Go out and shoot – something I need to keep telling myself these days. Which is totally ok, I guess, as photography doesn’t always have to take center stage in life. But then there is the sudden itch to grab a camera. In this case my vintage Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 25mm f/1.8 prime lens (50mm full frame equivalent with the m43 crop factor of 2). And heading out into the streets for a late afternoon stroll, capturing life that happens in front of my lens.
Yesterday I was doing some street photography while strolling through the alleys of Intra at Italy’s Lago Maggiore. It was really too hot and humid to get the creative juices flowing. This is the only shot that is a keeper from the outing. I saw that mural and what message it seems to convey, and the luxury coffee store across the street. Then I saw the approaching sunlit family of casual Saturday shoppers. More contrasts. I snapped away with my iPhone.
In post I debated whether to convert to monochrome. But I like how the colors work together in this image. One photograph I like is enough to be happy with a day of otherwise energy-less shooting.
If you feel energized to head out with your camera (or smart phone) to capture some street photography, check out my free Learning Center for lots of tips and inspirations around shooting in the streets.
Doing Street Photography while visiting museums and exhibitions is one of my favorite things to do with a camera (or in this case just my iPhone). Another opportunity arose during a recent visit to Genoa. The doge’s apartments of the Palazzo Ducale are featuring an exhibition of the work of Emmanuel Radnitzky, better known as Man Ray. The title image of the exhibition was already featured in another recent post. Join me for a tour of Man Ray’s work. Check it out by clicking the link below. A little disclaimer: the post needs to be treated as NSFW 😉
To add to my last post, here is more curly hair. Once more taken with the Leica SL2-S with the Vario Elmarit F/2.8 24-70 ASPH. Jpg out of camera (taken with the Leica’s high contrast monochrome profile). Have I mentioned before how awesome the Leica plays with the light?
After one of my last post the question came up whether I ask people in the streets whether I can take their photo. The honest answer is not always. But often enough. I wrote about it in my post “A Street Photographers Dialogue”.
If you are looking for more tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
A quick street portrait today of a man with curly hair. Taken with the Leica SL2-S with the Vario Elmarit F/2.8 24-70 ASPH. Jpg out of camera (taken with the Leica’s high contrast monochrome profile).
If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
Sometimes photography just happens. The Significant Other and I are vacationing in Grisons in Switzerland. Unwinding, relaxing, mainly hiking around the beautiful mountain landscape. Today we had an off-day. In the afternoon we drove to close by Flims, the principal Ski Resort in the area. Now, in summer, it basically is deserted, apart from mountain bikers, a few tourists and the local folks. Shopping for some groceries, we entered recently built, futuristic looking shopping center that is mainly built underground. I took out my iPhone 14 Pro and started snapping pictures of the shiny modern architecture, already thinking monochrome. Then the man appeared on the top of the escalator, with the rest of the scene totally deserted. Like the last man in one of those end of civilization movies. I had my street photograph and a story.
A few days ago, Adobe released a new beta version of its popular Photoshop application. With it came the launch of its new artificial intelligence (AI) Generative Fill tool, that has the photographic community humming with excitement. While the web is already full of examples of the incredible power of this tool, I thought I give it my own little try. The result you see above. For the “how” and whether I consider the new AI based feature a photographer’s friend or foe, continue after the jump…
It’s been super busy these past weeks, mainly due to the job that pays the bills. Not much time to take a camera for a spin, and neither time to write about it on these pages. But with things slowly getting back to normal, let me share the results of some recent photographic outings I managed to squeeze in none less. Like these couple of black & white images from a day trip to Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli we did the other week while spending time at our “south” home in Genoa. Continue after the jump for some history and photographs of this 13th century marble magic …
Sometimes you wander through the streets with your camera in hand, and you wonder what comes next. Then something catches your eye. Looks real. But it is not. Illusions. You snap the picture. Then you see another…and another….and you have a little series going….
Since having completed work on our Genoa apartment, The Significant Other and I have been down to our new “South home” a few times. But since then, the weather hasn’t been quite our friend yet. Little sun, lots of rain and very inconsistent. Not what you would expect from Italy. It also rains in Genoa. But then again, the weather here is fully in line with the wet winter and mostly grey spring we had in Germany. But the Street Photographer doesn’t care though. Grabbing rain coat and the cam, turning on the subdued monochrome presets and heading out to capture the stories of the streets…..
Seville explored – Real Alcázar introduces you to the Royal Palace of Seville, Spain. The palace was originally constructed as a fortress during the 10th century by the Moors and has since been expanded and modified by various rulers and monarchs. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is considered one of the most important cultural landmarks in Spain. It has been used as a filming location for several movies and TV shows, including “Game of Thrones,” which featured the palace as the setting for the Water Gardens of Dorne. For its history and more photographs of its splendor, continue after the jump…
A rainy day in Genoa gives me time to edit my photographs from our recent trip to Seville. I came across this one of the peacock already featured in this previous post. Not only shows this image the prefect camouflage its plumage provides to this magnificent bird in its natural habitat, rainforests. But the photo also demonstrates the things my eyes are constantly scanning for when roaming the streets. I’m always on the lookout for interesting combinations of light and shadows, colors and textures. I’m doing this also when I don’t even carry a camera (which practically never happens, as at least the iPhone and its camera is always with me). This is what I call my daily visual push-ups. In this photograph, it all comes together. Bringing home an image like this after a day of shooting gives me great satisfaction.
Taken with my Leica SL2-S with the Vario-Elmarit-SL 1:2.8/24-70 ASPH. Image specs are 1/400 sec @ f/8 and ISO 200, 70mm focal length. Post-processing (brightening up the shadows) in Lightroom Classic.
If you are looking for tips and inspirations to improve your photography, check out my free Learning Center.
