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 Amsterdam and a short train ride, came city #35 Paris, France on my 100 Cities Project. Commonly recognized as the birthplace of street photography, there’s no city as romanticized and photographed as Paris. The truth is there are plenty of sides to the city that you don’t see in most of the photos, though. With so much character, Paris still manages to give you plenty of material to capture.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Paris…
[Read more…] about 33 Street Photography Photos from One Week in Paris, France
* “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.
Gueorgui Pinkhassov (1952-Present)
Russian photographer known for his command of color and light to create mood and scenes with an abstract quality.
After a week in Amsterdam, next on the 100 city project list was a train down to Paris, France. After an easy 3 hour ride, I was in the middle of the most romanticized city of all. For many, Paris is the ultimate city. Full of beauty, history, culture, romance and style. For some, though, finding out that Paris isn’t always the beautiful city they imagine can give different impressions. For me, I appreciate that edgier side of Paris mixed in with its famous atmosphere. It is touristy, crowded and as photographed as any city in the world, but all that Paris brings more than makes up for it. Long been a center for artists and writers, in addition to tourists, it draws people in for a reason and is a city everyone must visit, including photographers.
Paris is also considered the birthplace of street photography, conjuring the classic black & white street photos of the past. With so much timeless and recognizable scenery in the city, you do have to watch out for the cliché. But luckily, Paris is so rich visually with street photo opportunities that there’s still plenty to capture. And beyond the romantic exterior, there’s a different side to the city that provides even more opportunity for something different.
So here are my first impressions of Paris, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
[Read more…] about 7 First Impressions of Paris, France (From a Street Photography Perspective)
*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!
[Read more…] about City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at the Troitskiy Bridge in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. It was the day of the Scarlet Sails celebration during the White Nights Festival and I was walking to Hare Island to be in the middle of it all. The White Nights Festival is many weeks long, but on the Saturday nearest the longest day of the year, the biggest celebration happens. It’s also become the day of celebration for graduates and at night, they shoot off fireworks with a massive water show that includes an old ship with scarlet red sails.
Unfortunately, when I walked to Troitskiy Bridge to cross over to the action, they’d raised this bridge all day in anticipation of the ships. Little did I know, after walking multiple kilometers over to cross the next bridge, I’d soon run into a large graduation party/drunk fight that would pull me into the river and end the rest of my day with a wet camera (which did luckily dry 2 days later). More on that here, but the one positive from that raised bridge detour was it gave me this photo above.
After initial disappointment from seeing the bridge raised, it did give an interesting backdrop, reminiscent of the movie “Inception.” Then below, I saw this woman getting out of her oddly parked van. I noticed her dress matched the other van in color, which stood out nicely with the blue and gray tones from the rest of the scene. So when she put her foot up to fix her shoe, I captured this shot. An hour later I was fully submerged in the river, camera and all, but at least I got a photo out of it all.
Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/13
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 800
After stopping in Stockholm and Copenhagen, I made my way out of Scandinavia and down to Amsterdam. The city is known for its free and sinful side, but I also enjoyed it’s more peaceful side walking the many canals with my camera. For street photography it’s a unique experience and wide mixture of character. From canal parties to picnics, bicycles and flowers to coffee shops and red light windows, there’s no place like Amsterdam.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Amsterdam, Netherlands…
[Read more…] about 33 Street Photography Photos from One Week in Amsterdam, Netherlands
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Zayachy Island in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. I’ve already written about Zayachy Island, also known as “Hare Island,” and even put together a photo series from it here. In the summer, this is one of my favorite places to come shoot because of all the interesting activity it attracts in a unique setting.
A section of the small island is covered in grass and this is where many people come to lay out in the sun. It was the peak weekend during the White Nights Festival, when the days last the longest and the celebration is the biggest. It’s also become the time for graduates to celebrate. You’ll see university students all over the city dressed up in suits and dresses partying and celebrating from day to night.
I was walking through this grass field when I noticed this couple laying under the sun. Due to the day, his outfit, and her flowers, my guess is they were a young couple that had been celebrating their graduation. Of course, what interested me in the scene was him being dressed in a suit, while she lay next to him in a bathing suit. The old, soviet era blanket and her flowers added interest too. So I walked up and quickly captured the shot. There’s a timelessness you find in Eastern Europe that you don’t find elsewhere and it’s one of the many reasons I love coming here for photography.
Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 800
Martin Parr documents crowd-drawing public wifi spots
After passing through a couple of cities in Scandanavia, I took an overly complicated train ride down to Amsterdam, Netherlands from Copenhagen. It was a city I’d experienced many years ago, but never really with my camera. For me, Amsterdam has two very different sides and experiences depending how you want to enjoy it. There’s the crazy, anything goes side it’s famous for with the red light district, coffee shops and partying. Yet, there’s also a very scenic, calm and beautiful side to the city. Canals, bridges, boats, bicycles, flowers, charming seventeenth-century homes and even plenty of quiet. You don’t hear about this side as much as the other, but it’s just as much there.
For street photography, this means you can experience and capture a diverse mix of characteristics. Either way, Amsterdam is one of the more unique cities around and makes for a great city to walk around with your camera.
So here are my first impressions of Amsterdam, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
