What is Street Photography

It is here that I question what I see the masses doing. I don’t understand them as I see what is classified as street photography. It is more akin to just ‘passing people’ who are photographed on the sly by some digital tool ….snap, snap, snap and more snaps…How many snaps?

I am not stupid enough to think that there is only one definition (mine) for what street photography is….no, it goes way beyond that. It is the manner in which many photos are taken and what they represent, or better yet…what is not represented. The subject matter, the person, the action…etc…is all immaterial. With the advent of digital photography comes the ability to go beyond a 36 frame roll. It is all about pretending to take photo’s , although they are actually taken. It is all about finding the chance to walk across a crosswalk and snap away. Or, to snap someone from behind…..or to snap, snap, snap, snap…knowing that ‘one’ photo will come out looking good amongst the hundreds taken that day.

If you read my blogs…you know I am big into the analog feel. I want that feel for ‘me”….. I feel that my gear (Leica M3, Leica M6, Rioch GR111 and Leica X2) best allow me to maintain an analog feel even though some of those are digital. For instance, the Ricoh and X2 are digital, but by the time I take one shot, the subject in front of me has moved on. A single shot….a long lag time between when I take a shot, and when I can take another shot. That forces me to think like ‘film’…like analog. My Ricoh is pretty easy to manipulate since I do much ‘live’…. The X2 forces me to really think about my settings. It isn’t as forgiving as the Ricoh. In fact the X2 is more like the M6. I think about the F-stop, ….exposure, white balance, ISO. I turn the corner and I have to think again about the same, due to shadows or light or other.

I don’t just roam to roam and shoot and shoot. I have forced myself to slow down and take an image ‘one shot at a time’ so I have to wait sometimes to set up my shot. Today, I waited a good 30 minutes in one place as the ‘right’ situation developed. Today over the course of 4 hours, I took 13 difference scene shots. Now, some of those scenes, such as the one I just spoke of,…had more than one shot, while others (7 of the 13) had just one shot. So I end up with 7 scenes where I had the opportunity to have it right the first and last time. That is what I meant but slowing down….waiting for the shots.

But of ‘what shots’…’what scene’…. Well….does your shot have impact? Does it beg the viewer to ask questions? If so….that is solid street photography. It isn’t about shots in numbers, nor is it about getting cystal clear images. It isn’t about just a shot with no story behind it. It isn’t about random shots taken at hip, (to avoid detection) nor is it about having models working for me to pose in a certain way (the opposite of random hip-made shots). It is about finding that story, that ….question, that impact.

Leica X2

If you read my postings you can conclude I have an affair with ‘film’….TriX or possible Fomapan 400. You can say I have duel mistresses.

I find myself in Australia….Melbourne to be exact. While I took my Ricoh GR Film camera and have shot, well….just a bit, I have concentrated more on my Ricoh GR111 or my Leica X2. Up till now, if not film, I shot Ricoh GR111. But I wanted to challenge myself a bit and see how I could turn the Leica X2 into a filmenesque look.

The last time I shot the Leica X2, I shot….viewed, and then laid it down knowing that while it is super sharp and a great digital overall from 2012, it lacked that film feel. But not so fast…I challenged myself to make it so. The past few days I have probably walked 15 miles around Melbourne (not downtown) and have experimented with settings, light….exposure, shutter etc and to my surprise, I feel I have almost more of a film look from the Leica than I do from the Ricoh….wow, go figure.

What is lacking from the Leica is the character within the light/shadows….. I just can’t get the same. But I can get ‘film’ out of digital. I have Character in the blur! … the dark shadows although not the same texture as the Ricoh, still none-the-less….bold, thick blacks which encase a person’s face or play with the edges as the eyes are led down thru the image. I am excited about the Leica. At the moment (and this includes three weeks worth of playing with the camera ‘down under”…) I have 158 shots. Not all are good, but most are acceptable in what I am looking for, just not all in the composition of what is being viewed. But hey, that is okay as that is what photography is all about. Shoot…shoot…shoot…shoot…and continue to do that and perhaps you will find one or two you like. Don’t get disappointed but keep shooting.

But I had presented myself with a challenge….turn the digital Leica X2 into an Analog/film, and I am successful. Now my only problem is when I wake up each day to go for my photo strolls, which camera do I take? Ricoh Film? Ricoh GR111 or Leica X2? ….Decisions, oh the decisions we must make in life.

