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 South Africa, I took a flight up to Ethiopia, starting in major city #48 Addis Ababa on the 100 City project. Being by far the country’s largest city, many visitors more interested in the rural, less traffic-filled side of the country don’t spend much time to get to know Addis Ababa. Beneath its chaotic and rapidly growing urban sprawl of an exterior, I found a mix of history, tradition and interest meets big city life. The colorful old character of Piassa and the the largest open air market in all of Africa, Addis Merkato, were two areas alone that made it worth exploring with my camera.
So, here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Addis Ababa…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Gorky Park in Moscow, Russia. Unless you’re from anywhere around Russia, odds are you’re wondering what is up with that post title. Well, “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style” is the name of a 1967 Soviet comedy film that revolves around bride kidnapping, an old tradition that used to exist in the Northern Caucasus. And that backdrop is from the movie. None of these details I knew at the time, but have since been informed thanks to the power of social media photo sharing.
When I took this shot, I was walking through Gorky Park and noticed this strange and somewhat randomly placed backdrop in the middle of the park. Gorky Park is the most famous park in Russia and was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. It’s gigantic and contains everything you could imagine and more, from fair rides and food stands to lake boat rides and a skate park. It attracts mostly locals too so it’s a good spot to capture some of the non-tourist side of Moscow life.
I first noticed a couple of workers planting in the garden by this humorous back drop and walked over to take a few photos. As I walked over, a small group of older women came over and started laughing at what they saw. One of them excitedly ran over to have her photo taken with the two cut outs and as she began to walk away, it almost looked like she was walking out of the scene. Her outfit even went along with it, while the vegetation in the fake background blended with the park background. So I took the photo just as she stepped off and the gardener came into the scene with more plants. I later saw the woman’s eyes were closed, which is usually a bad thing, but in this case it kinda works for me with a similar expression to the man behind to her left, and an unreal look.
Now that I know about the movie, though, I guess it would have been better if she had been dressed as a bride. Something that really isn’t too uncommon to find walking around Moscow :)
Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/10
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 1600
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
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
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Zayachy Island, also known as “Hare Island,” is a very small island in the center of Saint-Petersburg connected by two pedestrian bridges. In 1703, Peter the Great began construction of the Peter and Paul fortress here, which is a big tourist draw today. The shore surrounding the fortress wall is also a draw for the locals too, though. Especially in the summer.
Since the large stone wall faces the sun, it heats up and becomes a warm spot for locals to lay against in relaxation while they sunbathe. Combined with the mix of characters it attracts, it can create a very interesting, slightly surreal scene. People walk around the cobblestone shore, locals sunbathe, and pigeons come hoping for feed.
With so much interest here, I took plenty of photos, but for this one I noticed the man on the right kept waving a pigeon away. Since there was still feed on the ground, the pigeon kept returning. I took a few shots of this scene, but just as the man finally gave up, a girl came walking in-between us. She startled the pigeon, who then startled her, as she brought her hand back and the bird quickly flew away. It was an instant reaction shot as the action happened so fast, but luckily I caught something. This wall attracts some interesting scenes to say the least.
Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 800
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Hua Lamphong, Bangkok’s main railway station. The Italian neo-renaissance half-dome design, interesting layout inside and people it attracts make this a good spot to check out for street photography. Local street photographer Rammy Narula even did a whole photo book on just one of its platforms (Platform 10).
Inside, the sun can shine through certain areas, providing some great light. And the colorful trains provide interest themselves. When I stopped by mid-day for this shot, it was especially quiet inside. On the platform at the main entrance, they were cleaning some of the trains so there was no activity. I was looking at the light coming through the yellow stained glass as a woman stopped in front of me. As she stood there in thought, she started to scratch her head. The light highlighted this gesture, while the rest of her was in hidden in black. So I composed her in the middle of the long, empty platform with trains on each side and the yellow domed window shining above.
Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 1600
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is a large open field and public square across from the famous Grand Palace. During the day, it’s usually pretty quiet, but can fill with some activity later on, including kite flying. There’s a surrounding walkway with benches, but with no cover on the grass field, the sun comes down hard.
For this shot, it was mid-day with the Thai sun at its brightest so the large open space was empty as usual during this time. As sunny as it is here, the locals do their best to stay out of its way. But I did see one person alone in the middle of the field working on the sprinklers. He was completely covered head to foot, even wearing a black mask to cover his face. So I made the walk to the middle of the field to see if I could capture something interesting.
After getting one of the sprinklers to start spraying, he stood up to admire his work. With his hands at his hips while looking off towards the palace, and end of the spray, I decided to have some fun with this one. Composition and angles used to make a humorous illusion that I probably don’t need to explain any further in this shot :)
Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 800
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hoan Kiem Lake is one of my favorite spots in the city. Right in the heart of Hanoi, it’s one of the more unique city lakes you’ll find with the amount and variety of activity it attracts. The morning has a more calm and peaceful atmosphere, while the day gets busier with tourists and locals until night when it can become the most active and crowded.
Just before sunset is my favorite time to come here. This is also when the lakeside gym fills up with a mix of characters coming to workout. In the evening, old gym equipment is brought out in small area lining the lake. Complete with free weights and everything, there’s a group of regulars that come ready to workout. They take it serious too.
It’s a humorous spectacle that attracts plenty of tourist camera phone pics from afar. With my flash, I decided to get up in the middle of it all, though. After a few photos and laughs, it was clear they didn’t mind at all (Although, they did have me get in a set on the bench before I was fully accepted).
Below are a few pics I made while hanging out at Hanoi’s lakeside gym.
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This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi’s Old Quarter is not only its historic district and major tourist area, but also the center of the city’s downtown life. The Old Quarter is how you picture Vietnam many years ago. The French-colonial architecture and shop-houses are preserved from centuries ago, while still showing their age. Most of the buildings are narrow and low to the ground, and with activity moving in every direction around you, there’s a feeling of life compacted around you where ever you go.
I was walking around the busy center of the Old Quarter near Bia Hoi Corner when I noticed the bright yellow dress of a woman walking into a messy street corner market. Looking down, I also noticed a small dog tied up outside. The dog’s face had a natural smile and decided to walk up for a photo. The yellow dress and high heels, the sidewalk mess of boxes and the little smiling dog all came together into an interesting, slightly humorous scene for me. So I took this shot just as the dog looked at me with that smile. I was even able to include some more yellow from a case of Larue, my favorite cheap local beer in Vietnam :)
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