Jan 11 2018

Shooter Files : What’s Coming in 2018?

I started this blog in the beginning of 2015, around the same time I started my 100 major city project. I had big plans and ideas for it, but it took endless hours and countless unread posts to get anywhere. I stuck with it, though, and I’m happy to see it come a long way. Feedspot currently has it ranked as the #2 blog in the world in the street photography genre, but now is the time I really want to focus on it becoming even bigger and more valuable to readers.

My photography work and project comes first, but this honestly comes next. So, I have plenty of plans for the new year and I want to let you all know some things to expect here in 2018…

More…

Scheduled Posts: Every Monday and Thursday (and every other Sunday)

I’ve always kept it pretty consistent with around 2 posts a week, but this year I’m going to make it even more consistent with a regular weekly schedule of 2-3 posts. Every Monday and Thursday there will be a new post on Shooter Files, with Sunday posts jumping in the mix every other week. This way you always know when to expect a new post here and can expect a ton of content throughout the year. To see the most recent content and upcoming city content, you can always go here.

More Cities

2017 was my busiest year yet with 26 new major cities covered for my project, but the goal for 2018 is even bigger at 30 major cities. This would bring me to 96 total major cities (only 4 away from the 100 goal!). This means I have more than enough new content for the year.

2018’s city plans start in Santiago, Chile and then work my way up through most major cities in South America, then through Central America and up into the USA by summer. After some cities in the U.S., I plan on jumping over to Accra, Ghana followed by a couple more major cities in Africa, then over to finish off Asia and hopefully end the year in Australia. That’s the plan, anyway. Mixed in, I while be leading a few workshops, as well as some other work, but for the most part it will be all project and major city focused in 2018. To see where I’m at, what cities I’ve gone to and what cities are next, you can always go here.

More Interaction

I’ll be honest, I’ve never liked making things about me. I don’t even really like referring to this as a blog, but judging from messages and feedback, readers would like a little more of that aspect here too. Other than my photography, I’ve mostly tried to put the focus on everything else other than me, but this year I’ll try to include some interaction and more of an inside look. So, through here, my instagram and maybe a few videos, I plan on bringing you a little more into my life around the world during the 100 City project. We’ll see how it goes.

More Interviews

I’m going to put even more focus on interviewing talented local street photographers this year too. Mostly with my 20 Questions series, but I might have some side interviews too. Interviewing and having a space for talented work from around the world to be seen was one of the bigger reasons for starting this blog so I hope to grow that aspect more.

New Features:

City Street QUICK GUIDES

My Street Photography City Guides are not a quick read. I spend 30+ hours on each one making them as comprehensive, accurate and valuable as possible. But I know this is the internet and most of the time we want something less overwhelming made for a quick read. So, I’m creating quick guide versions of my larger guides to provide the basics in a condensed version that’s quicker to read. When you have more time, you’ll still always have the large guides to go to.

City Street Spots Page

The number one reason for creating guides was photographers’ interest in finding places to go for street photography in a new city. This was the most common question in forums, but with the least info available for most cities. So, I’m creating a page just for that, and that alone. This page will be made for quick access to all the best spots for any city I’ve covered. Listed in alphabetical order by city name, you can scroll through to find my recommended best spots for street photography along with their related map for each city. All on one page.

I will also encourage readers to comment their recommended spots for the cities they’re familiar with, and then I’ll add them above with the city. It should make for the most comprehensive, condensed city list of street photography recommendations available anywhere.

Tales from the Street

The most popular request I get in person are for stories from the project. So, I’m working on a series where I share some of the different things that happen on the road photographing different cities.

Oddyssey

I have plans to release my first paperback book/zine this summer titled “Oddyssey.” It’s connected to the work I’ve done on the road, but is a smaller, side project I’ve been working on for the last few years. I’ll share more info in the coming months, but as the name hints, it will be a journey through the odd and strange observed around the world.

