First "discrete" go at Street Photography

Carlh

Carlh

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Carl
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When I have done some street photography in the past, its been camera up to the eye, mostly with people's back towards me.

Got a bit braver this time (thanks to other SP photographers on TP :) had it dangling around my neck as short as the strap would allow. Made some mistakes and hopefully will learn from those to get more in-focus images. Took the missus and little one with me so I looked more like a tourist. Occasionally popping up the camera to the eye to take crap shots just to mingle-in and not be so noticeable.

Took the canon 600d (crop sensor) and the tokina 11-16mm so some of these, were VERY close, am fairly happy though I know I can get better one's next time.

Any tips on improvements would be great. The tokina 11-16mm was a bit lens-heavy, pulling the lens towards the ground, remote shutter (wired) into my pocket and just clicked away as I walked around. The other hand, supporting the camera and lens so I might switch to the 50mm f1.8 prime next time.

Photos taken today, about midday at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, bit of a european-food market going on so nice and busy.

1.. Started off in Costa's with a bucket of coffee.
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2..
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3..
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4..
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5..
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Thanks for looking, SP I can see is going to be quite addictive!! If I get a fair response with these, will post up more, I dont want to bore anyone if the images don't do anything for anyone.
 
No 5 for me.. I like the village of the damned looked from the little girl.. cracking shot

no1 underexposed
no 2 needs levelling (always critique done IMHO )
no 3 I can see the sign but little else
no4 heads chopped off
 
Loving the wide angle but for me all of these could be be just as or more expressive in colour?
 
Good attempt Carl and some decent photographs in the set. I like the darkness of the first with the silhouette by the door but the dark mass to the left is just too shapeless and prominent for my liking. Some good character captures in the others i especially like the contrast between the heavy set man and the small dog well spotted. Like Darren though I think street market shots are best in colour but each to their own :)
 
Hi, I like the set my pick would be #1 & #5
Although I do agree in #1 there is to much of a dark area on the left but I'm still drawn to the image
FairPlay for having ago, I've often thought about it but I end up bottling it lol
I tried last year whilst visiting lulworth cove Dorset, there was a bloke sat selling painted pots just as I brought my camera up to take the picture he spotted me he put his hand in a bag and pulled out a camera and took a picture of me taking a picture of him lol
 
mik0m said:
No 5 for me.. I like the village of the damned looked from the little girl.. cracking shot

no1 underexposed
no 2 needs levelling (always critique done IMHO )
no 3 I can see the sign but little else
no4 heads chopped off
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Cheers Mick, I left the first one underexposed, I liked the silhouettes, but I do value your opinion :)

No3+4. I shouldnt have put that up really, I dont like missing faces and chopped off heads either


shruggy63 said:
Loving the wide angle but for me all of these could be be just as or more expressive in colour?
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DarrenL I just dont like street photos in colour, they seem to lose impact and look more "snappy", I'll post up some colour one's later and let you decide :)


jakeblu said:
Good attempt Carl and some decent photographs in the set. I like the darkness of the first with the silhouette by the door but the dark mass to the left is just too shapeless and prominent for my liking. Some good character captures in the others i especially like the contrast between the heavy set man and the small dog well spotted. Like Darren though I think street market shots are best in colour but each to their own :)
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Cheers Steve, I did have a couple of photos of the guy with the dog (it was walking on the ground earlier in the day, but my inexperience at trying to shoot from the chest/hip meant my images were OOF and blurred from motion, but I did like the contrast of the big bloke with a little dog. :)


simonblue said:
No 1 4 & 5 for me,don't mind heads cut off in no 4 :)
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Cheers Simon, the heads, the more I look, the more I wish I didn't cut them off :confused:

step72 said:
Hi, I like the set my pick would be #1 & #5
Although I do agree in #1 there is to much of a dark area on the left but I'm still drawn to the image
FairPlay for having ago, I've often thought about it but I end up bottling it lol
I tried last year whilst visiting lulworth cove Dorset, there was a bloke sat selling painted pots just as I brought my camera up to take the picture he spotted me he put his hand in a bag and pulled out a camera and took a picture of me taking a picture of him lol
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hahah michael, yes, that happened to me last year, a bloke (quite obnoxious about it too) pulled out his camera phone and starting photographing me and said "how do you like it?" so I just posed for him and laughed it off. I was the official photographer at an outdoor event. lol

I learned quite a lot from this. Focus was my main issue and although I expect a 95-99% cull rate, it seemed a pity as I had some good OOF blurred "moments".

I think I'll push up the aperture to F16 next time, infinity focus in manual and leave ISO on auto to leave the camera worry about the lighting (which I did leave on TV-auto for these, first time I've used auto lol), was good experience though. I think the more you dress up like a tourist in a tourist-y area, the easier it is to remain conspicuous, having a wife and baby in a pushchair helped both with my confidence and also not getting approached by anyone for taking photos.

