Street Photography and Stories

None of these photos are edited for color, lighting or anything else, these are straight out of the camera so give me a little grace. 

This was my first time doing street photography and I absolutely loved it. If you like watching people then you would too. I remember going to the mall as a kid with my parents and hearing that term, people watching, I was never sure why anyone would like to go to a huge mall with 50 plus shops to look around yet the people were the main attraction. As an adult with more refined tastes, I see the lure of it. For me it's the psychology of it all, who are they, what do they do, where are they from, how do they live, what are their beliefs. It's like a mystery that needs to be solved.

Take the photo below. This man stood out like a sore thumb. Not only was he huge with a jacked up body full of tattoos but he was carrying this bright pink blowup Crayola crayon and in the other hand he was carrying a blowup unicorn. I was so fascinated by him and the contrasts of the muscle bound, workout, tattooed, body builder with the soft heartedness of a dad that'll carry these things for his daughters. The picture doesn't show his daughters, which he had two and his body builder because the contrast is better if he is shown alone. The quality of the picture may not be the best but it gets you thinking about him and who he is and what he does. The mind instantly paints a picture of this mans life. Hard core yet soft like a hard bread with a tuff crust yet soft and buttery in the middle. Not sure if he would enjoy me calling him soft and buttery but that is the lure of people watching and better yet street photography. We can craft a story from each person and photo like a new book. 

I actually wanted to approach this gentleman and ask if I could take some portraits of him with the blowups. I imagined him against a brick wall, crayon under one arm, unicorn under the other and a serious look on his face but I didn't have enough courage to do so. I regret not doing it because it would have been epic.

Some of my personal favorite subjects to shoot are kids. So full of expressions and energy. They hold nothing back. The picture below needs to be lightened up a bit but I spotted her about 20ft away in a crowd just doing her own thing by her mom. Taking pics of kids is tricky. This day in age everyone thinks you're a pervert or a child molester. Far from it, I think kids are a blank canvas with unlimited possibilities. Unlike the muscle man with his crayon, this child is too young for us to write a story about where she's been, instead we look at her and write an infinite amount of stories about where she is going. She has so much potential and we can see that and it tugs at our heart. Kids are so much fun to take pictures of. In adults you see the drama and harshness of life on their faces but children, hopefully, haven't gotten that jaded outlook yet and it shows. Children are a reminder of how we all could be if we just let things go and be free from it all. 

Sometimes, a picture tells a story deeper than just muscles and crayons or a pretty painted face. For this next one I had a purpose for it. I was about 50 or more feet away from them. I was sitting on a bench like they were, looking around and observing when I saw them eating together. This was a BBQ festival in my hometown, in the south and I wanted to show the diversity of people outside how the media paints this horrible picture of race and division. They sat there for a good while and I watched as they laughed, ate and conversed. 

In this next one, my wife and I were sitting on the sidewalk under an awning eating some fried potatoes when I saw the two of them standing to my right. I grabbed my camera and this is the result. In this picture, some of the story is missing. I saw some things that doesn't show in the photo. That's what's good about photography versus film. With photos you can get angles that leave off a ton of context, crop out surroundings and create your own story by getting one side of things. With this mom and son shot, we instantly think how sweet, how wholesome and it is. It takes us back to simpler times when families lined streets to see parades and events. You wonder what they are looking at. We could take this photo and use it during any holiday and say they are watching a 4th of July parade. Because this is an up shot, the street is not seen, so imagination or manipulations can be made. We could say these two are in San Francisco at a parade or in New York. They could be anywhere at any event. Angles and crops play an important role in telling a story with photos. 

The thing I didn't get in this photo which may cause some to change the narrative of the story is the woman is tattooed on her right arm. It's a lot of work too and because tattoos carry a stigma behind them, not as much as before but they still do, the narrative changes, the story flips a bit. In some person's mind, the tattoos could create a poor reflection on the mom. In my angle though the mom is a hero for being there for her son. They are bonding and creating core memories. With the tattoos, the mom looks a bit rough and harsh. Of course this is by individual perspectives too. Another person may look at her tattoos as her being a self made and tough woman. We could go on and on. That's what's so good about photos. Constant stories erupt from them.

My second favorite people subject is the elderly. For the same reason's I like kids, the elderly rarely care about the issues of life. This woman below had a smile on her face the entire time I saw her. She had a walker and she walked all over with I assume was her son. She was one of those subjects I couldn't pass up.  

In my mind, my first attempt at street photography was a success. Whether I got competition quality pictures or not, I had fun doing it. It got me exposed to the genre and I got some experience in an area I know little about. 

