My attempt at sneaky street ptotography....

[vktr]

<p>... not sure it is right but it's definitely fun :)<br>

<img src="http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3830/dsc85241med.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="450" /><br>

<img src="http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5219/dsc85451med.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="531" /><br>

<img src="http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/3665/dsc85641med.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="349" /><br>

There's a couple more, should I post them? It's my first post here, hi all!<br>

Thanks for looking.</p>

[michael j hoffman]

<p>Your images are very random. For good, effective street photography it is beneficial to find some kind of decisive moment or defining ritual/locale or ironic juxtaposition of things and people that confound normal understanding. People randomly walking down the street says very little. What is the point you are trying to make with these images?</p>

<p>Michael J Hoffman</p>

[vktr]

<p>Thanks for your comment. The point was to capture random faces at the street, no other point. Here is some more<br>

<img src="http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/5668/dsc85271med.jpg" alt="" width="642" height="600" /></p>

<p><img src="http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6130/dsc85251med.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="600" /></p>

<p><img src="http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/6528/dsc85231med.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="546" /></p>

 

[vdp]

<p>I don't fully agree withe the comment above. I don't think some of your shots are half bad. It appears to me that you do have some sense of geometry and direction. Any situation can be seen better and perhaps each shot here could have been. Nevertheless I've seen a lot worse. I wouldn't call it sneaky street, it's either street or not. </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>this first shot is the most promising, though it would be better if both shadows were captured in their entirety. the third shot 'almost' works too--there's some symmetry between the people walking, but the focus point is on the second guy not the first. IMO there needs to be some sense of aesthetic composition and/or engagement with the subject to be effective at "street". also the focus could be a lot sharper--try shooting at a larger aperture number and/or a faster shutter.</p>

<p>all in all, not bad for a first attempt but there is definitely room for improvement.</p>

[stephen_asprey2]

<p>What the story behind them? What is the message coming from them? Being able to take snapshots surrepticiously is one thing, but that is just the beginning. Often its the hardest to do. So now try to find scenes where unusual things are happening or where people are in strange, contrasting settings. Look for funny things, or dramatic things. This is where it gets hard.</p>

[vktr]

<p>Thank you all for very useful comments! I'll try better next time.<br>

Just for the record, all shots were taken at waist level with Nikon D80 + Tokina 11-16.</p>

[photo_galleries]

<p>I think any one of the images on its own and by itself is okay; however, when presented as a series, the waist level wide angle gets monotonous. You're using a wide angle lens, so really, it should be very simple to use zone focusing or even hyperfocal. Try raising the camera to your face; street becomes even more enjoyable when you do. Here's one of mine that I've always liked.</p>

<p><img src="http://magnum.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p93692380-4.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[katzpjs]

<p>Stephen Asprey<br /> <br /> Why is it that so often I read a comment which "hits home" but then when I go visit the commenter's PN portfolio I find <strong>ZERO</strong> submitted photographs. Once again I am disappointed that there are no examples of the author's expertise.</p>

 

[Brad_]

You're doing great for your first foray into SP...

 

Just keep on shooting regularly to feel more comfortable snapping people. No need to worry about stories, messages, decisive

moments, yada and yada. When you start feeling more confident after a few months or whatever, then (if you want to) worry about all the other stuff.

[vktr]

<p>Brad,<br>

thanks for encouragement!! It's not my first foray into SP, just the first time I tried shooting while pretending I was not, that's why I put that "sneaky" in the subject :) BTW, still wondering if it is ethical.</p>

[rickbarbosa]

<p>Have you tried letting the camera hang, strapped to your hand, taking shots in the vertical position? With an 11-16mm lens you should get plenty of interesting results from the lines of the buildings, and complete the shadows of the people walking towards you without alerting more than one or two. I've always found the environment, or landscape to be more interesting than whatever is happening, or could happen, or is definitely going to happen, and actually prefer the randomness of the street to provide for itself when it comes to- well, street photography. In most cases, it's not that I'm trying to be sneaky. I really just don't care what people are doing, and I would prefer that they didn't care what I was doing either. One persons "sneaky" is another persons "discreet", I guess. Who cares. Have fun. I liked your shots, by the way. </p>

