Monday, August 26, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
People not murals
Like Bonnie, I also missed our class so I went out exploring a bit. I did the self-guided mural mile tour but snapped a few people pics along the way too. The woman framing her smile was a fun one. she had a great smile and I told her just that to get her pic. She posed for several pics but I ended up liking this one the best...
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Free photo editing programs
I just came across this post yesterday and thought it might be of interest. A couple look like they might have potential. I may try one or two out and see if you do in fact not get what you don't pay for ;-)
http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/6_free_photoediting_programs_47141.aspx
http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/6_free_photoediting_programs_47141.aspx
Monday, August 19, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Saturday Class and Indoor ISO 12800 Indoors
Here are some of the pics from Saturday's class...I'm not really thrilled with any of them other than my first friend (1) and the balloon girl (3). As for (4) and (5) I liked how they were so bad ass walking down the sidewalk but then when we talked to them they warmed right up. (Lesson learned...just maybe everyone really is friendly.) (6) I liked how she seemed so confused and her bright yellow rain coat. (7) could be improved with a shallow depth of field? (13) I was fascinated by her hair bosom (16) trying to get tiny dog big man but the dog was not cooperating at all.
I've also posted some photos from Sunday (starting 17)...they are indoor using ISO 12800 I didn't use flash on any of them. When taking the photos I just groaned every time someone opened the door and the sunlight came streaming in...but when I got home it had a cool effect on some of the pics.
I've also posted some photos from Sunday (starting 17)...they are indoor using ISO 12800 I didn't use flash on any of them. When taking the photos I just groaned every time someone opened the door and the sunlight came streaming in...but when I got home it had a cool effect on some of the pics.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Photographic Museum of Humanity
The Photographic Museum of Humanity is an amazing website that showcases photographers from all over the world. You can browse by category and choose Journalism to see specifically Street Photography related work.
http://www.photographicmuseum.com/photos
http://www.photographicmuseum.com/photos
Monday, August 5, 2013
Lessons from our Saturday Shoot.
1. Engage your subjects. Talk to people, most of them really really like it. This is in fact one of the joys of street photography, getting to interact with tons of different people, learning about their lives and connecting. Your photos will become richer too, if you know a little something about the person you are photographing.
2. Anticipate or Follow. Anticipate a photograph by noticing your subject before they end up in front of your camera. Watch them coming down the street, let them get close to you or enter the scene you've had your eye on, point your camera only when you are ready to shoot.
If you see someone you really want to photograph, but they happen to be across the street or walking away from you, just follow them. Walk ahead of them if you don't want a picture of just their back. Or even better still, catch up to them and ask them if you can photograph them. Don't let the perfect subject slip away!
3. Shoot from the hip. Remember when shooting from the hip point your camera up towards the direction of people faces (though sometimes people shoes can be just as interesting). Shooting from the hip means you don't get a chance to compose your picture as you can't really see the screen, but the chance element often creates new and interesting composition that might surprise you. Remember you can shoot from the raised arm length pointing your camera down, or any other variations of sticking the camera into a scene and letting luck do work its magic.
4. Vantage, vantage, vantage! Vantage point is everything. Practice bending down and shooting from one bended knee, or even lower down to the ground, finding ledges, steps, or tall buildings to look down from or take in the view from a different perspective. The smallest variation of your body will effect the way your picture projects information.
5. Foreground relationships. Remember filling your foreground with an objects really helps to place the viewer into the scene and creates a dynamic images. Always be on the look out for objects that can fill your foreground and add a dimension to the scene you are photographing.
6. Reflections are a world of their own. Reflective surfaces double the amount of information in the photograph. Watching reflections in a photograph is also a bit surreal since it is almost always difficult to tell apart reality and reflection. Use reflective surfaces to your benefit.
Some things to try this week:
1. Shoot in the dark. Try to shoot with a high ISO setting indoor lighting and towards the night hours. See what kind of colors you can come up with and the effect it has on your images.
2. Use your flash. Use it at night, at twilight, and as a fill during the day. Experiment with the effect it has on your colors and ability to capture motion in dim lighting situations. Make soft box out of tissue or white paper. Here is a link to a pretty solid soft box, if you have time to make one, I recommend it. http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Soft-Box-for-Your-On-Camera-Flash
3. Think About COLOR. Shooting black and white allowed us to leave color behind and focus only on composition - creating structure where there was none. A difficult task in and of itself. Adding color into the mix opens up possibilities but also add a layer of difficulty. Try to photograph this week with color in mind. Are the colors within your frame complementing each other or creating discord? Start simple, using mostly similar colors with in the frame with a dash of brilliant color. Find complementary colors, find large swatches of color, find saturated colors, focus on the skin tone color.
