Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Travel Photography

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Flashing in the Rain”

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey. Last Christmas, I gifted myself a fujifilm flash and cord for some off-camera flash street photography. I have photographer friends that are into flash religiously and I’d been wanting to try it out more. Natural light will always be my main focus, but flash is fun, adds an interesting dynamic and is great when the light out isn’t so great.

When I returned to Istanbul early this year, the city was covered in snow. After spending most of the year under Istanbul’s hot sun, the cold temperature and darkness were a complete change for photography. So it was the perfect chance to start using my new flash.

One evening as I was shooting around Taksim Square, the  snow/slush/rain started coming down. While my camera isn’t weather proof, I tried to carefully get some flash shots in. I saw this man walking with a clear umbrella and an interesting look with his hand around his neck, so I walked over to get the shot. I also wanted him illuminated underneath the umbrella for both effect and so there wouldn’t be a flash reflection on the plastic umbrella. So I quickly lowered the flash underneath and took the shoot just as he was in front of me. 

While flash isn’t very noticeable during the day, it is once the sun goes down. So this shot actually sparked an interesting conversation. After finding out he was from France, moved to Istanbul, and some other quick life facts, the slush turned to heavy rain and it was time for me to call it a night so I’d have my camera working another day.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/16
  • Shutter Speed: 1/60
  • ISO: 400
  • Flash: Fujifilm EF-X20flash street beginning-2

City Street Guides by f.d. walker:
A Street Photography Guide to
Budapest, Hungary

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*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, safety concerns, street tips, 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!

Budapest

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Medina Light”

61 Photos-54

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the medina near Bab Rcif in Fes, Morocco. In a country full of elaborate medinas, nothing compares to the one in Fes. It’s more like a whole city and you could easily spend days walking around and getting lost in the maze. The medina here is as much for the locals living within its walls as the tourists visiting.

I had just started the day and entered the medina through the Bab Recif gate. Much of the medina is so narrow and packed that the sunlight is blocked out, but along this busy alley, there were some sun rays shining in beautifully. I noticed a large mirror that reflected against an area where one of those beams of light hit. So I waited to see if I could catch someone against it at the right time.

I saw this woman dressed in blue with a yellow bag coming so I got in the right position for the frame to include both her and her reflection, with the alley in between. Luckily, the sunlight hit the lens just right so it added those two sunbeams in the shot too.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/16
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

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33 Street Photography Photos from 2 Days in Casablanca, Morocco

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I finished off my visit to Morocco flying out of Casablanca. While Casablanca is the biggest city in Morocco, not many stay longer than it takes to fly in and out. Most visitors come here for all the other cities in Morocco, but you don’t hear anybody recommend visiting Casablanca. Since it is a large, well-known city, I wanted to see how deserving this was so I decided to leave a couple of days to explore the city before I left Morocco.

While it was easy to see why it’s not high on the list for travelers to Morocco, I did find it worth exploring for street photographers. At first impression, it’s a somewhat ugly, charmless sprawl of an urban city. Deteriorating and dirty without many attractions. There isn’t much info online so I really had to discover the city on my own, by foot. I found underneath this uninspiring exterior, there was plenty of life and interest to capture. I enjoyed the urban city side of Morocco and while it’s not pretty, there’s still some character there for street photography. 

I only had 2 days here so it didn’t give me much opportunity to capture as many photos as usual, but I still wanted to keep with 33 photos series theme, anyway. So here’s 33 street photography photos from 2 days in Casablanca, Morocco…

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7 First Impressions of Casablanca, Morocco
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

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While Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, it doesn’t get much love. People might fly in and out of the city, but it’s hard to find anyone recommending staying here longer than that. I wanted to find out if there was a good reason for this so I made sure to spend a few days here before flying out at the end of my visit to Morocco. 

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The truth is, after exploring the city, I can understand why people don’t love it compared to Morocco’s other attractions, but for street photography, I found many reasons that made me happy I gave it a chance. 

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So here are my first impressions of Casablanca, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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City Street Guides by f.d. walker:
A Street Photography Guide to
Bratislava, Slovakia

bratislava-guide-cover

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, safety concerns, street tips, 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!

Bratislava

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Finding the Perfect Notebook for Photographers

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Notebook. No photographer should be without one!  – Ansel Adams

Notebooks for Photographers

I’m a mix of the old and new. I love digital cameras, but I have love for analogs too. My iPhone is filled with music, but I have a collection of vinyl records at home. Technology and electronics are great, but there’s something special about mechanics that work with you without electricity.

Right now I’m writing this post on my Macbook, but many of my posts actually start in my paper bound notebooks.

Even some of my photography starts in a notebook. I love writing any photography related ideas down on paper.

When it comes to creativity, I still connect more with the old school. Putting the pen to paper gets my ideas flowing, while computer screens can put me in a daze. Notebooks also don’t come with internet access, which can be a very good thing when trying to limit distractions. But the best part is how I can take that notebook anywhere and have it when my next idea comes to me at the most random time, which is usually the case. 

Plus computers don’t have that ribbon bookmark. I love that thing.

So what Notebook do I use? What is the Perfect Notebook?

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33 Street Photography Photos from 3 Days in Chefchaouen, Morocco

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After Fes, I took a long bus ride up through the Rif mountains to spend a few days in Chefchaouen, Morocco.  The small mountain town of Chefchaouen is famous for its rich history, architecture, beautiful surroundings and most of all, the blue rinse covering everything in sight.

While many of Morocco’s well-known cities are filled with chaos, Chefchaouen is a relaxing escape. It’s also one of the more unique and picturesque cities I’ve been to. So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Chefchaouen…

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7 First Impressions of Chefchaouen, Morocco
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

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Chefchaouen is a small town up in the Rif Mountains of Morocco. It used to be controlled by Spain so it has more of a spanish influence than french, like much of Morocco. But this isn’t why people make the long trip up through the mountains to visit Chefchaouen today.

Chefchaouen Shooter Files-16

I’ll go into some of the reasons this small city has become a popular destination recently, but one is obvious once you see any photos. Much of Chechaouen’s buildings, houses, walls, stairs and even ground are painted blue. This helps give it a unique atmosphere for photography, but there’s plenty more that makes Chefchaouen a city to visit for some Street Photography, and relaxation.

So here are my first impressions of Chefchaouen, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Hash in the Hills”

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Chefchaouen, Morocco. Chefchaouen is a special little city up in the Rif mountains of Morocco. If you’re looking in travel magazines, Chefchaouen is famous for being painted completely blue, its unique history, and the beauty of its surroundings. For many, though, it’s also known for being the hash capital of the world. Morocco produces nearly half of the world’s hashish, most of it here in the Rif mountains.

Once in the city, it doesn’t take long for someone to come up and offer you hash or a guided hash farm tour. While it technically isn’t legal, around 800,000 Moroccans work in the industry, mostly problem free from authorities. While exploring the narrow blue alleys of the old city, I climbed to the top where it opened up to a nice view of the city and mountains.

By the edge, there was a small den where I saw an older boy lighting up some homegrown hashish outside. With the mix of blues and orange in the scene, I decided to walk up and make the shot. I didn’t know how he’d react, but he just gave me a look, without showing any reaction at all. After taking the shot, I gave him a nod, but he just turned and kept puffing away, enjoying the view, and the hashish.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400

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