Instagram: @fdwalker

While I’ll continue to be active on Flickr, I will be posting and focusing even more on Instagram this year. You’ll be able to see photos I haven’t shared anywhere else there and I have a few plans on making it more interactive and sharing some videos from different cities.

So, follow along here: @fdwalker

Workshops

I have plans for more workshops again this year too and will be releasing all the details later this month. So, stay tuned for that.

Surprises

These are just some of the new things to expect coming from me and the blog in 2018, but there’s likely to be even more. You’ll just have to follow along to find out :)

Jul 31 2017

Announcing: Brussels Street Photography Festival – One Day Left to Submit!

Only one day left to submit your photos to the Brussels Street Photography Festival!

The Brussels Street Photography Festival is coming up again in October, but the deadline to enter their contests is only a day away. Co-founded by photographer Dani Oshi, this festival was one of my highlights of the year last year so I can only imagine how great it will be in 2017. If you’re interested in participating in this amazing community event for a chance at prizes and being exhibited in Brussels, just click the link below to enter on their website. And to get to know photographer and festival co-founder Dani Oshi, you can check out his interview below too.

Enter Here: Brussels Street Photography Festival Contests

Interview with Co-Founder Dani Oshi: 20 Questions with Dani Oshi

Dec 16 2016

3-Day Color Street Photography Workshop in London (March 2017)

3-Day Color Street Photography Workshop in London

Announcing a 3-day street photography workshop in London on March 10th. The workshop comes under the umbrella of The Street Collective and will be led by Dmitry Stepanenko and myself, Forrest Walker.

Workshop Description:

The workshop’s focus is on color street photography and finding your vision. The workshop will include a mixture of daily photo walks, photo critiques, portfolio reviews and interactive lectures. This is an intensive workshop with multiple instructors fully involved each step of the way to make sure you get the most out of your time.

It is a street photography workshop so we will be walking and making photos daily, working in smaller groups, one-on-one with each of us and on your own so you can really focus on all aspects of your photography. We will pass on our own techniques and at the end of each walk we will allow time for discussion and review.

In addition to the walks, Friday will start with a portfolio review and Sunday will end with a workshop review. Both will include constructive feedback and critique from Dmitry and I. Throughout the workshop, we will hold interactive lectures focusing on color street photography and finding your vision. Slide show examples of a variety of color work, past and present, will be shown and discussed in-depth, including artistic approaches and composition. From there, we will put the focus on you and the practices that will help you improve. These lessons will give an opportunity to discuss everything from what makes a photo strong to the different techniques that can help you reach your goals in street photography. All with a focus on the power of color and helping vision in street photography. Students are also expected to take an active part in several activities aimed at enhancing their vision and broadening the artistic experiences.

Additional Information:

The workshop will be limited to 10 people so we can keep the groups small and give plenty of personal attention. With two instructors, we can have a 1 to 5 ratio and allow more quality interaction.
The workshop fee covers not only the time during the workshop, but also the time spent on workshop preparation with each individual and any time needed outside of the daily schedule.

WHERE: London, UK

WHEN: March 10-12, 2017

PRICE: 400 GBP for the full 3 day workshop and preparation

Daily Schedule:

Friday March 10th: 12pm-6pm

Saturday March 11th: 9am-5pm (We will break for lunch and give time for more interaction after 5pm, if needed)

Sunday March 12th: 9am-5pm (We will break for lunch and give time for more interaction after 5pm, if needed. In the evening everyone is invited to a local pub to finish the weekend)

How do you sign up?:

Email me at: hello@fdwalker.com

Pay through Paypal:

The Street Collective: www.thestreetcollective.com
Dmitry Stepanenko: dmitrystepanenko.com
Forrest Walker: shooterfiles.com and fdwalker.com

Dmitry Stepanenko

Forrest Walker

Nov 18 2016

Update: One Week Blog Break in Cuba

With very little to no internet in Cuba, it looks like I’ll be mostly off the grid until the end of the month. After this upcoming week, I should be back to my scheduled posting.

