Exercise : Close and involved

The idea here is to draw the viewer into the scene....and in search of locations that might offer some scope, i.e. busy streets or activities that would allow me to move in close to people without being easily spotted by potential subjects. I realised early that a good street camera needs to be quiet, as well as light, quick to operate and comfortable in the hand of the photographer. None of which applied to the camera that I was using! I can understand why the 35mm Leica rangefinder is thought by many to be the 'classic' street photo camera.Jack Simon, for example, uses a fixed 35mm equivalent for his work in San Fransisco - see
www.jacksimonphotography.com

Before setting out,I researched a number of street photographers to see how they worked. This is where You.Tube.com can come up trumps. Bruce Gilden is well known for his 'up-closeness' though his style would take me way out of my comfort zone being too aggressive for me. I was fascinated though to hear him talk about his work both stateside and, in some respects  in Derby, England where he had a similar experience initially as I did locally...streets with very little going on.. Look at Magnum Photos' Bruce Gilden photographs Derby - Head On,  a Format International Photography Commission  for the FORMAT Photo Festival in June 2012 published by the British Journal of Photography. I like the fact that the film was shot in black and white but more interesting is the way he works the street and deals with one lady who questioned him at length as to why he had taken her photo.

  http://youtu.be/ejlIgyYhlJ8

Maybe the wrong way round datewise but I found it useful to have a second take on his working methods and the images captured in another the YouTube clip below Street Shots with Bruce Gilden filmed earlier that the Derby commission in New York in 2009 and published by WNYC Culture. I really like the dynamic feel of his work and I can respond to his famous quote ' If you can smell the street by looking at the photo.It's a street photograph'. 

http://youtu.be/IRBARi09je8

Back now to the exercise in hand.I adjusted the focal length of my zoom lens to 18mm rather than use my wide angled lens which is a larger attachment on the camera and I felt  more conspicuous.

Firstly in Brighton...
 

P820 : F4.5 @ 1/400  18mm  ISO 400

P821: F4.5 @ 1/30 18mm  ISO 800

P822: F8 @ 1/100  22mm  ISO 100

P825: F8 @ 1/640  18mm  ISO 200

P825. Not actually a real close up more an experimental shot. I was sat down enjoying a cup of tea when I saw these two walking towards me. I had really wanted to get a close up picture of someone eating candy floss during the day but had found this too tricky to manage without feeling really intrusive. So, tilting my camera a little as it lay on my lap, I just pressed the shutter as they walked by. In a  funny way, although the light was going and I didn't have time to adjust the camera etc., I rather like the composition..the tilting deck somehow compliments the young girl leaning into her candyfloss tongue outstretched.Would it possibly work better slightly cropped?

And then nearer to home. 

I guess that I am not the first or likely to be the last student to find it much easier to get close if you come up behind a subject or alongside. Using a wide angle lens here allowed me to focus on the spectator and commentator while appearing to be looking at a wider view of what was in front of us.. 

P823: F10 @ 1/200  18mm  ISO 400

P824: F10 @ 1/500 18mm  ISO 400

Applying the same tactics here in P824, made it possible to capture this young spectator turned away from the runner looking towards the finishing line. I like the light highlighting her face and the shadow from the lamp post creating a false finishing line for the runner.


Looking back at all  my images here, I feel that this exercise has not been a great success. Perhaps P821 and P823 get the closest to the subjects and what I was trying to achieve.I found it very difficult to get close to the subject without 'tipping them off' and certainly found it easier to approach from behind which I guess is a bit of a 'cop out'. Maybe a smaller camera might have helped i.e. give me more confidence to approach closer. Worth thinking about and trying out. Certainly need more practice!