Beware – I’m about to get heavy (there are also some fairly graphic photographs). This is a bit of a personal exploration, feel free to come along for the ride. While photography is my passion, my career is teaching, and I am currently engaged with my Master’s in Education, undertaking research based on Critical Theory. Sometimes my passion and study ideas start to combine.

My studies are leading me towards a desire to affect change. Specifically, I would like to develop my photography to a stage where my photos may lead to a better society. This photographic goal leads on from my research undertaken relating to Critical Theory. Critical Theory is (very basically), the idea that we live in a world that is not equitable, or fair, and it seeks to redress the balance of power. Power is important as we live in a world geared towards the wealthy. Information is a controlled commodity, and as photographers, we have an opportunity to explore and reveal the truth.

Affecting change through images is hard to do in a world where it is widely claimed that, ‘no one gives a shit about your photography’. Perhaps this is what drives photographers to the more extremes of what can be shot, graphic and sexual violence, gun use and gangs. Extreme images can shock, and it is this shock that drives people to change society.

Struggling Girl, Photograph by Kevin Carter

Kevin Carter claimed that this was his most successful photo, and one he hated. This photograph may have been one of the drivers behind his suicide. He was criticised for not helping the girl afterwards. However, I think people are quick to blame others. This style of photograph does affect change, in this case bringing the attention of famine in Sudan to the world.

Napalm girl, Photographer Nick Ut

There are claims that it was through photography that pressure was placed on the US Government to halt the Vietnamese war. Perhaps no photograph did it as well as this image captured by Nick Ut, a picture of a naked, young girl hit by American forces.

Now I am NOT saying I want to head off to a war zone, or an area ravaged by disease and famine, but feel there is a need to make a difference, I’m just not sure how. Yet.

Of late documentary photography has got a lot of grief, and even the integrity of Magnum founder Robert Capa has been questioned. In my next article, I am going to discuss photo manipulation – and am wondering if it matters as much as people think it does…

Below is one of my favourite characters, from one of my favourite places.

The Cobbler

Let’s take a walk down some of the older lanes in Shanghai, we will see a pattern emerge of cobblers at the end of alleyways (called Shikumen in Shanghai). The Shikumen are very narrow alleyways, with small houses built in either side. Washing and cooking facilities are often outside and bathroom areas are usually shared. This moves life to the outside and makes for ideal street photography.

What has this got to do with fishermen and hunters?

The fisherman and the hunter are two metaphors for Street Photographers. A lot of what we do is hunting. We go out and see what we can catch, ‘hunting’ for the perfect picture, or scene to unfold. There is nothing wrong with this technique and it is a great way to explore a new area and find fresh locations to take photos.

The fisherman is different type of Street Photographer, and relates to a style of shooting we should all try. The above shot of the cobbler highlights how this style of shooting works. I know the area well, I know where the light will be at different types of day and have come to know how different people will react to having their picture taken. There are a few shots of this guy, at work and in his home. He happily ignores me, occasionally giving a toothy grin. On this evening I was fishing – the area is well known and photographers will have numerous characters to interact with. As with real fishing, you never know quite what you will catch, and you may come back empty handed. Yesterday I was lucky and caught myself a ‘keeper’.

What kind of Street Photographer are you?

Have fun and keep clicking, Chris.

I recently entered a competition through Lens Culture. I didn’t win, but lived to see another day. Critique is a vital aspect of improving your photography and when you enter a LensCulture event there is alway an option for receiving critique. These guys know there stuff, so it is worth listening to what they say.  Here are the pictures I entered and the comments I received. The next competition is on Street Photography…. now maybe I could win that one!

Chris,

I enjoyed looking through your submission, and can see that you have an innate feel for candid street portraiture. In reviewing your portfolio, images 2 and 5 really stuck out to me as strong examples to use as a guide in your continued photographing. As you submitted to the single images category, let’s take a more in depth look at these images to uncover how you can use them to push your eye and work forward even more.