[vktr]

<p>Thanks Ricardo, I'll keep that in mind :)</p>

[tonmestrom]

<p>Viktor I agree with Brad. Just keep doing it and look at the work of well known street photographers and try to see why their results work. I for one would like to keep seeing your results.</p>

[muaythai]

<p>I like the first one, and agree that it's a pity both shadows arent captured. If only you'd been holding the camera vertically ;)</p>

<p>The other ones are a bit 'meh', but you do admit to them being random shots. Apart from the rich looking woman's solemn face, there's nothing i can pick out that would've made me circle the subject.<br>

Keep doing what you're doing. Sift the wheat from the chaff and happy snapping.</p>

[william_livingston]

<p>i would have to say-"why be sneaky?" remember the old saying--the meek shall not inherit the earth. be bold and go forth and in doing so, your photos will probably improve cause you will not be screwing around being sneaky.</p>

[muaythai]

<p>That's certainly a point of view, but alot of the people i photograph are aggressive types. Drunks, homeless, neds etc.</p>

<p>Sneakyness is a prudent way to avoid getting into fights.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>You have tried something that is not easy to do, and that is good. Good luck in your interesting project.</p>

<p>However, I wonder how many chance close up street shots of other persons really work out well (given the fast-moving situations). It may be fun, but the results are more chance events and often miss real communicative value. My own limited street work is admittedly quite ordinary, but I think that I may succeed more in future by standing back (with perhaps a standard or a short telephoto lens) and becoming a better observer of what is going on, rather than using close up photos of situations that I am not observing well enough. A lot of successful street photos I've seen are taken with that prior act of observation and the "putting elements together" in a scene (relations of individuals to each other, to surrounding elements, effect of focus, etc.). The consequence of such observation and time for analysis is that your image or series of images often have more chance of communicating something other than the more arbitrary chance close-ups with wide angles (which allow easier close focus, but extraneous detail can easily invade the frame) or hip shooting.</p>

<p>I am sure that others may feel differently. I would like to hear contrary or similar thoughts, and why.</p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>Not bad for a first "sneaky" try....actually, not unlike my early attempts. Personally, I shoot however I think the shot will work. Hip shot, camera dangling from neck, looking thru viewfinder, up above my head, sitting down from my lap......whatever. You do it enough with the same lens (in my case a 35mm on a full frame cam.....or equiv in crop or medium format) and you can frame the shot pretty accurately and consistently. Getting the desired results, aesthetically speaking, requires one to understand human nature. Start watching how people react to everything....other people, curbs, corners, beggars, they're partners....there are patterns, it's up to you, the observer, to notice them and anticipate them. Watch the light.....the angle it hits your subject, the way it bounces off glass windows, creates shadows in appropriately placed locations to accent sunlit people.....etc.</p>

<p>up close hip shots are particularly fascinating to me. there is no way to get that angle by looking thru the viewfinder.</p>

<p><img src="http://tssullivan.net/_MG_1204web.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>copyright tssullivan, 2009</p>

<p>a recent hip shot using a 35mm lens on a full frame cam....and not that it matters, no cropping.</p>

<p>Keep going out and taking pics....it will get easier....and eventually your style will develop.</p>

[vktr]

<p>Thomas, you have amazing street photos, now I know what I'm after :)</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Viktor and Tomas, thanks from me also for your examples. The purposely blurred motion (or camera actuated blurring) and patterned shots by Thomas on his website are also really stimulating. What I also liked about some of the blurred motion steet shots of Ernst Haas.</p>

[sd_woods]

<p>I too sometimes take pictures for the hell of it. One of the main reasons I love street is for the thrill of it. Is it legal? Isn't it? That's the best part</p>

[charlievictor]

<p>I got (back) into photography, especially because digital allows you to capture moments you didn't know were coming so much more easily than in the film era. This means you can get some amazing moments, but you can't have everything. I like it raw, and if you learn your harware you can be better prepared to grab the great ones, but the spontaneity and pure reality is the point of street photography. I like the first shot, and yes, getting the shadows in would have been better, but it's pretty cool as is.</p>