Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Neck Brace”

61 Photos-35

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Belgrade, Serbia on Prince Michael Street. When I first noticed this woman,  she caught my eye for obvious reasons. That huge neck brace, the color and style of her coat, her auburn hair and those sunglasses. She had character to spare. 

So I got in position for her to walk by and took a shot, but unfortunately the background was way too busy and messy with people. There wasn’t a lot I could do about it where we were at so I hoped she would walk somewhere more workable for a better photo, but instead she walked into a shopping store. I was disappointed, but tried to forget about it and focus on the next shot.

It was at least a couple of hours later when I surprisingly saw her again walking towards the end of Prince Michael Street. Since I didn’t want to capture her within another messy frame, I looked for juxtaposition or something to combine into the frame to make it more interesting. I didn’t see anything as she walked closer, but noticed where the sidewalk curved there was some nice sunlight with a background of shadow. So I had my camera exposed for the highlights and positioned myself to capture her as she walked into the light, while keeping only the black shadow as the background. 

Although she never reacted or said anything, she must have noticed me as she let a slight smile come across her face as she walked by. Sunlight and shadow is always fun to play with, but even better with someone with so much character.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

15 Top Blogs for Street Photographers

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Kiev, Ukraine 2015

I recently wrote a popular post on 15 of my favorite Photo Collectives for Street Photographers so I thought I’d share 15 of my favorite Blogs for Street Photographers too.

While this niche genre is growing fast, there still isn’t as many quality blogs out there focusing on Street Photography as some of the other genres. I’m always looking for new ones, but these blogs are some that I follow and would recommend checking out if you’re into Street Photography at all!

15 Top Blogs for Street Photographers

(in no particular order)

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My Top 61 Street Photography Photos From 2015

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Why 61 photos?

Well, I was going to try to come up with some clever reason on why I went with the number 61, but I’ll just be honest.

I’m not good at editing down my photos, I was randomly stuck at 61 photos from the year, and I gave up on cutting them down further to an even and sensible Top 50.

So before we’re already weeks into 2016…

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Ariccia Smiles”

Ariccia woman & dog-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Ariccia, Italy.

It was my last full day in Rome with the StreetHunters.net team after the filming of their Street Hunt: Rome episode. It was also a Sunday so our local friend and fellow photographer, Marcello Perino, decided to take us outside of Rome and into the Alban Hills for some city escape. Ariccia is a popular getaway spot for Romans because of it’s beauty, history and famous porchetta, a pork that is slowly roasted with herbs and wild fennel. So after putting our name down at one of the porchetta restaurants (The restaurants are filled with hungry day trippers on Sundays), we walked around the small, ancient town.

There’s an open space by a bridge at the top where you can get some amazing views of the countryside. I noticed this older woman happily wearing her sunglasses while relaxing by the scenery. There was also a smaller dog enjoying the scenery on top of the wall she was sitting by. So I got down lower and framed the photo to get both of them in the shot. She gave me a natural smile and said “grazie,” so I did the same.

Then we walked back down to the restaurant and I had an unforgettable lunch of porchetta, pasta and wine.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

A Shooter in… Lisbon, Portugal
with Rui Palha

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*A Shooter Files interview series featuring photographers from around the world, with a focus on capturing Street Photography in their own cities

The Shooter :

Rui Palha

Rui Palha is an internationally acclaimed photographer based in Lisbon, Portugal. He was also recently named one of the 20 most influential Street Photographers of 2015 by StreetHunters.net.

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City Street Guides by f.d. walker:
A Street Photography Guide to
Istanbul, Turkey

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*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, safety concerns, street tips, 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.

Istanbul

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “One Leg”

Missing Leg Rome-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Rome, Italy near Piazza Navona.

I was in Rome with the StreetHunters.net team for the filming of their Street Hunt: Rome episode. We were finishing up the day of shooting in one of my favorite spots in Rome, Piazza Navona, and I stepped outside of the square to see if I could find anything else before the sun set. I saw this woman standing by a wall, while searching through her phone. The way she was posted up on the wall gave the illusion that she had a missing leg. She had her foot up on the small screen vent, but her other leg completely hid everything, while her shirt covered enough to help finish the illusion.

I took a few shots at an angle that kept the illusion, while a man watched me intently. He obviously wondered what I was photographing and as I walked off, so did he. With an extremely confused look on his face.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800
  • Focal Length: 27mm

7 Famous Street Photography Photos To Wish You A Merry Christmas!

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© William Eggleston

In celebration of Christmas, I searched through some of the most famous photos from the photographer greats to find you 7 photos that really bring the Christmas spirit. 

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays this season! Enjoy!

-f.d. walker

(Warning: Some very amateur photoshopping might have been performed)

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Quotes For The Streets: Oscar Wilde – Mystery Surrounds Us

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“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”

― Oscar Wilde

This is one of my favorite photography relatable quotes out there. It’s also one of the biggest reasons I love Street Photography.

How Does it Relate to Photography?

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Smoke Light”

Prague Smoke Light-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken by the Charles University Faculty of Arts building in Prague, Czech Republic. I hadn’t been to Prague since my first visit over 7 years ago and I was surprised how much it had changed. I had great memories of being blown away by how beautiful and unique of a city Prague was.

Unfortunately, while it’s still beautiful and unique, it had lost much of it’s charm, in my opinion, due to being overrun with tourism. Segway tours and crowds of people filled the streets, while that authentic feeling I remembered had given way to more of a tourist attraction. It’s still definitely a great city worth visiting, but this usually happens when you have something special like Prague does.

On top of a little nostalgic disappointment, just about my whole time in Prague was dark, grey and very cold. It’s still a fun city to walk around, though, and even with the crowds of tourists, the view of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle is hard to beat. I had just come over from the Prague Castle when out of no where, the clouds parted and let in some sunlight.

I had to take advantage of this temporary moment and noticed how the light was hitting the Charles University Arts building. There’s a covered walkway with arches on the outside that was letting in just a little sunlight. I saw this interesting scholar dressed in all black taking a smoke break with the sunlight hitting only his head. So I walked over and took the shot just as he brought the cigarette to his mouth and glanced at me. A few minutes later, the clouds put the sun back away to never be seen again during my stay. You take what you can get.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/8.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm