Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Bear Tracks”

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Hanoi, Vietnam on the train tracks. Hanoi’s railroad runs through the center of the city by the Old Quarter and can make a great walk for shooting. You won’t find many tourists or crowds here, but you will find a more peaceful, local atmosphere. What’s great about it are the little homes lining the tracks. These older buildings are only steps from the tracks and while they’re slowly falling apart, they still hold plenty of life. Many people leave the doors open and the outside feels like an extension of their home. Women hang clothes out to dry, men sit out for a smoke, kids play, and chickens hop around looking for feed.

I was walking the railroad during an extra quiet morning when I noticed a bear shaped balloon lying by the tracks. It had just enough helium left inside to make it slightly stand up on the gravel. It added a funny look to the scene so I decided to stop and see if anything more would come. Just before I was about to give up and keep walking, a man came out from one of the trackside homes for a smoke. He paid me no attention at first so I made a couple quick photos just as the wind positioned the bear looking towards the man.

After a photo or two, he noticed me and then noticed the bear balloon. He started to laugh and we struck up a conversation. It was a hot and humid day so he offered me some juice and told me how he’d recently moved to Norway with his wife, but was back in Hanoi visiting family. After the juice and small conversation were done, I said goodbye. To him and the bear.

 Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Bad Fish”

Hong Kong Shooter Files-16

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong. Sorry if this shot turns anyone off, but it makes me laugh. Life isn’t always pretty, but at least it can still be laughed at. Wan Chai is Hong Kong’s famous red light district, where sailors came for some R&R in the old days. Today, much of that has changed with shopping centers, sky scrapers, markets, restaurants, bars and more.

On this day, the bad weather in Hong Kong was only getting worse for me, as it started to pour rain once again. So I took cover under the sidewalk awning of a restaurant in Wan Chai. I was looking at the fish in the tank when all of a sudden a mom came rushing out pushing her child. Just before they made it to the sidewalk, the boy couldn’t hold it in any longer. Needless to say, I didn’t go in for a bite to eat after that review, but I did decide to capture the moment. I doubt this is what Henri Cartier-Bresson was thinking of when he termed “The Decisive Moment,” but those fish do look interested. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Hong Kong Shooter Files-16

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Goldfish Store”

Hong Kong Shooter Files-22

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken around the Goldfish Market in Hong Kong. The Goldfish Market is one of the more unique markets you’ll come across. Goldfish are extremely popular in Hong Kong, partly due to their aquariums containing all five elements of Feng Shui. They’re used to balance the home and bring good luck, while also providing a pet that doesn’t require much space.

Thousands of bagged fish of different colors and shapes line the streets here. Inside the different shops, you’ll find aquariums, equipment and even more fish for sale. For this shot, I was looking at the street reflection showing on the aquarium of fish. I made a couple of photos closer to the reflection, but then noticed the scene inside the shop. So just as the woman took a phone pic of the fish and the man bent over to pick a new pet, I snapped this photo, while including the reflected aquarium. The Goldfish Market can be an interesting place to walk for street photography. There’s probably no other place you’ll see so many businessmen and other characters shopping for goldfish like here. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Hong Kong Shooter Files-22

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Alley Blues”

Hong Kong Shooter Files-6

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Mong Kok area of Hong Kong. Mong Kok, located in Kowloon, is one of the busiest and most highly populated districts in the world. Its mix of older and newer buildings contain much of the character Hong Kong’s past is known for. It’s also one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong, with some of the city’s most interesting markets and narrow alleys.

I was exploring some of these alleys when I captured this shot. Unfortunately, Hong Kong’s weather has aways been poor for me, but this day was extra bad. It had just finished pouring rain and I was standing under a canopy in the alley when I noticed this woman coming from around the corner. She was hunched over in an interesting position, with her hands behind her back, but what grabbed my attention was how her blue plastic honcho matched the blue rain tarp down the alley.

So I waited for her to walk by the tarp once the neon sign hit her, providing some light. The blues and atmosphere match the wet mood and alley character I remember most from those rainy days in Hong Kong. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Hong Kong Shooter Files-6

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Dog Clap”

Saigon Shooter Files

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at September 23 Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Taken in the same area as a previous Sunday Street Shot, this long, skinny park runs along Saigon’s backpacker district up to the popular Bến Thành Market. In the heart of the city here, there’s always something going.

After shooting in the park some, I noticed this little white dog at the edge of the grass. I really liked the colors, with the bright white dog inside the red cloth set on green grass. As I walked over to take a photo, his owner came over too. The short, older man leaned over and started playfully talking to his dog while clapping. Due to how short the man was, I was able to tower over them by stepping on the grass side curb. I tried to compose the shot directly above the dog to accentuate the combination of colors, while also creating a sort of illusion with the man’s hands and feet only showing from under his hat. While it was a little difficult balancing above for the shot, the old man got a good laugh once he noticed what I was doing. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Saigon Shooter Files

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Siesta and a Short Dress”

Saigon Shooter Files-47

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken on Nguyen Hue Street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Also called Walking Street, Nguyen Hue is the first pedestrian-only street in Ho Chi Minh City. The French colonial styled City Hall and Ho Chi Minh statue sit here, which can bring some tourists during the day, but it usually doesn’t get crowded until night.

