pagespics3 Tips to Stretch Your Street Photography
Weekly Roundup!
There are a couple of noteworthy things that have happened this last week. I have been published in Linklens, a site run by my friend Renaud. Linklens is a fantastic site and features many talented photographers. Go check it out and follow.
https://www.linklens.net/project/chris-page_bangalore/
Secondly, I have started my own Youtube channel, and I am planning to Vlog once a week. Here is the link to my first ever pagespics Youtube post!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNcze55c-Ko&t=6s
These achievements are helping me to move from my safe zone, speaking of which.
Lady Grabs Lunch. Yelahanka, Bangalore.
Three ideas to escape your Safe Zone.
I have settled into a comfort zone. My method is to find an interesting looking character and a backdrop that is not too confusing. I zoom in to eliminate distractions from the frame, and then take the photo. This recipe for a successful photo is starting to hold me back, so this weekend I grabbed some photo books, looked at some art, subscribed to some new youtube channels and looked for inspiration. Emerging from my search for ideas I have come up with a three-prong plan.
1. Keep trying to go wide. Going wide will involve shooting at around the 12mm mark using my Olympus set up (24mm full-frame equivalent). This technique can make for dramatic street photos, particularly when getting close. This focal length is also ideal for capturing establishing shots, which is more important in documentary photography than Street.
2. Shoot at night and use the flash. Street Photography too often stops when the sun sets. Heading out at night opens up a whole new world. Cities often look more exciting at night, and can be a good time to capture cityscapes. I am also a sucker for the occasional ‘light trail’ effect that you get through using a long shutter speed.
3. Shoot something you would not usually take on. This means looking at new things and going to new places. I feel a trip to Delhi coming on. I am also taking part in a scavenger hunt and have 7 highly secret photos I need to capture.
Early Results?
Anything can happen when you try something new. Night time in downtown Bangalore is very dark, and I need to persevere with the way I use my clip-on flash, maybe updating to a more flexible model in the future. I will try to play with my flash more in the daylight, as working it out on a dark, busy street is challenging.
Getting close makes this shot look like I was in the game. To give the image a ‘street feel’, I also wanted to feature the concrete blocks used as wickets. Looking at the images I captured highlights possibilities for a lot more playing around with shape and shadow.
On another, not quite so successful shoot, I headed onto the streets to capture some Sunday afternoon cricket. Sport is not my area of expertise. However, cricket is a central aspect of Indian life. If my photography is going to reflect India, then I have to find a shooting technique that is going to work. Looking at the images I took, I missed the mark a little but can see the potential for some great shots. The above image is my favourite of the set. Watch this space.
On another note, I have been posting my weight each week as to take good photos you need a healthy body! This week it has remained constant, but I have had the flu, so am not going to beat myself up too much.
Take care and keep clicking, Chris
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