StoriesFromTheStreets.com

Street photography with the Google Nexus One phone

Paul — Sun, 02 May 2010 13:10:28 +0000

After getting my Google Nexus One phone, I immediately wanted to try doing some street photography with it. A smart phone, like the Google Nexus One, is in my opinion not much of a street photography camera. Don’t get me wrong. You can still get nice pictures with it, it’s just that it is a pain in the ass to use. Since I always have it with me though I will continue to take pictures with it and keep posting the images here. But first, a little more about what I think about the Google phone as a street photography camera.

First the quick pro’s and con’s:

Pros:

+ Great colours (for a mobile camera, the colours are surprisingly vivid.)
+ Nice wide angle (let’s you get in close on your subject)
+ The camera phone is always with you in your pocket
+ Discrete and thus does not attract a lot of attention

Cons:

- Shutter button is on the screen and not as a separate button (makes it hard to get the camera to fire exactly when you need it too).
- Slow (once you have pressed the shutter, it is slow to take the picture)
- Short battery life (the screen steals heaps of battery)
- No focus selection and no exposure lock!

In short the Google Nexus One is not much of a street photography camera. Using the Google Nexus One is a little like building a house with a rock instead of a hammer. Sure you will eventually get the nails hammered into the wood, but by using a hammer instead of a rock, the results will be more accurate and more fun.

The best camera for street photography

Paul — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:36:23 +0000

When I was first getting into street photography this was one of the first questions I had regarding this type of photography. What I learned though, is that it is not at all about the camera. Really it isn’t. I have tried all types of cameras for this sort of photography ranging from a cell phone camera to a professional SLR, and although they each have their advantages, the end results is very much the same. If you want to see what I am getting at here please take a look at this.

In the spirit of Chase Jarvis, The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You. This especially holds true for street photography. It is more about catching “The Decisive Moment‎” as Henri Cartier-Bresson put it.

When I asked Israeli street photographer Felix Lupa what camera he used for his street photography he replied that:

Art was never dependant on equipment. Imagine Rembrandt or Picasso used the same brush like artists use today. The difrence is in your imagination. Image=imagination and it’s not in pixels.

As it turns out, most of his spectacular images, were actually taken with a Sony S600 and not a professional camera.

Best of Street Photography by Felix Lupa

Paul — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:10:38 +0000

I would like to introduce you to one of my favourite modern day street photographers, Felix Lupa. His work is both impressive but also insirational. Take a look at a video of some of his work here:

The street is the photographer’s friend, but also his enemy. So are the street’s inhabitants with their varying lots and differing modes of life. They are unpredictable, random, and spontaneous. They are sensitive and surprising, decorous and dangerous. With all of them the photographer has to learn to communicate, to understand their language, and recognize their signals and hints.
This is not slang; it is a secret sign- language, a set of codes for behavior in society, the society of the street.

- Felix Lupa

Getting people to look in the camera when doing street photography

Paul — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:12:39 +0000

There are a few tricks to get people to look in the camera when doing street photography. The obvious way is go get eye contact with the subject then bring your camera to your face and shoot. But what if you want to avoid any sort of confrontation, yet still want the subject looking in the camera?

First off, you want to grab the attention of the subject you are photographing. This can be done by moving closer to the subject or simply getting in the line of sight of the subject. Once they are looking at you the subjects eyes will most likely end up looking at the most interesting thing about you. Normally this is your face, however if you are carrying around a funny looking camera this soon gets the attention. Once the subject looks at the camera shoot. If you don’t want any confrontation doing this, it is best if the subject is unaware that you are taking the shot. What I recommend here is shooting from the hip. If you for a moment casually look way from the camera and also make sure that the shutter of the camera is not heard it is not too hard to get away with. Down side off course is that the composition won’t be that great. Another technique is looking down at the camera as it hangs around your neck, pretending you are changing the settings on it. Take several shots if you can.

The way I get attention directed towards my camera is by walk around with a big camera. If the camera is big enough people will notice. The shot above for instance was taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII and a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 lens which has a big lens hood. Now compared to a normal point and shoot camera, such a big camera around my neck does get quite a bit of attention. By setting the camera on silent mode, people don’t hear the shutter go off either. With a smaller camera you could try wearing something interesting around your neck just above where the camera hangs. What this is up to you. Something bright and eye catching is off course recommended.

If you have any other interesting techniques for getting people to look in the camera when doing street photography please comment below.