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Author Topic: Street photography & cameras.  (Read 48740 times)

RSL

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #40 on: February 07, 2013, 05:49:14 pm »

+1
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Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Iluvmycam

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #41 on: March 05, 2013, 10:06:09 pm »

M43, finest street cam on earth.
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PhillyPhotographer

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #42 on: March 05, 2013, 10:18:58 pm »

Rolling eyes.

RSL

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #43 on: March 06, 2013, 12:16:25 pm »

M43, finest street cam on earth.

A cluster bomb?
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Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Gulag

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #44 on: March 10, 2013, 09:29:25 pm »

Chip Simone, one of our local photographer, tends to use his D700 with Nikon 60 AFD Micro all the time for his  street photography stuff.

http://www.jacksonfineart.com/artist_exhibit.php?id=332&exhibitid=155
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"Photography is our exorcism. Primitive society had its masks, bourgeois society its mirrors. We have our images."

— Jean Baudrillard

gerafotografija

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #45 on: March 12, 2013, 10:49:32 pm »

Although the particular camera makes a difference, I would say that the most important prerequisite in street photography is to be there, followed by don't forget to take the lens cap off.

Just for fun, I decided to compare what types of street photos I could get after a week of shooting with film vs. digital. Some days I took along an ancient battered Nikon F3 with 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor and Tri-X Pan pushed to 800; alternating with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4.

I am attaching my two picks of the week below. More details on the experience on my blog, and some info on the SFMOMA Garry Winogrand retrospective here. I highly recommend this exhibition that just started last week to anyone who is serious about street photography, and anyone else who likes people photos.

It was a lot of fun, and in the end I don't want to choose one over the other. I also don't really feel the need to upgrade to the latest greatest compact camera (although the M240, RX-1 and X-100s are all so very tempting!).

What I really want is to have more time to go out and photograph people!
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menandar

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #46 on: March 19, 2013, 03:25:59 pm »

To the end of the day the camera is just a tool for you to help you do what you do. And street photography doesn't always mean that you need to photograph peoples faces in a very uncomfortable manner  for both the photographer and the subject. Good photography is about been natural and relaxed and full with nice and meaningful content. I don't really enjoy very much the typical so call street photography photographs were the object is looking suspiciously at the lens, and with this the photographer potentially shows how good he/she is in doing street photography.  The photography is about content that make sense and tell story in a beautifully composed way. The camera is the last thing that we should be bother and the most important thing is to be on the right place at the right time so you can capture the images you want.
Then again before the camera, for me specially, the choice of lens is more important.
Any way everything is about content.

------------------------------------
http://mirchevphotography.com

cjogo

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #47 on: March 25, 2013, 04:34:34 am »

If I  simply didn't want to use tripod ( mainly cause there was enough light )  I shot with a HAssy SWC from the hip.  Great DOF at f 16 and focused with the feet calibration on the lens  >>  or I used a Distagon 50mm with a waist level.
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Bob Brandoff

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #48 on: June 29, 2013, 02:48:17 pm »

Although the particular camera makes a difference, I would say that the most important prerequisite in street photography is to be there..
What I really want is to have more time to go out and photograph people!

I have used several different cameras and settled on the Sony A77 with Sony 35mm 1.8, and this combination gives me flexibility to use manual lenses (focus peaking) and in low light (EVF) with little difficulty.





more on my website, http://www.digitalandfilm.com
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RFPhotography

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #49 on: June 29, 2013, 07:33:05 pm »

If the idea is to use something small and inconspicuous, then any of the recent digital rangefinders that have come on the market would do the trick.  Sony RX1, any of the Fuji X series, the Leicas of course.

There was a recent article on the Adorama site addressing this very topic, http://www.adorama.com/alc/0013731/article/Digital-Cameras-for-Street-Photography-An-Opinionated-Buying-Guide.

Longer lenses can be useful for street, but not often.  Longer lenses aren't as conducive to the spontaneous style of street shooting.
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ripgriffith

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #50 on: June 30, 2013, 02:41:17 am »

Longer lenses can be useful for street, but not often.  Longer lenses aren't as conducive to the spontaneous style of street shooting.
This, from Wikipedia: "In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. A commonplace example is checking the pressure in an automobile tire; this is difficult to do without letting out some of the air, thus changing the pressure. This effect can be observed in many domains of physics.
The observer effect on a physical process can often be reduced to insignificance by using better instruments or observation techniques. However in quantum mechanics, which deals with very small objects, it is not possible to observe a system without changing the system, so the observer must be considered part of the system being observed.|"

Maybe one of the "better instruments" is the long lens, which, to some extent, removes the photographer from actually interacting with the group and thereby changing the dynamics of the group.
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Rob C

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #51 on: June 30, 2013, 04:56:23 am »

This, from Wikipedia: "In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. A commonplace example is checking the pressure in an automobile tire; this is difficult to do without letting out some of the air, thus changing the pressure. This effect can be observed in many domains of physics.
The observer effect on a physical process can often be reduced to insignificance by using better instruments or observation techniques. However in quantum mechanics, which deals with very small objects, it is not possible to observe a system without changing the system, so the observer must be considered part of the system being observed.|"

Maybe one of the "better instruments" is the long lens, which, to some extent, removes the photographer from actually interacting with the group and thereby changing the dynamics of the group.



Sensible and logical, but then it reduces the 'in your face' machismo of 'street' to nothing.

Worse, it really does introduce the concept of small-game hunting... is that cool?

