Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. – Ansel Adams

Every time I grab my camera to go out shooting, I have this itch to capture the perfect image; being present (with a camera) in an instance where all elements come together like conniving trollops to my advantage.

Today I was walking near the Palace Gardens when I saw a woman wearing a pure white bourgeoisie striped sash dress, strolling down near the canal.  Then a man approached her, they warmly hugged each other, and then she grabbed him by the throat jokingly pretending she is struggling him. He went along with the joke and he acted as if he is been brought to his knees. For a moment I felt I was in the middle of a movie scene but to my dismay no cameras were around, literally. I myself had decided to leave mine at home for the day.

Approaching people and ask them to be photographed it has always been difficult for me, and to date I have not been able to be assertive towards asking people for their photo to be taken.  In street photography projects I generally choose a bird’s eye view, or photograph people who are involved in some activity, and not having the time to be  aware of the camera.  That way the subjects being photographed will appear in a natural fashion, and the photographer will have the time to concentrate on composition, angle of view, and distance.

A Happy Witch

Another easy way to sharpen my people’s photography skills are friend’s events and parties. Provided I will not charge anyone for the photos, and share them in an online photo album, most people will even pose for a photo.  That practice, in itself is among other things, a great marketing tool.  Even in the digital world a good word of mouth will take you much further than some web based advertising plan.  Be polite to your human photographic subjects, approach them with professionalism and kindness, and also respect their right to not wanting to have their photo taken.  Especially when children are involved make sure you take permission from a supervising adult before you start releasing the shutter button away. Those who allow you to be part of your photo, inform them of where they can see the photo loaded online, or make it easy on them to communicate with you via email or phone.

a pirate using the elevator

Until the next post, I wish you a wonderful time! Should you like to reach me for comments you can do it through this post, or at my email nikitasphoto[at]gmail.com

The beginning is the most important part of the work. – Plato

Plato could not have been more right on, and this is true about photography as well.

My constant struggle has always been “what to shoot”, and most fellow photographers have told me to choose a theme before I go out on a photographic adventure.  So, there I am loaded with my favorite camera, my tripod, two lenses, and my picked theme for the day being ‘Love’.

The problem I usually face is that while being out there there are multiple subjects that I discover, and have nothing to do with the theme that I have picked for that day.  Obviously enough, that approach is not the right one for me.

The solution I have found to best work for me, and maybe for some of you reading this, is to shoot anything that entices our imagination.  That way no subjects are left behind, and there is always the option of sorting them later on at home or in the lab.

So, while out photographing, make sure you cover a radius around your familiar neighborhood, go around houses, walk in alleys, take the less traveled path, and I assure you, multitude subjects will be discovered. You will come across an old rusty car collecting dust and rain, a beautifully lonely flower, and even some people less reserved to have their photo taken.

As far as the technical aspect of approaching a project, I primarily prefer shooting urban areas during the day. The time of the day can be up to you, early morning colors are more ‘crisp’, and in the late afternoon hours colors tend to become more ‘deep’ and ‘warmer’. Of course, different factors weigh in, such as shadows falling on your subjects as the sun sets, and having to work against time.

When I shoot with my DSLR, I take a shot in fully auto mode, and one in my preferable setting: P (Program Automatic Exposure mode), as it offers partial control over shutter speed and aperture.  In this mode, the camera chooses the f/stop and shutter speed for me, and I only have to worry about reducing or increasing light to the image by compensating accordingly.

When I use a film camera, like my Canon Demi 7 (Half Frame), the exposure meter does not work, so I carry a cheat sheet with average settings for bright sun, shade, overcast, etc.  At times, I will also consult the inside of the film box, as it has printed information for the film’s exposure values related to the ISO.

For example, when outdoors photographic stationary objects like flowers or buildings in bright sun, I start with the f/stop to f/16 and 1/100 or 1/125, same with the ISO of the film I usually shoot with, in this case, 100.  Then I do small adjustments to the next take, compensating towards f/11 and 1/125, f/16 and 1/125 and so forth.

In conclusion, the best advice I can give based on my experiences with photography is to shoot, shoot, shoot, regardless of your theme, take a fully auto shot, and one ‘experimental’ if you like.  Walk a lot, be enthusiastic and focused on what you set out to do for that day in terms of photography. At the end of the day you will be a tired but happy shooter!

Until the next post, I wish you a wonderful time! Should you like to reach me for comments you can do it through this post, or at my email nikitasphoto[at]gmail.com

romantic