As soon as I knew we were doing street photography I was reminded of the master of this genre, Garry Winogrand. Winogrand liked to use a 28mm wide-angle lens on his Leica M4 camera, always looking in the viewfinder to frame his shot rather than shooting from the hip, and often taking a year to process his pictures. Having replicated these basics (apart from the waiting a year to process my pictures), I then went onto the streets and snapped away. I can't say I liked this technique immediately, but I certainly grew to enjoy it more as I walked, taking my pictures. As I finished my session, I noticed a young male photographer who I had passed several times, on the same bridge. We smiled as he changed his roll of film and I wondered what Winogrand would have made of these digital times. I had taken a hundred pictures in just ten minutes and knew there might be just one good one in there, if I was lucky, but I suddenly knew how he must have felt to have got that one good picture. While my own picture isn't a Winogrand, it's a start and I will be trying this technique again. I encourage you to try it, too.
Laura Louise's picture manages to capture that feeling of motion, that moment that makes one wonder what this young man's story is. And the reflection of the wintry tree makes it all the more poignant.
And I'm looking forward to a hopefully more relaxed type of photography next time, in the form of still life.
kirstin
x
onward by Laura Louise
14 comments:
Fascinating! I love Lara's picture.
Wow!
i love the urban feel to these photos. they make me want to know more.
What an interesting story - I'm not sure how I feel about so deliberately lifting my eye to the view finder on the street. I kinda like the thrill of not knowing what you've captured until you get home.
Great shots! I was visiting with a professional photographer on a trip in Kathmandu - he told me he often shoots from the hip to get is street shots. Just wears his camera on the strap and shoots without looking. He ends up with lots of waste, but some great candid shots as well.
Thanks for the introduction to Winogrand - his photos are such amazing slices of life. As are yours and your pairing! Do you mean though, that he *didn't* use the viewfinder? Because it feels like his shots were mainly from the hip.... maybe I'm misunderstanding...
fabulous--i love street photography and i am going to give his style a go!!!
flickr / sidemtess|linda
i think Laura's work is magic. Now i'm going to check out this Winogrand fellow. :)
Very dynamic compositions! I find B&W photography particularly beautiful. Thanks for making me aware of yet another street photographer.
Loving all the b&w photography on flickr these days. Such inspiration and storytelling.
what a wonderful article....and laura is absolutely the best. she inspires me every day.
wow, I really love both of these!! the faces are great! nice details!
Love both shots, so very interesting in b/w. I love looking at them and wondering about the people. I had not heard of Winogrand, thanks for the intro.
Fabulous photos, the energy in the first is wonderful and I love the composition in the second.
outstanding pictures. This really makes me wanna get out and shoot strangers.
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