Photograph 2 is all about angle and layers to me – very well seen and composed! I’d be interested to see what else you shot of this situation. When you find a compelling moment – stick with it a bit to see what unfolds. Photographs 1 and 4, by contrast, lack the sense of context and texture that sets image 2 apart. As a street photographer – use the surrounding environment to your advantage! Also – to be really picky, the focus seems to have slipped a bit in both 1 and 4. Keep an eye on these technical details, even as you respond to the need to work quickly and unobtrusively.

In image 5, while minimal, the surrounding scene and color really sets the boy apart. Quite well seen! Keep looking for color and light, and you’ll find photographs just appear for you when those two things combine. In your framing, you could have pulled back just a bit more, to include the full gesture of the boy’s hands in his pockets. These little details really add up and are often what makes a photograph “great” rather than just “good.” I’ve included some links to photographers talking about composition and street shooting that I hope you’ll find helpful and inspirational moving forward.

Above all – keep photographing! As you move to India – really spend some time editing through and evaluating your contact sheets from the day. If the focus slipped or an image doesn’t work – don’t be afraid to throw it out and move on. Editing is an integral part of the photographic process.

Above all – keep photographing! You’re starting to make some compelling images and I hope to see more!

Additional Recommendations

Recommended Books & Photographers

• Sam Abell on micro-composition
• How to Assess and Edit Your Photographs by Karen Marshall (seminar leader)
• The Photography Workshop Books (especially, Larry Fink and Mary Ellen Mark)
• Stella Johnson
• Street Photography Now, by Sophie Howarth and Steve McLaren
• Thatcher Cook

Other Resources

• Maine Media Workshops
• Ten Things Garry Winogrand Can Teach You About Street Photograph. Eric Kim
• Lee Friedlander – 10 takeaway points – by Eric Kim

That all folks! Keep clicking, Chris

OK, a break from my 10 tips list – heck this is the Internet, go google, there are thousands out there already. This post is more a what have I been up to kinda thing. As ever, life is full of failures and successes, on good days the success wins.

Fail!

I tried a podcast, realised towards the end I was holding the phone in portrait mode and not landscape, I started the day enthusiastically recording everything but at the end of the day it dropped to almost nothing. My podcasting may die a death. The podcast related to going to Luban Lu, the Shanghai camera mall of legends, songs shall be sung about this place. I did not entirely fail as I came back with a shiny new carbon tripod that is as close to perfect as a tripod can be. I may try to publish the podcast – just for fun…

Win…

Battling GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I found a perfect, still in the box a Nikon FM3a. At 4500RMB (about $650USD) this baby was expensive, too expensive and I resisted. My third eye was seeing into the future as at the end of the month my son asked to go to Vietnam to play against the Netherlands and Australian national hockey teams. The camera would have been great, but cameras come and go. Experiences are priceless. A key lesson here is when you look at how much a new piece of gear costs, think of the FUN you could have with the money instead.

Ongoing…

I am now in my third Arcanum sphere, if you do not know what the Arcanum is then google is your friend. I am now in Glenn Guy’s Travel Cohort. This is forcing me to stretch what I do in relation to Street Photography. Street Photography gets a lot of stick, much of it righty so, there are some awful examples out there and it seems everyone is doing it. The good shots have already been taken, so how do we stand out? To take a lesson from Kodak (digital cameras will never catch on!) innovate or die…

So here are a few shots taken as a ‘travel pilgrim’. Is it Street Photography? I think so, yet each shot is very heavily processed, something street photographers often cite as being unauthentic.

Hongzhen Old Street, from above.

Hongzhen Old Street, from below.

I love both these images and they may well be the last ever images I have of this section of Hongzhen Old Street, as there were bulldozers all over the area when I last visited. Neither are traditional examples of Street Photography and have been developed using a technique called HDR. I hate bad HDR and really do not want to live in a world full of HDR Street Photography! However, I think these examples the HDR are subtle enough for me to get away with it.

Shanghai Overpass.

