Oddities of Life

Street photography is all about the street…It might take hours and miles to hit the pavement and find that one photo that says, you did good. While you can do street photography in any town, I surely find a difference in the definition of ‘any town’. IE….Tucson AZ is not nearly as doable as Philadelphia PA.

So the other day in Philadelphia I walked for 4-5 hours and put in 10 miles. I did the same the next day too. All told I came out with one roll of film or 36+ images to review. Not a lot, but I don’t press the shutter just to press the shutter. Although I must admit the ‘sound’ of the shutter on my OM2 is ridiculously addicting. I think someone should make a ‘white noise’ sound of that shutter being pressed to get people to sleep. It is ‘that’ gratifying!

So….I ended up with 38 images and of those, I elected to scan 27 images so not a bad ‘hit rate.” Out of those 27 possibles, I feel I really enjoyed 4-5 images. So pretty good, for film or digital or anything. Given that I take my time and set up a shot or, I see a shot in the making, …..I plan ahead. I am constantly roaming with purpose and not just snapping with ease. I want impact….I want uniqueness. I want my style in my images.

I shot my OM2…..with Arista 400 EDU. If you read my blogs you will see that thru the years I manage to shoot many types of film as each type brings with it a flair, a purpose…. And Arista is no different although you still have to take the basic attributes of that film (you get to know this thru time and experience with each) and transfer your skill and your ‘want’ out of each image so it matches the style of the film.

Below is an example….. I like this image. It is crusty, …rough and ready….odd….unique, different and has flavor.

Here is another example of what I enjoy seeing….

The latter is a reflection…. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time for the foreground to shine thru and overpower the background of the van.

Now….experiment on your own. Find your style…..it doesn’t make a difference as to what your style is, ….just find it. It might takes years and within those years and miles and rolls of film, your style will most likely evolve. There is no one right style….just yours. Enjoy it….and learn from it. Grow and adapt and change and experiment as life is all about that.

Access To....

Street Photography has more depth than the vast majority of street photographers assume. When I visit forums or watch You Tuber’s spout off, I am blown away by the lameness of shots. I call them “tourist shots”….”post card’ by nature representing buildings or snapshots of people with little depth, no meaning, a blank narrative….absent of a story.

You see, your images need those in order to take your images to the next level. Make a point to capture photographs that tell the viewers something, whether it is one photograph or a series of that compliment one central theme (as I prefer them). In either case, the photographer needs to hone a series of sub-skills in order to achieve.

Take this photo for instance….

Take Note… this is a pure candid shot….I didn’t ask this lady if I could take a shot…nor did I have her pose in any manner. I simply took the shot and the result is ‘one image’ that tells a story. What is she thinking? Look at her expression; she appears to be lost in a daze. and oblivious to her surroundings. A wandering mind.

What did I do to capture this? …..I gained access to her world. I became as common to her world as the litter at her feet. I became non-existent. How to do that? A few tips.

First….dress the part. This was an alley at dark….the evening when the young ones come out for their night of frolic. I didn’t stand out in clothes but became a part of them in my clothing.

Second….I was the scene. I was there first. I waited….I didn’t come to her but she came to me. I was there first. I sat and just waited for something to occur in that alley, knowing that eventually something would. I had no idea of what though. I waited…I had patience…I existed and I melded into this alleyway.

Third….When ‘she’…..came, I was there but not in an overt or blatant manner. Just because she sat next to me doesn’t mean that I grabbed my camera and shot. But I let ‘her or she’ become comfortable within her surroundings. I wanted her to be natural.

Fourth…when it came down to shooting, I was prepared. My settings were already in place for that alley shot with my exposure set. My focus was ‘zone’ and just needed an adjustment to show she was a few feet away as opposed to 10. Just a quick glance at my settings and I adjusted. No more needed.

At this point….I had established my ‘access’ ….I simply needed to get a quick pull up of the camera and press the shutter. She never knew, it was that quick.

Shoot with a Purpose...

I have evolved as a photographer….. and I like that. As a former educator, this shows me that I continue to be a life-long learner…. I evolve, adapt and adopt….

I won’t get into the ‘evolution itself’…as why bore you? But I will state my intent now…. While I still shoot street and still shoot Black and White and still shoot Analog, my evolution has taken me beyond from just shooting street photos. I now shoot with a purpose, a social documentary one.

For instance…… I have a ZINE out entitled “No Eye’s Upon Me’….where I sat on the streets of Philadelphia like a homeless person and shot from the pavement/cement….with my butt sitting on the sidewalk and my eyes looking “UP”… I wanted to take photo’s from that angle and document what ‘that person’ viewed.

I did it…. I took my camera out and knew that no one would really look at me (which they didn’t do) so my camera was not a problem. I shot…. I framed and shot by guess. I succeeded in gathering images of people staring away, busy on their phones…looking up, down…across….over, under…anyway but ‘at me’…. You can purchase a copy of my Zine for $10….just email me at lehmannmath@yahoo.com

Other ZINES to Purchase:

Urban Life: Philadelphia Street Photography Series 1
Off Season: Life on the New Jersey Coast in the off season
Caressing Light: Shots of light ‘borrowed’ as it caresses off scenes/people.

Well, that is just one of my ‘purposes’ and I have more. But the point I am making is to challenge yourself and go beyond a postcard-like shot. Go beyond returning home with your digital camera and having a 1,000 images to sift thru. What are you going to do with them all anyhow?

Find a purpose…..stick with it and shoot it. Go out with that purpose in mind and let your eyes wander the streets for that image that relates to your purpose. Be selective…. Shoot with style and art. Be creative. Evolve as a photographer.

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….