Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!
After finishing my last leg of India, I flew to Dhaka, Bangladesh, major city #51 on the project. Dhaka is the densest, fastest growing city in the world, with world leading traffic to match. Working against the congested traffic, city layout and other troubles can bring some challenges, but within all that chaos, is a friendly city full of life. Filled with chaotic streets, markets, old world atmosphere, history, spirituality, and energy, you won’t get bored in Dhaka. Along with all that, though, it brought the most welcoming experience and passionate photography community to date.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Dhaka…
After finishing my last leg of India in Kolkata, I took a flight to major city #53 Dhaka on the project. At first sight, Dhaka is the densest, worst traffic, fastest growing city in the world. That can be an overwhelming first impression, but if you’re willing to explore underneath all that chaos, you’ll find one interesting city full of charm. While not the easiest city to just jump into as a traveler, the people are as friendly as you’ll find anywhere, and you’ll find them everywhere. No matter where you are in Dhaka, there’s something going on. Filled with chaotic streets, markets, old world atmosphere, history, spirituality, and energy, you can’t get bored in Dhaka. It also happened to have the most welcoming photography community I’ve ever met, which really made my first experience what it was.
So here are my first impressions of Dhaka, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
Street Light is a bi-monthly series where I showcase photography work to purchase that might not have as much visibility or large production numbers. From smaller run-offs and zines to books and crowdfunding campaigns, I’ll try to feature selections of mostly newer work that you’re not as likely to find in bookstores everywhere. Hopefully, this can be a way to help talented photographers get their work seen for purchase, while also helping readers find great work they didn’t know was available. So, check here to find what’s out there, much of it before it’s gone. (All bi-monthly selections will be added to a permanent page, organizing them together so you can come check anytime)
And if you have a new photo book, zine or crowdfunding campaign, or if you’d like to recommend another photographer’s, please comment it below. (no e-books/e-zines, please)
(Selection information quoted from links)
RED HOOK EDITIONS announces two new books by Jason Eskenazi: Black Garden & Departure Lounge, completing a trilogy together with his first book Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith. The cycle closes, coming full circle back to the beginning: 314 photos numbered sequentially through all 3 books with 9 chapters.
The Black Garden moves into the mythological world of opposites and duality, and concentrates on three main themes: subjugation of women, domination over the animal kingdom, and self-destruction through war. 154 photographs including 9 panoramics were made from 2001-2017 in Turkey, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Egypt, Libya, and New York. The Departure Lounge‘s 83 photographs were culled from Eskenazi’s archive, dating from 1991 to the present. The images investigate how we depart from reality, from friends, and from ourselves, using the Departure Lounge as the metaphorical room from which we leave.
ALSO available are the two books in a special numbered edition of 200, with an 8×10 silver-gelatin print (Choice of one of the four above) by master printer Laurent Girard.
The books will be offered individually at a later date at a higher regular price. This Pre-Sale ends on November 1st, 2018.
Both books designed by Roï Saade.
GOOD DAY BAD DAY BUT EVERYDAY represents the first Photobook of internationally-acclaimed photographer, Tavepong Pratoomwong. The photobook encompasses the curation and compilation of Pratoomwong’s most outstanding photos during his daily street jaunts since 2014. Several photos have experienced award after award. Pratoomwong, therefore, drapes the refined continuation of the self-categorized photos into this limited-hardcover photobook in which an exclusive discount coupon is attached for up to 15 SONY products with the total value of 1,490 THB, or equal to the book price !!! (Only SONY Store Bangkok)
Three colored balls held together by a wooden skewer became the best known Japanese dumpling: DANGO.
“Hana yori Dango”
This is a Japanese saying, literally meaning: “dumplings rather than flowers”.
The expression refers to the people following the tradition of Hanami, the custom of enjoying the beauty of the flowers, especially during the Sakura season when cherry trees blossom. However, people seem to be more interested in eating Dango sweets than appreciating the beauty of the flower sight.
This expression unequivocally points out the practicality of Japanese people, who attribute a more important value to substance rather than aesthetics.
With his book “DANGO,” Alex creates a creative visual research about Japan with the aim of questioning such proverb through sequences in which the content and the aesthetic form bear equal importance.
A rhythmic succession of triptychs in which images with no apparent link with each other find a strong connection, as is the case of the three colored balls of the Dango dumplings.
The book, whose concept was conceived and studied by the author, is not only the container for the images themselves but is also and above all the aesthetic form thanks to which the content gets enhanced.
DANGO won the JURORS ‘PICK award at the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2018.
Pride
Once mythological, pride was seen through the valleys of the north-and then lost among us. Since then, he has been secretly living here, but one day he will disappear forever.
Fuam Dummy Book Awards (Istanbul), 2017
Vienaphotobookaward, 2017
Photobookfest (Moscow), 2017
(I had this as a special mention way back on my 2016 list of books, when it was only a crowdfunding campaign. Well, fast forward to now and it’s a brand new real, live, hardbound book ready for delivery.)
A family is brought close to ruin by a pet python; an Icelandic advertising agency has a problem with a campaign involving a dead seagull; a chiropodist desperately wants to stop examining people’s feet and dreams of becoming a pirate…
Stephen Leslie has always tried to capture images that hint at wider, hidden narratives – suggestive moments rather than decisive ones – and Sparks is a book that imagines the weird and wonderful stories behind his original street photographs.
