I'm trying to take my camera with me when I go out. I took it today while I was running errands. I didn't see anything to shoot until I had finished my list and sat down in the Jardin. I watched the dogs taking their humans out for a walk, friends stopping to talk, another photographer with a tripod shooting the Parroquia and this young man just sitting like this holding his bike. I like the way he was centered and the way his legs and the bike frame made kind of diamond shape. I sat there for a long time and so did he. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer. I walked over and asked him if I could make a photograph. He nodded yes. I took this photograph and said, "Thank you." He nodded again and I walked off to go into the Parroquia.
You may be thinking, Soo...? I'll tell you why so. Making these kind of photographs is important for me because I find it hard to photograph people on the street. For the most part I don't like just aiming at people and making a photograph without the persons permission. I know that is the tradition of street photographers but I figured out a long time ago that I'm not really a street photographer. I like to make a connection with the people I photograph. It doesn't come easily to me to just walk up to a stranger and ask for permission. You would think that the more I do it the easier it would become but that isn't the case. Everytime I want to ask, I have to suck it up and just do it.
I am glad to hear you say that. Too often, I end up with back shots -- when the face was really what I wanted. The dilemma is creating a new shot when you ask permission. For instance, this shot (which I like a lot) shows one sure sign of self-consciousness. I suspect it would not have been there if you had simply raised your camera and shot.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I doubt I could do it. For lots of reasons. The most obvious is that I would not want anyone to do it to me.
The best photographs I shot in San Miguel de Allende with my new Sony was at parades where I accidentally caught people in some very complex moods.
Yes, asking for permission does sometimes change what is happening but at the same time a lot of why I wanted to take the photo is the person's face in the environment. I'm also working on giving some direction when I need to after I've asked for permission.
DeleteLast Fall I took a workshop about photographing people. Some of it was with models but not necessarily regular paid models. Just people who agreed to pose. That was a great experience to be able to move them to different locations and give directions. Difficult for me to do but like I say, I just have to suck it up and do it because I really like the connection and I often make a photograph that I like.
You're so personable, how could anyone say no?
ReplyDeleteBill, trust me, people say no. I just have to remember it might not have anything to do with ME but with them and how they are feeling at the moment.
DeleteI also like the way the boy's arms and legs echo the angles of the bicycle.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, he is smiling at the camera as if his snap shot was being taken by a relative for the family album. It would have been more dramatic if he were looking away from the camera and I think that is why street photographers try to take pictures without their subjects being aware. Since that doesn't suit you, perhaps you can request them NOT to look at the camera and smile? What do you think?
Cristine, I like the eye connection with me and the camera but I could have asked him not to smile. I appreciate what street photographers do but I don't feel like their images are what I want when I have the camera in my hand. I'm just not trying to emulate what they do even if I have a cooperative model.
DeleteYes! I really like the way the angles of the arms and legs echo the angles of the bicycle. I also agree that his smiling into the camera transforms the feeling of the photo into feeling like a snapshot of a family member. I think you could avoid that just by requesting your subjects not look at the camera. You could, I suppose, carry a little birdie on a stick and hold it away from you at arms length as you shot. Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice shot, and doesn't look too posed. He's got a nice attitude, confident without being arrogant, and handsome to boot.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I might be tempted to crop out the right side, or at least tone down that bit of sky and building in the background as it somewhat leads the eye away from what is otherwise very, very nice lighting and a sort of natural vignetting.
I love your photos, so please keep posting them. Do you have a Flickr account?
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we feel much as you do about snapping strangers. Minus the chutzpah to ask them if I can photograph them.
Thanks for the suggestions, Kim. I do have a flickr account but haven't used it in a long time because they were doing some kind of processing to the images after I uploaded them. I did not like them messing with my images. They may have changed their procedures again but I just haven't gone back. I use my images in my blog and also upload galleries to pbase where I have control. Yes, I am a control freak as far as my images are concerned. Well, maybe about a few other things too.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the control. I always wonder how well calibrated peoples' monitors are and how that affects their perceptions of the photos I put on my blog. I've long had a calibrated/profiled monitor on my desktop computer, but these days I mostly work on a laptop that has an exceptionally crappy display. But a few months ago, I finally decided to calibrate it, and WOW! All my photos looked incredibly better. I always knew it was off, but I had no idea how far off it really was.
DeleteI've been toying with hauling around a Macbeth color checker with me when out shooting photos. Do you ever do that? Have you ever tried to calibrate your camera? This site has some info: http://fors.net/chromoholics/
Saludos,
Kim G
Kim, I have a calibrated/profiled monitor on my desktop and also calibrate my laptop but I don't trust my laptop because the slightest bit of tilt of the screen changes things. I seldom post any images from the laptop. I mostly use it for looking at the images and storage while traveling. In spite of being a control freak, I don't carry a Macbeth color checker and I've never calibrated my cameras. I never want someone else or program (flickr) messing with my processed photos but I guess I'm not enough of a control freak that I drive myself crazy with something that has a small return or that I can fixed in LR with a slight adjustment.
DeleteA funny story. I had printed about 8 small monochrome work prints with slightly different sepia tones. Someone was in my studio and saw them on a table and I said I was trying to decide on how I wanted to print the image. They didn't really see any difference in the tones but to me they were very different. And for me the different tones created different moods. I spend a lot of time and money and drive myself crazy with these tiny details. Do you do stuff like that too?
Oh yeah! LOL... the worst? When you think you've finally got a great color on your monitor, and then you have it printed and the print looks awful. I've had a few come back from Costco that way, and I know it's my own fault. I tend to get my larger prints done there, and they're sensitive to the needs of a picky photographer, so you can download the color profile of their printer, and thus have good control over the color. But the monitor can only go so far in mimicking what the colors will look like on paper.
DeleteHave you ever done this online color acuity test? http://xritephoto.com/ph_toolframe.aspx?action=coloriq It's kind of fun. I've managed to score 100%, but most people don't have anywhere close to perfect color acuity which is why your friend couldn't see the difference amongst your prints.
Saludos,
Kim G
Yes, I have done that color test and I scored 95-96% or something like that so I'm impressed with your 100%. I've had a few things printed at Costco while in Houston but most of the time my Epson 3880 prints as large as I need.
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