Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Shot of the Week

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Market Shadows”

Poltava Market Wall-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Poltava, Ukraine at the city’s main market. Ukraine is already big on their markets and this is one of the best you’ll come across in the country. You can find anything and everything here. From fresh produce to clothes to pig heads, this large bazaar has it all. I don’t always love markets as much as others because they can be too crowded with messy backgrounds, but this one was special so I spent hours walking around here. One of my favorite parts was an area with rows of colorful metal stalls that are locked up when the seller isn’t around. I really liked how the light hit this blue stall and cast different shadows. So I stood by it waiting for people to walk by to see if I could capture anything interesting. I got a few shots at this spot that I will include in my 33 photos from Poltava post coming soon, but I’m putting this one up for Street Shot Sundays, partly because of his shadow. It looks like he’s wearing a full brim hat when it’s actually his hair bun in the back and there’s something about that shadow that’s almost cartoonish to me.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“River Relaxing”

poltava beach-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Poltava, Ukraine by the Vorskla River. It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday in Poltava and my friend took me on a walk to a small beach on the river. I had no idea Poltava’s Vorskla River had a beach access like this and when we walked down from the bridge I saw people sunbathing all over the small stretch of sand. Being in Poltava, it was all locals who seemed to know each other. I definitely got some funny looks walking around the beach. I don’t think they’d ever seen a foreigner find this hidden getaway. By the beach there was a small little store stand where people were hanging out at. The bright sunlight shining on the old man and boy in front of the inside shadow captured my eye. I also liked the contrast of the boy crouched down facing inside the store while the older man stood up facing the opposite direction. It was an interesting scene in their swimwear and the old man’s bearded expression too so I quickly snapped the shot, smiled and kept walking along the beach.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 28mm

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

Poltava-2

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken on a train ride just outside Poltava, Ukraine. I was visiting my good friend in Poltava and she was taking me to see some of the smaller villages in the area. It was the type of older, simpler train made for short commutes instead of long distance travel and I decided to walk around to see if I could find anything interesting. In between the cabins, people come to smoke and I noticed this older man watching the rural landscape roll by as he smoked his cigarette. What interested me the most were the multiple reflections going on in the scene. I made the shot through the door window of the cabin so you could see the reflections of different windows, scenery and people, while leaving the front of the man the least affected. The woman to the right looked back at me just as I snapped the photo.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/4
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Currency Exchange”

Kiev-25

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Kiev, Ukraine at Kontraktova Square. It was starting to get dark, but there was still a lot of activity going on since the square is by a metro, tram and bus stop. I was walking by the long line of mini-market kiosks and fast food joints when I noticed this bright yellow currency exchange store in the middle. I also noticed a small boy standing in the doorway holding a paper bag and wearing what looked to be a school uniform. His blonde hair and the way he was dressed added to the colorful scene. His expression also showed he wasn’t too happy waiting there, which makes sense considering Ukraine’s current currency problems :) So I made the shot just as he looked at me, while keeping his solemn expression.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/4
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 800
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Yellow Balloons”

balloon lady-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Kiev, Ukraine by Independence Square. On Sundays, they close down the street by the square so people can walk freely everywhere. This attracts plenty of people and activity. I didn’t understand what the event was, but for some reason a few people were holding these gigantic nets of yellow balloons, waiting to release them into the air. This woman stood out in her pink shirt and bucket hat. She was very stoic and didn’t seem to be paying attention to anything, just tightly holding the balloons. I also liked how the sunlight really made the yellow of all those balloons stand out and how it left a shadow around her eyes. I made the shot, trying to show just how many balloons she was holding, while also keeping her expression and character unchanged. She never paid me any attention, just kept holding those thousands of balloons.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Doorway”

street shot sundays istanbul-3

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Istanbul, Turkey in the Balat neighborhood. I was looking at this colorful wall when a girl ran over to the door to go inside. I brought my camera up to take a photo, but she ran inside before I could make a good shot. I could hear laughter coming from inside and then suddenly a different girl opened the door to look at me. It only lasted a second as she quickly re-closed the door, but I was able to capture this shot in that split second. After that, the curious girls looked at me through the window a few times while laughing and closing the curtain each time I saw them. 

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/350
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Headless Hand”

untitled-10
 Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Istanbul, Turkey along the Golden Horn. Parks and grass line the shore in this area and I was walking to Balat when I noticed a man in a gray suit sitting against a tree. A couple of things stood out about him. The tree perfectly hid his head, creating a funny illusion, and he was talking with his hand while on his cell phone. So I walked up just behind him and captured this shot just as he put his hand up, almost like he was saying hello to nobody.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/350
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Orange Floats”

Shooter Files Crete Athens Greece-18

 

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Rethymno, Greece on the island of Crete. As you can see, it was actually taken on the beach, just off the streets of Rethymno’s Old Town. Since Rethymno is so centered around the Old Town and it’s seafront, this is where I spent most of my time shooting while there for a week. The long stretch of beaches are busy, but also have a very relaxed vibe with a mixture of all types of characters. While I was walking along the beach, I noticed this woman wearing a bright orange hat off in the sea right by a rope of orange floats. I liked the juxtaposition of her orange hat next to the orange floats enough that I decided to walk in the sea water  close enough to make this shot.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/750
  • ISO: 200
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Shadow’s Hand”

flickr istanbul-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Istanbul, Turkey at the Fatih Mosque near Çarşamba. The mosque has a large courtyard where people gather and relax during the day. Facing the courtyard, it also has a very long wall of seats and fountains for washing your hands and feet, a Muslim ritual called wudu. On this day, the light was extra bright and casting strong shadows of the people washing there. I noticed this lady, covered in all black, almost matching her shadow and creating an interesting effect. So I got up close and made a few shots hoping to capture her shadow doing something that made it look almost like a separate person. This is the shot I liked the most since it gives the look that her shadow is reaching out towards her. I normally only shoot color, but I had to edit this one in black and white since it fit the image so much better.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/16
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 35mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Garbage Can Selfie”

garbage can selfie-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Istanbul, Turkey in Eminönü by the Galata Bridge. I was walking by the seafront where they sell all the fish sandwiches and just before walking up the steps to the bridge I noticed these three girls taking selfies. They were sitting on the normally crowded steps, but at this time no one was around them. For whatever reason they were huddled together behind a garbage can while taking selfies, which created an amusing scene. I knew as soon as they saw me, they’d probably stop so I tried getting as close as possible and quickly taking the shot before it disappeared. I also tried to get their faces framed inside the garbage can as much as I could and this shot was taken at the exact distance they first noticed me. They quickly stopped their garbage can hidden selfies, but as soon as I was up the stairs above, they were back at it.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter Speed: 1/350
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 35mm