It is a love-letter to photography, pairing eighty beautiful colour images – shot on film – with these stories, as well as the author’s recollections of twenty years spent looking through the lens.
IN BLOOM is a new (and first zine) by Dmitry Stepanenko containing photographs taken in Japan during the sakura bloom season in March 2018.
A small edition of 100 copies is available through his website.
The zine has 60 pages and contains 47 photographs, many not shown before.
The price of the zine is only £15 + p&p.
You can see the full preview of the zine here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTb…
Theater photography from the perspective of a street photographer.
This project was implemented over a period of one year
with the aim of creating an own dramaturgy in grayscale
and a non-everyday point of view for the observer.
Thanks and enjoy the view from my perspective.
Enrico Markus Essl
Limited Edition 2018
I asked two of my favorite childhood books to help me put my thoughts together on paper; ‘Warn’d in Vain‘ – the book of this campaign – is a NYC story inspired by the Argonautic myth. It is a twin book of ‘Back to Nowhere‘, a parallel Minotaur tale from Crete, hopefully to be published at some moment in the future.
‘Warn’d in Vain‘ is a stranger’s questionmark inside the world’s most photographed city; made between the years 2014-2017 that I spent 7 months on the other side of the ocean.
‘Warn’d in Vain‘ book :
If you have a new photo book, zine or crowdfunding campaign, or if you’d like to recommend another photographer’s, please comment it below…
After photographing Varanasi, the last stop on my final leg of India for the project was Kolkata, coming in at Major City #52.
Years ago, Kolkata was my first introduction to India. After visiting so many other cities in India since, there was always something I missed about Kolkata. I didn’t know if it was how you never forget your first or if Kolkata something special, even by India standards. Well, after coming back to include it my project, Kolkata does have something special. It’s confirmed. While one of India’s largest cities, it brings an old world atmosphere and chaos compacted into a city that’s much easier to walk than other big Indian cities. It feels made for city photography too, which is why it’s known so well in the photography community. While not as known to the general traveler as places like Mumbai, Varanasi or Rajasthan, I’d recommend Kolkata just as highly as any of them. Especially for street photography.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Kolkata…
* “Master Profiles” is a series profiling all the great photographers of uncontrolled life. Unlike the rest of the blog, I’m doing these in a straight profile format to make it easy for quick access to facts, quotes and knowledge on all the masters. I’ll also group them together here every time I add a new one.
Richard Kalvar (1944-Present)
American photographer known for capturing absurd, sometimes humorous, scenes from the banality of day-to-day life.
After finishing Delhi and Varanasi, I took another train down to major city #52 Kolkata to finish my second leg of India on the project. While new to my project, Kolkata isn’t a new first impression to me, but it was my first impression of the country many years ago. It was such a good first impression too that I knew I had to come back to include it in my 100 major cities. One of India’s largest cities, Kolkata doesn’t have the same big city atmosphere as Mumbai or Delhi. It feels a little more welcoming and easy to step out the door and start exploring away with your camera. It’s one of the most walk friendly cities you’ll find for its chaotic size, which makes it perfect for street photography. Kolkata has a special, old world atmosphere mixed into a highly populated urban city. The colonial-era architecture contrasting with urban slums, it’s also gained a reputation as the most friendly of India’s metropolises. While it might not be as known with the general traveler, it is known among the photography community. It’s made for bringing your camera and exploring away.
So here are my first impressions of Kolkata, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
After photographing Delhi, on my final leg of India for the project, Varanasi was next. Coming in as Major City #51, Varinasi is definitely unlike any other during the project, but Varanasi is unlike any other city in the world. As unique as they come, it not only attracts visitors for the spirituality, history, atmosphere and experience, it also attracts plenty of photographers for the visual feast you won’t find similarly anywhere else. While a typical India bout of food poisoning mixed with 44C (111F) degree weather provided some challenge, Varanasi’s pull kept me out taking photos as much as I could. The holy river, ghats filled with life, winding alleys, chaotic spirituality and more make this a magical city, from very early morning on.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Varanasi…
For anyone who may be interested, but didn’t catch it, I was recently interviewed on The Candid Frame. Going strong for 10 years now, The Candid Frame is one of the best photography-related podcasts out there. Interviewed by the multi-talented Ibarionex Perello, they’ve featured in-depth conversations with photographers as well-known as Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Meyerowitz and, most recently, Jeff Mermelstein, while also focusing on emerging photographers. It was an honor and great experience finding time on the road to chat with Ibarionex and that’s what we talked about most, life on the road and my 100 major city project.
So, give it a listen if you’d like to hear more about myself and the project, and be sure to check out some of the other interviews from The Candid Frame, as well.
After finishing Delhi, I took the train down to Varanasi, India for major city #51 on the project. Just like Delhi, I’d been to Varanasi before, but not yet to photograph for the project. If you know anything about Varanasi, especially for photography, this is a city that had to be included.
What can you really say about Varanasi? It’s honestly a city that needs to be experienced, not described. No cliché bs, Varanasi is truly unlike any other place in the world. One of the world’s oldest and holiest cities, you can really feel this in its atmosphere. The holy river, the ghats filled with life, the chaotic spirituality and more make this a city you can’t forget. From early morning to night, Varanasi is one magical place. Be ready for touts, hassle and other photographers, as this city is far from a hidden gem, but if you want to experience a city that goes at every sense of the imagination, Varanasi is at the top.
So here are my first impressions of Varanasi, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
