10 symptoms of click addiction

 Street photography articles  17 Responses »
Sep 272012
 

Click addiction : To take pictures when nothing of interest happens.

1) Your index finger has become L shaped. (and your thumb too since you got an Iphone)
2) You usually take 15 pictures of each scene, and hope the decisive moment is somewhere in the burst.
3) Your girlfriend has just dumped you. She got tired of you checking out that beautiful Japanese girl in her back, a so called "Bokeh".


Evolution cannot be stopped. Our kids will have L shaped index fingers.

4) You start shooting people "walking", "sitting", or "lost in their thoughts". And dogs too.
5) You have been drinking a lot of tea lately when returning from an outing. (waiting for your computer to download the 522 pictures you have just shot)
6) You just returned from a shoot in downtown Peoria, Illinois, with 1698 pictures.
7) You take you camera to the toilets, and practice focus technique on the paper rolls.


Shooting books is usually a symptom of click addiction. Yet, in this case, the subject is safe since the book is not located on a shelf at home.

8) You buy 1 Tetra-bytes external drives every month.
9) You snap some pictures before going to sleep. The "Bokeh" behind your feet is just so gorgeous. (and your new girlfriend slaps you)
10) The next morning, you frantically click on your alarm clock's snooze button, and expect a picture to appear on the LED screen.

On the same topic : The five scenes that matter in a street photography outing

The five scenes that matter in a street photography outing

 Street photography articles  11 Responses »
Sep 202012
 

Let me state it directly : on a full day street photography outing, there will be five scenes that provide the elements for a good photograph. All the rest will be about you surrendering to "click addiction", and produce shots that will inescapably join the 99.7% of crap pictures category. (related article : Robert Frank shot 99.7% of crap too.)

Five is evidently not an absolute number and my underlying point is that good scenes don't come up often during an outing. Indeed, street photography is more than a long procession of people walking, sitting or "lost in their thoughts"  (though it represents the vast majority of pictures posted online). What is more then? Well, let's put it this way : I know when I see it and you know it too. Indeed, some scenes in life are just special, be it in terms of interactions, aesthetics, humour, mystery, poetry or emotions. But as talented as you might be, these are few, and you'll need to hunt the streets for long hours to find them. 

King Kong contemplating a giant Oregon State University basketball player. Quite an unusual scene in front of the Eiffel Tower. Yet I feel that my timing was slightly off for the scene to translate into a good shot.

And then, even if you do spot these five scenes that matter during your outing, it won't automatically translate into five good street photographs. Indeed, you'll mis-focus some, be off timing on others, or simply not be able to translate your initial sight into a worthy two dimensional frame. This is where technique and vision step in and will eventually allow you to convert these five opportunities into one, maybe two good shots. Obviously, we are not talking about great shots yet, which probably come in only in a handful during a year.

Yes, street photography is extremely challenging so you need to maximize your keeper rate when these scenes do happen in front of you. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you getting ready and convert on these opportunities :

- As evident as it might seem, always have your camera ready in your hand. Not in your bag, not hanging on your shoulder, but held firmly in your hand. While in Paris last month, I met a dozen street photographers and was surprised to discover that many of them were not "picture ready". Many scenes do not last for more than a few seconds, so stop losing precious time while reaching for your camera. Remember, you only get five scenes that matter during a day, miss the first one and your success rate is already down 20%.
 
 
A nun buying flowers on a windy day, what a great subject for a street photograph. Nevertheless I wasn't able to pull out the shot I wanted due to contrast and angle of view constraints.
 
- Get the shot at all cost. Contrary to the common belief, very few street photographers are completely fearless. Shooting in the streets involves a certain amount of adrenaline as it is never easy to intrude in a stranger's life. The tip here is to stop spreading this dose of adrenaline over dozens of worthless moments, and save it for these scenes that do matter. Leave all fears aside and go get the shot, even if it involves being yelled at, crossing a road, climbing on a bench or crawling on the ground. Remember, this is only five times a day.

- Don't get frustrated. There are very few street photographers that can make a living purely out of street photography, which means that our time to shoot is often scarce. The odds to stumble on a great scene during the few hours you'll dedicate weekly to shooting are pretty low. Don't fall to frustration and "click addiction", patience is also part of the game, so accept it. Time spent on the streets is the variable that most impacts your keeper rate. Technique and talent only come afterwards. In the end, It is probably better to come back home with a few average shots than dozens of lousy ones that will just increase your frustration level.
 
- Special scenes often unfold while you are not out there specifically shooting. Again, this is a basic advice, but always carry a camera with you. It doesn't have to be your main system but a small P&S or even camera phone will do. You never know, aliens might land just in front of you on your way to work. Who is going to believe you if you have no camera ? (ok, this is pushing it … but you get the point)
 
 
A scene that attracted my attention due to its light, colors, lines and the somehow mysterious atmosphere it rendered. Such scenes do not come by often so I did not hesitate and took a couple of shots straight away. Two seconds later, the waiters turned around and went back in the restaurant.
 
Evidently, it does not mean that you stop shooting when unsure about the potential of a scene. Follow your instincts when you feel you might be able to pull something out of a less evident scene. Ultimately, practice is good as it ensures your skill level and rhythm are up to the task for when the next of the five scenes that matter unfolds.
 
 

Leica makes a splash with the new Leica M

 Street photography articles  6 Responses »
Sep 172012
 

Many of you will have read about the new products announced by Leica at Photokina earlier this evening. The M9 has a succesor, that is the new Leica M (thank you Apple for the name idea …).

What do I think of it ? …. always go to sleep when you are about to write a rant …. see you tomorrow !

(as for today's picture, let's say kids are also creative to find ways to make a splash …)

Leica M9 with 35mm Lux Asph at F4.0, 1/750, ISO160

To blur or not to blur

 Street photography articles  15 Responses »
Aug 282012
 

Often wrongly considered as a gimmick in street photography, the capability to blur backgrounds (or foregrounds) is to the contrary a wonderful creative tool when used appropriately. To illustrate it, let's have a look at two similar pictures taken in Paris by Notre Dame. In both cases, the focus was set on the little girl being portrayed by the painter. An aperture of F4.0 was used in the first frame while the second was taken with an aperture of F1.4 (on the 60mm Konica Hexanon F1.2).  What are the key differences generated by these two different exposure settings ?

In this first picture, the mid aperture choice generates a depth of field where both the painter and little girl are in focus. Due to the full frame sensor of the Leica M9, the Notre Dame cathedral results partially out of focus, yet it will be only noticeable in relatively large magnification ratios. One could say that this picture is an exact reproduction of the scene as witnessed by the photographer.

Have a look now at the second picture, taken with an aperture of F1.4. The only plane that results completely in focus is the head of the little girl. Due to the 60mm focal and the large aperture, the head of the painter is already partly out of focus. Notre Dame is now significantly out of focus and resembles almost an impressionist painting. The resulting picture is a creative representation of reality.

So which is better? There is no absolute answer, here what we are really talking about is personal taste. The second picture has in my opinion a more poetic dimension, which depicts well the essence of Paris. Also, I consider the use of blur as as a key attribute of my street photography. In some ways, I like to think about my pictures as a mimic of my fading memory; some details remain always clear, while some disappear with the pass of time. But again, this is personal and I'd be interested to hear about other opinions (please use the comments section below)

Now, the use of thin depths of field and the resulting blurs must be used cautiously, and in some cases even avoided :

- when your main goal is to impress your friends with an effect that they cannot reproduce with their IPhone or compact cameras. Blur does not make a photographer better by itself.

- when used to hide lousy composition skills. Blur won't make unwanted elements magically disappear. They'll just become less easily identifiable. Any composition fault will remain and nobody will be fooled, except maybe for your aging mother.

- just because you recently acquired that expensive 50mm F0.95 lens does not mean that you have to shoot exclusively wide open to amortize it. Fast lenses come with a full range of apertures, use them when needed too.

- finally, in case you did not know, let's mention that Bokeh does not mean "great picture" in Japanese.

Blur is no gimmick and can be enhance a lot your creative approach to street phtotography, when used appropriately. It does require some technique to get your focus right since a slight error will impact immediately your picture. Yet it can be done with some practice, so mount that fast lens on your camera and hit the street.

 

The lost street photographers

 Street photography articles  9 Responses »
Aug 262012
 
Yesterday we went for a walk in the Paris flea market. As usual when going there, I paid a visit to the block where all the photography stores are located. What a great place too buy vintage cameras, books, and prints. A bit oddly, these shops also sell prints of unknown photographers, mainly family portraits and landscapes. These pictures probably ended up there when their last owners died and nobody took over them. I could not avoid to put my hands in this box of memories and look for street photographs. About half an hour later, I left the shop with this print (at a cost of €1.50)
 
(I apologize for the bad reproduction quality, I used my cell phone to scan it.)
 
Unlike many of the other photographs in that box, there was unluckily no date or caption behind the print. I bought this picture (4x6cm) because of its excellent state of conservation and I somehow felt that it had quite a few attributes of modern street photography. It could have been part of a reportage, but it is in my opinion a great candid picture. I would assume it was taken between the two World Wars, perhaps somewhere in Northern Africa.

This picture led me to think about the street photographers of last century, in the times when digital was not part of the equation. Indeed, I could not help wonder how many amateur street photographers had their lifetime work also end up in a flea market box ? And how many of them actually never got to share their work beyond the circle of their friends and family ? Being published or having its own exhibit was extremely challenging, especially if one was not part of an agency or did not possess a good network. In the end, I suppose that most amateur street photographers eventually gave up or simply did not care. Their pictures were lost to History.

 
The box of memories
 
That leads me to my point, dear street photographers of the 21st century :  consider yourself extremely lucky. Indeed, this is now the age of the internet and your images can potentially be seen by thousands of people world wide. You'll obviously need some skill as a street photographer (like the unknown author of this picture), but a good knowledge of the internet and social networks are as important nowadays. And guess what, you don't even need to get out of your house to do so. Therefore, no more excuses if you feel your work is not getting the awareness it should, put yourself to work. And remember, your next opportunity might only happen in seven decades. Indeed, an alien street photographer might discover your work on a vintage hard drive bought at a flea market on Saturn. Amazing isn't it ? Except you'll be dead by then.

The gymnastics of street photography

 Stage 5 : Paris, Street photography articles  10 Responses »
Aug 242012
 

While shooting in Paris, I estimate that I walk an average of 10 kilometers per day with peaks at 15kms. Quite a way to stay fit, especially since stretching is also part of the game. Indeed, have a look at the shot below and imagine my position when taking the picture. The answer will be found in the second shot, courtesy of fellow street photographer Thomas C. which I had the pleasure to meet yesterday.

At almost two meters all, I still had to raise on my toes to get the point of view I wanted. Why is it so ? Because I love when my subjects clearly stand out from the background. I wanted the girl's head to be completely surrounded by the Seine River. A couple of centimeters below, and I would not have gotten the shot I was after.

Both images taken with Leica M9, first with 35mm Lux Asph and second with 35mm Cron IV.

Got published in Thai Airways inflight magazine

 Street photography articles  2 Responses »
Aug 092012
 

Flying Thai Airways in August? Then you'll discover a gallery and texts featuring my street photography in the inflight magazine, Sawasdee.

If not, you can view the article by visiting Sawasdee online. Click here or on picture to launch the viewer, then select Gallery : "Les rues de l'amour" on the menu. (yes, the article talks about romance in Paris …)

Front pages of article from Sawasdee magazine

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