;-)

Rob C

ripgriffith

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #52 on: June 30, 2013, 05:39:39 am »



Sensible and logical, but then it reduces the 'in your face' machismo of 'street' to nothing.

Worse, it really does introduce the concept of small-game hunting... is that cool?

;-)

Rob C
Actually, it's more the concept of large primate hunting... way cool!  ;)   But seriously, I see nothing 'cool' about  'in your face' machismo of 'street'.  It's really quite objectionable, IMO, and in the neighborhoods where I come from (Brooklyn) and where I now live (Russia), will very likely get your camera placed somewhere that even an ISO of 128K won't get you a picture.
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RFPhotography

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #53 on: June 30, 2013, 06:36:30 am »

Spontaneity isn't necessarily about just being close to your subject. 

WRT the 'in your face' street style, not all street has to be that.  Can't speak for Russia, but there certainly have been many well-known street photographer who plied their trade in New York.  Personally, I'd be more concerned about it in The Bronx than Brooklyn.  Brooklyn's pretty tame, all things considered.  Bed-Stuy ain't even what it used to be.
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ripgriffith

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #54 on: June 30, 2013, 12:46:10 pm »

Spontaneity isn't necessarily about just being close to your subject. 

 Can't speak for Russia, but there certainly have been many well-known street photographer who plied their trade in New York.  Personally, I'd be more concerned about it in The Bronx than Brooklyn.  Brooklyn's pretty tame, all things considered.  Bed-Stuy ain't even what it used to be.
All quite true, and I used to be one of those street photographers, but I didn't know many who practiced this so-called "in-your-face" style who still have all their teeth.  I personally have no  respect  for those kinds of photographers, just as they  have no respect for the people they are  photographing.  FWIW, when I lived in Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy was very much what it used to be, maybe even worse. And there was still a team called the BROOKLYN Dodgers!
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RFPhotography

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #55 on: June 30, 2013, 07:32:36 pm »

Ah!  Lots of change since then.  Washington Heights/Harlem are pretty hip areas now too and reasonably safe.
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Jim Kasson

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #56 on: June 30, 2013, 07:36:24 pm »

The type of camera used would depend a lot on someone's style.

You're right there, IMHO. I think the question of equipment choice is so tied in to your personal style that there's no useful answer to the question, "What's the best camera for [insert a genre here]."

Whatever your photographic pursuits, whether they fit into a neat description or not, what you want is different than what anyone else wants, and what you must do to get what you want is different from what anyone else does.

The bad news is that no one can tell you the perfect instrument for you to achieve your photographic goals from a pigeon-hole description of those goals. The good news is that your photography will tell you how to formulate a question which has an answer that moves you along your path in a productive direction.

The first step towards equipment selection is the same as the first step towards almost any photographic goal: make pictures. Pick up whatever gear seems right to you and use it as best you can. It may seem awkward for the task, but ignore that for a while. After a while, you’ll notice that you aren’t learning as fast as you did. Sit down and make a list of what you’d like your equipment to do for this project, and what your current equipment does that doesn’t work for this project (It doesn’t feel like a project yet — then maybe you need to keep working a while longer). Now, armed with your list, if you want other people’s opinion, ask around for recommendations for equipment. It’s quite likely that you’ll look at your list and you’ll know what you need to use in the next phase of your project.

The shoot-analyze-buy cycle can, like the cycle on the shampoo bottle, be repeated indefinitely. There is no danger that it will converge, because your vision for the project will change as you work on it, and the universe of available equipment will change as well. Be careful about blaming your equipment for your failures in vision and attempting to buy artistic inspiration, but accept the fact that your experience with new gear will give you insights you wouldn’t have gotten with your old stuff. And yes, there are snares: we've all fallen into to "If I had x, my photography would be so much better" trap.

I've gone through one body of my work and paid attention to how changes in my vision caused changes in my equipment. It's too long to post here, but you can see it on my blog.

And one last good/bad point. It's bad news that no camera is perfect for any particular task, and it's good news that there are usually several that are perfectly adequate.

Jim

kencameron

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #57 on: June 30, 2013, 07:53:23 pm »

  I personally have no  respect  for those kinds of photographers, just as they  have no respect for the people they are  photographing. 
Interesting. With any luck, respect will be catching, so that what would be intrusive without it becomes a kind of collaboration allowing considerable intimacy. But I am not sure whether all good art derives from respect for the human race. Artists can be pretty ruthless.
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Ken Cameron

RSL

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #58 on: June 30, 2013, 09:49:32 pm »

The key to good street photography has very little to do with equipment. The key to good street photography is what "The Shadow" used to do: "cloud men's minds." You need to be amongst your subjects, but not in their faces, and you need to make yourself completely irrelevant. If you're irrelevant you're not threatening. Which is one reason most pictures of street people are so meaningless: You're not being irrelevant when you walk boldly up to a street person or persons and shoot a photograph. The subject is reacting to the photographer and the result is an image that's utterly worthless as a street shot.

The photographer doesn't appear at all in a really good street photograph, and by that I don't mean you should be careful to keep your reflection out of the window behind your subject. A really good street photograph is entirely about the person or people in the picture, and that means that if there's any indication at all that the subject even realizes you're there, you've failed.

For children too young to remember The Shadow, here's a reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow. (Like The Shadow, I'm sometimes able to cloud men's minds, but I've never been able to cloud women's minds, though there was a time when I used to try very hard.)
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RFPhotography

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Re: Street photography & cameras.
« Reply #59 on: June 30, 2013, 10:33:04 pm »

So all of Bruce Gilden's street work is a failure?
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