Toronto Photography Meetup Group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfQInz-nSk

For those who have not seen it.

Thanks for shariing. That was a lot of fun to watch.

Very nice exploration of the subject. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic video. Thank you for sharing!

Her street photography is pedestrian at best if not completely in the gutter.

Isn't street photography of pedestrians in or near gutters? Her stuff, from a quick skim, looks much the same as all street does to me.

I really enjoyed this video, There is very nice expiation on the this street photography subject. Thanks for sharing this video.

LOL, i see what your did there

Why is it that everyone is doing street photography? I often ask myself this question, because I do street photography since there is nothing else to shoot.

My conclusion is that people like playing the photographer on the street, the creative and courageous individual who is not afraid of pointing the camera at strangers, and they're creative and artists - not to mention rich as well, because cameras are expensive, even though that is no longer true but old habits die hard, people still associate a large camera with an expensive device... So, in a way street photography is an exercise in pretentiousness of a subtle nature.

But that awkward pretentiousness of the average street photographer pales in comparison to those who actually have the courage to 'teach' street photography, like the lady in this video. I mean, watching her talk about street photography is like being put through a cringe torture test - like watching one of Eric Kim's videos, although Eric Kim at least puts himself on the line and gets kicked in the butt by some Japanese guy...

To me the essence of so called street photography is just that, lazy photography for the pretenders; therefore, the act of doing street photography is the means and the end, pictures are just an after thought, which makes street photography more of an outdoor activity than creative work, let alone art and documentary and other such lofty words.

Having said that, I can't wait to go out and do some street photography, but at least I'm conscious of the fact that I'm a lazy pretender and that honesty makes me sleep well at night.

as usual, there is a herd and there are shepherds. While the majority of street photographers are what you think of them simply because what you say is true, it takes some talent to be good at this genre and there are individuals who create really exceptional pieces of frozen moments

good lord, an hour long ? can someone give me the coles notes version

You totally dissed like 90% of all Magnum Photographers! LOL ...

Here is a good link for you : http://www.youtube.com/user/DukeLibDigitalColl/videos - there are interviews with Winogrand, Erwitt, Joel Meyerowitz and so on.

Most of what I see labelled as 'street photography' are pictures of people from afar walking on the streets. Not that interesting IMHO.

Personally I hate doing street photography, I find it boring and a waste of time. Taking pictures of strangers on the street I have no connection with? Maybe if I find a sexy looking woman.

On one early Sunday morning outing I was doing some abstract window shots on Yonge, when two guys came around the corner and started questioning me and roughing me up.

I did try attending a "professional" street photography workshop, but the guy was an idiot. For example, "you want a high-speed flash exposure, just turn up the shutter speed. As for the black band, just crop it out in post."

Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!?! I hope you didn't pay much! What kind of advice is that? This really shows his ignorance in mastering the technical aspects of a camera and the artistic beauty of straight photography that is street.

From Scott Kelby's The Grid, a woman's perspective on street photographers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... rWv86BuUSw

Ya creepers.

DG

I didn't see the page until AFTER the workshop; here's the link explaining their "technique":
http://lightenupandshoot.com/favorite-v ... nc-barrier

Their philosophy is to just lighten up and shoot (LUAS).

I signed up for the workshop through Creativeimagestudios.com which are usually pretty good; they had the LUAS team up to give a street workshop at their studios before and received nothing but positive comments, but their methods didn't do a thing to help me get through my issues with street photography, or inspire me as a photographer (although others in the class seemed to enjoy it and get something out of it). I should have known it wasn't going to work out since that Mikey in the video just rubbed me the wrong way.

I'm just resigned to the fact that I'll never be one of those street photographers who would go up to a person and ask to take their picture, which I believe the outing last night at Queen & Peter was all about. If I do people photography at all I prefer being the candid photographer that no one notices.

Even candid photographers can take it to another level by capturing that intimate perfect moment in time, instead of shooting people walk the intersection

The biggest fallacy about street photography is that its difficult. Street photography is not difficult, taking original and unique photographs on the street is!

