Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
Now that I’m starting into my 3rd city shutdown of the year, this time in Istanbul, I’m sharing some of the major things that have gotten me through these shutdowns, and the year, as a photographer.
Also included, I share work from an unreleased project during my earlier shutdown in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
All the best to everyone else dealing with another shutdown and everything that has come this year.
– Forrest
A new photo walk series that focuses on the photos. I cover one of Istanbul’s most active and photogenic street photography walks in Eminonu, while sharing insights from the photos taken and exploring ways to critique and learn from your photos.
Hope you enjoy and please share any feedback on this series or on any video content you’d like to see in the future.
For more information on the video content coming, check here.
All the best,
Forrest
* “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.
Bruno Barbey (1941-2020)
Moroccan-born French photographer known for his work covering conflicted regions and his strong command of color.
Hey, everyone!
This year has been a rough one, to say the least. I had more work and plans scheduled for the year than ever before, but after March hit, almost everything went away. One of those plans was to start making videos. With things continually going poorly, I’ve kept pushing it off, but now I’m pushing myself to finally start. And once I start things, I’m good.
For years I’ve been asked why I don’t make any video content. The truth is getting in front of a camera and making it all about me has never been my thing. I like to focus on my work and keep all attention there. I don’t take myself seriously, but I do take my work very seriously, and want others to as well. Getting into video can effect that, just like making this blog can. I started this blog because there wasn’t anything like it and I saw how my unique experiences could help others, help I wish I’d had. Also, partly to push myself to finish my Major City project, as it was definitely something I wanted to quit and give up on countless times.
As you can see, there are no ads and I don’t even really promote it on my social media. I wanted to keep it somewhat separate from my work in a way. At times, I even thought about closing the blog, as I ran into instances where it hurt me when it came to work opportunities and impressions before seeing my work. Also, the blog has been a ton of work in itself. I’m happy it grew so much and appreciate all the love, but that has created even more time dedicated to answering emails and messages for related advice and other requests. I enjoy helping, but time without money, after already having to live by the means I do for all this, has been difficult.
I have decided to keep it up, though, and I’ve also decided to add video content. Content will be more for people that follow my work and I’m not interested in becoming a YouTube personality, I wouldn’t even want that. The videos won’t be highly edited or filled with trendy topics and flash. They will be focused on content, though, and not being concerned with views will go a long way towards that. I want the content to be unique, unlike other related content out there. I want it to be helpful, things that I’ve found helpful in photography over the years, from my personal experience and teaching and mentoring others. Content that would have been valuable to me. I also want it to be candid, genuine, interesting and fun. I like to get creative, so I have lists of series and topic ideas. And of course, there will be some content related to my major city work and this blog. Everything will evolve over time, but I’m happy to finally get started.
Different videos and series covering:
What’s in it for me? Well, hopefully it will be fun doing this and I enjoy helping others in ways I wish I’d been helped, but also I hope it will connect others more to my work and projects. And now that I have online mentorship programs going, along with more workshops again once the pandemic passes, I hope this will help there too. In the near future, I have plans for creating special video content highly focused on learning and improving your photography, much of which will be interactive, that will be available soon too.
Anyway, hopefully, this gives you some idea of what’s coming. For more, you’ll just have to follow along and see :)
Thanks for reading and all the best,
Forrest
After Santiago, came city #68 Buenos Aires on the Major City project. I’ll be discontinuing this 33 photos series on the blog soon, but I’ll explain why along with exciting details on some new things I have planned in an upcoming post. For now, though, I’ll share a last few additions of this long-time series here on Shooter Files.
Here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time covering Buenos Aires…
[Read more…] about 33 Street Photography Photos from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina came in as major city #68 on my Major City project and here I’ll share for other visiting photographers a few first impressions covering the city with my camera during my work there, from a personal street photography perspective…
After Port-au-prince, came city #66 Mexico City, Mexico on the Major City project. I’ll be discontinuing this 33 photos series on the blog soon, but I’ll explain why along with exciting details on some new things I have planned in an upcoming post. For now, though, I’ll share a last few additions of this long-time series here on Shooter Files.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Mexico City…
[Read more…] about 33 Street Photography Photos from Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico came in as major city #66 on my Major City project and here I’ll share a few first impressions covering the city with my camera during my work there.