If you look at this photo, you will see not only the long stripes of colour from the cars, but there are also some people visible on the right. To get these colour stripes you need a tripod and a long exposure (FYI, I set my camera on a tripod, set the ISO to 100, went to aperture priority mode and shot at f9 or f11, you need a higher Fstop if you are shooting full-frame). I wanted the people in this shot, but there was no way it was going to happen using a 10 second exposure. Solution – this is not HDR, but uses two exposures, one at ISO100 and one closer to ISO2000. The two photos were then layered in PhotoShop and the people added from one exposure to another.

So is this cheating? Some would say yes, BUT, how does this differ to someone shooting Black and White when software is used to remove all colour. How does this differ from cameras that use a ‘film simulation mode’ to replicate the look of older footage?

Is this Street Photography? Maybe not, as there is something special about taking a picture and with minimal processing, stating, this is what I saw… However, it is always good to stretch ourselves and try something new.

Keep Clicking, Chris

Spoiler – bit of a rant here….

Just about managing to get a pagespics tip out before the weekend. There were a couple of choices I was playing with today. The first was ‘Don’t buy a Fujifilm X100f, all the reviews say they are great, so there must be something wrong with it’. The second was ‘Don’t read DP Review and PetaPixel – they say the same thing’.

I am going to talk about the X100f though. The camera sounds fantastic; there are so many reviews reporting how wonderful a tool it is. This makes me a little suspicious, particularly when many of the articles are written by Fujifilm Ambassadors. Most reviews wax lyrically about the film simulation mode. Here is the rub – if you want to use film, use film! There are some great SLR’s out there for less than $100; admittedly there is the cost of purchasing and developing stock, but a 35mm film camera is $900 cheaper than the X100f, and that buys a lot of film.

Shot using Kodak Portra 400 with a 50mm prime.

Here is the second rub – most articles appear to be reviewing the camera based on its black and white capabilities. I’m 95% over B+W, the world is a colourful and beautiful place. Here is the 3rd rub, many reviews talk about the B+W Acros film simulation. What is Acros? I don’t know, but every other street photography shot is now an Acros simulation. Beware, a crap photo is still a crap photo, irrespective of the film simulation mode. There are however 4 reasons why I didn’t write an article about why not to purchase a X100F…

Reading articles about a camera written by someone who does not own that camera is annoying.

The title of the article would be too long for an effective article header.

I will probably purchase a Fujifilm X100F in the end – they look awesome.

It has a FIXED lens – which I like. (I got there in the end!).

So, what is a fixed lens? It is a lens with no zoom. If you want to get closer, you have to get closer using your feet and not your lens.

Why use a fixed lens? Enough reasons to use bullet points…

1. They are small and light.

2. They are (generally) cheap.

3. They have a wide aperture, this allows more light in, which makes the lens excellent      when the light is dying, or just coming up. It also means I can use lower ISO’s.

4. They have a wide aperture (again)– perfect for a nice blurry background when taking      portraits.

5. They force you to be creative.

Using a fixed lens meant I could shoot in this rather dark room, just off the street, without using a flash.

If you have a DX crop camera, then I would recommend a 35mm lens, or a 50mm if you want something that will get you a little closer. If you have a full frame camera, you probably know all this anyway….

If you want a camera with a fixed lens, then I would strongly recommend the Ricoh Grii (or GR if you want to save money and don’t need wifi – which is crap on the ii anyway). It has a beautiful 28mm fixed lens, which I love.

The Ricoh Gr is great for more than just Street Photography as seen with this cityscape.

Ricoh Gr, small enough for your pocket, it’s there when you spot an interesting composition.

Then there is the, er, Fujifilm X100f. It looks awesome. I want one. If I ever start using Acros film simulation, please shoot me…

Have fun and keep clicking,

Chris

OK, this could be a tip, or you could view it as a challenge. I have recently joined my third cohort with the Arcanum and am working with Glenn Guy, a travel photography guru. See his website HERE. Thus far I have taken to shooting most of my work for this group using 35mm film, however, after trudging again to the camera mall to have my shots developed, I remind myself why digital is so much easier. Anyway, a recent ‘Arcanum’ challenge was to post some photos I could never delete.