Awesome news, Nikon, which I use exclusively, put their mirrorless Z7II camera on sale. They marked it down $1,000 so I pounced on the opportunity. My current Z5 has done a great job getting me into professional photography but this new one will advance my photos even more. It has double the megapixels which means a greater quality pic. Plus a ton more upgrades. As I was writing this UPS dropped it off. So excited to see how this new camera enhances my photos. Update and review to come.

As this Blog started off cataloging my path as a Christian and is now delving into photography, I often feel like I should include something in each post about my walk. My faith hasn't waivered at all. I know some would think spending time on the streets taking photos of strangers is waisted time when I could be handing out gospel tracts. However, I find handing out tracts and approaching people about God a waste of time as most people do not take talk as a form of facts. They must see to believe. We must walk in Him so we can show Him to the people. If we walk in Love as He is Love we will attract people to Him. We can't just walk up to someone and say God loves you and start quoting the Bible. We must walk as He walked, we must be kind and love one another and that is lacking in Christians in my opinion because walking it out is a lot harder than preaching it. 

My thoughts and they are just thoughts currently, are to approach people in parks and in public spaces and offer to do free photos for them. I have to get a way to get those pictures to them in a timely manner but I think it would not only bring joy to people but it may help me to be that person who walks the walk. 

To God Be The Glory Always.

From Cat Stare to Vulnerability

 The enigmatic stare or glare of a cat is a true mystery of the natural world. You can see them processing info and their next move, yet to figure such things out is impossible. Cats stare into your soul and I think they know that, which gives them an advantage. Now, I didn't intend to start this post with a philosophical dissection of what cats think when they stare you down, it just happened. 

I was going through some recent photos, looking for ones to submit for our photo club's June contest and I came across this picture. Some back story: I was in Ohio at my cousin's for the April eclipse and I ended up doing some graduation pics for her nephew. As we were walking through their store we all noticed their cat peering over a sign at us. Well, I swung my camera up and grabbed this shot. It wasn't an intentional pic, it was a reaction pic. Everyone was laughing at the comedy of it but looking back I see more. 

The Glare, as I'm calling this, runs deeper than just a quick shot of a cat. It speaks to me. Those green eyes are mesmerizing to look at and I also wonder what it's thinking. We were strangers in this cats territory. Was it trying to assess us and our intentions or was it doing the curious cat thing. Unknown, but one thing for sure, it is quite the look.

Moving on from cats that peer into our hearts, my thoughts this week have been targeting the life of people. I recently did some street photography at a BBQ festival in my hometown and it was my first time taking photos of strangers without them knowing it and I think I'm addicted to it. We walked around town and if I saw an interesting person, I'd discretely take their photo. Once I get them downloaded and edited I'll do a post on them but for now I look back and think of how much fun it was. 

Capturing people without them knowing it, is the best way to get real emotions, not those fake smiles everyone does. It's like people outside of church and people inside of church. We all know the fake smile and that facade of a perfect life inside of church is not real because outside we are different people. It's when we aren't under the eyes of others that our true self comes out. That's why doing street photography has captured me so. You don't get that glazed over smile, instead you get the eyes of truth. 

Now I'm no fool and I know this is still a public setting where people tend to still be somewhat reserved but it is better than them knowing their pic is being taken. It's funny, guys will trend towards not wanting their photo taken at all. Women are the same unless they have the opportunity to fix their hair and makeup. However, capture them without knowing and their personalities come shinning through. The smiles, the frowns of disappointment, the excitement...it's all there to capture.

Kids are the best when photographing on the street. First, they live in their immediate bubble of about three feet around them. They hardly know what is going on around them and therefore they let loose more than adults. Kids will just let it all hang out. Their emotions are never governed and they change them continually as things happen to and around them. You can capture pure excitement, joy, sadness and all the other emotions in between, unfiltered and wide open for all to see. Kids have to be my favorite subject, that and elderly people because they are to old to care too.

Why do I want to capture people in the rawness of life? Because it is rare to see someone let down their guard, even for a moment. Whether we are aware of it or not, we never really reveal ourselves to others. We can have moments of weakness during stressful moments but in normal circumstances, we never let people see who we are. It's only when we think no one is watching that we let loose those pent up emotions come through. Whether it's stress or sadness or happiness, we only show when we aren't being watched. So, I think I'd like to capture those fleeting moments of vulnerability as they are very rare. 

