Street Photography Assignment
The Brief:
- To produce a series of images fitting the theme of Street Photography, clearly showing the subject matter and not simply 'grab' or 'random' shots. Think about interacting with the subject and how best to approach people.
- Use my phone or recording device, base myself in a convenient area for minimum of 30 minutes to jot down observation, decide on a theme and record ambient sounds.
- Use my phone camera instead of my DSLR to take photographs with a view to assembling a slide show which incorporates the ambient sound recorded.
I have decided to split my assignment into two slide shows although only asked for one. I felt that adding sounds into the background of the slide show mattered to be 'in tune' with the photos being viewed and unfortunately I do not yet have to skills to create and edit my own soundtrack.
Inspiration:
For inspiration on street photography I have again looked to Meyerowitz and having watched a DVD, The Genius of Photography (2005) where Meyerowitz is on the street in America and very much in people's faces, I was certain I wouldn't be able to adopt his approach. As I expected, when it came to practising street photography, I took a much subtler stance although I do wish I could be a little more like Meyerowitz. Meyerowitz's images have continued to develop throughout the many years of his career, this is illustrated on his own website, which, also contains an honest interview about his early years.
Equipment I used:
Samsung S3 Phone with integrated camera
Nikon D7000
16-85mm zoom lens
Olympus Dictaphone to record sound
Safety Considerations:
The Shoot:
After meeting up with my college group in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester it took a little while to become comfortable with the idea of actually approaching people for their permission to photograph them. It is quite easy to capture people from a distance, especially when they are unaware of your presence due to them being involved with their own activity or thoughts. Intentionally interacting with people I wished to photograph actually turned out to be a much more pleasurable and rewarding experience than I had anticipated. Many people smiled and were happy to stop or sit and let me photograph them, even when, in some of my images they look like they are unaware of me. The people who say no or wave their hand in a negative gesture are the minority and once this happened it became easier to address my fears of rejection in this respect.
The Koffee Pot:
A cafe called 'The Koffee Pot', was chosen as a base to decide a theme, record ambient sound, make notes and take photographs with my 'phone camera'. I simply chose to portray the people who use the cafe and the images reflect some people whom I didn't approach and interact with and some people that I did interact with. After viewing and analysing my results, I have concluded that unless people are looking or smiling directly at you, it is difficult to tell which people I did or did not interact with. I also aimed to portray in the slide show, the very different people that do frequent the cafe.
Piccadilly Gardens:
On my way back to get the train home from Piccadilly Station, I also chose to take photographs on the street in the area of Piccadilly Gardens. I found it easier to approach people in this area on my own, perhaps due to me being a woman and people were not intimidated by me. All of my images reflect people that I did interact with.
The Slide Shows:
I presented the images in an sequence that I felt 'flowed' and added the appropriate ambient sound from my recordings, using PowerPoint. The slide show was then saved as both a presentation and a MP4 file, the MP4 file facilitated uploading a video to the video sharing site 'Vimeo'. I strongly feel that adding the appropriate ambient sound to my slide show of images made a substantial difference to the final presentation.
This following link is my slide show without sound:
This following video is my slide show with sound:
This next video is my slide show of street photography in Piccadilly Gardens and once again the ambient sound was recorded in the immediate area and forms the background sound to my slide show. I stayed with the theme of people that frequent the area and discovered that most people there were more than happy to be photographed.
My Evaluation
On this occasion, as per the brief, we were encouraged to interact with the people we wanted to photograph. I found this daunting at first but did find myself relaxing and gradually becoming more natural with the process. The 'close-up' approach that I witnessed 'Meyerowitz' using in his DVD, really wasn't for me but I do admire how he manages to do work in the manner he does and produce great results. I did strive to create some spontaneous looking images, the way Meyerowitz has mastered but I think this takes time and practice.
I still used my camera in manual as this is my preferred choice of mode, however I do plan to attempt using Aperture Priority in the near future. Using my phone camera was a discreet way of taking photographs but I was not overly happy with the quality of the results produced from it. I believe using a smaller and more discreet camera would probably be a better choice where discretion is an issue. I felt the results from my Nikon DSLR were satisfactory but as I have already mentioned, I think this could be improved by trying different camera modes in the future.
On reflection, I do feel this is an effective way to present my work and the ambient sounds and music add a great deal of mood and atmosphere to the overall finished presentation. I was happy with my results with the presentations although, the next time I put together a slide show, I will add a blank slide at the end to finish the slide show in a smoother manner.
Bibliography
Howard Greenberg. (2014). Joel Meyerowitz b.1938. Available: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/#artists/abc/197. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.
Meyerowitz, J. (2003). Joel Meyerowitz: Photographer. Available: http://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/index.html. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.
