Shot in Westwood. Shot with my 24mm... so I was literally about a foot or two away from the man shooting while crouched. Man all this street-shooting is seriously making me build some thick skin.
Great shot Eric. I admire your courage, but sooner or later someone will take it the wrong way that you get into his/her face. This guy only had one hand to use, but try it with a dock worker.
Very cool unfortunately I'm in the crowd that can't do this type of work, I wish I was though seeing the awesome street images you have captured. Keep up the great work.
Eric,
Good shooting.
I'm assuming that you asked permission from the man first? Being that close otherwise would be going beyond being risky.
I agree with lazlo about the dock worker, although finding one in Westwood is unlikely .
Because the photograph is about the diner- not the dinner- you might want to consider changing the title.
Charlie
Today I was at a restaurant and while gazing at these interesting black and white photographs on the wall, I saw this man quietly sitting and waiting for his meal. The man happened to have a broken arm in a sling which was probably of little photographic significance but gave him more "character". I only wondered what this man could have done to injure his arm in such a way. If you have observed any of my recent street photography, you can notice that my style of shooting is to somehow capture a "non-seen" interaction between a subject and his/her environment. So it instantly came to me that I would try to capture this man and the photographs in the background in some sort of unspoken dialogue.
I happened to be shooting with my 24mm lens (a wide-angle lens) so I had to get incredibly close to get this shot. I was literally a foot or two away from the man and crouched down and took the shot. He was very aware that I was taking this shot, and stared directly at me... but interesting enough not with fear or confusion, but rather a calm and casual look. Shooting often in public areas have made me somewhat immune to the stares and judgments of others which I feel help me get a much more personal and powerful shot. I honestly feel that is one of the hardest parts for street photographers to overcome is the reaction of on-lookers or people who are actually included in the shot. I pretended like I was taking photos of the pictures on the wall, and calmly walked away from the man.
I feel that the vision is the most important part of street photography, but it frankly is impossible if one doesn't have the courage or guts to actually go out and shoot strangers with the risk of them catching you taking photos of them. People always ask me when I am taking pictures of strangers if they come up to me and are upset or angry. There has literally never been a single time when someone has come up to me and didn't want to get their photograph taken.
I believe that it is all about how one carries his or herself when shooting in public. Walk around in secrecy and act like a creep and take photos like a ninja.... then people will think you are a creep and react negatively towards you. However act casually, blend in with the crowd, and act naturally, people will show little or no ill-will towards you.
lazlo369 wrote:
Great shot Eric. I admire your courage, but sooner or later someone will take it the wrong way that you get into his/her face. This guy only had one hand to use, but try it with a dock worker.
Thank you lazlo. Whenever I shoot these images with my wide-angles, my camera is never directly facing a person therefore they are always confused whether they are getting their photo taken or not. I just pretend I am taking a photo of something else and they don't react.
Very cool unfortunately I'm in the crowd that can't do this type of work, I wish I was though seeing the awesome street images you have captured. Keep up the great work.
Ray Still
Hey Ray,
Hopefully I am going to be able to continue to deliver these types of images so you can enjoy them . I have also been enjoying your landscape images very much recently, especially your last pano shot. Would look really cool framed and on a wall in my opinion.
Charlie Shugart wrote:
Eric,
Good shooting.
I'm assuming that you asked permission from the man first? Being that close otherwise would be going beyond being risky.
I agree with lazlo about the dock worker, although finding one in Westwood is unlikely .
Because the photograph is about the diner- not the dinner- you might want to consider changing the title.
Charlie
Thank you for your feedback Charlie. You always seem to give me the advice that I need. I changed the title according to your ideas, and I think that it suits the image much more. I feel that as long as I am not sticking my camera directly in someone's face, I am not posing any risk to myself. It seems that in the US taking photos in public are OK, but I am definitely going to watch myself as I go overseas.
eric kim wrote:
Whenever I shoot these images with my wide-angles, my camera is never directly facing a person therefore they are always confused whether they are getting their photo taken or not. I just pretend I am taking a photo of something else and they don't react.
Okay, Eric, enough already! Just put these together and publish a book already! Seriously, I'm very impressed by your street shooting and truly look forward to your every post. I have no qualms admtting that I look for any nuances I can in your work and think about how to incorporate them into my own shots.
There is value in using a long lens to capture faces, and there is value in using wide angle to incorporate the atmosphere. The appreciation is all in the eye of the beholder. As others have stated, just be careful! I once read from a famous street shooter that the first piece of advice is, "A smile goes a long way." I'm sure you have a non-threatening presence.
I've tried your style, and man, I'm chicken! But, I have a fascination for this type of shooting, and even just bought my first point and shoot to be delivered this Thursday! Am hoping the discreet little thing will help me ease into "getting close."
Keep 'em coming!
T-bone1 wrote:
Okay, Eric, enough already! Just put these together and publish a book already! Seriously, I'm very impressed by your street shooting and truly look forward to your every post. I have no qualms admtting that I look for any nuances I can in your work and think about how to incorporate them into my own shots.
There is value in using a long lens to capture faces, and there is value in using wide angle to incorporate the atmosphere. The appreciation is all in the eye of the beholder. As others have stated, just be careful! I once read from a famous street shooter that the first piece of advice is, "A smile goes a long way." I'm sure you have a non-threatening presence.
I've tried your style, and man, I'm chicken! But, I have a fascination for this type of shooting, and even just bought my first point and shoot to be delivered this Thursday! Am hoping the discreet little thing will help me ease into "getting close."
Keep 'em coming! ...Show more →
Thank you so much for your feedback Tim. I really am thinking about publishing a book sometime in the new future. I feel that I just need a few more images to expand my portfolio of street-photos.
I did start street photography with a long lens, but I started to truly appreciate street photography with a wide-angle lens to incorporate the atmosphere which I feel adds that extra dimension and that "special touch" to a photo. I am a pretty non-menacing looking guy if I can say myself but I definitely do smile as often as I can.
I have thought about picking up a high-end point-and-shoot like the gr2 or the g10 but they are a little expensive :X . And the high iso is terrible on those cameras. But I hear that theyre great for daylight street photography... which makes me want to get one actually so I could get EVEN closer to my subjects without that huge and clunky DSLR.
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. Thanks for your comment Tom.