Personal Projects: Street Photography
Street Photography is interesting to learn, because there are various of ways you can take street photographs. It can be a dangerous thing to do and requires you to be smart of your actions and what you are thinking.
Heres a video of the 'Everybody Street' trailer.
“Everybody Street illuminates the lives and work of New York’s iconic street photographers and the incomparable city that has inspired them for decades. The documentary pays tribute to the spirit of street photography through a cinematic exploration of New York City, and captures the visceral rush, singular perseverance and at times immediate danger customary to these artists. Covering nine decades of street photography, “Everybody Street” explores the careers and influences of many notable photographers––a number of whom have never been documented, featuring: Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Rebecca Lepkoff, Mary Ellen Mark, Jeff Mermelstein, Clayton Patterson, Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper, and Boogie, with historians Max Kozloff and Luc Sante."
everybodystreet.com |
What I learned about street photography from the film 'Everybody Street'
Street Photographers behave in a stealthy way. They tend to sneak up to people quietly to not get their attention and then take the photo. Some Photographers say that they behave 'Like a samurai' or 'Balletic ' (like a ballet dancer). They will always be moving around, but not act really loud. Street photographers always carry cameras all the time, because they don't know when they will be taking pictures, its the element of surprise. Street Photographers randomly observes people at any time.
Some Street Photographers use different types of cameras, however most use old ones such as the Leica. Leica is a silent camera, which is light. This helps the photographers become more stealthy while taking a picture. One of the photographers in Everybody Street that used a Leica was Boogie. The cameras that Street Photographers use are usually portable and has great optics with good zoom options to be able to take a photo at a far distance. Some street photographers use an SLR, which is fairly good as well. It has good optics and lenses which helps the quality of the picture.
Street Photographers have lots of subjects that interest them. One of them is nature, they like to take pictures of trees and wildlife around different cities. They also like chaotic places. The chaotic places makes their photos very entertaining, because there will be lots of people, objects and buildings featured in the picture. They also are interested in emotions on the street. The emotions help them learn what areas around them is like and gives them ideas of what pictures to take. Other subjects that interest street photographers include watching life, public space, children playing, culture and sunsets.
Street photographers like photographing on the street for many reasons. Photographing on the streets help them learn about people. It helps them read culture. Reading culture is basically learning about the community and the whole area around them. It can be about how humans dress, what race and religion they are. Another reason that they like photographing on the street is that they can make stuff that doesn't last forever, last forever. For example graffiti that is on a train won't be there forever, however if you take a picture of it will last forever as it will always be on your camera (unless you delete it). Other reasons are the element of surprise, identifying places, it's memorable, being famous and making things clear.
Even though street photography can be an interesting thing to do, there are risks involved. People can die when taking pictures. They can get shot, stabbed, run over by cars or anything! Anything can happen to them that will cause them to die. People can also get injured, which causes them to be depressed. Especially if the injury is hard to recover. Street photography can be a dangerous thing when you think about it, even though it's fun. There is a lot of violence involved, especially if you take a picture of someone that doesn't want a picture of them took. Someone was once locked in a train before with people drawing graffiti around them!
There are lots of ways to make a successful street photograph. One of them is making it original. Take a picture of something you wouldn't expect to see everyday. Maybe take the picture at a different angle or edit it. Take a photograph that would be something interesting in the future. This links towards the last one as an image that would be interesting in the future is very original and imaginative. Having an accidental image is also a successful way you can make a street photograph. If you take an image by accident, it can turn out really well.
Street Photographers behave in a stealthy way. They tend to sneak up to people quietly to not get their attention and then take the photo. Some Photographers say that they behave 'Like a samurai' or 'Balletic ' (like a ballet dancer). They will always be moving around, but not act really loud. Street photographers always carry cameras all the time, because they don't know when they will be taking pictures, its the element of surprise. Street Photographers randomly observes people at any time.
Some Street Photographers use different types of cameras, however most use old ones such as the Leica. Leica is a silent camera, which is light. This helps the photographers become more stealthy while taking a picture. One of the photographers in Everybody Street that used a Leica was Boogie. The cameras that Street Photographers use are usually portable and has great optics with good zoom options to be able to take a photo at a far distance. Some street photographers use an SLR, which is fairly good as well. It has good optics and lenses which helps the quality of the picture.