Speaking of being open and vulnerable, (yet another subject switch, Attention Deficit is in full effect today) I also watched Jesus Revolution last night for the second or third time and people hate being vulnerable to others, let alone to a God they don't know. I look back on my story and how I came to the lord and it was a choice between a constant battle or surrender. I chose surrender but like people that are being photographed, I think they often times think they need to straighten up their hair and makeup first before their picture is taken. Same with God. People think they need to get their lives straightened up before they come to him. Like me wanting to see the raw, unfiltered emotions on peoples faces, God wants us to come to him broken, afraid, hurt and in disrepair. In the movie, the church didn't want the strange hippies with dirty bare feet coming into their clean church. They wanted them straight and clean first but God doesn't operate that way. He takes the broken and fixes them. Yet, to be fixed is to be vulnerable to the fixer. 

Trust is the big issue. Like me and doctors, I don't trust them so I do everything I can to avoid them. People treat God in the same manner. They don't trust Him and therefore can't open themselves up to Him. We live in a country where the dollar is king. We work hard for it and others want it from us. The constant give and take societal ideals tends to impact the mind and soul to the point where we can't let our guard down or we'll be taken advantage of. Gone are the days of the handshake deals. Instead they've been replaced by mistrust and lawsuits. 

If we can't be vulnerable in society, we won't be towards God either. The mistrust of others rings like a church bell on Sunday morning echoing and saying bring your clean hearted and smiles that have no meaning to us so we can shake your hand and welcome you to the house of God. 

A bit dark, I know but my watching and perception of others has brought me to a conclusion. No one wants the dirty and the unclean because it's messy to deal with. No one wants an open book as a coworker or a friend. No one wants to hear the tragedy and the sadness because we are all dealing with the same stuff. We like it when people cover up and hide so we don't have to feel for them.

No sure of my point here, more of an observation than a point but If it was a point, then I'd say be real, genuine and vulnerable to God, who is the one you need.

To God be the Glory.

Timing is Everything

 

April 8th 2024 Eclipse 

It's a month after the eclipse and I'm proud to say that my picture above won first place at my photo club this month. Each month we gather and critique each others entries and mine one for the beginners category.  To say timing is everything is an understatement with this shot. firstly, we traveled to my cousin's house in Ohio. On the way I got some sort of stomach flu which lasted from Sunday morning through Monday, the day of the eclipse. Second, we had rain the morning of the event up until a few hours before. Third, it seems as though through the excitement and the amount of camera and telescope equipment I brought, was so overwhelming, that I really was not prepared with my camera settings as I should have been. This shot was a pure editing miracle. The original is below for reference.

Obviously my camera was in Manual Mode which means I choose all the settings. However, my mind was so scattered that day that I forgot as the Sun became darkened I would need to change those settings. I was also using a telescope for the before and after shots, which had a solar filter on it making the Sun darker. So, when I took the camera off the telescope to get the diamond ring effect, it was over exposed. I didn't change the settings until I snapped several shots resulting in the picture above.

When you look at the stark contrast between the two photos, a person that doesn't edit photos in Lightroom would stare in amazement but those that know, know how well these programs can do when adjusting pictures. Of course you can tell instantly the image is cropped. I had to get that flare out of the picture as it draws the eye. Side bar: It's amazing how the eye will instantly gravitate to imperfections. When looking at a person's face, if they have a blemish or scar or any kind of issue, the eye is drawn to it. That's why I spend an overly excessive amount of time critiquing people's driving skills. 

So the flare had to go and my eye also caught the left and right light streak extending from the Sun's glare which is tilted slightly so I corrected that by rotating the picture to make those at a 90 degree angle. It makes for a more symmetric photo. Next I had to reduce the amount of glare, add saturation and voilà, we have an award winning shot. 

I wish I could say that pure talent took this shot but instead it was knowledge of editing that saved my butt. However, I did go away from the event with how not to prepare for an eclipse. Wasn't it Edison didn't consider his failures as failures but ways on how not to make a light bulb. In looking back at the event, I made it overcomplicated by bringing a drone that I could get working, brining a telescope I had never used before until that day and brining two cameras as well. 

It was a bit overwhelming and the eclipse was there and gone, it seemed like it was seconds. They said it was 3 plus minutes long but it went by way to fast. Looking back my thinking was the telescope afforded me the zoom range to get close up of the before and after shots, the drone was for shots of the 360 degree sunset, the second camera had the zoom but was not as good as my primary which I used on the telescope. Now, I have a bigger lens for my primary, I'm selling the backup camera, I've still not flown the drone yet and the telescope went back to my friend. 

Looking into the future, I have my eyes set on the Sydney Australia eclipse on my birthday in 2028. Traveling that far though will make me travel lighter and bring less equipment which I think will be better. Less is more in some cases. I'll have a better primary camera by then too. God willing, everything will align again and I'll be able to have my third eclipse experience, my first time being on another continent, my first time being in the southern hemisphere and a ton of other firsts. Can't wait.

To God be the Glory!