Street Photography - A Lesson Learning

[Russ]

Keep shooting. With time and experience, you'll be at ease on the street shooting. I too, prefer to use wide lenses and getting up close. I find that the long lenses (big game hunters) lose the intimacy and emotion of the event or scene. Be open and honest. No need to hide and shoot. Honesty and sincerity will open many doors for you.

Russ

" A photograph that mirrors reality, cannot compare to one that reflects the spirit'

 

[semilog]

I think a lot of this fear stuff, as long as you have a camera with a short lens that doesn't look all intrusive, that most people don't really care.

I agree. Using a camera that does not look "serious" can be really helpful at times. My black M6 with the little chrome Biogon-C looks like a toy, when held in the hand more or less like an old Yaschica or Canonet (which, as many of you know, are also great street cameras). It may be the most low-profile street rig I've ever used, even better than the XA or my (black) GR-1. People take one glance at it and then ignore it.

With cameras like these stealth is not necessary -- you just point, shoot, smile. It helps that the Biogon flares so little that it does not usually need a hood. An all-black camera with a lens hood (e.g., my old 35 Summilux ASPH with rectangular hood, which often was needed) just looks so much more more serious, and consequently more threatening.

I've gradually come around to the conclusion that all-black rigs are the *worst* for street work. It is far preferable to be seen and immediately dismissed as inconsequential, than to appear to be either serious, or (worse) surreptitious. My next camera will probably be a chrome M2 or M4 -- if I can keep at bay the desire to get a CLE!

 

[MCTuomey]

great work, gregory

 

[Rowse]

Street Photography

Street Photography

I work in NYC. I take my M7 and now new MP with me everyday. Some days I have the "nerve" and on other days I just don't. Its a more natural feeling taking pics in the tourist areas, but when you in the non-tourist areas I sometimes get that "weird" feeling myself. Luckily, Leica cameras and lenses are small, so most people dont look twice when you point the camera at them. I've never been bothered by anyone yet. You have to develop you own style of approaching people. One thing I learned is "if you look and act like you belong then you do" BUT if you look nervous or sneaky then you definitely don't belong and most people will sense this.

 

[Colin Corneau]

Good advice, especially from Nikkor AIS.

It takes guts but then what in life that's worth doing doesn't? Even now I very often hesitate and if I could have a gallery show of the shots I let get away due to such stupidity I'd be a very happy guy. Nothing is worse than re-playing the moments you KNOW you lost...trust me.

Just do it. Give it time, it takes practice but a shot you love that you made will be the best source of motivation.

Hope to post a few of my own here soon -- have a lot of work to process!

 

[Bogotron]

I agree with that, Rowse.

On the topic of wide-angle vs telephoto lenses: My choice to use wide-angles is not a philosophical choice but an aesthetic/visual one. Telephotos tend to flatten things, whereas wide-angle/normal lenses make the viewer feel like they're in the scene; they're more exciting to me visually, and I'd also rather be in the scrum than snapping at it from a distance. Just my personal preference. I'm not morally opposed to telephotos; perhaps it's even more of a challenge to make an interesting shot w/a telephoto, and maybe those who are able to do so are more skilled than I. There are shots that you can only get with a telephoto, I'm sure. I guess I'm willing to live with not getting those shots. Maybe in the future I'll feel differently.

 

[semilog]

...wide-angle/normal lenses make the viewer feel like they're in the scene; they're more exciting to me visually, and I'd also rather be in the scrum than snapping at it from a distance.

If the pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - R. Capa

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Thanks very much for the kind words, you guys. I really appreciate it. Like I said, it's great to be a part of the RangeFinderForum.

One thing that strikes me is that there are many ways to approach street photography, many of which have already been discussed in this thread. Knowing your gear and being ready to get the shot will guarantee a higher degree of success than going out with the newest gear with all the bells and whistles. Although I'm new to the Leica M system (about a year), I've come to appreciate the M system for being reliable, discreet and quick to use. I've gone from having a Leica M3 with 35 1.4 Summilux to getting a Leica M6 to go with my Noctilux and now I've added a Leica M7 and MP to the bag. The Leica M3 is being serviced for a sketchy shutter (hey, it's probably never been serviced ). I've used every single format from miniatures 35 mm to 4x5 for shooting street and for my money, the Nikon D3/F3T and the Leica film system are as good as it gets for me.

