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Street Photography


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21 replies to this topic

#1
TKC_TX

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Well, I'm gonna try something new. Street Photography. I've pretty much settled on my D500 and 35mm 1.8 for this, but the 50mm 1.4 keeps creeping into my thought process, too. Thoughts as to one over the other. I know they are small and I could take both, but I am intentionally limiting myself to one prime lens make me think about how I compose the scene a little more. I've never tried street Photography before, do it should be a learning experience.


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#2
Merco_61

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The 35 on DX is on the long side to get a real presence when shooting street. I like to use the unobtrusive 35/2 O-Nikkor or a 35/1.4 Ais on the D700 for street as the 35/1.8 FX is much larger. I have used the 24/2.8 AF-D on the D300 quite a lot and got nice results with that combination too. Going with a prime is not limiting, it releases a creative flow as the f/l decision is already made and you start seeing with a pre-visualizing eye instead of casually observing.

 

The 35 on film or FX makes you, the photographer, a part of the street instead of being an outside observer. There have been quite a lot of good street shot with a 50 or even a 75 or 90 mostly on rangefinders, but they feel more like candids in a street environment to me than what I think of as street.

 

I have shot a bit of street, ever since the film days but I don't like to present that part of what I do on the 'net as one never knows in what context a web published photo will turn up.



#3
Ron

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It's really hard to use a DSLR on the street these days. Especially the larger bodies. And, the size of current lenses doesn't help either.

 

Long ago I did a bit of street photography with my black anodized Minolta XD-11 and a Minolta Celtic 28mm f/2.8 which worked out pretty well because both the camera (even with a winder) and lens were diminutive in size. I wouldn't even attempt to do any street photography with my Nikon DSLRs. But if I were inclined to give street work a try I would look for an old 20, 24 or 28mm AIS lens. Then, I'd leave the battery pack and lens shade at home. I might even put some gaffers tape on the Nikon logo.

 

Most of the people I personally know who do street work these days use small high end point and shoot cameras with non-interchangeable lenses that feature a wide field of view. Of course the Leica rangefinder would be the best choice but they are way out of my price range.

 

Lastly, you really have to be careful about where you aim your camera.... no matter what type it is. I know people who have been accosted and accused of being predators when they were being nothing of the kind. Scary!

 

--Ron



#4
TBonz

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A mirrorless would work well too as far as being small and not as visible...



#5
Ron

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A mirrorless would work well too as far as being small and not as visible...

 

Good point... as long as you have an equally tiny lens to mount on it.

 

--Ron



#6
TBonz

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Even the 10-100 is small compared to lots of DSLR lenses but there are definitely smaller lenses available...


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#7
M.Beier

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35mm F1.8G seems ideal to me.

Honestly though, yes, big is less practical for street, yet, it does not prevent me from doing it..

Street I don't find as an issue for photography, yet... I have felt a bit akward when walking on the beach with a huge DSLR, especially when some er topless and heck, even passed by areas with skinny dipping..... People don't exactly appreciate a DSLR such places - of which I also decided to keep the hood on and not use it, but for street it would be seldom that I am not up for a shot.

Just my point of view.



#8
Merco_61

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Being inconspicuous is more a matter of the camera being a natural extension of yourself than the size of the camera and lens as long as the front element isn't too large and the hood too deep so that they draw attention to themselves. A 24-70 makes the work harder than even the modern, larger primes. The older generation of primes with the 52 mm filter thread is more suitable than more modern lenses.

 

The 24/2.8 AF-D is nice and easy to find as it is is still current. It is cheaper than the Ais, but the manual focus version is even better optically. On DX, the HN-3 is a better hood than the recommended HN-1 as it is more suited to the fov on a DX sensor. 

 

Ron's tip to put gaffer's tape on the logo is a good idea and helps in most situation where you want to be a fly on the wall. 

 

Marc, I agree that the beach situation turns us from the guy with the camera into the creepy guy fast, even if you only carry the camera and don't use it.



#9
Ron

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Big cameras call attention to themselves (and their users) even if they're just being carried over the shoulder. And, when you add a largish modern lens, even more so. Of course, you can go the opposite route and try to look touristy. Then people sometimes go out of their way to avoid looking at you. LOL

 

Really wide lenses help because you can point away from the action a bit and still capture it. But, it's true... you have to look at ease with the camera. No fumbling allowed! You should have all your controls preset so that you only need to raise the camera to your eye and press the shutter button. Having the camera set to either aperture priority or manual using a preset exposure (or the sunny 16 rule) is usually the way to go.

 

--Ron



#10
M.Beier

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Big cameras call attention to themselves (and their users) even if they're just being carried over the shoulder. And, when you add a largish modern lens, even more so. Of course, you can go the opposite route and try to look touristy. Then people sometimes go out of their way to avoid looking at you. LOL

 

Really wide lenses help because you can point away from the action a bit and still capture it. But, it's true... you have to look at ease with the camera. No fumbling allowed! You should have all your controls preset so that you only need to raise the camera to your eye and press the shutter button. Having the camera set to either aperture priority or manual using a preset exposure (or the sunny 16 rule) is usually the way to go.

 

--Ron

 

Agreed, I usually fumble with 2 settings.... Aperture - and then ISO... Depending on the shoot, I need a given shutterspeed, the ISO is being sacrificed to acheive this... But gotta admit, that is probably one of the biggest pros of having the D800E, even at ISO-3200 the shots come out fairly clean... With my D5200, ISO-1600 going to the bin straight away..



