Work the scene

These days I’m revisiting some older posts to clean up some SEO errors I did in my earlier blogging years. Originally titled “Apocalyptic Fountain”, it very well describes my approach to Street Photography when I work the scene. When I see an interesting setting, just like a stage set. Then I wait for things to happen. Click below to see more street shots from that apocalyptic afternoon in Munich….

After a business meeting in Munich I had a half hour left before my train departed back to Nuremberg. Close to Munich’s Central Station is the Karlsplatz or “Stachus” as it is called by the locals. It is a huge square with a big fountain on it. Knowing it is a good place for Street Photography I just went there to see if any opportunities for some candid shots would open up.The late afternoon sun was still blazing with a massive thunderstorm front arriving and providing a spectacular backdrop behind the backlit fountain. I took one of the chairs close to the fountain, readied the Ricoh GR II and just waited for things to happen. I intended to capture candid silhouettes in front of the backlit waterspray.

Things unfolded real quick. A little boy and his sister had a lot of fun with the waterspray. They run back and forth while squeeking with joy when the increasing wind blew the water across their faces.

The “bird of doom” arrived

Directly before I had to head over to the main station to catch my train, things started to get really gloomy. The approaching storm turned things almost apocalyptical. Especially when I looked through the display of the GR II with the monochrome mode activated. From the left my eye caught the arriving pigeon and I knew it would cross in front of the lense. It was just a matter of timing the shutter press with the “bird of doom” visible in the frame. With the fix focus of the Ricoh activated there is hardly any shutter lag and I “shot” the bird.

This is a typical example how I approach my Street Photography. When I find an interesting scene / backdrop I just wait with the camera ready to shoot and see how things unfold. More often than not I’m actually rewarded with some interesting shots.

Have a great day!

Marcus

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Street Photography Quick Tip 8 – Capturing Gesture

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