Unfortunately, I can only stretch to a focal length of 55mm with my current equipment – but I have already ascertained that I am lot happier out on the street with a small, relatively unobtrusive fixed lens camera. I have no desire to lug a great big telephoto lens about and I believe it would make me feel far more conspicuous. Indeed, this is one of the very things that attracted me to street photography. My first choice camera is a Fujifilm X100S – and I love it. For this exercise, however, I reverted back to my Canon EOS100D and its 18-55mm lens.
The first image was shot from a bench directly opposite the three women and their dogs. I often like to find a place to settle myself and watch and wait for things to unfold. I was still close enough to this group to need to be cautious but the wider angle lens from this safe position would have resulted in a dull photograph – the group would have been lost in the clutter of the street. The 55mm lens enabled me to keep out background distractions such as other shoppers whilst ensuring that there was enough detail in the scene to provide context. I did of course have to wait for numerous foreground passersby to pass by.
The second photo was very much ‘snapped’ at speed as I walked pass the food stall. At 55mm I was able to catch a decent street portrait whilst incorporating sufficient contextual detail to set the scene. I particularly like the triangle of the awning against the woman’s face.
The image below similarly captures something close to what one might see with the naked eye at 50mm. I was able to stand on the other side of the road and wait for people to walk past – whilst trying to avoid unwanted passing cars, buses, people etc. Having spotted the thought/speech bubble, I needed someone of exactly the right height to come along. I got a few shots where it nearly worked as a speech bubble but ultimately I felt it worked better as a thought bubble.
The following images were taken using my Fujifilm x100s and 23mm lens. The wider lens offers different opportunities. For the street art image I was in fact standing relatively close to the wall (the alley was narrow) so here I was able to watch the man approach and snap at the right time to catch the juxtaposition. I feel the image needs the breadth of the street art for context. The 2 girls was a bit of a ‘shoot from the hip’ sffort. The wide lens has enabled me to capture a candid portrait within the setting of a street market. In the final image I was able to focus on the strange bit of street art and wait for passers by to come into view. I wasn’t quite sure what I was waiting for and I took a lot of images – none of which really entirely worked. But it offers a good example of the ability to take photographs of people unawares.
Jo's learning log 