Thanks everyone, some good points for me to ponder over and I will keep my eye on straightening the images :)
 
I like the last shot Carl - #3 and #4 would be have been good if it wasn't for the faces being cut-off/obscured... (y)

Its all about confidence matey - I wouldn't worry about the remote shutter and shooting from the hip - just get out there proud with your camera and snap away! :D
 
dancook said:
The things I like

- the processing/exposure of #1
- the connection with a little girl in#5 is quite strong.
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Cheers dan. Kids are scary.!


XFile2708 said:
I like the last shot Carl - #3 and #4 would be have been good if it wasn't for the faces being cut-off/obscured... (y)

Its all about confidence matey - I wouldn't worry about the remote shutter and shooting from the hip - just get out there proud with your camera and snap away! :D
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Am going to try, not sure when I'll have the opportunity again, hopefully soon

Thanks Dan, Marcus, most appreciated :)
 
dancook said:
"Mummy why is this man taking a photo of me..."

... that's when it really hits the fan...
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Thankfully, camera is at chest, I'm not even looking at the girl (I didn't know I had her photographed until I looked at the images), the missus and pram is beside me and Im just looking around (head turned) snapping away.

Mikesphotaes said:
Sorry, not getting anything from these, Carl.
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No problem mike, its my first attempt at this type of SP, without pointing the camera, if there's anything you think I could have done to improve, I'm all ears :)
 
Still waiting for the colour versions & sorry to be pedantic but I think you mean discreet?
 
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shruggy63 said:
Still waiting for the colour versions & sorry to be pedantic but I think you mean discreet?
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You got insomnia? :)

Sorry about the spelling, got lazy and I let chrome correct it and didn't think it was incorrect... (I need to stop relying on the machines... ;)

Here's some in colour, need straightening, and as I said earlier in the thread, I know about my focus issue :)

1..
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2..
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Cheers darren :)
 
I'm not sure about these. Sorry Carl. Aside from the first which I do like they all look like they've been shot without any thought as to composition and content. Even when you've included a really strong element (like the little girl in 5) I get the impression its by luck. Sorry for being harsh
 
boyfalldown said:
I'm not sure about these. Sorry Carl. Aside from the first which I do like they all look like they've been shot without any thought as to composition and content. Even when you've included a really strong element (like the little girl in 5) I get the impression its by luck. Sorry for being harsh
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no its fine hugh, hence i posted them up. First attempt at this type of photography without making it obvious I was photographing. Have got some good points from this thread to work on - so thanks ! :)
 
I asked for colour because I only half understand why B&W makes these sort of shots more credible. For me, if you've controlled the subject & made it a shot then you don't need B&W for credibility? I'm not claiming to be a better togger than you but I am interested in thinking it through. Good luck to you with your shots!
 
shruggy63 said:
I asked for colour because I only half understand why B&W makes these sort of shots more credible. For me, if you've controlled the subject & made it a shot then you don't need B&W for credibility? I'm not claiming to be a better togger than you but I am interested in thinking it through. Good luck to you with your shots!
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thats fine darren :) tbh I prefer SP in black and white, sort of makes them timeless, but thats just my preference :)

The more I look at the shots, the more disappointed with them, but at the same time, the more determined I am to get better one's so no problem at all pointing out what you do/do not like about them fella! :)
 
Have you got a compact Carl? I have had a lot of success using my Fuji XF1 although my 2 favourite shots were taken with my D7000. I to lack a touch of confidence when snapping people but using my compact eliminates that a little as you just look like a tourist. If using my dslr I tend to think more about my shots and pick them wisely. Look for people doing stuff 'in a world of their own' or ones that are isolated against a shop wall or window. Then once you nail that try and move onto people doing other stuff or couples interacting.

@dancook has some super shots so looking at his work for inspiration and ideas is a great way of learning. Obviously going out more and more is also a great way to learn too but knowing what works and what doesn't beforehand is a big help. It was for me anyway.
 
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and brush it aside isn't really fair
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honestly Stevie I wasn't brushing anything aside.. as I say IMHO always.. I like the fact that there is a forum like this where you can say what you think about pics.. its not good enough to say great shot ad infinitum.. you see creatively exposed I see underexposed.. there is room enough in this world for both opinions :) at the end the important thing is we all keep trying to express creatively what is out there..
 
Dancook was my inspiration tbh, love his stuff, I dont want to "copy" it though, but I do want to see "what dan sees". I've been looking at a lot of SP stuff. I need to get to a city, find a good spot, sit and wait until I get my shots then move on.
I do have a compact, nothing flash though, just a fuji finepix, 10mp, its about 15 years old but takes decent enough images. I might dig it out and hopefully the battery will still charge :)

Thanks guys ! :)
 
It's a great start, many people don't have the nerve to take pictures of strangers at close quarters or even under stand street photography which means different things to different people. To me, the banal surroundings, expression, humour reflecting in the the real world or reality make it a fascinating subject . Colour or monochrome, Film, any camera is good. You've already met a bit of hostility and defused it with a smile. Carry on doing what your doing. Don't hesitate just press the shutter, or that one moment in time will be gone for ever.
 
DanCook's range of barbecues are nice but Lee Friedlander's photos are better?
 
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