Street Photographers have lots of subjects that interest them. One of them is nature, they like to take pictures of trees and wildlife around different cities. They also like chaotic places. The chaotic places makes their photos very entertaining, because there will be lots of people, objects and buildings featured in the picture. They also are interested in emotions on the street. The emotions help them learn what areas around them is like and gives them ideas of what pictures to take. Other subjects that interest street photographers include watching life, public space, children playing, culture and sunsets.
Street photographers like photographing on the street for many reasons. Photographing on the streets help them learn about people. It helps them read culture. Reading culture is basically learning about the community and the whole area around them. It can be about how humans dress, what race and religion they are. Another reason that they like photographing on the street is that they can make stuff that doesn't last forever, last forever. For example graffiti that is on a train won't be there forever, however if you take a picture of it will last forever as it will always be on your camera (unless you delete it). Other reasons are the element of surprise, identifying places, it's memorable, being famous and making things clear.
Even though street photography can be an interesting thing to do, there are risks involved. People can die when taking pictures. They can get shot, stabbed, run over by cars or anything! Anything can happen to them that will cause them to die. People can also get injured, which causes them to be depressed. Especially if the injury is hard to recover. Street photography can be a dangerous thing when you think about it, even though it's fun. There is a lot of violence involved, especially if you take a picture of someone that doesn't want a picture of them took. Someone was once locked in a train before with people drawing graffiti around them!
There are lots of ways to make a successful street photograph. One of them is making it original. Take a picture of something you wouldn't expect to see everyday. Maybe take the picture at a different angle or edit it. Take a photograph that would be something interesting in the future. This links towards the last one as an image that would be interesting in the future is very original and imaginative. Having an accidental image is also a successful way you can make a street photograph. If you take an image by accident, it can turn out really well.
Here is an analysis of one of Gary Winogrand's image. It was a sunset in one of the cities in America, took in 1969. The rule of thirds was the 3 by 3 box which can be seen when looking in the lens of a camera to show different parts of pictures (I accidentally drew a 4 by 4 box).
This Photograph was in Sunset Boulevard. You could tell it is a sunset because the sun rises in the west and it was in the east this time which is where it normally goes down. It was suggested that the time where the photo was taken was around 5pm. In the rule of thirds you could tell that there is a group of people walking in the middle, a group of people sitting on the right and a person in a wheelchair looking down on the left. You could describe this as 3 different groups in the photograph. The person in the wheelchair looks like he/she is ill, because they are looking down to the ground, depressed. The group in the middle could be going shopping, because they are holding lots of bags and they look happy about it. The women look very fashionable and glamorous, like they are film stars. This pavement has lots of stars embedded in it because it is outside a famous cinema. There is a contrast between the women in the light and the figures in the shadows at the edge. If there are 4 words I could describe this photograph it would be old, wonky, sunset and shadows. This picture could be taken in black and white and it is naturalistic because you can tell what's going on in the images quite easily. The angle seems like it has been taken while Garry Winogrand was walking since it is tilted.
Here is my favourite street photography photograph on Pinterest
In this photograph, there are people walking around in a city. The picture was took looking down towards the people and features loads of people. Some objects are featured as well, but it is hard to see because the picture was took at a high angle.
The image is in colour, comparing this to what it would look like in black and white - there would be some difference. If the image was in black and white, you wouldn't be able to see the colour of people's clothes, since they stand out a lot. You might find the floor confusing as well because some bits will be darker and some bits would be lighter. The image wouldn't look many much different since the image is pretty dull (other than the people's clothes).
This image is very chaotic, which makes this one of my favourite street photography photos. The picture is filled with people touring the city and it is full of action which makes pictures stand out the most in my opinion. The colours of the clothes makes the people stand out as well, I like the contrast of their clothes to the ground.
The photographer was standing really high up, which makes him/her further away from the subject. This makes it easier to make the photo action packed and very chaotic which works well in a photograph, even though it makes other subjects hard to see such as objects around the area. The photographer was standing still when he/she had taken the photograph, because the people who are in the photograph seemed to be fitted well in the picture. You can also tell this, because the picture isn't blurry or unfocused. You wouldn't expect a photographer to be moving when taking the photograph at a high angle because they use it as a place where no one would see them taking the picture - it's a stealthy way.
There is a lot of information that is captured in this image, the photographer has used a wide angle lens to suck in lots of information to make it look very chaotic as you can see. Shadows are also shown, they are probably from the light.
If I had to give the photograph a title other than it might already have then I would call it "Rush Hour". This is because, at the time of the photograph was taken I think that it was during rush hour since there are lots of people walking around and it seems like they are travelling to other places. When a place is usually chaotic and filled with lots of people, you would expect it to be rush hour time.
