A Thinking Street Photography Site
There’s no method to this madness called street photography.
At Trafalgar Square: a straightforward shot.
We’re all distracted people.
Admiring Cezanne at the National Gallery.
Consuming Monet.
Blurry man against blurry painting.
Around the Bloomsbury area – the lines “made sense” to me.
A busy shot at the Covent Garden Market.
T-shirts!
Time for a sip.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Canon 600D
Lens: Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM
At London’s South Bank.
Cool dude.
Cool dude.
Life is a tragicomedy, of course.
The cavernous basement at Tate Modern.
A couple admiring Cy Twombly.
Artist at work.
A copy of a copy.
A copy of a copy of many copies.
Again, at the cavernous basement.
Two beer or not two beer … my answer is very clear.
Why is this a question?
Cool dudes.
The obligatory landmark snapshot.
Camera: Canon 600D
Lens: Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM
I was in London for a few days for a conference and of course, I brought my cameras along.
This was taken along Exhibition Road.
Here’re some shots in the museums along the road.
At Natural History Museum:
Roar.
Funny juxtaposition.
The above was at the Science Museum.
There’s a line of tension marked by the positions of the people.
At the Victoria and Albert Museum.
I think it looks better in monochome.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Canon 600D
Lens: Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM
Sometimes it is the architecture of the city that teaches us how to look.
We look up.
We look again with a slight change of perspective.
We glance from far away.
A coordinated look.
Look up, look down.
We read.
We wait and read and see.
What does the look want?
The look of friendship.
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Kodak BW400CN
We need to avoid doing the same thing and look out for or even create the next paradigm shift.
We need to think about how we can add value to our work.
It’s all about win-win.
What’s our ROI on this?
We need to think outside the box here.
This is inevitable – it’s because of creative destruction.
We need to synergize our mission and vision.
Let’s pluck the low-hanging fruit for now and circle back to this discussion later.
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Kodak BW400CN
What is the next step on the journey?
Where should one go?
What is your work building up to?
Is it all in vain?
Am I willing to own my mess and work with it?
Perhaps there’s a need to sit down in the midst of things and regroup.
Illumination can only emerge where there is darkness.
You’ll find your own way.
Look for the good stuff.
And wait until it all becomes meaningful.
Camera: Contax TVS II
Film: Kodak BW400CN
I was at Central with about an hour to kill before a lunch meeting.
Coincidentally, of course, I had my Canon 600D with a 40mm / f 2.8 STM lens.
I really like the above, with its three partitions.
I thought I’d try my hand at street photography from a distance.
Street photography with an urban landscape component.
I walked up and down the Central Escalators for a bit.
I feel I have more time to think about the background.
The background is the foreground.
Another urban landscape-ish skyline shot.
Lots of people are hard at work in the sun.
That’s a really big camera.
Working hard.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Canon 600D
Lens: Canon 40mm F 2.8 STM
I’ve been thinking a bit about the tools we use.
A street camera is a machine for seeing.
Frankly, any camera will do. But I prefer film cameras.
For me, it’s a Leica M6 most of the time, because I need the meter once in a while.
At other times, it’s a Contax TVS II, a Canon 600D (yes, a digital camera) with legacy lenses, or an Olympus XA 2, just to switch around a bit, to refresh my vision.
I’m not adverse to using digital. But film cameras do last a long time.
Like my (2001 model) Toyota Corolla, which in Hong Kong, seems to be a mechanic’s favourite car.
It’s forgettable, reliable and replacement parts are easy to find.
I’ve been reading about self-drive cars and their amazing electronics.
But I wonder how long the electronics would last.
Do we have to replace them the way we replace our tablets/smartphones/laptops?
I’m suspicious of planned (compelled) obsolescence.
Would a digital camera last more than 3-5 years?
That’s the question I ask whenever I experience that rush of gear envy.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Some days, it seems like things just won’t come together.
You’re feeling blocked.
The framing is off.
You look up.
You look back at people.
You look up again.
You try again.
What else can one do, but try to fail better.
And then you get the feeling that things are coming together finally.
And you find something that makes sense, finally.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2 400
So basically, I have 2 idiot-proof approaches.
Approach 1, step 1: Set the camera to f/16 and 1/125s on a bright (or even slightly overcast) day, depending on your film ISO.
Approach 1, step 2: adjust my 35mm lens such that the DOF scale allows for a distance of between 1.2m to infinity to be in focus.
Approach 1, step 3: walk around and allow serendipity to do its work.
Approach 2, step 1: focus on a brick wall.
Approach 2, step 2: fumble with camera.
Approach 2, step 3: allow serendipity to do its work.
Camera: Leica M6
Lens: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC
Film: Ilford XP2 400
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