Snacks sold alongside a bus.

Is there a time in your life that was filled with photography, yet you did not really see yourself as a photographer? Maybe you were starting out and still a rookie, or were loaned a camera for a week or two. I lived for a year in Bangladesh, placed in a nightmare apartment squeezed between a construction site and a demolition site, imagine trying to live at a Nine Inch Nails gig. I went crazy! Leaving the apartment was not much better;  Dhaka is a colourful and vibrant place, yet riddled with poverty and sickness. Strangely it is here where I have captured the most wonderful smiles on the planet. At the time I had a cheap Panasonic point and shoot (although my EXIF is telling me it was a Samsung?). Is it wrong to think ‘I wish’? If not, then I wish I had owned a better camera, wish I new then what I new now and wish I had taken more photographs! These pictures were not re-edited to a great extent, generally the contrast and clarity were tweaked in Lightroom, with a little vignette added if appropriate.

Two girls who lived in Dhaka Train Station.

Dhaka lacks solid rock, so women break up bricks for use in construction.

When you look at your old photos, you will see how much you have improved. I certainly wonder what I was thinking by keeping some of the photos on my hard drive, along with some worrying reminders that I am getting older. Who knows, maybe I have got wiser too…

Enjoy the pics, keep clicking,

Chris

Buy books, do something different, develop your own style and steal ideas… hopefully this is a post that will point newbies and seasoned Street Photographers to sources of inspiration.

I try to develop my own style but I probably never will. I get bored too easily and always want to try something new. Lately I have been getting back into film. Portra 400ISO and a 50mm lens on my Nikon body = my new best friend. I will get over it soon I am sure, maybe… At the moment though I am obsessed. I want to slow everything down and focus manually, sitting and waiting for photo opportunities to open up. If you sit anywhere long enough you become invisible.

What has this got to do with my tip? If you buy books you will see that successful photographers don’t follow the rules so often imposed by others – but you know, to hell with what others think. One of my favourite Street Photography books is ‘The World Atlas of Street Photography’, by Jackie Higgins.

Here are some links to artists featured in ‘The World Atlas of Street Photography’. I have tried to choose examples that are very different from the norms of photography. Explore and enjoy.

Yasmine Chatila  “Stolen Moments’

Here Yasmine acts as a voyeur using a telephoto lens. Typical ‘Street’? Not at all. Successful? Oh yes!

Vera Lutter

Photos are taken without a camera. Weird huh – go and find out how. These shots tell a story and are super creative!

 Peter Funch

Street Photography that is 100% posed – intruder, get him out! There are some great examples of non-traditional crops here.

 Philip-Lorca Dicorcia

‘Heads’.  A wonderful and very non-traditional project. This link takes you to the MOMO site, have fun hunting for this project.

Mirko Martin – Los Angeles

Here scenes from movie sets are entwined with real life. We are left not knowing which is which.

 Michael Wolf

So many projects worth looking at.  I like many of his still life shots, scenes from cities that often do not include any people.

 Paul Graham

Pictures bleached to nothing and many other great projects. I think projects may be a way forward for my own photography. Focus on one thing and then try another.

 Oscar Fernando Gomez

Street Photography taken without leaving the car! Interesting views from a Taxi.

Txema Salvans – ‘The Waiting Game’

Demonstrates how patiently hanging around can help you get the shots you want (with a little disguise).

Melanie Manchot

More posed street photography (and lots more). Check out the grainy shots of ‘Fight’. As so often is the case, photos that have a ‘flaw’ can carry the most character.

Jiang Pengyi

Fine art meets cityscape meets street photography. Brilliant. Repeat after me… ‘I must get better with Photoshop’.

Nobuyoshi Araki

Medium format camera on a tripod? This does not sound like Street Photography. However, he is one of the most successful photographers out there. His photography is not always safe for work, describing his camera as a ‘constant erection’.

