Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

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Why You Should Shoot a
Photo Series Everywhere You Travel:
Tokyo Alleys

shooter files tokyo alley-1
“Tokyo Alleys” | Tokyo, Japan 2014

 

New to You or Interesting?

When traveling to a new city, everything you see is exciting. There’s so much that you’ve never seen before and new visual experiences are around every corner. So you take your camera and snap away at all these new sights that interest you. 

While you’re finding interest in everything you see, you should also ask yourself a couple of questions, though…

Am I finding it interesting because it’s new to me or because it’s actually interesting?

Would somebody who lives here find it interesting too?

Many times we can confuse new with interesting.

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Master Profiles: Joel Meyerowitz

portrait* “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.

Profile:

Joel Meyerowitz (1938-present)

American Street, Portrait and Landscape Photographer who was also an early advocate of color photography before it was widely accepted.

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20 Things I’ve Learned from Backpacking around the World
(with a camera)

Dominos-1
Playing Dominos in Havana, Cuba

When I started traveling, backpacking was always the way I went. I love the freedom it gives you and I feel it helps immerse you even more into the experience of a place. I don’t exactly backpack travel as much as I used to since I stay longer in cities now, but it’s still big part of my traveling. Here’s 20 things I’ve learned from my experiences backpacking around the world (with a camera):

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Personal Gear Review : Ricoh GR

Ricoh GR View 1

Disclaimer: Ricoh gave me nothing. Ricoh doesn’t even know who I am. That’s too bad. But at least you know this review is honest.

A Personal Review of the Ricoh GR

The Ricoh GR digital camera has been out for a couple of years, but is still at the top of the list if you’re looking for the highest quality pocket point & shoot. I’ve used it for over a year now so I thought I would write a personal review for anyone who is trying to decide what the best camera is for them in this category.

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Master Profiles: Saul Leiter

portrait

* “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.

Profile:

Saul Leiter (1923-2013)

American photographer, painter and pioneer of abstract color Street Photography.

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City Street Profiles:
A Street Photography Guide to
Tokyo, Japan

Shooter Files Bicyclist-1
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

*City Street Profiles is a series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities across the world. One of the biggest things I found lacking on the internet was Street Photography info for specific cities so you can be ready to shoot when traveling to a new city. Find the best spots to shoot, what to capture, safety concerns, street tips, and more for cities around the world.  (I have personally shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for and only include my photos)

Tokyo

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Looking for Light: How Less Can Be More

Portland, Oregon 2015
Portland, Oregon   2015

In these days of HDR and shadow sliders, photography is obsessed with exposing everything in the scene. People want every bit of the photo to be lit up nice and bright. No shadows allowed. Unfortunately, sometimes this actually ruins the photo.

How can exposing for everything in the picture do more harm than good?

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Master Profiles: Elliot Erwitt

portrait

* “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 and knowledge on all the masters. I will also group them together here every time I add a new one.

Profile:

Elliott Erwitt (1928-present)

Advertising and Documentary photographer known for his black and white candid photographs that mixed the slightly comical in with everyday normal life. 

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Next Up: Istanbul, Turkey
Plans & More

Istanbul-Map-shooter-files

My New Shooter Files Location

So in a couple of weeks I move off to my next Street Photography Location. My flight is booked from Portland, Oregon and I’m getting ready as we speak (or as I write and you read).

Since I will be taking you all along with me to each city I live and travel in for Street Photography, here’s a quick overview of where we’ll be for the next few months!

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Where Travel & Street Meet:
A Photographic Journey Through
India – Part 5: Mumbai and Kerala

India Shooter Files-2-3
Mumbai, India 2014

While I focus on Street Photography more lately, I still love photography that would be considered more in the Travel category too. I also try to incorporate much of Street Photography into my Travel work because I love the authentic look of uncontrolled life. Here’s some of my personal travel work I shot in Mumbai and Kerala, while working in India. (This is the last part of the 5 part series)

Mumbai, India

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