pagespicsStreet v’s Travel Photography
It has been a while since my last post as I have been fortunate enough to be taking a month out in sunny Thailand. When not relaxing by the pool and catching up on my reading (last book, A Decent Ride, Irvine Welsh) I have been out shooting using the fantastic Ricoh Grii.
Anyway, I started to wonder if what I was shooting was street photography or travel photography. Still not sure (or even wonder if it matters), but, it is harder! Here are some key points relating to the differences I have noticed:
- Location. Lots of the locations are obviously very touristy (I am a tourist, after all), therefore the shots don’t have the ‘grit’ of a street shot. What do I mean by ‘grit’? Here, I would refer to Bruce Gilden’s quote, ‘if you can smell the street by looking at the photo, it’s a street photograph…’. He knows what he is talking about, check out his website http://www.brucegilden.com/
- People. Shooting in Shanghai I have learnt to read people quite well. I know when to take a photo and when not to. In a new place the people are different, it takes time to work out how to go about taking a shot – particularly when taking street portraits. However, you can still spot the shots that are NOT safe to take. If you point a camera at someone and you get obvious aggression, put it away!
- Time. Good photography takes time, and this often mean time spent alone (I can’t spend time taking street photography when I am with my family, it gets in the way of the photography ‘flow’.) Do I want to spend my time chasing down alleyways and on the side of a street, or do I just want to chill by the pool?
Anyway – as always let me know your thoughts. Keep clicking and stay happy. Right – I’m off to the pool!
pagespics 