[gerald L.J.]A stranger a day 2008

[The Dry Box]

well just wonder how wide do you actually go, looking at how your subjects are usually just off centre position, you must be almost shooting them straight on.

like the black man, the old man and ladies shot they all seem so centred. care to share how you hit and run? prefocus or autofocus on the spot etc?

Bro, I use manual focus. Autofocus is too slow for this type of shooting. I prefocus up to 3 feet and move in accordingly untill I hit the right range and shoot.

I am not perfect, =P I cropped up to 10% off my picture(sometimes towards the center, left, right or even downward). I feel 17mm may be a little too wide for me, but I love the amount of coverage it can give on the background.
All my wide angle are shot at 17mm, which is 25.5mm on full frame. I am more comfortable with the kit lens at 18mm(or 27mm full frame), but the kit lens is horrible for manual focus.

My lens has a problem, that is, I cannot put it at 19mm(BEST) and not expect zoom creep. If I need to work fast, I cannot be checking my lens barrel before I shoot, so I always lock my lens at 17mm.

My subjects are always moving, so in a way, they are moving into the center of my frame, so I did allow them to move towards me before shooting... but I do not always shoot this way.

22-06-08 "Inhale II"

This one I actually was more bold, because I can afford to. He walked into a bright spot, and he's going for a smoke. I figure the light was too bright for him to notice me taking a quick picture, so I just shot before him. He should have reacted, but he didn't and just walked past, so in a way the harsh sunlight helped me.

 

[The Dry Box]

it's a nice concept and i commend you for it, especially for it being done in singapore.

i think basically if you pretend and act like you aren't shooting them, people generally won't take notice of you.. that's what i experienced overseas. i never dare to do it in singapore though. somehow i just choke and refuse to even raise the camera. like i was discussing with another friend the other day, it's possibly the mentality that this is where i'll be spending most of my life in, even if not exactly the truth during this period in time.. you go overseas, no one's going to remember you, you're just the silly tourist with the big cam.. here you do it often enough, at the same locations, then you might get into trouble. the chances of these are of course phenomenally low since nobody here is really going to bother with the silly guy with the big cam with too much time.. but still the fear is there, and i cannot overcome it.

respect.

by the way, suggest varying the setting a little - to me street photography is not just about being fearless and snapping people on the street, there should be statements made, there should be a line.. and while photos of strangers passing by are really courageous, i think after a while you might start asking yourself for something more, some variance. that's just me though, i could never stick to something for very long. all these are personal views so you are more than welcome to disagree.. just felt i had to say my piece. to me, besides the old masters, rui palha today, which i caught sight on T.O.P. a while back being mentioned in an article about flickr.. i think he does street photography wonderfully fine. someone's rant on a blog i read once mentioned that street photography is about the life around you, it can be anything, so long as people are involved, or in fact, living things. even a photograph of a cat which makes a statement about life around you today could be considered as street photography, he argued.. and it doesn't even necessarily have to be in your face, jump out of bushes style, if you get what i mean. cheers, and hope to see this thread updated constantly.

Thank you.

I know of rui palha's and follows his works. My favorite collection actually contains a large number of his works and love them. I do consider photographs of cats, animals, or even compositions of street objects without human elements to be street photography. It's simply too diverse to identify.

My belief is that there need to be a decisive moment, something not all my pictures exhibit and I admit that.

I am a newbie, I like to push myself. To be able to even begin taking street photos, I strongly feel I need to fit into the scene, not as a photographer, but as a subject as well. Only after I am truely comfortable of being in the scene and my subjects are comfortable with me, I'll be able to make intimate street photos.

 

[sprintist]

Bro, I use manual focus. Autofocus is too slow for this type of shooting. I prefocus up to 3 feet and move in accordingly untill I hit the right range and shoot.

I am not perfect, =P I cropped up to 10% off my picture(sometimes towards the center, left, right or even downward). I feel 17mm may be a little too wide for me, but I love the amount of coverage it can give on the background.
All my wide angle are shot at 17mm, which is 25.5mm on full frame. I am more comfortable with the kit lens at 18mm(or 27mm full frame), but the kit lens is horrible for manual focus.

My lens has a problem, that is, I cannot put it at 19mm(BEST) and not expect zoom creep. If I need to work fast, I cannot be checking my lens barrel before I shoot, so I always lock my lens at 17mm.

My subjects are always moving, so in a way, they are moving into the center of my frame, so I did allow them to move towards me before shooting... but I do not always shoot this way.

22-06-08 "Inhale II"

This one I actually was more bold, because I can afford to. He walked into a bright spot, and he's going for a smoke. I figure the light was too bright for him to notice me taking a quick picture, so I just shot before him. He should have reacted, but he didn't and just walked past, so in a way the harsh sunlight helped me.

noted, how about your other settings like aperture? roughly about f5.6? do u pre meter like that of the youtube guy?

 

[The Dry Box]

noted, how about your other settings like aperture? roughly about f5.6? do u pre meter like that of the youtube guy?

