Street shots - What are the chances?
Every once and a while you capture an image that you later realize has more going on with it than you could have imagined. The other day, I had a client meeting in Midtown NYC and arrived about 30 minutes early. Too early to go up to their offices, so I parked myself against a building with my X100 and decided I would take some candid streetshots of folks rushing past me – particularly if they were on their cellphones. I set the X100 to AFC so I could focus track – lock on them as they were approaching and then grab the image when they were more in the frame. This is no easy task with an X100 as shooting moving subjects isn’t what i’d call it’s strongpoint.
Over the course of about 10 minutes, I fired off a handful of images, one of which just had that one-in-a-million timing. Sure, I wanted the bus to frame the backdrop, however I couldn’t have planned the outcome if I tried. A little bit of planning and a lot of luck.
Amazing how those 10 minutes flew by. It’s easy to get immersed in people watching and a bit lost in shooting candids. The nice thing about the X100 is how small and stealthy it can be on the streets of NYC. It’s both conspicuous and inconspicuous. And always a pure joy to shoot with.
I don’t claim to be a street photographer, but I really do love street photography and street shots. There are photographers like Vivian Maier who’ve taken street photography to a level most of us can only aspire toward. Recently, Zack Arias was honored by Complex Magazine for his street photography. He too doesn’t consider himself a street photographer, but he too has the desire to document the people and energy of the city and in doing so has amassed a wealth of powerful street shots.
After reading his post, I was motivated to shoot some streetshots of my own. Sometimes this leads to portraits with strangers which is challenging and immensely gratifying. Sure it can be awkward, but that’s what it’s about. Getting out and making connections. Or at the very least going out and making photos.
So no excuses. Get out there. Carry a camera. Shoot it. Take pictures. Take more. Meet people. And most importantly, Have Fun!
