Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Shooter Files Series

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “One Leg”

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Rome, Italy near Piazza Navona.

I was in Rome with the StreetHunters.net team for the filming of their Street Hunt: Rome episode. We were finishing up the day of shooting in one of my favorite spots in Rome, Piazza Navona, and I stepped outside of the square to see if I could find anything else before the sun set. I saw this woman standing by a wall, while searching through her phone. The way she was posted up on the wall gave the illusion that she had a missing leg. She had her foot up on the small screen vent, but her other leg completely hid everything, while her shirt covered enough to help finish the illusion.

I took a few shots at an angle that kept the illusion, while a man watched me intently. He obviously wondered what I was photographing and as I walked off, so did he. With an extremely confused look on his face.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800
  • Focal Length: 27mm

Quotes For The Streets: Oscar Wilde – Mystery Surrounds Us

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“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”

― Oscar Wilde

This is one of my favorite photography relatable quotes out there. It’s also one of the biggest reasons I love Street Photography.

How Does it Relate to Photography?

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

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken by the Charles University Faculty of Arts building in Prague, Czech Republic. I hadn’t been to Prague since my first visit over 7 years ago and I was surprised how much it had changed. I had great memories of being blown away by how beautiful and unique of a city Prague was.

Unfortunately, while it’s still beautiful and unique, it had lost much of it’s charm, in my opinion, due to being overrun with tourism. Segway tours and crowds of people filled the streets, while that authentic feeling I remembered had given way to more of a tourist attraction. It’s still definitely a great city worth visiting, but this usually happens when you have something special like Prague does.

On top of a little nostalgic disappointment, just about my whole time in Prague was dark, grey and very cold. It’s still a fun city to walk around, though, and even with the crowds of tourists, the view of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle is hard to beat. I had just come over from the Prague Castle when out of no where, the clouds parted and let in some sunlight.

I had to take advantage of this temporary moment and noticed how the light was hitting the Charles University Arts building. There’s a covered walkway with arches on the outside that was letting in just a little sunlight. I saw this interesting scholar dressed in all black taking a smoke break with the sunlight hitting only his head. So I walked over and took the shot just as he brought the cigarette to his mouth and glanced at me. A few minutes later, the clouds put the sun back away to never be seen again during my stay. You take what you can get.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/8.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

7 First Impressions of Krakow, Poland
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

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After shooting photography in Kiev, Poltava and Lviv, I took a train to Kraków, Poland. I’d never heard anyone not recommend it, so I was looking forward to spending some time in this medieval city. It was also my first time in Poland and I was ready to explore everything Kraków had to offer as soon as I stepped off the overnight train.

So here are my first impressions of Kraków, from my personal Street Photography perspective…

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Leaves”

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Podgórze neighborhood of Krakow, Poland. Podgórze is actually Krakow’s original Jewish Ghetto, even though the historic Jewish district of Kazimierz gets most of the attention today. Schindler’s factory, the inspiration for the movie Schindler’s List, is here too. 

So I took a walk over the bridge from the more touristic side of Krakow to explore this neighborhood too. I was walking along when I noticed this little girl looking through a store window. Her purple shirt stood out, but what really grabbed my attention was her handful of leaves in front of a window full of plants. I tried to take the shot so this juxtaposition could be noticed along with window’s reflection and her purple shirt. Looking back now, the strangest part was how she didn’t seem to have any parents or people with her, as she kept roaming the streets with her handful of leaves.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/4.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

A Shooter in… Berlin, Germany
with Martin Waltz

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*A Shooter Files interview series featuring photographers from around the world with a focus on capturing Street Photography in their own cities and countries 

The Shooter :

Martin Waltz

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Martin is an internationally acclaimed photographer based in Berlin, Germany. 

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “The Yellow Room”

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken on Svobody Avenue in Lviv, Ukraine. This is the city’s main street and a great place for some Street Photography. It’s lined with architecture, restaurants, shops and has a nice square along the middle of the avenue that ends at Lviv’s famous Opera Theater. 

While walking along the buildings on the side of the street, I noticed this small empty room. It was the only empty room on the street and I liked how the light was coming into it through the window. The yellow color was nice too so I took a few shots when all of a sudden a man came out from the door in the back. He matched the color of the room and gave me a look so I took one more shot as he walked towards me. He didn’t say a word, though, but just continued walking on by me.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/8.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

33 Street Photography Photos from 4 Days in Lviv, Ukraine

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My last stop in Ukraine was also many locals’ favorite city in the country. Lviv is mixture of old architecture, churches, coffee houses and uniquely themed shops wherever you walk. All this packed into an extremely walkable city. There’s a very charming and unique vibe to the city that people refer to as “the Lviv Spirit.” When you walk around, you feel something special. 

[Read more…] about 33 Street Photography Photos from 4 Days in Lviv, Ukraine

Master Profiles: Josef Koudelka

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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:

Josef Koudelka (1938-present)

Czech photographer famous for his black & white work capturing the human spirit amidst dark landscapes.

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Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Bride Brigade”

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Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Lviv, Ukraine along a popular shopping street on the way to Market Square. Wedding photography is extremely important in Ukraine. There’s wedding photo shops all over the different cities. It’s a big deal and big business here. Nowhere I went in Ukraine was this more true than in Lviv. The center of Lviv is packed with cobblestone streets, old churches, and beautiful medieval architecture. The atmosphere and scenery are perfect for wedding photos so every few streets you’re bound to run into a wedding shoot. 

I was walking towards Market Square when I saw this bridal party in the middle of the street. The bride was getting fixed up by one of her bridesmaids, while the rest of them were sitting on a bench. I liked the juxtaposition with the bridesmaids sitting on the bench to the left of the bride standing up. I also liked the expressions and gesture of the bridesmaids. It was just before sunset and it looked like they were tired from a long day of shooting. There was something authentic about it, as opposed to the cliche look of wedding photos in Eastern Europe. So I captured this shot and kept on walking towards the square.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm