Straight Answers

[jenkins]

<p>I am not a long time Photographer and my experience of Street Photography is very small indeed, i am new to this forum too, having looked at some of the pictures in here it really struck a chord with me, in fact a power chord.<br>

I traveled to Charleston South Carolina this weekend a very beautiful City, never been there before so there was a lot that caught my eye, lots of photo opportunities and decided to try some Street shots,<br>

There were a lot of black people making wicker baskets under big colourful umbrellas, got a couple of pictures i really love even in the midday sunshine.<br>

So i have two questions<br>

1) Do you ever feel guilty or a bit of a weirdo taking pictures of strangers if they see you, i got some angry comments (not that i care now, love the pictures and i never killed anybody doing it)<br>

2) This a really important one for me, is it totally naff/passe to convert your pictures to black and white and colour any segment of the picture?<br>

I suspect the answer to number 2 is yes its naff because i never see it on P.NET but i would like some opinions or a discussion about it.<br>

I have a Street competition at my camera club in a few weeks so i would like a heads up on Street parameters from people in the know.<br>

Cheers.</p>

<p> </p>

[jgredline]

<p>Simon. Can you post some of the pics you shot? I would love to see them.<br>

1) Do i ever feel guilty about shooting strangers? No.</p>

<p>2) PP defines a persons style I think. I look at the moment and try both color and black and white as well as selective coloring to see what I like best..I will say this. Well processed black and white in many cases shows more detail than color. I personally do not have that type of command over pp, but many here do.</p>

[mike dixon]

<p>1. No.<br>

2. Yes.<br>

That's as straight as I can make it.</p>

[jenkins]

<p>Mike i am surprised and slightly happy you say yes to number 2, the temptation to do this is very strong but i am guessing it has to be handled very carefully indeed and not overdone/tacky some examples from you might be good.<br>

Javier they are still RAW Files at the moment, i'm still cutting my very first teeth at the moment, so i am over enthusiastic, i will post them whem i have processed, don't laugh if i do lol.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>No, and, alas, Yes.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>No and yes for for street. Unfortunately brides love the effect because their girlfriends have it so they have to have it too... sigh...</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[steve_lantz]

<p>1. No</p>

<p>2. Yes. I'm not a big fan of this in any photography but as David said, I've had people request it.</p>

[j_y1]

<p>1. No.<br>

2. Yes. I find it personally a little tacky.</p>

[Damon DAmato]

<p>1. No.<br>

2. Not a fan of it. In general, when shooting digital, I try to finish with colors that reflect what I saw on the day.<br>

3. There are no rules. Do what you like.</p>

<p>By the way, I'm going to go out tomorrow and impress my friends with my use of the word<em> naff.</em></p>

<p><strong>Naff </strong> <em>adj.</em> <em>British Slang.</em> Unstylish, clichéd, outmoded, unfashionable; hence, naffly: in a naff manner</p>

<p> </p>

[Brad_]

<p>1) Guilty, no. Tense, sure...</p>

<p>2) That's not for me. But I'm not opposed to anyone doing what floats their boat.</p>

[vdp]

<p>1)No 2) Yes, in rare cases it depends.</p>

[ian_warren]

<p>1) I pretty much take photos subtly with a compact meaning I rarely get busted... that said I find if someone spots me I just act as if I've done nothing wrong whatsoever and either walk off or pretend to fiddle with my camera setting and nobody ever confronts me about it.<br>

2) Personally I see those part colour photoshops as more the realm of wedding photographers... that said it was good enough for Steven Speilberg!!! Just do what you feel brings the best out in your images.</p>

[jgredline]

<p>Personally I have seen some great street photos with selective coloring. I have tried a few myself in the past but gave up on it. I just did not have the patience for it.<br>

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<img src="http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp128/jgredline/Street/aq192copy.jpg"><br>

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<img src="http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp128/jgredline/Street/streetcontemporary1.jpg"><br>