If I could ask the photographer 2 questions then I would ask them, 'Why are there lots of people travelling around?' 'Where was this photograph taken?'
The image is in colour, comparing this to what it would look like in black and white - there would be some difference. If the image was in black and white, you wouldn't be able to see the colour of people's clothes, since they stand out a lot. You might find the floor confusing as well because some bits will be darker and some bits would be lighter. The image wouldn't look many much different since the image is pretty dull (other than the people's clothes).
This image is very chaotic, which makes this one of my favourite street photography photos. The picture is filled with people touring the city and it is full of action which makes pictures stand out the most in my opinion. The colours of the clothes makes the people stand out as well, I like the contrast of their clothes to the ground.
The photographer was standing really high up, which makes him/her further away from the subject. This makes it easier to make the photo action packed and very chaotic which works well in a photograph, even though it makes other subjects hard to see such as objects around the area. The photographer was standing still when he/she had taken the photograph, because the people who are in the photograph seemed to be fitted well in the picture. You can also tell this, because the picture isn't blurry or unfocused. You wouldn't expect a photographer to be moving when taking the photograph at a high angle because they use it as a place where no one would see them taking the picture - it's a stealthy way.
There is a lot of information that is captured in this image, the photographer has used a wide angle lens to suck in lots of information to make it look very chaotic as you can see. Shadows are also shown, they are probably from the light.
If I had to give the photograph a title other than it might already have then I would call it "Rush Hour". This is because, at the time of the photograph was taken I think that it was during rush hour since there are lots of people walking around and it seems like they are travelling to other places. When a place is usually chaotic and filled with lots of people, you would expect it to be rush hour time.
If I could ask the photographer 2 questions then I would ask them, 'Why are there lots of people travelling around?' 'Where was this photograph taken?'
Photo Challenge #1 - Ways of seeing
Here are some examples of ways you can take a street photograph.
Here are some examples of ways you can take a street photograph.
Here are some images I took at school (DSLR)
This image was really successful. I like how the person in front of the camera to the left is looking to the right. To get really close to someone and get them to look to the right is very impressive, the picture also features other people in it (further away). The angle at the picture was took wasn't completely straight, the camera was tilt to the right a bit.
To improve I can zoom out a bit to show more of the person's body (on the left). I can also move the camera down more to show less faces and more feet. I could also make the picture in colour so it looks more colourful and stand out more. |
Here are street images I made at home
Evaluation
I like how the image was took at a high angle, looking at the ground. It's one of the tips that I was told by sir in my first lesson of taking street photographs. Parts of the door in front was shown in the picture, and also the paint marks on the ground. The picture shows a lot of the ground and some of the wall which I find interesting. To improve I can move the camera up a bit and show more of the door and the wall (so it is balanced in terms of parts in the picture). I can also show my shoes by moving it closer to the cameras position since the picture can bit quite dull. |
Here are more pictures that I took at school (iPod)
Evaluation
This photo went pretty well. I like the shadows that was generated in the light from the person on the outside. The picture shows 2 girls walking and it was taken at an angle to show other objects and doors. You can tell that there is light from the sun shining near the middle of the picture, because it is very bright and theres a shadow there. It contrasts with the darkness in this black and white picture. To improve I can go closer to the light so that you can see more of the light so that it is zoomed in more. The effects of 'The Rule of Third' would also be better since it will show the parts of the photo more in a fixed position. |
Photo Challenge #2 - Bruce Gilden
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Bruce Gilden is a famous photographer who works in New York city. He likes to go up to people's faces and take pictures of their reactions with the flash on. Bruce Gilden acts stealthy at times when he is hiding the camera to give someone a surprise when he takes a picture.
There is a video of him on the left talking about his work on the streets. |
This picture is unusual as the background is blurry and the 2 people aren't. This is the effect of the type of flash used and the effect is called ghosting. The image is also in black and white, Bruce Gilden always takes pictures in black and white so that you can see the ghosting effect easier. When I took pictures like these I felt comfortable and wasn't too scared because I was taking pictures of people in my class as the flash would be too strong for other people. I would've felt more scared and uncomfortable if I was taking pictures of random people since they would be aggressive and wouldn't want you taking a picture of them as they don't know why you are going up to them and taking pictures of their faces. I feel that Bruce Gilden's approach to street photography is very dangerous and risky. It shows how brave you have to be and have faith in yourself.
