To Ask, or Not to Ask: That is the Question
One of the most common questions I’m asked is how I take photos of strangers.
Do I ask them? Do I give them money? Do they get mad?
Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
I’ve been staying in Istanbul, Turkey for the last couple months now and living here has been an experience like no other city I’ve been to before. Istanbul is a mix of so many characteristics, it’s hard to put it all into words. It’s just a place you need to experience for yourself.
When it comes to capturing life, there’s not many cities with as much of it as Istanbul. I always have my camera on me here and spend most of my days walking the many districts seeing what I can capture. Istanbul would definitely make my top cities in the world list so here are some Street Photos I’ve taken so far that will hopefully give you a look into why it’s a place you need to visit too.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Eminönü by the Galata Bridge in Istanbul. In the evening, just outside of the tunnel walkway that goes under the Galata Bridge, you can get this great lighting that highlights the people against the shadow of the tunnel. The sunlight hits the opening of the tunnel perfectly and creates this natural effect. I love what natural light can do and it’s a great spot to play around with it to see what you can capture. I just make sure I expose for the highlights and wait for opportunities where it’s not too crowded so I can create some separation with the shadow. Here’s a recent shot from this spot that also shows what this type of light does to bring out color.
Charalampos, who goes by the name Dirty Harrry in the photography world, was born in Heraklion and raised in Rethymno, both cities on the Greek island of Crete. I’ve admired his work for years now and he possesses a very unique and creative vision when it comes to photography.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Balat neighborhood of Istanbul. I was walking the streets of this colorful neighborhood, away from the more touristic parts of Balat, when I spotted the girl standing in the window. I walked over at the same time as the old man was getting his keys to open the door to the apartment building. I liked the juxtaposition of the man at the door by the girl at the window, but lucked out when the girl started to climb back inside the window just as the man turned to go inside the door. So I tried to capture the scene at the moment they mirrored each other.
I decided to take a break from Istanbul and caught a quick 2 hour plane ride to spend some time in Tbilisi, Georgia. Here are a few first impressions of the city, from a personal Street Photography perspective.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Tophane neighborhood in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul. There’s a park I walk through when I take this way home. On the street just outside the park I noticed a woman cleaning her window. She was putting noticeable effort into cleaning it and had no fear as she hopped up and walked along the outside edge to clean the outside. I liked the monotone colors of the building and her clothes along with the look of her in the bottom left window’s edge. So I walked over and took a few photos, but liked this one best when she made eye contact with my camera. For me, there’s a little of a surreal, old suspense movie like vibe to it.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Levent district of Istanbul. While walking across a busy street I noticed a little boy looking at me through the window of a car that was momentarily stopped in traffic. It was dark inside the car, but he was close enough to the window that his face was slightly lit up. His expression caught my eye and there was something interesting about how he looked in the old car window. It all happened so quickly, as I weaved across traffic, that I just reacted and took the shot without time to think. And then just like that, the car and boy were gone.
Last year I had the chance to spend 6 weeks all over India. The country is an experience like none other. The sights, sounds, smells and feeling of the place can put all of your senses into overload compared to most countries. So many things are always happening right in front of you and I loved it.
One thing that really makes the unique experience of India is how everything happens outside. Everybody is constantly outside living their lives. People bathing and brushing their teeth by the street water pumps, street barbers cutting hair on every other block, food and shop stands lining every street, and children running everywhere you look. Life is all around you.
The constant chaos in much of India makes for great Street Photography opportunities too. There’s never a lack of people, sights, moments, action, color or anything else you’d want to capture. Everywhere you look it seems like there’s a photo to be made.
Here’s 33 Street Photography photos I took in my spare time around India.
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Cheers!
-f.d. walker