The most boring street photographs are exactly the sort that some amateurs consider too risky, like taking photos of people from close range. I pass the same people everyday without looking at them, why should I look at an uncomfortable photograph of the same people - taken from close range by a nervous amateur?

For example I don't take photos on queen street because I don't like looking at hipsters and corporate shops and stone-cold-faced women with gigantic sunglasses, why would I bother looking at the pictures of the same people? I like pictures where the humanity of the people comes across, not fake people who are caricatures for the latest trend.

So this is one approach to street photography, photographing what you at least look at in real life and find interesting, not what is 'interesting' in a flicker-flavor-of-the-month sort of interesting...

Street photography can be fun and enjoyable as long as one is honest with oneself, and of course photographing what you find interesting... If there is nothing interesting, don't shoot.

Street photography isn't difficult...


Lost in the crowd taking candid shots, especially an event where people expect you to take pictures of the scene is easy.

Walking up to complete strangers and asking them to take their photograph, that's another story.

The problem is if you're someone who does street photography all the time, you may have forgotten what it was like to be a beginner, or maybe you were never uncomfortable with it; you're normally the life of the party and have no difficulties chatting up complete strangers. Those who aren't in that category the type of street photography outing "Stranger Strobist" that took place on Friday can be crippling.

Even at the Cosplay event at the Island dealing one-on-one can be hard to do.

HCB, asking people if you can take their photo on the street is not street photography, its street portraits. And its lame, because the whole charm of classic street photography is spontaneity, not some staged cheesy portrait.

If you're the [edited]the wrong type[/edited] who looks like a creepy pedophile, not many will stand so you can take their picture, but if you're a hot chick most people will...


So yeah, and the shot you posted is not street photography, its "Hey Ma! I can use long exposure to make people look like diarrhea"---photography.

Whats with you and middle aged men?
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=18486&p=178411#p178411

Why whenever Street photography is brought up someone brings up and misinterprets the words of HBC. HBC was a photojournalist not a street photographer and as such he strictly adhered to the code of conduct for a journalist of the time. We tend to look at a small slice of his total body of work as so it was the only thing he did. He was a great believer of a photo story yet we usually only look at his iconic photos taken out of context.

Middle-aged was the wrong term to use, I should have said, "if you don't look approachable" people won't stop for you to take their picture.

And the point being that street portraits are more dependent on the personality of the photographer... Age has nothing to do with it.

Morris Miller (Vilk knows him), who's in his 70s, shoots only street portraits where he stops people and take their picture. His very successful because he looks like a nice old man and of course his a nice old man. He approaches people with genuine interest and almost 99% of the time people stand so he can take their picture... But of course his a smart guy and he does not go around calling himself a street photographer.


Anyway, all street photography topics start a fight because for some reason everyone is an expert on street photography - when it comes to photography forums - and no matter what one says, it eventually rubs somebody the wrong way...

Like you

The motion blur image rubbed me the wrong way.

-blown highlights
-horrible framing with huge negative space in foreground
-no symmetry or pleasing effect in the blur
-a huge freaking watermark - and that also an email address - wtf!
-nothing of interest anywhere in the image


and then this dude comes around talking about street photography and stuff...


forget street photography, if one does don't know the really basic stuff of what makes an image work then why hurt other people's brain cells... and when people's brain cells are hurt they get undiplomatic--to put it mildly.

Anyone who makes an image following all those rules is making "camera club art"...I stopped doing that twenty years ago, because it is BORING!

You're probably the type who thinks every painting should like it's been taken by a camera too.

Personally I do photography for my own enjoyment, and couldn't less what you think, or say about it.

FYI, I get paid for my photography...do you?

this is no valid argument, as experience shows

People have forgotten how to look at photographs artisticly. Today everyone thinks themself to be a pixel peeping photo judge (and I say this as a trained and certified photo judge). People today think a photograph has to be perfect in terms of technical because it is digital, but that is boring. The fun in photography is being creative, and pushing the art and limits.

I disagree with all of you. Don't get personal guys.

which is exactly how I DO NOT judge.... I look for the creativity first ... and if the technical is good, bravo, but it doesn't have to be.

It's all subjective anyhow!