A Street Exercise

bdcolen

Okay, folks, you want to street photography? You can't stand street photography! :rofl

Seriously - here's a new Street Photography Exercise:

Load up your cameras, get off your butts, and over the course of the next week go out and shoot photos of people in public places that somehow tell stories. And here's the hard part - you must use a lens that is a 35mm equivalent of a 50 mm or wider, and you must shoot from the front standing within 10 feet or less of your subjects. Got it?

A week from today I'll post a thread called Street Exercise I Photos - put your best photo there.

Good luck!:rofl :rofl :clap :clap :ivar :ivar

thoth

Damn, I didn't even see this exercise stickied up here. I'm definitely in B.D. Even better, I'll be spending the next several weeks in a real town with a population that excludes cattle and hustles and bustles. You have good timing for sure!

lizzard_nyc

I'm in---:yikes
Needed the arm twisting.

rutt

I did this in BD's class last spring and got some of the best pictures I ever took. In fact BD, kept upping the ante. First 15 feet, then 10 feet, then 5 feet. It's well worth doing.

I'm on one crutch now and somewhat more mobile. I'm in!

From the spring:

lizzard_nyc

rutt wrote:

I did this in BD's class last spring and got some of the best pictures I ever took. In fact BD, kept upping the ante. First 15 feet, then 10 feet, then 5 feet. It's well worth doing.

Dude!!
#1 and #2 really rock. You captured some great expressions.
When I tried this for the first time in August I think it was, I had a man tell me "get the f*%# out of my face before I f*&%ng punch you"--so little weary, but will try again--oh and needless to say, I got out of his way.

Tina Manley

I'm in. Looking forward to seeing everybody's street photos!

Tina

www.tinamanley.com

divamum

lizzard_nyc wrote:

Dude!!
#1 and #2 really rock. You captured some great expressions.
When I tried this for the first time in August I think it was, I had a man tell me "get the f*%# out of my face before I f*&%ng punch you"--so little weary, but will try again--oh and needless to say, I got out of his way.

Yeah, but you live in Queens, don't you?! (seriously, while I don't live in NY I spend plenty of time there for auditions/coachings etc, and when I stay over I stay with a dear friend who lives in Astoria, so I know ALL about what it's like in the boroughs!)

BD, I'm absolutely fascinated by this exercise but I'm a total wimp and street photog (in general, not just on this occasion) scares the pants off me. If I can get myself past the fear factor and find a suitably busy environment where I'm not simply afraid I'll give it a go, but no promises, 'k? :hide

dlplumer

I do not understand why anyone would want to shoot candid street shots under these circumstances. When you get that close, it becomes nearly impossible to capture the subject without them looking directly at you. I thought the whole idea of st. photog. was to capture an interesting moment without influencing that moment.

Having said that, I am sure I am wrong because you are the expert and I am clearly not. So please take my assertion as an inquiry

Dan

damonff

HCB couldn't have gotten all those great shots of the turmoil in India after Gandhi's assassination if he hadn't been up close. It's a great way to conquer your fear. Most people don't care.

rutt

Part of the trick, I have learned, is to capture people actually doing something. In the first of my examples, I knew that the Ash Wednesday service was going on and that the people would come out of the door with the ashes on their foreheads. They all felt really good after their service and didn't mind me in the least. For the tea party shot, people didn't care at all about being photographed. In fact, that's a big part of why they were there.

The last shot (taken first, in fact) was outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Brookline, MA. This was a truly harrowing photography experience, although I got some good shots. The protesters were hyperaware of me and my camera. I tried to assume a neutral stance, but in this situation, if you're not with them you're against them.

The times I went out with my camera without much of a plan or destination, I got much less powerful results. At least for me, leaving my brain at home doesn't work so well.

michswiss

I'm definitely in and almost certain I'll be within 10' of people with a camera in my hand at some point in the next four to five days.

bdcolen

divamum wrote:

Yeah, but you live in Queens, don't you?! (seriously, while I don't live in NY I spend plenty of time there for auditions/coachings etc, and when I stay over I stay with a dear friend who lives in Astoria, so I know ALL about what it's like in the boroughs!)

BD, I'm absolutely fascinated by this exercise but I'm a total wimp and street photog (in general, not just on this occasion) scares the pants off me. If I can get myself past the fear factor and find a suitably busy environment where I'm not simply afraid I'll give it a go, but no promises, 'k? :hide

The environment doesn't have to be busy. And "street photo" doesn't have to be NYC or the like - remember, "street photo" has to do with what's going on in the photo, not whether it was shot in the street.

And the entire point of this exercise is to force you to confront that fear factor. PUSH PAST IT. I realize this is VERY uncomfortable for most people, and foreign to many of you. Hell, I have to force myself to do this when I do it. So get out there and PUSH!

bdcolen

dlplumer wrote:

I do not understand why anyone would want to shoot candid street shots under these circumstances. When you get that close, it becomes nearly impossible to capture the subject without them looking directly at you. I thought the whole idea of st. photog. was to capture an interesting moment without influencing that moment.

Having said that, I am sure I am wrong because you are the expert and I am clearly not. So please take my assertion as an inquiry

Dan

Some people want engagement in their street photos, some do not. In a crowded environment you can shoot close without engaging the person. The whole idea is to get comfortable with getting close. Quite frankly, a lot of people whose work I see on Dgrin could stand to get closer for their general shooting.

dlplumer

bdcolen wrote:

Some people want engagement in their street photos, some do not. In a crowded environment you can shoot close without engaging the person. The whole idea is to get comfortable with getting close. Quite frankly, a lot of people whose work I see on Dgrin could stand to get closer for their general shooting.

Thanks

planedriver

This is great. When i bought my D90 I got two lenes. One being a AF 50mm for this exact stuff. Good in low light, small, and sharp. The only problem is its a 75MM. cant wait to show the pics.

rainbow

With B.D.'s challenge in mind, I went to a music festival today. I happened to start with two cameras strung around my neck, one with a white 70-200. Contrary to expectations, I became more invisible because everyone thought I was just one of the event photographers and ignored my presence. So I kept the two out and had a nearly free rein to shoot without people staring at me wondering who I was.

Maybe not conquering my fears, but it did make a nice workaround.

Richard

Please post your results in this thread.

Cheers,