#11
Ron

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Agreed, I usually fumble with 2 settings.... Aperture - and then ISO... Depending on the shoot, I need a given shutterspeed, the ISO is being sacrificed to acheive this... But gotta admit, that is probably one of the biggest pros of having the D800E, even at ISO-3200 the shots come out fairly clean... With my D5200, ISO-1600 going to the bin straight away..

 

I think, if I were you, I would try setting the camera to manual with a high enough shutter speed to counteract camera shake and about f/16 for the aperture. Then I'd set the camera for auto ISO and never touch it again during a session.

 

--Ron



#12
M.Beier

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I think, if I were you, I would try setting the camera to manual with a high enough shutter speed to counteract camera shake and about f/16 for the aperture. Then I'd set the camera for auto ISO and never touch it again during a session.

 

--Ron

For street, I seldom exceed F/5.6, most shots are at F/4.0-4.5.... Only a big scene I go F/7.1

Avoiding shaking depends on temperature and focallenght, typically 1/8 is ok at 24mm, while at 50mm I need 1/16... Shooting with VC on.

Why not manual? Because then I have to worry about exposure, that is something I only want to worry about if there is lighting in the scene, and in that case, I often avoid setting exposure by spot metering, but that deff takes slightly longer then just point and shoot.



#13
TBonz

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With the obvious about needing the lighting correct...and assuming that you don't have to go TOO high with ISO, use AutoISO...

 

Aperture really depends on the DOF you are trying to achieve...sometimes you may want as much DOF as you can get and sometimes much less...

 

Shutter depends on whether you need to stop the movement or want to show movement...it also depends on how the individual photographer can handle the equipment they are carrying...As an example, I might be able to hand hold my 24-70 / D4 combo at 1/60 or even lower without visible camera shake in the images, but that doesn't mean everyone can.  And, it doesn't mean that I can do it in all situations...



#14
leighgion

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With a DX camera, I'd be inclined to the 35mm given a choice between the two. Its field of view is only slightly longer than 50mm on FX and I figure if 50mm for good enough for the father of street photography, it's good enough for the rest of us.


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#15
TKC_TX

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I've been practicing around my neighborhood in the 'burbs, and have found that setting the ISO a bit on the high side, setting the aperture around 5.6 to 8 or so and then keeping an eye on the exposure let's me make quick shutter speed changes as necessary. So far it seems to be producing good results. I've settled on the 35mm for now, but have found that I would like something a bit wider so a 20mm or 24mm is in my future. Unfortunately, with a kid in college, pennies are a bit tight at the moment. I tend to have to sell something to be able to buy something! Lol


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#16
Merco_61

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The manual focus 24/2.8 can be found for $125-$175 at KEH depending on how used you can stand. The AF version is more expensive and optically inferior. All the 24/2.8 versions have size going for them as they are only 46 mm long and as slim as all Nikkors with a 52 mm filter thread.



#17
Merco_61

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With a DX camera, I'd be inclined to the 35mm given a choice between the two. Its field of view is only slightly longer than 50mm on FX and I figure if 50mm for good enough for the father of street photography, it's good enough for the rest of us.


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To me, HCB was more the father of modern photojournalism than the father of street photography. There is always a slight distance as he recorded his slices of time rather than being a part of what happened at the time.

One has to remember that the thread-mount Leica is far from discreet with anything but the 50 as the accessory finder is a large contraption and you still had to use it with the rangefinder in the standard finder to focus and then switch to the other finder to compose. It wasn't until the mid 50-s the Leica became easy to use with wide angles. 



#18
leighgion

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To me, HCB was more the father of modern photojournalism than the father of street photography. There is always a slight distance as he recorded his slices of time rather than being a part of what happened at the time.

One has to remember that the thread-mount Leica is far from discreet with anything but the 50 as the accessory finder is a large contraption and you still had to use it with the rangefinder in the standard finder to focus and then switch to the other finder to compose. It wasn't until the mid 50-s the Leica became easy to use with wide angles. 

 

We see the dividing line of street photography and what I'd call surveillance/paparazzi photography very differently. While I think of 50mm as about the limit, I still consider a normal lens a perfectly good choice for street photography. 



#19
Ron

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That's the thing... HCB was more subtle in his approach to photography in general. And, he was always aware of composition ... aka the "decisive moment" when everything clicked (pun intended). On the other hand, you had people like Arthur Fellig (AKA: Weegee) who simply documented life, death, and everything in between. Composition? What's that? And, he could hardly be inconspicuous with that huge 4x5 Speed Graphic he carried but he had the bravado to make it work. During his time he was ubiquitous wherever things were happening in New York. I suppose that, after awhile, he became more or less invisible... another part of the cityscape. 

 

I find myself drawn more to Henri Cartier Bresson's vision than to Weegee's. But the both have their place in photographic history.

 

As far as lenses go, I also know people who use 50mm lenses exclusively in their street work. Most, however, seem to prefer something a bit wider. If there's a sweet spot for street lenses (talking FX here) it would probably be 28mm. Wide enough to take in an expansive scene but not so wide as to become the story (distortion, etc), rather than document the story. Lenses wider than 28mm can be very difficult to use intelligently.

 

--Ron



#20
nikdood17

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When HCB started doing street photography there were not a lot of people skulking around with miniature cameras. Back in them good old daze a 35mm camera and even a  Rollieflex 2 1/4" camera was considered a "miniature" camera. You could look it up. Check the olde photo mags. So what HCB would have done is kind of besides the point. Time marches on, even if Life died...anyway, plenty of other people did that kind of photography before him, he did not invent anything. Of course, he was really good but so were a lot of folks nobody remembers. As for what lens you should use -- that depends on what focal length works for you.