Shooter Files Series
Master Profiles: Gordon Parks
* “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.
Profile:
Gordon Parks (1912-2006)
American photographer, film director, writer and musician known for his documentation of civil rights issues and poverty during the 1940s-1970s, while also being a pioneer among African-American photographers and filmmakers.
33 Street Photography Photos from One Week in Mumbai, India
Mumbai was my last stop on my last trip to India. Not only did I spend some extra time here, but I was able to meet up with some talented local street photographers who helped show me around. Mumbai is so big and full of life that it feels like there are endless places to explore, but I packed in as much of the city as possible. For street photography, it’s as concentrated with action, character and variety of life as any city in the world.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Mumbai…
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Street Shot Sundays Photo of the Week: “Taxi Driver”
Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats
Story:
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Fort district of Mumbai, India. Fort is a primary business and financial district in Mumbai. It was the heart of the city for centuries and has become a popular area for tourists to stay due to its convenient location.
I stayed in this district and after stopping for some chicken tikka masala (even for breakfast), I headed out for a day of shooting. In Mumbai, I try to stick to walking, or using the local train if I need to go a long distance. Sitting in traffic wastes too much time and in Mumbai you can find so much just exploring on foot. There aren’t many areas you can walk through that don’t contain interest and activity. It also saves me the hassle of bartering a taxi driver :)
So as usual, the traffic was at a standstill. While walking through the stopped vehicles, I noticed how the light was hitting a taxi driver. He looked serious, while sitting through another day of dealing with Mumbai traffic. He had one hand resting against his face while the other hung out the window. The light hit both nicely against the shadows, while also revealing only part of his face.
I decided to include the biker on the phone in the background to emphasize the stopped traffic and add a little more interest to the scene. I also waited until the taxi driver looked at me so I could get that initial eye contact of his one eye revealed by the light. Then I snapped the photo and continued walking through the traffic, onto another hot, chaotic day of street photography in Mumbai.
Stats:
- Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
- Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
- Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
- Aperture: f/11
- Shutter Speed: 1/500
- ISO: 800
The Friday 5 (September 2nd, 2016)
5 Photographic Links for Your Weekend
Discover
Photographer of the week: Tyler Simpson
Watch
Video of the Week: Henry Wessel: Why it’s better to see without recognizing
Read
Article of the Week: Gordon Parks’ Stunning Photos of Families in 1950s Alabama
Travel
Photography Destination of the Week: Krakow, Poland
Look
InstaGram of the week: @streetamatic
City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Bangalore, India
*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!
Bangalore
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Street Shot Sundays Photo of the Week: “Worli Workers”
Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats
Story:
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Worli district of Mumbai, India. The Worli fishing village here has become a popular area to visit in Mumbai. The Koli people have lived and fished here for thousands of years and walking around it takes you back in time. It feels preserved within the rapidly developing city and has a nice, relaxing atmosphere to walk around and explore among the friendly people.
The village is very colorful with brightly painted walls and I was out with some local photographer friends when we come up to this spot in the photo. It was nearing sunset and the light was shining nicely on a few men working by a red wall. Two men were working with some metal coils and I liked the shadow of one mirroring the other. I decided to place another man’s hands in the foreground, which hid the man creating the shadow, while also including the woman and some of the yellow wall in the far background.
Colors, light and layers are always fun to play with when shooting in India. Just watch out for your own shadow trying to sneak into the photo :)
Stats:
- Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
- Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
- Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
- Aperture: f/13
- Shutter Speed: 1/500
- ISO: 1600
The Friday 5 (August 26th, 2016)
5 Photographic Links for Your Weekend
Discover
Photographer of the week: Dimitris Makrygiannakis
Watch
Video of the Week: The 8mm Films of Vivian Maier
Read
Article of the Week: An Unvarnished Look at Los Angeles
Travel
Photography Destination of the Week: Lviv, Ukraine
Look
InstaGram of the week: @shinnoguchiphotos
33 Street Photography Photos from 3 Days in Hyderabad, India
On my way from Bangalore to Mumbai, I stopped in Hyderabad, India for a few days. From its rich history and culture to its royal architecture and amazing cuisine, there’s plenty to see and experience in Hyderabad. Many streets, especially in the Old City, take you back in time, while the city as a whole is in rapid growth with a booming tech industry. There’s a diverse mix of atmosphere to explore in Hyderabad if you have the time.
Unfortunately, some travel problems forced me to make a shorter stay than planned, so I was only able to spend three full days exploring the city with my camera, but I tried to make the most it. So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my short time in Hyderabad…
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Street Shot Sundays Photo of the Week: “Charminar Selfie”
Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats
Story:
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Hyderabad, India by the Charminar. Built over 400 years ago, the Charminar is a four towered monument and mosque surrounded by traffic, bazaars and busy streets going in every direction. It’s one of India’s most recognized structures and the foot traffic is more crowded here than anywhere else in the city.
As the day turns to night, the crowds grow even more. It gets pretty touristy, but still provides an interesting scene of chaos. Due to the life around this area at night, I decided to break out my off-camera flash and give it a go. One of the most popular things to do here, like many places today, is to take a selfie. I saw these two colorfully dressed women up close to the Charminar, hand stretched far out for what had to be a dozen selfie attempts.
I had my camera set for enough ambient light to show some of the background layers and walked up to the selfie takers. With the camera up close to her hand and phone placed in the bottom of the frame, I snapped the photo. While the woman on the right noticed my flash as I took the shot, the woman on the left was way too focused on the selfie to notice anything else. Selfies demand full attention.
Stats:
- Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
- Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
- Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
- Aperture: f/11
- Shutter Speed: 1/125
- ISO: 400
- Flash: Fujifilm EF-X20