Strive for Film

Film……..my eyes just long for film….that ‘look’. I suppose I can define that ‘look’ by pointing out technical aspects such as lack of sharpness, too much contrast…..or too little. Noise ….. blurriness. But I allow my eyes to define the look and not the technical aspects of the camera coming in.

What is it about film then that makes me strive for it? Heck, I bought an old Ricoh film camera and although I have taken a few rolls, I have yet to actually develop them to see the quality of my Ricoh film. I will; I will…. Just like Christmas, I postpone those negatives/developing.

I recently bought an old digital Leica X2 and did so purposely so I can compliment by Ricoh GRiii which I feel I have mastered the settings (on the camera and in the field) to match TriX film. The older X2 is just rough around the edges and is going to force me to shoot ‘analog with digital’….. I look forward to it and since it is a 35mm and my Ricoh GrIII is a 28mm, the two will blend for me.

But …..film….. analog….

One can always state that they will take their new DSLR or full frame Fuji or Leica or Nikon etc and although it shoots multiple frames per second (20 or so), they can just slow down and take ‘just one’—-at a time. But you know, it doesn’t work that way.

The camera that someone buys that shoots 20 frames per second or has 50mp or has 50,000 ISO etc, is purchased to USE those features, thus they are. Mentally a person comes onto the streets with an idea of their shooting style in mind, and if you come in with ‘that camera with the latest features’, one tends to use them to the utmost. The same applies to the opposite. If you come onto the streets with a camera that is either ‘film,’ or ‘filminsque’, your frame of mind tends to linger around a slower approach to your capturing process.

My new old Leica digital X2 slows me down. It just doesn’t take ‘fast shots’ ….a slow auto-focus and features not up-to-date. My Ricoh GRiii has settings that digitally I provide myself with a chance to imitate film. That along with how I shoot and what I look for, makes for that ‘filminisque” feel. Of course my Leica M6 and Ricoh GR10 are film…so viola; my images tend to ‘be or appear’ film. And I welcome the Leica S series.

FILM GR

Since I love film……since I love a Ricoh GR….I have decided to mesh the two and buy an old GR film. Oh yes, I still have my Leica’s, (M3 and M6) and will continue to use them. But the other day I was out and about for 5-6 hours walking Philadelphia and just couldn’t see myself lugging along a heavy Leica M6.

My options were my Ricoh GR111, which I did. But I love to listen to You Tuber Brian Lloyd Duckett and his channel Streetshooters. There are so many reasons why film is good and so while I scanned Ebay looking for a good light Ricoh Film Camera, I came across one that I think will work for me. As in all things in this world, the minute anyone starts to' ‘like’ something, the demand drives the prices up, thus the RICOH GR Film, thus the GR 1, GR1s, GRV and the latter GR21….. But after doing some research I opted to get a good, fairly used but in good shape GR10. Not as much money and, the same mechanics as the GR 1 but w/o as many features.

In fact the camera reminds me of an Olympus X A2 that I had….. the same settings. So, will give it a try. Should arrive sometime next week and I will load It up and go out ‘a shooting’….

Stay Tuned….

Gr111 Vs Gr11

I love the GR….it is absolutely the best camera for Street Photography. I am on forums and I read about other cameras, including my Leica’s but in practicality, the Ricoh GR just wins hands down. Yes, one has to get used to the 28mm (equivalent in 35mm mode), but hey, that fits my shooting style. See some of my previous blogs if you are interested in my shooting style.

But the GR is just a beautiful camera that fits the streets well. It is small, quiet…..in fact it almost looks like I am on my phone, which many people now accept as common practice, so it isn’t standing out. While any camera can produce excellent results, it is important to know your camera, regardless of what it is.

This brings me to my posting here….GR11 or GR111. But for months now I have been learning the minor differences between the two versions. For instance, the GR111 has a better and sharper lens so sometimes when I want more of an easy ‘film look’, I will grab the GR11. Since I never use a ‘flash’….the absence of a flash on the GR111 doesn’t bother me. There are also minor differences between function button placement or the approach on how to adjust exposure. Additionally there are a few inner work things that separate the quality of images in some instances. But those are things I am learning.