Here are some pictures I took inspired by Bruce Gilden
Evaluation
Here is an image that I made black and white that went well. You can see some shadows on the ceiling from the flash. There is a clear reaction that you can see by both people. One looks surprised and the other one didn't want their face to be in the picture, because they put their face in front of them. You can see the contrast between the black in the corner and the white near the centre of the picture.
To improve I can make the contrast of the black and white more balanced because there seems to be more black than white which makes the photograph a bit dark. I can also try to go closer to someone to get their a picture right up in their faces. |
More pictures took outside of school
Evaluation
This image went well. The image was took in front of someones face at a side as you can see. You can kind of see the reaction of the person as he is looking down. There also seems to be some objects in the background. The image was pretty blurry so to improve I can keep the device more steady so that you can see the reaction more clearly and also the background. I can also make the image black and white to see what the contrast would be with the 2 colours. |
Photo Challenge #3 - Diagonals Drama is used in creating photographs with diagonals. Lots of photographers use strong diagonal lines to show different parts of a street photograph. On the slideshow, there are pictures of diagonals by a photographer called Henri Cartier-Bresson |
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Here are some of my favourite street photographs with strong diagonal lines:
Here are some pictures I made of diagonals
This image went well. It was took under a table tennis table and it shows a great range of diagonals. There are diagonals at the bottom of the table tennis table and also some on the benches ahead. At the angle taken, you can see that there are diagonals on the ground as well.
To improve I can make the image more darker so that it blends in with the bottom part of the table tennis table more. There seems to be lots of light parts on this image and not enough darker parts. I can also try to take images of people that has diagonals in it other than objects. |
Photo Challenge #4- Rule Of Thirds
Rule of thirds pictures:
Photo Challenge #5- Compare and Contrast
Helen Levitt Henri Cartier-Bresson
Similarities:
Both pictures have people in them at some position. They both are black and white and feature objects like walls in them. There seems to be about the same or close number of people and they are in small groups. The images has shadows of people reflected on the walls/ground, even though it is hard to see on Henri Cartier-Bresson's photograph. The pictures both have children and adults featured and there seems to be the same amount of adults as well. It seems like both photographers seem to be interested in shadows and reflection images and images at a different angle. Both the images are the same size.
Differences:
The image on the left has more black parts and the image on the left has more white parts. There are more objects on the left since the image on the left is a city and the image on the right seems to be a wall with holes in it. The left image has more shadows and there seems to be a sun reflected on the ground since it is quite bright. The image on the right some children standing up and the one on the left has one child sitting down on a bench. The images contrast each other a lot with the colours with the different effects of the photographs.
Some pictures I took on my streets
Here is an annotation of some street photographs by Gillian Wearing.
Gillian Wearing is a photographer that takes street photographs in an interesting way. He asks people to write down how they're feeling and their emotions then gives the signs to other people to hold up an takes a picture of them, since the first person on the left doesn't look desperate and the person in the middle probably doesn't need help since he is a police officer and police officers are supposed to help other people and enforce the law.
Controlled Assessment:
My idea for my street photography assessment is to make photographs using a digital camera, because it is the only equipment I can only get. More of the images will be staged than unposed, because I find it easier as all of my images will consist of things other than people. There will be a balanced amount of colour and black and white in my images, because I tend to make my images straight and edited as well. The images will be individual since I find they are more original and less repetitive.
A Mind map of Street Photography:
Street Photographers: Thomas Leuthard is an international street photographer that likes to travel around the world and take interesting street photographs. Thomas teaches workshops and gives Street Photography courses. He also has a youtube channel that is all about street photography and the teaching of Photography. Thomas Leuthard's photographs are mainly of people on the streets. |
Here are some of Leuthard's Street Photographs:
Here are more photographs took on the streets
Evaluation:
This time I tried taking pictures that are repetitive like the last set of pictures, however all of the pictures are the same thing now (which is grass). This image went pretty well as you can see both the shadow and the sunlight which is a contrast. There is also a leaf on the shadow of my body as well.
To improve I can possibly make the picture black and white to see how it would look since street photographs tend to look better in black and white. I can also zoom in more to get a closer view of the grass since that is the main 'thing' I was focused on. |
More Street Photographs
Since my idea is about making street photographs of mainly things/objects, most of the pictures are objects even though there are some other types of photographs as well.
These images are going to be my final pieces. They are all focused on the logs and the grass and were at the same angle. My idea changed a bit because these images look better in colour and don't have to be edited as it shows the light and the logs clearly.