On 5th May 2010, I was invited on a street photography workshop with Brett Harkness by Amateur Photographer magazine.
The location was Newark in Nottinghamshire and brief was a general one but with a catch, we were restricted to using a 50mm lens.
Newark Market. Shot 5th May 2010.
Shoppers in the market square, Newark. Shot 5th May 2010.
Stall holder, Newark Market. Shot 5th May 2010.
England flags for sale outside a shop in the Market Square, Newark, prior to the World Cup. Shot 5th May 2010.
Deflated slide. Fairground, Newark. Shot 5th May 2010.
Newark. Shot 5th May 2010.
Game, for a laugh. Newark Market. Shot 5th May 2010.
Two plus two equals four red phone boxes. Newark Market. Shot 5th May 2010.
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Hi Barney
thanks for the follow on twitter. how did you find it shooting 50mm? how did it compare with using other lenses for street photography, in your view?
i shoot street stuff exclusively with a 50 mm (Sigma 1.4). i’m self taught and haven’t used many other lenses so interested in your views…
nice shots btw
K
Thanks!
The biggest issue if you could call it that, was using a Nikon D3, it’s not subtle, but I soon got used to it. I usually wander out with my more discreet Lumix GF1 to do street photography with a 20mm lens (equiv of 40mm in 35mm terms) so working with the field of view of the 50mm was fine. I wouldn’t go longer than 50mm on full frame unless there was a specific shot I was after, but going wider, to say 20-30mm takes a whole new set of balls to do well. Alan Wilson who I really like (link to his site on my links page) uses an 18-55mm Nikon kit lens for his images.
Having said all that, I think that iit’s all in the eye rather than the lens.
Cheers for the reply. All sounds good to me. I agree about the subtlety issue – it’s quite a bit bit of glass, i guess you need to be as inconspicuous as you can and put people at ease by being relaxed and smiling (and not loiter too long). Lumix GF1 looks interesting (and nice and small) – have to check it out.
Think i’ll stick with my 50mm, then.
Checked some of the links out on your page. Particularly liked Matt Stuart’s work actually.
Matt Stuart’s work first got me into street photography. Do have a look at the GF1, it’s a lovely camera and the 20mm f/1.7 lens is superb too.
Your site theme looks cool. What template did you use ?
Love the second shot, Barney (shoppers in the market square).
I’ve only ever been brave enough to use a 70-300 for street stuff. Were you at all aware of people watching you or feeling uncomfortable by your presence with the camera?
Must grow those balls!
Thanks Neil. As far as I know, in all those shots the people were unaware of me either altogether or at least that I was taking a photo of them.
There are various techniques you can use to make what you’re doing less obvious, such as keeping the camera up to your eye after you’ve taken the shot or shooting from the hip, but I think the biggest impact on whether people notice you or not is your demeanour. If you are confident, happy, inquisitive, smiley and chatty, people won’t notice or bother with you but if you’re nervous, distant, edgy etc then you display all the signs our primeval sense were designed to pick up and you’ll stand out like an abandoned fawn.
Ditch the long lens and get in close and wide. Practice at a family event or in a social scene where you’ll feel more comfortable but remember, it’s not about having the balls to get up close, it’s about the shots you’re taking.
I’ve set up a Flickr group dedicated to street photography in the North of England. It has quite a demanding, specific definition of the genre (many of these shots wouldn’t fit) but it’s a great challenge to try and shoot something that would. Here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/northernstreetphotography/
Thanks again
Barney
Ooh, that sounds interesting. I’ll have a look and might even submit a couple of images taken about three or four years ago in Liverpool if I can find the hard drive they’re stored on…
Cheers!