Words: Post one of your stand-out 2011 street or street portrait photos

[Brad_]

Not liking the word "favorite," post up one of your photos, street or street portrait, that stands above others you have

taken during 2011. And write a few sentences on why you feel it's a bit more special than your rest.<P>

.

<P>

<center>

<img src= "http://citysnaps.net/2011%20photos/YadaYada.jpg"><BR>

 

<I>Yada Yada • Downtown, San Francisco • ©2011 Brad Evans</i><P>

.

</center> <P>

 

This photo was snapped in San Francisco's downtown at Powell and Market, near a major BART train stop and cable

car turn-around. It's an area where a wide variety of people congregate; whether it's to hang out, meet others, entertain

for money, or preach. It's a *very* touristy area. But I like the challenge of separating/excluding that from photos

I snap there, with an eye towards trying to release other narratives. With respect to the photo above, aspects I like are

ambiguity, subjects in triad, darkness, uncluttered composition (really tough there), mystery, stances from indifferent to

energetic. And decent light, but not so much or dramatic that it becomes the only attribute that carries the image. Not a

great photo, but one that stands above a lot of my 2011 pix.

[tonmestrom]

<p>As favourites (or stand-out if you prefer) go this is surely one of them because it's among the first real iPhoto's I shot after fooling around a bit with my iTouch. Shot in January in a very cold Paris it was one of many murals who's origins seemed to be unknown. Part of the fun of shooting with the iTouch is that it's a lot more low-res than my iPhone, the iTouch is 0,7 Mp to be precise. I've a lot of experience with 8x10 pinhole photography and developing the negatives in direct sunlight as Cyanotypes. Despite the immediacy of digital it somewhat reminds me of that.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[pnital]

<p>This was taken some days ago in a market street, I liked the cat's reaction to the human hand ..probably a street cat. Her one greem eye and upright tail were expressing its delight. Having a cat for13 years, I liked the scene of the touch . </p><div></div>

[Damon DAmato]

<p>Walking around Silverlake, an area about a mile or two east of Hollywood, I came across this member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisters_of_Perpetual_Indulgence">Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence</a> waiting at a bus stop. She was talking away with the older lady about something or another. When I got close, I raised the camera and caught her eye. Without missing a beat, she gave the slightest nod and then shot me the fierce look. I snapped off the photo and she went right back to her conversation. I'm not sure her friend even noticed. By the way, behind them is the historic site of the 1967 police crackdown and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_Tavern">Black Cat Tavern</a> riot that helped kick off the gay rights movement, two years before Stonewall.</p>

<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6527661309_cf27aaef95_o.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></p>

[geoff_r1]

<p>I was happy with this one, it could be interpretted in a number of ways, and is very different to all my other photographs. </p>

<p>

<p><a title="Sydney by Geoff A Roberts, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6056/6305434220_8e497f9607_z.jpg" alt="Sydney" width="411" height="640" /></a></p>

[drjoder]

<p>I guess this is "street"...I was actually inside shooting outside to the sidewalk. The light was difficult, but what caught my eye was the beer and the cigarette and the leading arch of the cafe lettering which takes you to the guy. I didn't see it until post (and had to lighten this part to bring it out), but right between the beer and the cigarette, on the wall, is a giant thermometer that advertises a mortuary and an ambulance service--serendipity there.</p><div></div>

[clive1]

<p><a href="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5263/5620921240_891982f75b_b.jpg"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5263/5620921240_891982f75b_b.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

A couple of friends and I were one of many improvised teams that filled vehicles with relief supplies and headed north in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. This picture was taken on April 2 on the first of five trips we made that month. It shows a huge trawler that has been deposited by the surge in what was once the thriving port of Kesennuma. It was a remarkable event, far too great for me to describe. It also marked a shift in my photography away from street towards documentary.<br>

This is a scan of a darkroom print. For those interested, I used a number of techniques, including scrunched oven-paper texture, bleach out and sepia toning. This photo featured in an ad hoc exhibition in Tokyo and Beijing.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>I liked this one of a boy doing cartwheels by a fountain. I was walking around downtown shooting where there was a block party of sorts underway. I was heading back to my car, that was parked on the far side of the fountain, but I hadn't put my camera away yet and when I got up to the fountain a group of young boy were having a good 'ol time trying to out do each other in various stunts at the fountain's edge. They never really noticed me as I got off three or four frames. As I looked at my negs, this image seemed to exude the joy of youth and boyhood fun the best. The rushing water of the background seemed to add to the energy of the scene.</p><div></div>

[Uhooru]

<p>This is in the "new" part of downtown Los Angeles, in Bunker Hill. I like this because the subject talking to us and telling us he was just out of prison and a little about what had happened to him. He's from the Houston area and had just arrived in L.A.and really struggling. <img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5297/5400721798_f345680b42_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[ibay]