I've always worked with multiple cameras and although I'm in awe of those who can do it with one camera/lens, I like to have a minimum of three. I like a wide, a normal and a long. And I'm not opposed to going to extremes on either end.

Although there is much to be said for F8 and be there, there is also merit in F1.0 and be there as well, using a Nikkor 800 5.6 IF-ED AIS.

For the Leica M system I've got a 15 4.5, 28 1.9, 35 1.4, 50 1.0. I tested a 75 mm but found it wasn't for me.

As far as tech, one thing I can tell you is that animals including human beings can sense when they are being watched. It has always amazed me that even when I'm using extremely long glass from a position of concealment, people can tell they are being watched. For this reason I resist raising/pointing the camera until the last possible moment and then I focus fast and take the shot. I will almost always previsualize the framing before I raise my camera as there is rarely time to mess about when the moment is about to occur.



Nikkor 800 5.6 IF-ED AIS on D3 hand held @ 5.6.



Shot taken by Kat in the winter.







Nikkor 300 2.0 IF-ED AIS on D3.

While shooting with long fast glass certainly has its advantages, I almost always have a Leica M and a 35 1.4 Summilux or 28 1.9 around my neck to shoot less extreme types of shots. One thing I can say is that I've gotten so many shots as a result of driving by and stopping that I always leave at least an hour before I really need to, knowing I'm going stop several times along the way. Just ask anyone who hangs with me. I've been told it's really not that much fun for them. But they put up with me because they love me.



And if walking, have the camera out and ready to go.



Leica M6 with 28 1.9 on XP2.

While having the best gear in the world is nice, it's not going help you if you don't have it with you. I always have a camera even to go to the store to get milk. You never know when an interesting shot may present itself.





Took this one at the back of camera store where I bought film.

Leica M7 50 1.0 Noctilux @ 1.0 with ND filter and 200 ASA film.







The last two taken Friday in Banff with the Leica MP and 15 4.5 on 10-year-old expired Ektapress 100.

Gregory

 

[Russ]

Portra 800 film.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Nikkor 28 1.4 AF-D manually focused on D3.



Nikkor 8 mm 2.8 AIS on D3.



Leica M7 with 35 1.4 Summilux on 400 ASA film.





Leica M6 with 50 1.0 Noctilux.







Next-generation street shooter. My little guy just finished his first roll of film today with his new Nikon FM2 and 50 1.8 lens. He didn't want a digital, he wanted a film camera. When he gets a little older, he's going to get my Leica M3 and the Summilux. He already has a great eye and passion for shooting that make me smile.



Shot taken by Kat at the zoo recently.





Taken with Leica M7 and Noct of one of my shooting pals hopping an electric fence.



Taken with Leica M7 and 28 1.9.



Taken with Leica MP and Noct on Ektrapress @ 1.0.



Shot of me standing in a ditch on the side of the road, taken by my 12-year-old daughter.

One thing I've always tried to do is just shoot normal people doing normal stuff. To me that is it. While it's nice to shoot famous folks and get your pictures in magazines and stuff, just getting out and shooting is its own reward. Street shooting connects you to the community, places, people where you take photos. More and more, I see myself just going out with the Leica and taking it in. One frame at a time.

Gregory

 

[xxloverxx]

Gregory, that last photo is quite a "wow, nice" one

 

[OurManInTangier]

If the pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - R. Capa

This statement, or more correctly quote, is like so many...half correct. Or perhaps more accurately correct for many situations but not all. I find that I have a natural propensity to get in close only to find that going wider would have given more information to the viewer and thus make a more coherent image.

I'm not suggesting Capa was wrong, simply that his comment is often now taken as a mantra to shoot by which CAN be restricting. Better to evaluate scene by scene and make a decision on the information before you.

Keeping it fun, smiling and enjoying yourself and not thinking too much are incredibly important in my view. Instinct is the key to good shots.

 

[Sparrow]

This statement, or more correctly quote, is like so many...half correct. Or perhaps more accurately correct for many situations but not all. I find that I have a natural propensity to get in close only to find that going wider would have given more information to the viewer and thus make a more coherent image.

I'm not suggesting Capa was wrong, simply that his comment is often now taken as a mantra to shoot by which CAN be restricting. Better to evaluate scene by scene and make a decision on the information before you.

