you think of the video and his work by leaving a comment below!
I am excited to present a mini-documentary that my talented friend and film producer Daniel Seo put together. It was a quite intense project that took us an entire day to shoot (from 6AM to 11PM at night). I am very proud of how Daniel was able to put together my vision of street photography through his production and editing.
If you want to find more of how Daniel works, please check out his blog and check out his Facebook fan page.
Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below! I would love to hear your feedback.
