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First attempts at street
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One of my new years resolutions is to try and get into street photography. It’s the style I find the most interesting when looking at other peoples photos but my shyness and anxiety around the idea of pointing a camera at strangers is usually too overwhelming and I freeze up and miss the shot – then drive up the mountains with my tail between my legs and take landscapes where there’s noone around, hehe.
Anyway, I had a ‘combat my fear’ day walking around O’connell Street and Moore Street the other day and I have to say it was completely exhilarating. It took a while to get into it and got told to ‘fcuk off’ the first time I raised the camera but it gradually got easier and I even got a few smiles. Unfortunately the photos that demonstrate my newfound ‘courage’ the most (right up in peoples faces at 17mm) didn’t turn out to be the best ones. Such haste to capture the moment resulted in missed focus / poor composition etc. I know now the next time I go out, I’ll be a bit less stressed and have more control over the camera and having left town on a complete high, I can’t wait to try it again.
Here’s a few I quite like from the day…
I’d be interested in hearing anyone elses heroic stories :D
Mort.. congratulations on your first street expedition :) I’m glad you enjoyed it and hopefully we’ll be seeing much more from you.
The first one is the pick of the bunch for me. Interesting angle, nice tones/conversion, the compositional use of lines is perfect and the placement of the legs is spot on. Very nice indeed.
I’m afraid this one doesn’t do too much for me. It’s a little too contrasty and too busy and the subject is lost in the frame. Perhaps it would work better in colour, or with a tighter crop on the subject, or with her/him engaging the camera, or…
Fair dues for getting down this low on Moore St for the shot. Changing perspective quite often is what makes or breaks a shot. I’d be tempted to crop in a little tighter and remove the blown out ground in the bottom left foreground, or burn it in. I love the fact the girl in the background is looking over at you. Nice shot.
No heroic stories here i’m afraid. Well this one time .. (no, not at band camp).. i asked three Asian men who were sitting on a bench could i take there picture :D
Needless to say, i was so delighted i got the courage to ask them I ignored the camera settings and blew the bejaysus out of the shot. :roll:I like your idea in #1. I do think though it would be super portrait.. Lovin’ #2 and #3. Really like the conversion in both. I might rotate #2 a degree or two CCW.
Perfect composition in the third. Perfect angle – maybe a bit too much foreground?If this is your first attempt, well i look forward to seeing the rest :)
I think the first one is a really good shot. The composition is excellent.
It’s a shame the legs don’t look a wee bit more dynamic, but there’s enough movement to see that they were not just posing for you.
No.2 doesn’t grab me at all. No. 3 is nice above the pigeons’ feet.
Fair play to ya Mort. Wish I could get the courage to take shots like those. Like you, street photography and documentary photography (which I think no.2 is more akin to) is my favourite kind of photography. But as you say…it’s easier to head down the Phoenix Park and shoot the deer or the trees. They wont tell you too F**k off… :D Though I have a sneaking suspicion that it is wiser to be 100% comfortable with your equipement before attempting to get candid street shots, so that is one less thing to have to worry about.
I really like these shots…and even though No.2 is quite busy looking I like it the best..cos to me it tells a story and the surrounding paraphernalia are as much a part of the story as the main subject herself.
Well done..I am green with envy … :D
Id love to get into street photography myself, unfortunately its a tad harder as i dont live in a city.
First shot is great, I love the angle and the conversion is spot on for me.
Second one Im not too fond off, i think it has lots of potential though. Theres definately way too much contrast, you’re losing detail due to the amount of black in the picture!
Third one I really like too, I might crop up a bit from the bottom though!
I like the number one photo. I would crope off 1/3 from the bottom. It will take away the darker part of the street and bring more to focus the legs.
The second is good for stock photography.
The third is interesting and agree with Ciaran about the crop.Great shots of the Moore Street area Mort. You must have a hard neck. The last time I was down there I asked a guy could I shoot him (with the camera) he said no. So I haven’t plucked the courage to go again.
You’d have to be careful asking someone could you “shoot” them in Dublin at the moment… :wink:
I appreciate all the feedback and actually agree with most of the criticisms… mucho gracias!
Well done, Mort.
I like all three for different reasons.
No. 1 – I like the dramatice angle and the “emptiness”
No. 2 – I like the clutter. It could be any city anywhere.
No. 3 – I like the birds-eye view!Good stuff!
Thank you Swordie.
Here’s one I tried to rescue. Some serious sharpening going on to save the out-of-focusness and it’s a shame about the dude in the background. Cute old couple though.
This one with the foreground cropped in a bit, is a corker. Really like it.
Si
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