Nomadic Vision

Posts Tagged ‘Street Photography’

We celebrated Chinese New Year a few days late here today in London. This year is the year of the dragon which in Chinese culture is a big deal. Here are some photos from the parade.

I’ve just realised that we celebrated New Year’s Eve in Asia and Chinese New Year in Europe. Seems like a great way to do it.

“Local is lekker”, a popular phrase in South Africa is well worth embracing. To give you an idea of the meaning, the Afrikaans word for a sweet (candy) is lekker. So basically, local is sweet!

This weekend in London was one of the warmest in 100 years, perfect for a stroll along the Thames. Walking through London reminded me how sometimes the best travel locations are often in your own back yard. Local truly is lekker…

Also, check out Warren’s post from the same shoot.

I can’t get enough of street photography. I’ve mentioned street photography on this blog before, but 3 recent events makes me think that street photography is about to take off in a way the photography world has never seen before.

The first is the discovery of Vivian Maier. Vivian Maier worked for your entire life as a nanny in New York. During her lifetime, Vivian took hundreds of thousands of pictures, mostly in New York. Her work was discovered recently after someone purchased a shoe box of her negatives at a flee market. Many experts are putting her in the same league as some of the street photography greats, like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau.

This YouTube clip tells the story…

The second event is the massive popularity of The Sartorialist. The Sartorialist is a blog run by photographer, Scott Schumann – who shares his street fashion photography with over 70,000 readers every day.

In this film, Scott shares some of the philosophy behind his work as well as a few of his images.

The rise of micro 4/3rds cameras is the final push towards an explosion in street photography. In past years, the Leica rangefinder was the tool of choice for photographers. Moving forward to 2011, it seems that the Panasonic GF2 is leading the race to become the modern day street photography camera of choice. Bert Stephani, a photographer who knows far more about the art then I do, did a review of the Panasonic GF1 and makes in interesting comment at the end.

If you’re anything like me and can’t get enough of street photography, here are three photographers worth checking out:

• Emilanos – Faces of London.
• Nick Turpin – Street photographer with a great sense of humour.
• Markus Schwarze – People photographer from Hamburg, Germany and possibly my favourite photographer.

There is one obstacle that seems to keep almost all photographers from breaking through to that seemingly unattainable next level. The photographers who are thriving today all seem to have overcome it. Fear is that obstacle. It is fear stopping you from approaching that publisher, displaying your work publicly or asking that quirky but cool wedding photographer for a date.

Amongst photography circles, it seems most people fear approaching and shooting strangers. Craig Tanner hosts a workshop for conquering fears and just about all the photographers say shooting strangers on the street is their biggest fear. Now I’m sure most readers will have shot the occasional long lens grab shot or the sneaky wide angle, no look quickie, but the type of photo I’m talking about is getting right in some-one’s face with their full knowledge and permission.

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Life goes on as usual in the Paris Metro.

I’ve always loved street photography. Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of my all time favorite photographer and he is best known for his street photography of Paris. On a recent trip to Paris, inspired by old Henri, I made an effort to do some street photography myself.

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London is full of great spots to visit, but if you only have a day in London and want to get a “feel” for the city, spend some time at the South Bank.

Immediately recognisable by the London Eye, the South Bank stretches for about one kilometre along the river Thames. The South Bank is full of cafes, resturants and tourist attractions but perhaps the most interesting attraction is the people.

The South Bank is a hub of artists, musicians and performers many who are sublimely talented and others who seem to be facing up to a dare.

The character in the photo was actually acting for what appeared to be a student movie project. He spent the best part of an hour walking up and down the South Bank through the massive crowds, tailed by an indie film maker. Such things are common place at the South Bank. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the show.