Tag: urban street

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Streets of Chicago

Keeping my theme from the past few days I figured I would post a few more street shots I took while in Chicago.  Both of these shots were taken from “the hip”.  Meaning, I just set the camera to the proper exposure and started firing shots when I saw something interesting.  Both pics were taken while holding the camera near my waste (shooting from a low angle can give the viewer an interesting perspective).

In the first pic “Keeping it cool”, it’s a candid shot of a guy walking and waiving while holding his smoke.  Even though the subject is out of focus, it gives the viewer a feeling of movement (or at least it does me) and has a three dimensional feel to it.

The second shot “lets go out” is two people having a casual conversation.  In this shot, the sharpness is dead on.  If there was any lost of sharpness here, the shot would be ruined.

Repost August 2011

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Washington Monument

It can be a challenge trying to capture shots that are different than others, especially when shooting in popular tourist attractions.  Every time I travel to places like Washington D.C. I take the traditional tourist shots but also try to capture a different perspective.

A friend and I were at the Lincoln Memorial taking pictures and I noticed this couple looking onward towards the Washington Memorial and I snuck up behind them and capture this shot.  I was shooting without a tripod in darkness and was only able to capture this because I was using my 50mm summilux (shot at f/1.4).

ISO 1600 1/12 f/1.4 50mm summilux

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Hello

When I attended Steve Huff’s Photography Workshop, one of our assignments was to ask someone on the street if we could take a picture of them.  I think most would agree, this is not an easy thing to do.  Once you do it a few times, like most things, it becomes less awkward.  Probably, the best advice when doing this is to tell your subject why your taking their picture and try to carry a conversation with them for a few seconds to get them relaxed and comfortable with you.

This picture was taken of a lady waiting for the bus at Steve’s workshop.  She actually approached me inquiring why we were all taking pictures.  We talked for a few seconds and she allowed me to take this shot of her.

Leica M9 – ISO 250 1/2000 50mm summilux 

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Updated Leica M9 Review

Since writing my original review in May of this year, I’ve become much more experienced using my M9 and my opinions and thoughts have changed. Most of these changes are due to a combination of increased experience, meeting experienced rangefinder users, and research.

Steve Huff posted on his blog a letter from a frequent visitor “The Breakup Letter – “Dear Leica M9″ – By Paul Lanigan“. I found the post amusing and got me thinking that many have the wrong expectations and probably don’t completely understand the Leica M9.

You can read more here.

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Here he comes

When you’re walking around big cities you will often come across some unusual and sometimes strange people.  When we started our photo walk with Steve Huff we were walking in the rain and the temperature was in the mid 50’s.  As we came around a corner there was a man walking in the street in only tennis shoes, shorts, and tight t-shirt.  I quickly took a picture which was obviously underexposed.  Personally, I think the shot worked well, it gave the subject an interesting and somewhat scary look.

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Motion & Symmetry

Often, photographers are attempting to find symmetry or patterns within their environment that would be eye catching.  This picture is a great example.

I was standing in the airport waiting to get on one of the trains and noticed the adjacent train sitting there.  I noticed the ceiling tiles, train doors, windows, floor tiles, and even the trash can all had a similar linear pattern.  I felt this would be a great place to focus on the train and hope that a subject would walk through.  Fortunately, I got lucky.  This man carrying a piece of paper walked right where I wanted him.  I love that I caught him in mid stride because his front leg, back foot, upper torso, and paper all became symmetric with the environment.  By focusing on the train, I was able to blur the subject so the viewer could get a sense of motion.

 

 

 

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The Moment

This past week I’ve been in San Diego teaching. It’s always enjoying going to this meeting because I get the opportunity to assist in teaching future surgical podiatrists. Unlike some conferences I go to, where many of the participants are there to get their CME’s (continuing medical education), these participants (residents) are eager to learn and try to grasp as much information we can give to them. I also enjoy seeing colleagues of mine who are some of the best foot and ankle surgeons in the country.

Unfortunately, even though I get to travel for these meetings I typically don’t get much time to explore, thus there are not many picture opportunities. Fortunately, last year when flying to San Diego I happen to sit next to an airline pilot, Elijah Nicolas. He and I have very similar interests and I think we spent the entire 3 hours trying to one up each other in our knowledge of technology related stuff. Since then, we have kept in contact and I had the opportunity to meet up with him for dinner last night and a quick tour of some of the popular places in downtown San Diego. Elijah has a blog,elijahnicolas.com, if you have time please visit it. Thanks Elijah for a great time and good luck in your triathlon today.

Elijah drove me to Balboa Park to see if I could find any interesting picture opportunities. The area is very cultural and has many beautiful buildings and museums, hopefully I can return some day. As we were walking towards a large fountain in the park, a couple just happened to be standing there and both decided to show their affection for one another. It immediately made me think of my wife and daughter who I haven’t seen for 4 days. I can’t wait to get home and show both of them affection. Here is a picture of that “moment” I was speaking of.

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