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.

Why Black and White

Why Black and White….. Why only grays and contrast….and white and starkness and shadows and mist, or paleness ….Why Black and white?

Number one….it is the essence of who we are when all is taken away. Leave yourself one day and just scan the world as if in a BW film or image. See what comes thru. Raw emotion, if one looks at faces. Impact, if one looks at objects. Take a photo that has both, and you have eaten away at the outer layers of flesh and have forced the abstract upon all else.

That is what Black and White is…..purity. The bottom line, openness ….. vulnerability. Put color in, and your images become like a frolic down the park…. In fact I might argue, you have a circus with color. You have a playground or a game within an arena.

Number two….Black and white not only is abstractness in the end result, but Black and White makes you, you the photographer; think in a different manner. It isn’t just grabbing a gay shot and then taking it back to your computer to enhance the colors beyond fairness. No sir…..not in Black and White. But there you force yourself to look into a world not normal, for you in your eyes, your human lens…..only see colors. So by forcing yourself to think in Black and White, you begin to change your thought, your view…. You are not just looking at a shot, but you are looking at ‘behind the shot’. What makes that shot, a shot and not just a shot to shoot.

Number three….Sharpness. Yes, I hear you……Black and White can be pencil thin sharp too but no….don’t go down that road. Your eyes are not perfect so why should your images be. Look for blur and I don’t imply bokeh. Look for blur and roughness in the subject or focus. Look for blur because it is natural and abstract at the same time. A good Black and White photo is a stunning representation of reality when not in focus. It is your mind, deep in sleep, or perhaps even barely cognitive. It hasn’t quite put forth the image yet and yet, there it lays.

Number four….Black and White leaves an impression upon others…..a color image just plays with their minds,….teases them. It is peripheral in nature as it never quite is lasting. But now think, please think. Take some of the best photographs you have in your memory. Go back as far as you want….. They have left an impression upon you that nothing in color can equate with.

Number Five….black and white is challenging while color is just ….okay, fun photo….now what? Cameras are set up for color and people just think in color, so why not take it in color. But a challenge is black and white. It isn’t just the focal point you need to be aware of but the entire surroundings. What blends….? what doesn’t…. You should be able to walk down the streets and instinctively be aware of what will work and what won’t. You don’t need that with color. In fact instinct doesn’t even come into the picture in many cases. But with Black and White, without instinct….you have cheap shot….

So there….five reasons….there are more and yes, I will talk more to that. But here are five to represent or to ‘start’ the game….

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.