Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Shooter Files Series

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Chennai After Work”

Chennai Dreaming

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Chennai, India at Marina Beach. This 13 km long beach is not only the longest urban beach in the world, but it’s also one of the most chaotic. For the morning and most of the day, it feels more like a deserted island, but once people get off work and out of school, it starts filling up fast. 

People don’t come here to sunbathe, but they do enjoy getting in the ocean. Swim attire is not required, though. Men roll up their slacks and unbutton their collar, while women go in the water in full saree.

It was getting close to sunset and the shoreline was crowded with people getting wet or watching others do so. Amongst the shoreline of crowds, I noticed one man facing away from it all. He seemed to have his mind on other things as he looked towards the sun. Many people in Chennai come to the beach after work to escape work, and the city. He seemed to be trying to escape it all. So I walked up above him on the sand and took this photo trying to capture him deep in thought amongst the scene.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Chennai Dreaming

Master Profiles: Harry Gruyaert

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* “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:

Harry Gruyaert (1941-present)

Belgian photographer known for his use of vivid color to create depth and interest, before it was a respected medium in photography .

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City Street Guides by f.d. walker:
A Street Photography Guide to
Fes, Morocco

Fes-City-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!

Fes

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20 Questions in Hyderabad, India with Swarat Ghosh

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*A new interview series with a play on “20 questions,” where I try to mix it up with different questions. Some serious, some not so much. I’ll also be focusing the series on some of the best street photographers from the cities I visit around the world during my 100 Cities project.

During my recent month in India, I visited Hyderabad, a royal city famous for its rich history, culture, cuisine, and architecture. Hyderabad is also home to the talented photographer, Swarat Ghosh, who thankfully agreed to take on this edition of “20 Questions.”

Swarat is a member of one of my favorite photo collectives, That’s Life, which I highly recommend checking out. Much of Swarat’s work captures stories from everyday life in a way that uses layers and multiple elements to help add to the moments he discovers. He’s also able to work well in both black & white and color, and uses them each in their own way to really bring out his scenes.

So now to learn more about him, it’s time for 20 Questions in Hyderabad, India with Swarat Ghosh…

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Fort Wall”

Galle Sri Lanka-15

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Galle, Sri Lanka by the Fort wall. Galle Fort is one of the most preserved fort cities in the world, with many locals still living inside its walls today. Due to its preservation and attractive mix of Dutch influence in a tropical atmosphere, it brings in plenty of tourists too. 

An elaborate wall runs around the fort city, with most of it lining the ocean. It might be the most interesting wall I’ve seen. There’s always plenty of activity going on along it with a mix of locals and tourists. Also, due to its construction, there’s a lot of different areas to explore within the wall. While in Galle, I spent more time here than any when it came to photography.

When it comes to this shot, it was more of an instinctual reaction to what I saw. I was walking along when out of the corner of my eye I saw this scene. There was something odd about it, mostly from how the girl was holding the umbrella. I instantly reacted by quickly taking the shot, thinking more about capturing it before the strangeness disappeared than anything else.

Stats:

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

Galle Sri Lanka-15

33 Street Photography Photos from 3 Days in Galle, Sri Lanka

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After getting some of Sri Lanka’s bigger city life in Colombo, I took a train down to Galle, where Dutch-colonial buildings blend with a tropical setting. Exploring the walled fort city inside and out provided plenty to see and capture, while giving a unique variety of life for a smaller touristic city. It was a nice, relaxing change of scene from Colombo too. So here’s some street photography I was able to capture during my few days in Galle…

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7 First Impressions of Galle, Sri Lanka
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

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After Colombo, I took a train down to Galle in the southwest corner of Sri Lanka. Galle is a major city in Sri Lanka, but is best known for its Dutch influence and walled fort city where locals still live. It’s also nearby some of the most popular beaches and become one of the top spots to visit in Sri Lanka. 

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Galle was only a quick train ride from Colombo so I decided to give it a few days during my time in Sri Lanka. Here are my first impressions of Galle, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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15 Top Instagram Accounts for Street Photographers

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Following popular posts like 15 Top Photo Collectives for Street Photographers and 15 Top Blogs for Street Photographers, comes 15 Top (Active!) Instagram Accounts for Street Photographers.

When it comes to the most popular social media platforms for photographers, Flickr has its own pluses, but Instagram keeps it simple, mobile and can be used in different ways. Instagram is so big now that there are too many great accounts to make a definitive list, but I wanted to create a list of some of the best that clearly put focus on Instagram.

This list was heavily influenced by how active the Instagram accounts are. So they had to have a minimum of 200 posts with regular posting continuing today.

So if you’re looking for active accounts to follow, here’s 15 top picks worth checking out if you’re into Street Photography too!

15 Top Instagram Accounts for Street Photographers

(in no particular order)

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Train View”

Colombo Shooter Files-28

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the local train. I was taking the train from Fort Station to Mt. Lavinia, a close suburb of Colombo to the south. Many people stay in Mt. Lavinia when they visit Colombo, but the main reason I was going there was to ride along the coast line. It’s a cheap and quick 15 minute trip each way that I’d recommend doing just for the scenery and experience.

I was hanging out the side door looking for photos and enjoying the ocean view when we stopped at a station. As we started to leave, I liked how the light was hitting the man across from me. The colors in the background were nice too with the yellow station and blue ocean. I noticed a man off in the distance looking at the water and a bird in between. There was something about the different angles of shadows and other parts of the scene I liked too. So I snapped this shot just as I could fit it all in the frame, and as the local trained gained steam and headed back down the coastline.

Stats:

  • Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
  • Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
  • Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800

Colombo Shooter Files-28