<p>In my street photography, I would like to capture: candidness, emotions, story, and moments. I have taken many photos, yet they have similar look (composition, contents etc). This photo is not necessarily better than others I have, however, it stands out in terms of capturing moments. I also have to admit that good pictures always involve ‘good luck’. I am chasing it with my camera.<br>

<img src="http://www.insoobay.com/photos/i-ct4wp97/0/L/i-ct4wp97-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="572" /></p>

 

[crappystuffs]

<p>I don't think it stands above my other pictures from last year. But I remember enjoying the time spent when shooting this. Something that somehow I rarely feel last year. And it has a Picasso like vibe to it which make it unique among the pictures I shot last year.</p><div></div>

[fi_rondo1]

<p>Here's a picture I would have taken a long time ago, but never got the opportunity to do so. It was a day of coincidence (or synchronicity). Earlier in the day I was doing research on the differences between Halal and Kosher slaughter. It was also during Ramadan. Anyhow, I was in Chinatown and saw a man carting 4 dead pigs through the streets. I followed him to the backdoor of a restaurant and started taking pictures. "What are you doing with my friends?" I asked him. "Ah, your friend heavy! 800 pound a pig!" "Mind if I..." and I showed him my camera... "No, you take! You take!" So I did. Later when I got home my girlfriend had dinner ready. Her son had requested pork chops...</p>

[fi_rondo1]

<p>Strange thing. I had a dream that night and I heard a whispering in my ear, "When you are no longer what you are, what have you become?" And I thought of the pig who had by this time been dismembered and converted into spare ribs, tenderloin, or stuffed inside an order of dumplings.</p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>this was probably my favorite shot from occupy oakland...</p><div></div>

[saintelmo21]

<p>This gentleman and his wife are on a holy mission. He is paralyzed from the waist down and I think that they are homeless. They apparently live from the tips that citizens of Shekou, China leave in his tomato can while he completes his life's work. Not sure what he's writing, but it's important and there's a hell of a lot of it....oh, and when it rains, he gets to start all over again.</p><div></div>

[Spearhead]

<p>Eric made me think of this shot...Occupy Oakland. I found Occupy SF a lot easier to photograph, maybe because I live in SF. This couple was fine with being photographed, although he wouldn't look at the camera.</p>

<p><img src="http://spirer.com/images/occupyoakland.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></p>

[spanky]

<p>Here's my entry in the "Occupy" trend on this thread. I have far too many rolls both from Occupy LA that I need to look closer at to see what's worth printing and far too many rolls from other shoots that need to be processed to know if this will be one of my stand outs for the year. This particular picture though was from my last darkroom venture. I like it, but that may change tomorrow when I head back into the darkroom for more printing. Thank God I know longer care if I ever catch up and print all I want to print.</p><div></div>

[Allen Herbert]

<p>

<p>I have chosen this photo because all the elements of form, composition,abience, light and shadow have come togerher. The small well dressed girl walking into the edge of the frame into a desolute street has a slight atmosphere of menace and mystery compounded by the shawdow figures.</p>

<br /><br />

<p>Sometimes you get lucky with a photo.</p>

</p><div></div>

[Brad_]

Just wanted to say the set of above posts is great!

[danmarchant]

<p>I am struggling to choose between two images. One is an image that makes me happy and the other is an image of a subject who I just find interesting to look at. They are both well executed photographs that work as images without any outside explanation/experience. However for me personally they have an additional importance because they are the first fruits of a short photo course I took recently which dramatically improved my photography. It really brought home to me the fact that a photographer doesn't just take a photo but can actually make a photo. You don't need to take the first photo that a scene offers you. By thinking about it and repositioning you can dramatically alter the image and change a snapshot into a stand out image.<br>

<br /> OK I am going with interest over happy... partly because I think it better fits the "street" remit of this thread.<br>

<br /> I was walking through Pettah market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, when I saw this guy putting on a performance to attract customers. The first view I had didn't work because the hanging wires were across his face but moving meant losing the face on view. I tried repositioning and as I did so I waved my camera and smiled at him. He responded with a smile and, while continuing with his performance, adjusted his position slightly to face me as I moved. With that connection established I was able to move without losing the face on view I wanted. I couldn't get a shot where the wires weren't visible so instead positioned myself so that the two wires framed his head and took the shot.<br>

<br /> <img src="http://g2.img-dpreview.com/30344820169344D39B3CD09F2C4F6120.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p>

[Stephen L]

<p>I just started with street photography this past summer.<br /> I think this is my favorite.</p>

<p>Nikon D90 | Sigma 30mm f/1.4 @ f/3.5<br /> <img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-54BSpz4/0/L/i-54BSpz4-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I like the mood. I like that he's not watching the pidgeons he's been feeding - lost in thought.</p>

[riclan]

<p>My best one is this one. Lucie was from Paris, France. She held this block of ice as if it was a present, and it was. She knew it would be ephemeral. But she surely hold it tight.</p><div></div>