4. Practice the lessons we learned on Saturday!
Good luck!! Can't wait to see more pictures on the blog this week.
2. Anticipate or Follow. Anticipate a photograph by noticing your subject before they end up in front of your camera. Watch them coming down the street, let them get close to you or enter the scene you've had your eye on, point your camera only when you are ready to shoot.
If you see someone you really want to photograph, but they happen to be across the street or walking away from you, just follow them. Walk ahead of them if you don't want a picture of just their back. Or even better still, catch up to them and ask them if you can photograph them. Don't let the perfect subject slip away!
3. Shoot from the hip. Remember when shooting from the hip point your camera up towards the direction of people faces (though sometimes people shoes can be just as interesting). Shooting from the hip means you don't get a chance to compose your picture as you can't really see the screen, but the chance element often creates new and interesting composition that might surprise you. Remember you can shoot from the raised arm length pointing your camera down, or any other variations of sticking the camera into a scene and letting luck do work its magic.
4. Vantage, vantage, vantage! Vantage point is everything. Practice bending down and shooting from one bended knee, or even lower down to the ground, finding ledges, steps, or tall buildings to look down from or take in the view from a different perspective. The smallest variation of your body will effect the way your picture projects information.
5. Foreground relationships. Remember filling your foreground with an objects really helps to place the viewer into the scene and creates a dynamic images. Always be on the look out for objects that can fill your foreground and add a dimension to the scene you are photographing.
6. Reflections are a world of their own. Reflective surfaces double the amount of information in the photograph. Watching reflections in a photograph is also a bit surreal since it is almost always difficult to tell apart reality and reflection. Use reflective surfaces to your benefit.
Some things to try this week:
1. Shoot in the dark. Try to shoot with a high ISO setting indoor lighting and towards the night hours. See what kind of colors you can come up with and the effect it has on your images.
2. Use your flash. Use it at night, at twilight, and as a fill during the day. Experiment with the effect it has on your colors and ability to capture motion in dim lighting situations. Make soft box out of tissue or white paper. Here is a link to a pretty solid soft box, if you have time to make one, I recommend it. http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Soft-Box-for-Your-On-Camera-Flash
3. Think About COLOR. Shooting black and white allowed us to leave color behind and focus only on composition - creating structure where there was none. A difficult task in and of itself. Adding color into the mix opens up possibilities but also add a layer of difficulty. Try to photograph this week with color in mind. Are the colors within your frame complementing each other or creating discord? Start simple, using mostly similar colors with in the frame with a dash of brilliant color. Find complementary colors, find large swatches of color, find saturated colors, focus on the skin tone color.
4. Practice the lessons we learned on Saturday!
Good luck!! Can't wait to see more pictures on the blog this week.
Let There Be Color!
William Eggleston (1939-)
"I had this notion of what I called a democratic way of looking around, that nothing was more or less important. "
Often referred to as the father of color photography, William Eggleston is a genius at photographing the mundane. His use of color and composition changed photography and influenced many artists and filmmakers.
http://www.egglestontrust.com/ - a collection of Eggleston portfolios, books, films and more.
Eric Kim says it best! Ten Lessons of William Eggleston: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/04/01/10-lessons-william-eggleston-has-taught-me-about-street-photography/
Stephen Shore (1947-)
"Photographers have to impose order, bring structure to what they photograph. It is inevitable. A photograph without structure is like a sentence without grammar—it is incomprehensible, even inconceivable."
Using color to primarily to imbue Stephen Shore took his 8x10 camera to the streets to photograph his project Uncommon Places. Below is a link to that portfolio.
http://stephenshore.net/photographs/B/index.php?page=1&menu=photographs
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/08/13/5-things-stephen-shore-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/
Joel Sternfeld (1944-)
"No individual photo explains anything. That’s what makes photography such a wonderful and problematic medium. It is the photographer’s job to get this medium to say what you need it to say. Because photography has a certain verisimilitude, it has gained a currency as truthful—but photographs have always been convincing lies. "
A keen observer of both people and landscapes, Sternfeld is best known for his photographic work about the High Line in New York city that started the move to create a public park. Here is an interview with Sternfeld about the wilderness he found on the High Line when he began to photograph it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNzr7g8FQgk
A portfolio of his work http://www.photography-now.net/joel_sternfeld/portfolio1.html
Martin Parr (1952-)
"With photography, I like to create fiction out of reality. I try and do this by taking society's natural prejudice and giving this a twist."
A keen satirist of humanity everywhere, Martin Parr has traveled the world, armed with his sharp wit and a camera, to create some of the most humorous and critical portrayals of culture. This interview with him touches upon his vision and his craft.
http://www.lensculture.com/parr.html
And of course Eric Kim has some thoughts about Mr. Parr - http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/03/26/10-things-martin-parr-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/
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