The Genius of Photography (2005) Produced by BBC4
Inspiration:
For inspiration on street photography I have again looked to Meyerowitz and having watched a DVD, The Genius of Photography (2005) where Meyerowitz is on the street in America and very much in people's faces, I was certain I wouldn't be able to adopt his approach. As I expected, when it came to practising street photography, I took a much subtler stance although I do wish I could be a little more like Meyerowitz. Meyerowitz's images have continued to develop throughout the many years of his career, this is illustrated on his own website, which, also contains an honest interview about his early years.
Images portraying Meyerowitz's approach on the street
 |
| Meyerowitz, Retrospective, date unknown |
Equipment I used:
Samsung S3 Phone with integrated camera
Nikon D7000
16-85mm zoom lens
Olympus Dictaphone to record sound
Safety Considerations:
I didn't use a tripod on this occasion as Manchester City Centre is very busy and I felt it would have been a health
and safety issue. As I was in a group so consequently, I didn't need to take a companion with me as a safety
precaution and I kept my equipment to a minimum so as to prevent injury to myself. As this was an outdoor shoot, the weather was also a health
and safety consideration, consequently I dressed and chose appropriate
footwear for the occasion. I was also mindful of the traffic, particularly the trams, allowed
into pedestrian areas and took care not to stand in a dangerous position
when taking photographs. An awareness of peoples feelings towards having their photograph taken is also necessary in order to avoid hostile situations.
The Shoot:
After meeting up with my college group in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester it took a little while to become comfortable with the idea of actually approaching people for their permission to photograph them. It is quite easy to capture people from a distance, especially when they are unaware of your presence due to them being involved with their own activity or thoughts. Intentionally interacting with people I wished to photograph actually turned out to be a much more pleasurable and rewarding experience than I had anticipated. Many people smiled and were happy to stop or sit and let me photograph them, even when, in some of my images they look like they are unaware of me. The people who say no or wave their hand in a negative gesture are the minority and once this happened it became easier to address my fears of rejection in this respect.
The Koffee Pot:
A cafe called 'The Koffee Pot', was chosen as a base to decide a theme, record ambient sound, make notes and take photographs with my 'phone camera'. I simply chose to portray the people who use the cafe and the images reflect some people whom I didn't approach and interact with and some people that I did interact with. After viewing and analysing my results, I have concluded that unless people are looking or smiling directly at you, it is difficult to tell which people I did or did not interact with. I also aimed to portray in the slide show, the very different people that do frequent the cafe.
Piccadilly Gardens:
On my way back to get the train home from Piccadilly Station, I also chose to take photographs on the street in the area of Piccadilly Gardens. I found it easier to approach people in this area on my own, perhaps due to me being a woman and people were not intimidated by me. All of my images reflect people that I did interact with.
The Slide Shows:
I presented the images in an sequence that I felt 'flowed' and added the appropriate ambient sound from my recordings, using PowerPoint. The slide show was then saved as both a presentation and a MP4 file, the MP4 file facilitated uploading a video to the video sharing site 'Vimeo'. I strongly feel that adding the appropriate ambient sound to my slide show of images made a substantial difference to the final presentation.
This following link is my slide show without sound:
This following video is my slide show with sound:
This next video is my slide show of street photography in Piccadilly Gardens and once again the ambient sound was recorded in the immediate area and forms the background sound to my slide show. I stayed with the theme of people that frequent the area and discovered that most people there were more than happy to be photographed.
My Evaluation
On this occasion, as per the brief, we were encouraged to interact with the people we wanted to photograph. I found this daunting at first but did find myself relaxing and gradually becoming more natural with the process. The 'close-up' approach that I witnessed 'Meyerowitz' using in his DVD, really wasn't for me but I do admire how he manages to do work in the manner he does and produce great results. I did strive to create some spontaneous looking images, the way Meyerowitz has mastered but I think this takes time and practice.
I still used my camera in manual as this is my preferred choice of mode, however I do plan to attempt using Aperture Priority in the near future. Using my phone camera was a discreet way of taking photographs but I was not overly happy with the quality of the results produced from it. I believe using a smaller and more discreet camera would probably be a better choice where discretion is an issue. I felt the results from my Nikon DSLR were satisfactory but as I have already mentioned, I think this could be improved by trying different camera modes in the future.
On reflection, I do feel this is an effective way to present my work and the ambient sounds and music add a great deal of mood and atmosphere to the overall finished presentation. I was happy with my results with the presentations although, the next time I put together a slide show, I will add a blank slide at the end to finish the slide show in a smoother manner.
Bibliography
Howard Greenberg. (2014). Joel Meyerowitz b.1938. Available: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/#artists/abc/197. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.
Meyerowitz, J. (2003). Joel Meyerowitz: Photographer. Available: http://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/index.html. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.
The Genius of Photography (2005) Produced by BBC4
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