My adventures in streetphotograhy #5
There is a kind of treasure-hunt notion to streetphotography. You never know what you are going to encounter, and what kinds of interesting (or boring) shots you will bag in a hike. It is a very open and mentally aware way of meeting reality. It is living with your eyes constantly open and aware of what goes on around you, that you would not otherwise register. It sort of forces you to see possibilities where you did not before, even in the most mundane of settings something spectacular may pop out. Grabbing it, is the hard part.
A photographer can possibly drive their spouses, kids and friends mad, with their constant looking at reality through a lense. To outsiders it may feel alienating, but the truth is that (good) photographers are usually much more present in the situation and the moment. I used to drag my camera with me at any given opportunity, and the shots presented here came about on a daytrip to Malmö in Sweden.
HAIR OF THE DOG
Just a quick shot sitting on a bench watching people and their pets go by. I like to find shots where something out of the ordinary occurs in everyday life. This dog here, may not be the most surrealist thing, but I am working with the idea. The composition is a bit left heavy plus there is not anything else for the dog to play up against to give some sort of meaning
In other situations, there may be deeper meanings to a person´s postion or placement, that lends itself to interpretation. The boy in "LOOKING DOWN" seems cozy and relaxed, while he is looking down the seemingly dark and endless stairway. In this case it is rather too obvious and sort of a cliché, but again the ideas pop up almost instantly as I walk around looking for pictures that gives me interesting meanings.
LOOKING DOWN
A sort of messy shot in the sense that there are too many bikes and otherstuff in the frame that only detracts. Get closer would have been a good idea, and try and wait longer for the decisive moment ... if at all any would appear. Sometimes it does not materialize. ... framing so that only the necessary parts are present, to make it as effective and pleasent as possible. You dont want someone standing in front of your TV or SMS when in the cinema, that destracts from the experience.
A third way is to think of two or more unrelated and different objects, play the same kind of role or play against each other in some way. The "TURNING TORSO´S" below, plays on the fact that both the building, the small person and the tree trunk all are "turning" in the same fashion, most notably the likeness of the trunk and the building. I like these funny little ideas very much :-) (I might add that the building is actually called The Turning Torso, so the title is a little play on this also)
TURNING TORSO´S
A quit well balanced and well composed shot. The idea is a funny relation between the building, the person and the tree trunk, all turning in a likewise fashion. This is one of my favorite kinds of photography. I like the surrealist aspects of it
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My adventures in Streetphotography:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4