Streets run across each side of the walking lane, lined with cafes and shops. I was walking along when I noticed this attractive woman in a tight, short dress with an unusual pattern that stood out. She was also wearing purple high heels and looked like she was dressed for the club in the middle of the day. As she stopped at a closed business to look in the window, I also noticed a man dressed in a bright orange work uniform sleeping on his motorcycle, with shoes off on the ground and his feet resting above.

In Saigon, men sleeping on their motorbikes are about as common as Pho restaurants. So I normally avoid taking photos of them due to how common of a sight it is, but this scene gave me a reason to stop. I composed them together while catching some of the city reflection in the window, and making sure to expose correctly since they were under shadow, out of the bright Saigon sun. For me, this scene is 100% Saigon. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Saigon Shooter Files-47

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Bridge Work”

Saigon Shooter Files-18

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Cuong Tran, a local street photographer in Saigon, was kind enough to take me along for a few walks to show some of the places he likes to shoot. One stop we made was at a village along the river in Binh Thanh, a district in the center of the city just north of District 1. While it’s in the heart of the city near skyscrapers and modern developments, this area takes you back in time and out of the city with its atmosphere.

After exploring the narrow village streets and talking to the friendly locals, I spotted some work being done on a small bridge. Saigon is in constant development and you see construction and electrical workers in their blue jackets all over the city. I liked the blue/turquoise shades of the bridge, water and sky matching their uniforms, and the background reflection of the city and village on the river. So I decided to wait and see if anything interesting happened to capture.

As one worker was strapped below the bridge and making his was back up, I made this shot in mid-effort to pull himself up. Judging by his expression, it’s not easy work. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Saigon Shooter Files-18

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Head Out”

Saigon Shooter Files-38

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Gò Vấp district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Gò Vấp is a district in the northwest of Saigon, just above the international airport. Having the airport right inside the city can provide some interesting captures from the planes flying so low over the buildings. This urban district also has some nice little alley neighborhoods and markets for street photography.

I was exploring the winding, narrow alleys with some local street photographers. It was pretty quiet, but around a corner, we came across a few people outside their home. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an older women quickly pop her head out of her curtain door. She popped back inside before I had a chance to capture it, but I decided to get my camera ready just in case she came out again. 

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, out popped her head. At the same time, I saw a little boy watching me in the door window’s reflection. So just as she looked to talk to someone in the street, I snapped the photo to include them both. It doesn’t get much friendlier than here so she had a good laugh about it before going back inside, while some of the curious kids gathered around to check out my camera.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Saigon Shooter Files-38

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Saigon Stretch”

Saigon Shooter Files-36

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at September 23 Park (Công viên 23 tháng 9). This park stretches multiple blocks along Phạm Ngũ Lão street up to Ben Thanh Market. So it’s in the heart of the city right by the touristic backpacker district and ends at the city’s most famous market, making it one of the busier spots in the city. You get a mix of locals and tourists, different events, students looking to practice english, people playing shuttlecock, and people exercising like the man in this pic.

Saigon has these exercise stations in parks all over the city. They’re for very simple exercises that don’t take much strength and seem to be used by the city’s elderly more than anybody. This can create some humorous scenes. They rarely dress in exercise clothes, but they’re rarely breaking much of a sweat, either. This man was a different story, though. He was giving full effort in his button-up shirt. 

He was doing this ab workout where he’d bring his legs up and down, while also stretching them in and out at the same time. So I decided to capture a shot of this funny scene right when his legs were fully out and his facial expression showed all that effort he was putting into his routine.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

Saigon Shooter Files-36

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Strange Surprise”

Kathmandu 33-48

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken by Ring Road in Kathmandu, Nepal. While walking around Kathmandu looking for interesting places for photography, I came upon this small mobile fair set in the middle of a dirt landfill. Next to piles of garbage, cows and an outside market was this set-up of old fair rides and food stands. The scene was a strange surprise, but in a very interesting way. Perfect for photography. 

The mobile fair also attracted plenty of locals so I looked to see what I could capture. While photographing the scenes around the colorful, broken down rides, I saw a man taking photos of it all from a distance. He was by himself in front of a background of garbage, cows, dust and the city above. He had his phone held out in front taking endless pics. I walked over closer and he didn’t seem to notice me, as he focused intently on his phone screen. It was a strange scene fitting for the strange place I had randomly come upon. So I took a photo just as the phone light went on for another pic. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 1600

     

    Kathmandu 33-48

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-f.d. walker

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