For a quick update, though, through years of travel I’ve yet to have even a cent stolen, but that streak ended here my second day in Havana. I was robbed a good chunk of my cash so since I’m American and can’t use ATM or credit cards here, it looks like I’ll have to forget my planned travel in Cuba and stay right here to make the rest of my money last until my flight out. On the bright side, if I was to choose one city in the world to be “stuck” in with my camera, it would probably be Havana. So here’s a candid photo and a non-candid photo from here, and I’ll see you all once I land in Miami for the Miami Street Photography Festival!

Side story for the non-candid photo: I was walking back from confronting the thieves who stole my money when I snapped a candid pic of these two ladies drinking on their doorstep. They laughed and we started a conversation with my very bad Spanish, eventually touching on me being robbed. That prompted them to invite me for a beer and more good, but mostly lost in translation conversation. This is the second, less candid, but more memorable pic of the two of them by their doorstep before I said goodbye.

If I took a drink for every time I’m offered rum or a beer while out shooting in Havana, I’d be drunk all day. And if I said I often turn down a drink, I’d also be a liar ;) Cheers!

Nov 09 2016

Joining The Street Collective

For any readers that don’t already know, I’m excited to announce here that I’ve personally joined up with The Street Collective as a new member, along with Yves Vernin. Other members include Fabian Schreyer, Dmitry Stepanenko, Gabi Ben Avraham, Vineet Vohra and Mats Alfredsson.

The photo collective was founded in early 2013 as an international group of street photographers, with members coming from different home countries. So, I’m happy to now represent the USA. Although, judging from my photos I need to spend some time there :) It’s a very passionate group of street photographers and I’m looking forward to what the future will bring working with them.

Nothing will change with the blog and my 100 city goals, but there might be some interaction included here. Also, our collective is not only about us, but offers other photographers the possibility to contribute to different public projects. So below, I’ll go over a couple of the community activities you all can participate in, followed by links to the member photo pages for you to check out.

Public Projects You Can Join

Our Public Projects give a theme for others to submit their photos to. The last one was “Public Transport,” which is where Chu Việt Hà’s photo above comes from. The best shots are selected by the collective members and featured in the project’s gallery, while the project-winner is featured with his portfolio on the collective website.

The public project submissions work through its own Facebook group page so feel free to participate there!

“Street Sequence” Flickr Group

Our new “Street Sequence” Flickr Group is one I’m especially excited for. What started as a collective project recently exhibited during the Brussels Street Photography Festival has now turned into something everyone can participate in. The theme and sequence behind it should turn into something really great, especially with all the top street photographers already submitting. Below are the specific details and you can check out the included video to see what it really looks like. I think it’s a great idea, so hopefully many of you all can participate!

What is it all about?

-“Street Sequence” is a street photography group initiated and curated by the members of “The Street Collective.”
-What started off as a collective edit, (“What’s next?”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_fgXqItiu0&feature=youtu.be), will now be continued as a public project. With submissions from the Flickr community.

How does it work?

– We want to create an ongoing street sequence, where each picture in the queue relates to the previous one
– The connection may be based on narration, mood, graphic impact, matching colors etc. It may be obvious, but also try to think of clever, subtle connections
– It’s a street photography group, so make sure your submissions match the broad understanding of this approach (candid, taken in public, human element)
– You can submit a maximum of two shots per week, which match the above criteria
– Shots can either be from your archive or new work
– Once a week, the group-admins pick the favorite submission from the previous week and add it to the sequence
– Then the new submission period starts!

Cuba and Miami

Thanks to everyone that read this post and hopefully I’ll be able to see some of your photos in these community projects. Currently, I’m about to leave to Cuba for a couple of weeks so my internet access might be minimal, but I’ll have some posts scheduled and try to keep contact. Also, I’ll be in Miami the first week of December for the Miami Street Photography Festival, so if anyone wants to meet there, just shoot me a message or comment below.

Cheers!