So there you go – some examples of some very different Street Photography (and more). Click on the links and explore why these photographers are so different. Get inspired and step outside the box. Try something new. Steal ideas and make them your own.

Unconventional Crops, an idea worth ‘stealing!’ Shot using Portra 400.

Go buy the book, why not get it from a book store? I am over photoblogs making links to Amazon!

In the meantime… i’m slowing down and will try and work more with film.

Keep Clicking, Chris

This has to be one of the most important, yet often overlooked areas of Street Photography. You may be nervous when shooting a scene or a person, I know that I am. It is perhaps these nerves that give us a small dose of adrenalin, the ‘hit’ of getting a good shot. Unfortunately this adrenalin rush can push us into a ‘fight or flight’ mode. I do not want to get into a fight when out taking photos, but our urge for flight can be strong. Now is the time to take a breath, assess the scene and work out the angles.

I hung around and got a dozen photos of this guy.

Read More

This is where it gets strange. I’m writing 10 tips within ten tips – it is all going to get a little Inception influenced. Hold on…. spin that top.

• Find people who are looking chilled and relaxed. Point your camera at them and wait for them to get annoyed, then take the photo. Collect these photos and publish them in B+W, add lots of grain. Complain to the world that everyone looks angry nowadays, lament the days of film and smoke an unfiltered Gitane.
• Be unethical, the world has enough ethics. If anyone complains inform them that as far as you are concerned Bruce Gilden is unethical and he got a gig working for Magnum.

• Write a blog post that includes a claim that Bruce Gilden is unethical in the hope he will read it and get into a debate with you. If this does not work make a fake profile for Bruce Gilden and have a debate with yourself. I will do this – watch this space..
• Dress in black so you look inconspicuous, then on the way out of the house unthinkingly grab the ridiculous looking hat you purchased in Khao San Road one night. Spend the day wondering why you are only getting photos of people looking at you strangely.
• Take photos whilst out drinking with your mates. IMPORTANT – do not publish these until you have viewed them the next day.
  

  Beer and Photography – a great mix.

• Go to a second hand camera shop and ask for the price of every single Leica in the shop. Decide on the one you want to purchase and them find out that adding a lens will double the cost.
• Pop to the camera mall to purchase a lens cap. Accidentally buy a new camera or an expensive lens using money put aside for the next holiday. Wait till you get home and share your purchase with your significant other, laugh along when she (or he) finally see the funny side!
• If your job involves using a computer, learn that editing photos and working basically look like the same thing.
• Write a blog post that makes the claim of providing 10 tips, then only write 9. Watch as the world pours scorn on how you are misleading your readers.

TGI Friday and happy clicking people, Chris

OK, for my next 10 blog posts I am going to publish 10 tips. This will keep me active and hopefully give a little bit back to our beautiful community of Street Photographers. These posts will, as ever, contain my usual rants and raves and go on and off subject. I make no apologies…

I have recently been asked to photo a couple of events, and here I am particularly referring to a friend’s gig in a nearby water town, just outside of Shanghai. Like many photographers, I can be quite introvert. My general style of photography means I spend a lot of time by myself.

Photographing at a social event interrupted the framework of shooting alone. Interruptions are a good thing as they force us to operate outside of our comfort zone. Here’s the thing, people like being photographed and are interested in what you are doing. Photography becomes something that connects people to each other. This is what I like.

I went to shoot a band, but is this Street Photography? I don’t think so, still it was wonderful to be in such a small intimate venue where I could get this close to the singer. What do you think?

Anyway – how can photographing an event make you a better street photographer? The event itself may not be Street. I shot a band, but I do not consider the shots to be Street Photography. To get Street Photos, you need to turn around, mingle and shoot people you don’t know, candid where possible. Now that is Street!

Currently my favourite ever photo, but this is something I change my mind about three times before breakfast.

Red lipstick and a cigarette will always makes a strong portrait. This shot was taken at the bar. People dress to impress when they go out – take advantage of this.

I often search for smokers to shoot.

Enjoy the photos and feel free to leave a comment.

Keep Clicking – Chris