Each day I go out, I make a decision to either grab the 11 or the 111 or the Leica M6 film. It just depends on the purpose I have for that day. Sometimes I just want to get more analog so my option is the M6. But when shooting digital,….. the 11 or 111? Well, it is a toss-up as I go back and forth. Today I shot with the GR111 and loved the feel and the photos that came from my shoots. Yesterday was a GR11 day with a sprinkling of Lecia M6 towards evening.

The point, I guess……is to simply know your cameras. The photos you capture are a result of your creativity in the field, but also knowing the limits of your gear. The latter is not nearly as important as your ‘creativity in the field’ but it does become icing on the cake when you are not fumbling with buttons and menu issues (doesn’t occur with the Leica).

Anyhow…..I will add to this post or create a new one when things crop up on the differences…..

Oh….listen to this and you will go film too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi3KQ8pmR48

Darkroom

An interesting idea is that many times we look back at ‘yesterday’ and think that yesterday was easy or the times were more simple. To a degree I feel this is true, at least when we state that times were simpler.

I can remember growing up as a kid, adolescent, young man…man…in an age where there were no personal computers or phones and yes, life was a lot easier and more simple. Those times will be memories I will always treasure. I cannot overstate the fact that life was better and I pity people now who might never know of that.

Now was life more simpler with photography? Maybe not, so technology might have actually improved. For instance, while I am not a scenic photographer, I can appreciate someone like Ansel Adams. Since he died in 1984, he never knew of the digital world, only analog. He knew only of the ‘wet darkroom’ and not the ‘dry darkroom’. He, like many photographers today, might spend hours in the field waiting for the right light or shadows to fall. Yet with film; as I know too…..you really are not sure of what will be on the film until after you develop it. That analog approach is very satisfying for sure as I too shoot film with my Leica M6. So it isn’t like shooting film is any better or worse, for it depends on the mood I might be trying to create as well as the acceptance of ‘not knowing’ until after I develop the film.

With digital photography it is much easier. I can immediately see the result of a shot and even prior to the shot I can shoot ‘live view’ and capture just what I want prior to pressing the shutter. Is this digital approach better t than analog? I can’t really say, but it differs. Admittedly there is something gained in the process of photography that is lost in digital. This process involves everything from the start to the end. This process is mostly intangible. The feeling of loading the film……the feeling of waiting for the perfect moment for remember, I have one shot usually to take with street photography before the scene leaves me, as opposed to a digital camera that might be able to capture 12-15 frames a second. The feeling I get from ‘not knowing’ is an intangible I enjoy for once I do develop the film, it is like Christmas as I view the negatives. Wow….I nailed that shot, or….ho hum.

The intangibleness of it continues as I might have to re-wind the film in the field, and I might have to load in the field under raw conditions. Even after the fact as I develop my film I go through the developing process using wet chemicals. I rotate the developing can and watch the time go by. Tick, tock… about 20 min per film. Then I hang the film to dry. Again, all analog, all intangible elements to shooting film.

But, for me…… I will take my negatives and scan them into my ‘dry darkroom’. The scanning process itself as I load the negatives onto a tray (4-5 frames at a time) is still analog but once I have on my computer, it becomes digital.

I must admit that a dry darkroom (I use Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro on my Mac Desktop), is a whole lot easier than going thru the chemical process to go beyond film development and into film processing. So even when I use film to shoot, I use a combination of analog to digital. The one thing that is a bit awkward (although that isn’t the word I want) is I find myself with a lack of frames when shooting film. I just run out of frames that I work with and have to return and shoot more. Since I rarely shoot even a roll of film (36) when out any given day, and out of those 36 developed images I might get 2-3 good ones…..well, you can see I run out of material.

That is where digital comes into play…..while I still take my time and don’t attempt to take a ton of shots, ….just because I can…….using my digital Ricoh, I usually end up with more that 35 images to process. Funny thing is thought that the ration of 3 good images (let’s say that is standard or about 8-9%)) on any roll of film, isn’t really any different than the ration of good images I take on my Ricoh, even though I shoot more. But since I do shoot more with my Ricoh (usually 100 images in a day), I just have more images to play with as the ratio is still 8-9%.

So…..what does this all mean? Really nothing….. as I still enjoy shooting film and developing my own film. I enjoy shooting with my Ricoh as it really is the best Street camera on the market. It is so much lighter to hold than a 3 pound Leica M6, especially when the weather is humid or real cold or I am walking 15 miles that day!

My thoughts…..