November is upon us. And with it the obligatory November blues. Many persons I know are dreading this month, as it is the month of remembrance of the dead, the month of grey, wet, foggy, cold dull days. There is lots of work in the garden to prepare it for winter. With the change of the clock to winter time this past weekend it is practically dark by 5pm. It is also the transition month between the last warm days of the year with the explosive colors of autumn and the happiness and joy of the upcoming festive season.
I momentarily debated whether to post this image I took today in Cannobio on Italy’s Lago Maggiore. But Street Photography may be controversial, as is the life it depicts. And it may be funny, as is the life it depicts. It invites the photographer to roam the streets and watch life as it happens, to find an interesting scene, a story happening on the stage that is our world. Were all the humans are merely players.
Wondering about the story behind the image. This is what makes Street Photography my favorite genre. Reading between the lines. What was my subject up to? This example nails it. What does this taxi driver read? Is ist a letter? A handwritten contract? Just some notes? Definitely something unusual in the times of everyone only looking at LCD screens.
The next time you are out and about in your city, try to capture a photo that gets the imagination going. You can capture it even with your smartphone. Be on the lookout for those scenes wherever you are. It can be in the grocery store just as well as when you are roaming the streets. You can train your eye even when you have to camera or smart phone with you. Find your image that makes everyone try to find the story behind.
If you are looking for more tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. Far in the distance, barely visible. Pessimists might even argue that, in all likelihood, it is the headlamp of an oncoming train. Well, Murphy’s law won’t happen in this tunnel. While indeed being an old railroad tunnel at the Ligurian coast, nowadays it belongs to bikers and hikers. So why I’m musing about a light at the end of a tunnel in Italy that, due to Covid restrictions in Europe, can’t even be reached these days from Germany?
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
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.
Chances are that you are sick and tired of hearing about polling these days. But I have another one for you – a preset poll. I’ve been playing around with Lightroom putting together some new presets.
It’s been literally weeks that I was downtown with a camera, but today The Significant Other an I visited the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, one of our last outings before Germany goes back into a 4 week Covid lockdown coming Monday. Nuremberg is already a hotspot with new cases spiking, so the city imposed mandatory mask wearing for everyone inside a public building or shop and out on the streets. After exiting the Museum, I used the opportunity for some street shooting around the entrance to the Way of Human Rights, one of my favorite photo locations in the city.
This past weekend, the soft Autumn sun has graced Franconia, so yesterday I grabbed The Significant Other and my Leica M and headed out for a hike in the Steigerwald, a hilly region rising up to 500 meters above sea level and bordering on the valley of the River Main. The slopes down to the river are famous for their vineyards. And, this time of the year, are also famous for their colorful autumn views.
