Street Photography Image - 1

[Jeff Cashdollar]

I am playing around with street photography. Walking downtown Nashville after work and seeing what I can find. Kinda of, mental pushups for the lens. These boys did not mind me capturing them during a rest period.
MKIV
70-200 2.5
IS0=400
1/250
f/8

[carole wiley]

I like ths Jeff, a lot. Love the vivid colors and the composition. The lines of the graffiti seem to point to the boys.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Carol,
Thanks for the feedback, as a legacy bird photographer venturing out to street photography is a bit scary. I am trying to develop my eye to see both composition and colors. Moreover, trying to see things differently hoping it will enhance the way I see birds and nature.

I plan to post a series on nature in the city, starting next month. Please give me feedback and thanks for the kind words.

[Rachel Hollander]

Jeff - I like the colors but think that, as with wildlife, I'd like to see what the boys are looking at towards their left/our right. Also I'm not a fan of the garbage dumpsters being behind the boys. Looking forward to seeing more of your street photography.

TFS,
Rachel

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Jeff, pretty gutsy of you to get out on the street and take pictures of people! Even as a kid I admired some of the pioneers of this style, like Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Mary Ellen Mark. To me, one of the keys to mastering this technique is to learn to find simple elements and frame the people in those elements. You have a great start here, looking forward to what you will post!

P.S. - while shooting birds in a state park on Saturday, I got confronted by an irate parent who thought I was taking pictures of his kids. Truth was, they kept riding their bikes between me and the covey of quail I was trying to shoot. Once the guy saw my rig (7D400, 580EX II with beamer) he realized he was mistaken, but he came on pretty strong. Be aware and be careful out there. Photographers have a right to shoot people in public places (no legal expectation of privacy), but the public doesn't know that...

[Svante Larsson]

Very nice image telling a good story and with strong and pleasing colors. I however feel that it needs a little bit of CCW rotation and it looks to me as if there may be a few hot spots on the face of the left hand boy.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Kerry,

I have been reading a lot from Jay Maisel. I like his teachings on finding color, form and composition. He says, cropping is not composition and he likes to see things that are different, unique. He references a quote from another famous photographer I enjoy, "walking in the snow without leaving footprints". Moreover, can you see the hand of the photographer in the image, or does it flow naturally. A helpful hint for many us is, to find a stage and they will come as well. He talks about walking slow and seeing everything. Anyway, just playing with some new concepts on the journey.

[Desmond Chan]

A helpful hint for many us is, to find a stage and they will come as well. He talks about walking slow and seeing everything.

Kind of like some of the tips for bird watching and photography, isn't it?

One of the things I've read about shooting on the streets is that nobody if not just only a few people would actually notice you photographing. And it certainly would be easier if you shoot with a tele, or what some would call "sniping".

As for this shot, it certainly is not following some of the norms. But, I'm ok with it.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Desmond, thanks for the great feedback. As you noted, in this image I broke away from normal trends and it was hard (very hard for me). I have entered the image in the Tn State Fair Photo Contest,..category "Human Interest". Interesting to see what the Judges say. You are correct, the things I mentioned about street photography can and do apply to birds too. One of the things Maisel stresses is form or color. Additionally, he likes to shoot pictures through fences and loves reflections. I am trying to apply different techniques when possible, anyway I am having fun and isn't that the ideal!