Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
* “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.
Fred Herzog (1930-Present)
German photographer known for his early color film photos capturing the urban streets of Vancouver, Canada.
After leaving my home in Ho Chi Minh City, on my way to traveling Europe for the summer, I decided to fit a stop in Bangkok, Thailand. It was a chance to meet the many talented local street photographers here, while of course fitting in some time for street photography of my own. Bangkok was a challenge with how many of the streets and neighborhoods can feel empty, but after exploring enough and getting some local advice, I was able to find some spots for photography.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Bangkok…
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:
https://vimeo.com/159244856
One of the most common questions I get is “what is my favorite city for street photography?” I find positives and things I like and miss in every city I go to. Cities are different and it’s impossible for me to name one best city. But I do have a few that stick out in my memory and Saint-Petersburg is one of them. It’s also the city that causes many people the biggest surprise when I mention it. While they know all about cities like Istanbul, London or Havana, they usually ask me to explain “Why Saint-Petersburg?”
Well, there’s just something magical about Saint-Petersburg. The canals, pastel colors, incredible architecture, bridges, islands, hundreds of parks, and more give it this atmosphere that has to be experienced. The life and people are full of character too, but it’s a diverse mix of character.
For more details behind some of what I love about this city, here are my first impressions of Saint-Petersburg, from a personal street photographer 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!
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:
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:
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.
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!
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!
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!
The Street Collective:
Website: www.thestreetcollective.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thestreetcollectivedotcom
Facebook (public project group): www.facebook.com/groups/356974127846089
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thestreetcollective