Not many cities have brought me more diverse opinions. While a reputation of danger scares many away, others find a surprisingly interesting, historic and cleaned up city. The truth is Mexico City does warrant caution, especially outside the more touristic spots, but it’s also one of the more complex, attractive and memorable big cities you’ll experience. And big it is. Packed with culture and history around the buzzing center, you’ll also find a modern, contemporary city. You’ll find plenty of edge too. This brings more character, but bring your street smarts, as mine were needed on multiple occasions here. For street photography, there’s a charm to it that feels authentic and edgy, bringing a unique appeal that I’d recommend, warnings and all.
So here are my first impressions of Mexico City, from a personal street photographer perspective…
AUGUST 31st – SEPTEMBER 2nd : LONDON, UK
Read on for more details and how to sign up…
This intensive three-day workshop will focus on photographic vision and seeing more. You’ll learn to see more photos when out shooting, how to put together what you see into the photo you want to make, improve your editing process and help find yourself in your photography. We will work together to accomplish these goals through a variety of lessons covering a variety of work, reviews of your own work, editing sessions, activities and plenty of shooting throughout the streets of London. Led by international photographer Forrest Walker, this workshop will be an immersive and educational experience.
Find Participant Testimonials and Photos from Forrest Walker’s Workshops HERE
Forrest Walker is an internationally acclaimed photographer from Portland, Oregon, USA. He is also the sole creator of the popular street photography blog, ShooterFiles.com. His work has been published, awarded and exhibited across multiple continents and showcases his interest in capturing the world candidly in vibrant color, along with a passion for exploration. He has been an invited speaker and judge at multiple major international street photography festivals, including the Miami Street Photography Festival, London Street Photography Festival and StreetFoto San Francisco, in addition to be featured and interviewed across media, including the immensely popular ‘The Candid Frame’ podcast.
Currently, Forrest is in the final stages of photographing a five-year project covering over 100 Major Cities across all major regions of the world, where he strives to capture the diversity and connections found in daily life across all regions and cultures. His images distil the layers of life within major cities and reveal the commonalities of human experience. This project is documented on his popular blog ShooterFiles.com, where he provides street photography city guides, tips, photography, stories, local photographer interviews and more.
SEE MORE OF FORREST’S WORK ON INSTAGRAM & HIS WEBSITE
Places are strictly limited, sign up early to avoid disappointment
*We will break for lunch daily and all are invited to dinner and drinks afterwards for more interaction
On this three-day workshop, you’ll be able to capture the areas that London is known for, along with some of the more local favorite spots and my street photography selections from covering the city. This will be an intensive and highly involved workshop where you’ll be challenged to improve your photography in a variety of ways, led by someone who’s photographed over 100 major cities across the world inside and out. London stays at the top of my list for street photography and I’ve spent countless hours exploring its endless streets of interest over the years. With a 5 participant max on the workshop, you’ll be able to get the most out of our time together in London.
This will be an intensive, but highly enjoyable workshop experience that includes a mixture of daily photo walks, photo critiques, interactive lessons, editing sessions, activities and discussions. A major focus will be on photographic vision and seeing more. You’ll learn to see more photos when out shooting, how to put together what you see into the photo you want to make, improve your editing process and help find yourself in your photography. There will be a lot of walking and photography, with myself fully involved each step of the way to make sure you get the most out of your week. You will be able to fully immerse yourself into the city through street photography, so you can learn more, photograph more and see more.
Good walking shoes, camera(s), lens – between 50mm and 21mm equivalents preferred, sunscreen, water bottle, cool and comfortable clothing, laptop with appropriate processing software installed (Lightroom, Capture One or Photoshop), spare batteries and memory cards, notepad, pen, and mobile/ smart phone.
Terms and Cancellation Policy:
* “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.
Jeff Mermelstein (1957-Present)
American photographer known for his quirky, absurdist and humorous photos of human idiosyncracy in New York City.
