Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Shot of the Week

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Belgrade Benches”

belgrade-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Belgrade, Serbia at Kalemegdan Park by the Belgrade Fortress. This area not only has the best views of the city, but also has a unique atmosphere for Street Photography. Plenty of people come hang out around the large park and fortress, including locals. The light is interesting up here too, along with the backgrounds and scenery.

The sun was out and I was walking along the side of the park overlooking the river and city. People were enjoying the views and relaxing at the long row of benches. I noticed three older woman sitting on the benches, all facing backwards. I’m not sure why they were all turned opposite to the view. Maybe the sun was too bright or maybe they enjoy people watching more than views. Either way, I found them interesting, along with the juxtaposition, background, lighting and shadows. 

So I took a couple photos. Two of them gave me a glance on the second shot, which I ended up liking better. There’s something about their natural looks, especially the woman on the far right. I’m not sure what they thought about me taking their photo, but they didn’t seem to care much. So I kept on walking towards the fortress, while enjoying the sunny day on top of Belgrade.

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:
“Nothing Interesting Here”

Belgrade Serbia-4

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Belgrade, Serbia near the Old Palace. It was a quiet day on the streets and I hadn’t seen anything interesting all morning. But then I saw this older woman bundled up in her fancy coat with its large fur hood over her head. Her glasses were large and fancy too so her whole look captured my eye.

We were the only two people on the empty street and she clearly noticed me as we walked towards each other. As we got closer, I knew I wouldn’t be getting a very candid shot so I decided to ask her if I could take her photo instead.

She reacted extremely surprised and confused at my question.

She then asked me “Why in the world would you want to take a photo of me? There is nothing interesting about me at all.”

I almost had to laugh as I looked at her and explained how wrong she was. At first it didn’t seem like she’d accept my request, but after explaining why she was worth capturing, she reacted flattered and said yes with a smile. 

Normally, a smile feels posed, but there was something genuine about her smile. It contained part of her personality. So I captured her as is, smile and all.

While walking away, I thought to myself how so many people don’t realize how interesting and unique they really are. One of my favorite things about Street Photography is noticing and being able to appreciate the uniqueness of humanity, especially the ordinary people who really aren’t ordinary at all. 

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/4
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

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

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

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

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

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Leaves”

krakow leaves-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Podgórze neighborhood of Krakow, Poland. Podgórze is actually Krakow’s original Jewish Ghetto, even though the historic Jewish district of Kazimierz gets most of the attention today. Schindler’s factory, the inspiration for the movie Schindler’s List, is here too. 

So I took a walk over the bridge from the more touristic side of Krakow to explore this neighborhood too. I was walking along when I noticed this little girl looking through a store window. Her purple shirt stood out, but what really grabbed my attention was her handful of leaves in front of a window full of plants. I tried to take the shot so this juxtaposition could be noticed along with window’s reflection and her purple shirt. Looking back now, the strangest part was how she didn’t seem to have any parents or people with her, as she kept roaming the streets with her handful of leaves.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/4.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “The Yellow Room”

Lviv shooter files-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken on Svobody Avenue in Lviv, Ukraine. This is the city’s main street and a great place for some Street Photography. It’s lined with architecture, restaurants, shops and has a nice square along the middle of the avenue that ends at Lviv’s famous Opera Theater. 

While walking along the buildings on the side of the street, I noticed this small empty room. It was the only empty room on the street and I liked how the light was coming into it through the window. The yellow color was nice too so I took a few shots when all of a sudden a man came out from the door in the back. He matched the color of the room and gave me a look so I took one more shot as he walked towards me. He didn’t say a word, though, but just continued walking on by me.

Stats:

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

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Bride Brigade”

lviv 2nd picks-1-2

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Lviv, Ukraine along a popular shopping street on the way to Market Square. Wedding photography is extremely important in Ukraine. There’s wedding photo shops all over the different cities. It’s a big deal and big business here. Nowhere I went in Ukraine was this more true than in Lviv. The center of Lviv is packed with cobblestone streets, old churches, and beautiful medieval architecture. The atmosphere and scenery are perfect for wedding photos so every few streets you’re bound to run into a wedding shoot. 

I was walking towards Market Square when I saw this bridal party in the middle of the street. The bride was getting fixed up by one of her bridesmaids, while the rest of them were sitting on a bench. I liked the juxtaposition with the bridesmaids sitting on the bench to the left of the bride standing up. I also liked the expressions and gesture of the bridesmaids. It was just before sunset and it looked like they were tired from a long day of shooting. There was something authentic about it, as opposed to the cliche look of wedding photos in Eastern Europe. So I captured this shot and kept on walking towards the square.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Backseat Blonde”

Lviv shooter files-4

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Market Square in Lviv, Ukraine. This is the main square in Lviv, where all the action is centered. Coffee houses, restaurants, chocolate shops and more surround street performers and crowds of people enjoying this lively place. There’s also a popular trolley stop here that I was walking around just as the sun was setting below the walls of old buildings. I liked the sunlight on her blonde hair and there was something nice about the colors and tone of the scene, especially her through the trolley window. So I snapped the shot just as she looked at me, right before the trolley rode off.

Stats:

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