I switched to programme mode to see what nikon is telling me before I compensate any settings for it. I now shoot exclusively on manual mode and allow auto ISO to work. My shutter speed is always at 1/250s and above for wide angle though.

I used to use use F/8 only, but now I am going as low as F/2.8 in dim lights with a bit more practise.

ps: Bro, I am very flatter you are asking me because your works are real good.

 

[entropy_h]

Bro, I use manual focus. Autofocus is too slow for this type of shooting. I prefocus up to 3 feet and move in accordingly untill I hit the right range and shoot.

I am not perfect, =P I cropped up to 10% off my picture(sometimes towards the center, left, right or even downward). I feel 17mm may be a little too wide for me, but I love the amount of coverage it can give on the background.
All my wide angle are shot at 17mm, which is 25.5mm on full frame. I am more comfortable with the kit lens at 18mm(or 27mm full frame), but the kit lens is horrible for manual focus.

My lens has a problem, that is, I cannot put it at 19mm(BEST) and not expect zoom creep. If I need to work fast, I cannot be checking my lens barrel before I shoot, so I always lock my lens at 17mm.

My subjects are always moving, so in a way, they are moving into the center of my frame, so I did allow them to move towards me before shooting... but I do not always shoot this way.

22-06-08 "Inhale II"

This one I actually was more bold, because I can afford to. He walked into a bright spot, and he's going for a smoke. I figure the light was too bright for him to notice me taking a quick picture, so I just shot before him. He should have reacted, but he didn't and just walked past, so in a way the harsh sunlight helped me.

The lighting on this one is superb.

 

[The Dry Box]

The lighting on this one is superb.

Thx, I hope eventually people will just forget how I take my pictures, and just look at them. :bsmilie:

Thank you my friends for the interest and support.

gerald

 

[sprintist]

I switched to programme mode to see what nikon is telling me before I compensate any settings for it. I now shoot exclusively on manual mode and allow auto ISO to work. My shutter speed is always at 1/250s and above for wide angle though.

I used to use use F/8 only, but now I am going as low as F/2.8 in dim lights with a bit more practise.

ps: Bro, I am very flatter you are asking me because your works are real good.

i guess its just a different category on its own. there is a level of benchmark set by you here with your great street photos! :thumbsup:

anyway there is always something new to learn so i hope you dont find it offensive i asked too much, will stop here if not also OT too much on this thread

meanwhile, will wait for more of your pics

 

[The Dry Box]

i guess its just a different category on its own. there is a level of benchmark set by you here with your great street photos! :thumbsup:

anyway there is always something new to learn so i hope you dont find it offensive i asked too much, will stop here if not also OT too much on this thread

meanwhile, will wait for more of your pics

Don't worry about it bro, if you have any further questions or request, you know where to find me on flickr, or you can drop me a pm =)

cheerios
gerald

 

[The Dry Box]

23-06-08 "Flick"

One of the few that I did not crop except for the strips top & bottom.

 

[The Dry Box]

24-06-08 "Being cool"

 

[The Dry Box]

25-06-08 "I'm loving it"

Not my usual upfront portrait. Trying to balance the picture with 2 moments of interaction. Appreciate any cc for this one.

 

[ssping83]

lovely street series.. admire the courage to take the shot right in front of the subject..

some of the expressions captured are priceless..

 

[The Dry Box]

Thank you. I feel this form of photography is less about showing how bold I can get, more about getting an intimate feel of the subjects and being intimate with the scene, I hope to be able to show that through a wide angle point of view.

26-06-08 "White headscarf"

 

[andrewtansj]

Thank you. I feel this form of photography is less about showing how bold I can get, more about getting an intimate feel of the subjects and being intimate with the scene, I hope to be able to show that through a wide angle point of view.

26-06-08 "White headscarf"

I agree, the feel of capturing a subject upclose with a wide angle compared to tele-sniping from afar is a totally different perspective... it is as though walking in the scene of the picture...

 

[The Dry Box]

27-06-08 "Stop"

A break from wide angle.

I agree, the feel of capturing a subject upclose with a wide angle compared to tele-sniping from afar is a totally different perspective... it is as though walking in the scene of the picture...

Yes! And I love that. =)

 

[flipfreak]

nice street series. waiting for mine to come back from the lab. i find it easier to shoot tele if u need to manually focus like me.

 

[The Dry Box]

nice street series. waiting for mine to come back from the lab. i find it easier to shoot tele if u need to manually focus like me.

Thank you. I am still using auto on 70mm. To work with the slow autofocus though, I sometimes prefocus at 3 meter before shooting, as that is a distance I usually work around. Seems ok so far. Then again, I haven't been using tele much. Maybe I will get back to it.

28-06-08 "Brothers"

Old picture

 

[The Dry Box]

29-06-08 "Two"

 

[The Dry Box]

30-06-08 "Escalate"

 

[The Dry Box]

With “Escalate” I have decided to put an end to “a stranger a day 2008”.

Atm, I am not producing enough decent quality portraits for such ambitious project and I thus will stop here.

I will still continue to post photographs on my flickr, and do what I enjoy doing best.

Thanks everyone for the positive responses to a stranger a day, even though short-lived.

Gerald