Keeping it fun, smiling and enjoying yourself and not thinking too much are incredibly important in my view. Instinct is the key to good shots.

I'll second that, I miss more being too close than too distant, missing feet being my particular bane.

Instinct, yep, one must speculate, if there is half a chance it's worth taking then it's worth taking

 

[parsec1]

I love street photography, but I've virtually stopped taking pictures of children in public places. It isn't worth the hassle. Not only from parents. Twice recently in London I was chastised by schoolteachers who were supervising large groups of kids I was photographing. They told me quite confidently I "didn't have permission" from their parents to take their photos. The presumption, evidently, is that unless I have explicit permission, I am to assume that I don't. I was tempted to argue with them, but I could see I wouldn't get anywhere.

Occasionaly asked by a newspaper to photograph a 'school play' or concert. Sometimes arrived at the school to be confronted by a teacher waving a list of children whose parents had said they did not want their chilidren photographed even those included as the main partcipants of the event. Editors instructions :- "If you can't photograph them all then don't photograph any and walk away". Have done that several times after all 'what the heck' I still got paid .
BTW Got a call from the mum of one of these 'no photograph' children a couple of years later asking me to shoot publicity stills for his new teenage rock band !!!!!:bang:

 

[johannielscom]

.. .
BTW Got a call from the mum of one of these 'no photograph' children a couple of years later asking me to shoot publicity stills for his new teenage rock band !!!!!:bang:

Money is the key here: they don't want you to make money off their kids, but they do want to make money themselves using your photographs.

In fivehundred years time antropologists will conclude western societies stopped having their own children and women (Madonna, Mrs. Pitt) started importing them from third world countries.

 

[Mark A. Fisher]

Fascinating Thread. I've done some street, primarily with wide lenses - 20 & 28 - but occasionally have found a long lens advantageous as well. Still prefer a 20 on my 35mm gear and a 43 on my Mamiya 7II; I just like including lots of the surroundings as well as the primary subject. To me having some of the stuff around them provides the necessary info to complete the story - but other times, not so much.

I would recommend to everyone a book by Joel Meyerowitz and Colin Westerbeck titled "Bystander: A History of Street Photography". A fascinating presentation of the street shooter thought process, imagery, and philosophy from Atget to the present cadre of shooters. Most of the iconic imagery we've all seen - Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, etc - and others I had only been vaguely aware of. Well worth the read.

Thanks for posting this. As others have said, a nice addition to the forum!

Mark

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Thanks xxloverxx. Very nice of you to take the time to comment.
















Gregory

 

[typeguru]

Wow, folks, what a great thread. Good insight, interesting stories. I go through phases of being a chicken or brave to shoot on the street. yesterday i felt like taking a walk with my m3/50summarit rig and stumbled on a street fair. i felt really comfortable in the crowd, everyone was enjoying themselves and i smiled too. Soon, an older gentleman approached and just wanted to admire my camera and reminisce about his earlier days of photographing with film. he told me of his gear he has stashed away and hasn't seen in years. (i hope he digs it out and uses it again). another comment from a younger guy with a digital slr w/long zoom: wow, a leica (to his girlfriend). i just said "thanks for noticing". Later, i was photographing a crowd buying kettle corn from behind the vendor's stall. the vendor spotted me, left his customers, dug something out of a bag and started to approach me and photographing me - straight on. he fired off a few shots really close in my face and says "hey, look, 8 megapixels, not bad huh from a phone!" to which i replied: "awesome, mine is zero megapixels, and i have to reload, out of film". he was stunned!
i learned a lot, had a great time, spoke to many people, and didn't get hurt. now i just have to develop the evidence.

 

[semilog]

This statement, or more correctly quote, is like so many...half correct.

I quoted it in the specific context of another poster's comment that he likes shooting street with wide lenses because of the way they immerse the viewer in the scene. I'm generally sympathetic to that view, but I do agree that there is no one best way to do street, or any other kind of photography.

 

[semilog]

I would recommend to everyone a book by Joel Meyerowitz and Colin Westerbeck titled "Bystander: A History of Street Photography". A fascinating presentation of the street shooter thought process, imagery, and philosophy from Atget to the present cadre of shooters.

+1. I don't always enjoy reading "serious" essays about photography but it's a really good book.