We really got hit by snow over the last days. In fact, it’s been a few years since we had so much of the white powder. So much, that the other day The Significant Other and I took our cross country skies and started a tour right from behind our house. And this afternoon, right before sunset, we did another little hike into the winter woods surrounding our village.
Street Photography Quick Tip 19 – Shoot their backs
Here is the nineteenth edition of my Street Photography Quick Tips. Some short, easy to read and easy to use tips that I think could help you while shooting in the streets. Today’s post is about shooting the backs of your subjects
What looks like a scene from the arctic is actually just a few kilometers from my house, on the Dillberg. With 600m (2000ft) above sea level it is one of the higher elevations in the area. A perfect place to for some sportive activities in the snow, properly socially distanced. Or as I call it, snowsolation.
Once in a while I do stray away from my usual street-, urban- and travel- photography and do some commissioned work. Like yesterday, when I did my first ever pregnancy shooting. While I’m still busy editing a load of images, this is the one The Significant Other liked the most. Belly in Red – remember the Chris de Burgh song from the 80’s with a very similar title?
The photograph was taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X with the mZuiko 12-100 F/4. Image specs 1/250 sec @ f/5.6 and ISO 200, 31mm focal length. Shooting indoors (it was a home shooting), those settings (I was using manual mode) eliminated all ambient light in the living room. The only light source was a Godox AD200Pro strobe on a lightstand to the right, firing through a large strip light softbox at 1/8 power (also in manual mode). The strip light prohibited stray light from the flash falling on the background, illuminating only the front of the lady in red. Another perfect example that photography is essentially playing with light and composition.
Once I’m done with editing I’ll do a post with my faves and my approach.
My last post was about my first attempts shooting with a 60 year old lens. For that The Significant Other and I took a short trip to the nearby ruins of medieval Gnadenberg Abbey. We’ve never been there before, despite it being only a 15 minute drive from our house. And it is much too beautiful not to share a few photographs and the history of this magic place with you…
I was very much looking forward to this, shooting with a 60 year old lens. My Dad gave me a vintage 90mm Leica Summicron F/2 for Christmas (thanks, Dad, for the awesome present). The beauty of the Leica M system is that you can attach any lens from the Leica (M)esssucher (=rangefinder) system introduced back in 1954 to modern Leica digital cameras with an M-Mount. And as I have acquired a (for digital camera standards also vintage) used Leica M (Type 240) about a year ago, the 90mm is a great addition to my small collection of Leica prime lenses.
In yesterday’s posts I left you with a small riddle, asking whether anyone would recognize the building were I shot the abstract fine-art architectural shots. While no-one came up with the right solution (Oculus – World Trade Center Station in New York City), a few readers correctly recognized the work of architect Santiago Calatrava. Today, continuing my series “NYC Experience” from our trip to the Big Apple in 2018, I show you a bit more of the outside and interior of this new iconic NCY landmark.
Put me in a building with interesting architecture and light, and I feel like a child in a sandbox. Using my camera as my little shovel. Playing with light and lines…
This is my last street photograph of 2020. People passing through the old city gate under the Imperial Castle. Like castle ghosts. Using my Olympus OM-D E-M1X and the mZuiko 12-100 with a long shutter speed of 2.5 sec to create the ghosting effects through intentional motion blur, both of the moving subjects as well as light intentional movements of the camera (ICM) to blur the old stones in the ancient tunnel.
“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept” is one of my favorite photographic quotes, said by the godfather of street photography Henri Cartier-Bresson. Always be open minded when you are out and about shooting. Experiment with whatever comes to your mind. You digital camera (or your smartphone) is just like the shovel that you used to play with in the sandbox when your were little.
Make 2021 your year to be more creative with your camera! If you are looking for tips and inspirations, check out my free Learning Center.
I wish all my friends a blessed, happy, marvelous, successful, beautiful, inspirational, creative, wonderful and especially healthy 2021! May all your wishes and dreams come true!