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<img src="http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp128/jgredline/Street/streetcontemporary3.jpg"></p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>1. No. But, I did feel very self-conscious at first. I also felt very self conscious about painting in public the first few times. After I realized that almost no one actually cares, it was easier. For the comments, I just smile and make some introductions. A business card helps sometimes. Sometimes people feel self-conscious about having their picture taken. Saying hello and generally interacting with people will help it out some. I don't have much experience with this, but I almost always end up talking to people at least for a moment either before or after the photo. This smoothes things over.</p>

<p>2. I don't do much post, so I can't comment on this too much. My guess is that any new software feature will have a "heyday" when everyone and his uncle uses it; then, it will fall out of favor for awhile; then, it will come back gently, and be used when it's wanted, without novelty. Many art techniques have gone through this; it may just seem accelerated because of the swift rise of so many techniques through software and computers. This rise and fall of technique has occurred repeatedly throughout art history. Many "schools" of art in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries were often little more than the omission of a step in academic painting; not absolutely true, but a trend. I wouldn't sweat it too much; make the pictures the way you want them. Proceed with confidence!</p>

[jenkins]

<p>I think i am making the mistake of looking for definite s again in Photography, i don't know why i do this, i have this picture of a general consensus on certain subjects and there never is one lol<br>

Thanks for examples Javier, i will take in what i read here.</p>

[noah]

<p>1. No<br>

2. Yes</p>

[jenkins]

<p>Ok let me say why i feel guilty about question number 1.<br>

Taking pictures of poor people out on the streets with my camera makes me feel lousy, i took some pictures of these black women in Charleston and most of them covered their faces, one of them shouted "hey crazy man" about 30 times, they are not circus exhibits so what gives us the right to make them feel that way?<br>

If i was down on my luck and some guy came up to me and took my picture i think i would be pissed big time.<br>

In some ways i am not comfortable with this, i see some street pictures here and i think "You have no shame" buy them a coffee give them some money, don't snap a picture for personal gain, what good does it do for your subject?<br>

Landscape and Sunrises don't give people head fks and paranoia?<br>

I really like Street Photography but i have issues with the poor, i was born in a toughest area of London a place called Brixton David Bowie/ The Clash/ Charlie Chaplin come from here, it would make me feel like a parasite taking pictures and making money out of misery.<br>

I really feel this way but i am open to your thoughts.</p>

<p> </p>

[oofoto]

<p>Sounds to me like you're drawn to the subject of poor or under priveleged people<br>

Maybe think about the reasons they cover their face - is it because they're 'poor'? Is it their culture to that makes them do this? Who's buying the wicker baskets - tourists with a camera?<br>

What about shooting youth, commuters, trend setters on the street? You possibly wouldn't feel the need to be charitable to these people.<br>

Have you been to affluent Brixton recently?</p>

[jenkins]

<p><strong>Have you been to affluent Brixton recently?</strong><br>

That is Estate Agent talk Paul, actually you are right i a lot of empathy with the poor, i used to do some charity work for the homeless when i back home. My post reads a little bit strong reading it again, i apologise for that. (too much wine)<br>

There are a few parts of London where i would not pull a camera out at all let alone take a picture.<strong><br /> </strong></p>

[joan_s.]

<p>1. If someone asks me to not use the picture, I don't - I definitely believe in respecting people's wishes.<br>

I don't feel guilty but sometimes awkward - in those cases I don't bother taking the pic and move on. When I shoot buskers or beggers I try and leave something for them. I also don't shoot people in a way I wouldn't want to be shot myself, I think that is a good guideline. I try and avoid catching people in embarassing situations.</p>

<p>2. It's rather a long an tedious process but I'll go against the grain here and say I quite like it ;) It's FUN. Like everything in life, photography gets boring when people take it too seriously IMO. This is not a properly done one - but you get the idea. I think it's cool because of the retro feel of the trolleybus and it's nice (natural) colour.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9065961-lg.jpg" alt="" /></p>