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90 minutes in the Valley


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I have just returned from a 90 minute walk with my camera and tripod

around Fortitude Valley ( a former red light district and

entertainment area in Brisbane, Aust ). Being a fairly quiet natured

person it is sometimes difficult for me to approach people with my

camera. Well, during this short time I was chatted up by a gay guy,

glared at by a transvestite, met the owner of the newest and

trendiest bar in town, had security guys stand in front of my camera

so I couldn't shoot their patrons coming and going, shot a few street

performers and promised them prints and had countless young lovelies

come up to me asking to have their photo's taken and was I from the

newspaper! What an introduction to street photography! I will soon

loose my shyness in approaching people at this rate and have a

feeling I may become hooked.

What are your experiences and comments

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Welcome to street photography. It's thrilling, sort of like hunting. If I can take the metaphor a little further: You wait around, shooting small game until you can bag the elusive big kill. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you go home empty handed. But it's more fun than shooting sunsets because things can happen so fast. I've lost more opportunties than I have taken advantage of. But the nice thing is that you'll get another, you just don't know when.
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It's not the photography per se that I find interesting any more, but life. A camera is a tool to train your eyes. Eventually you will see things that you did not see before, or things that you do, but in a more critical light, so to speak.

 

I like sharing in other peoples' lives, and sometimes get to be a part of them. Then I record it for other people to see. That is the "people" aspect of photography. Then there is the purely visual side...learning to simply appreciate light. How many people can stand there and say "What interesting light!" ?

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Good point Emre... since I've been taking pictures, more and more I've found myself thinking "woah, cool light" even when I have no camera and I'm doing something else entirely. (Or the opposite, on a night with very little sky glow: "Sure is dark tonight!")

 

As far as experiences and comments... Judging from some of the threads on the subject around here, a street photographer would never make it out of a photo.net convention alive; most places seem much friendler, and I have a great time shooting.

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Goodness, what's the newest and trendiest bar in town? I used to live in Brisbane and come back occasionally. Always wanted to shoot the Valley at night but only managed it on Sunday afternoons when the crowds are somewhat different. would love to see some pictures.
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