Digital Street Photography from my A-level portfolio

I took these in Spain during a half term holiday while I was doing the A-level Photography question "black n white and colour"

Redcar Trip 2

     1.       Not a fan of this one, there’s not a lot going on, not enough contrast in the surrounding area

     2.       This picture didn’t work out because I was to slow to focus the camera so the lady on the scooter came too close to the guy sat on the bench.

     3.       Really boring

     4.       The car intrudes into the composition so it distracts you from the couple  in the centre

     5.       Same as No. 4 and its slightly under exposed

     6.       The surrounding area is really over exposed and its pretty boring

     7.       I like this one even though it hasn’t got anything to do with street photography. To improve it I should probably have taken it later on in the day so there would be more contrast between the shadows and the highlights

8.       I like the detail in the sky in this picture but there very little going on in the foreground so I won’t be using this

9.       I like this one because he fell off shortly after I took the picture but it doesn’t comply with the brief

10.   I won’t use this one because there’s to much of the car in the mirror rather than the street  

11.   There’s no people in it so no

12.   Same as No. 11

13.   I like this one because it has the right amount of car and there’s a guy in the foreground and there’s a couple further down the street

14.   I think this one’s alright but the film has been damaged in the corner, I will have to see what it looks like ones its enlarged

15.   I t is my favourite picture on the film because the kids and the sky are well exposed and it relates to the brief

 

 

       Even though the negative for this turned out to be damaged it thought I would give it a try because the main part of the picture was relatively untouched. Looking at the finished print I think that it wasn’t the best idea because the real extent of the damage is clear to see.  

This was my favourite picture because I like how everything lays in the picture which is partly due to the low position I took it from and a bit of luck because the lads were using a lot of different obstacles all along the sea front and they happened to stay at the section I was at so I had enough time to get a decent picture. To improve it could have moved to the left a bit so the rear tire doesn’t have the bin directly behind it. I think this would be better because it’s worked well on the front tire.

I think the idea of shooting through a mirror is good because you can take pictures of people without them knowing so you get a perfectly natural shot. It’s probably easy to manipulate to any situation to make a more creative shot. I think this was a decent effort considering I hadn’t tried anything like this previously. To get a better shot I should have waited till there was someone walking in the mirror and someone outside the mirror so it had a crazy looking effect.

Redcar, Hartlypool,Darlington,Grangetown

     1.       Won’t be using this picture. I should have been a lot closer to the people at the bus stop to capture their emotions

     2.        I thought it was a good location for a picture but I mucked it up because I didn’t wait long enough for a group of people to walk towards me

     3.       For this one I decided that a bus would add to it but the same problem remains

     4.       I think this one would have been alright but it’s out of focus

     5.       I like this one but the people within it are too small to be relevant to the picture so it hard to relate it to the theme

     6.       It’s not on a street so it’s not relevant

     7.       Same as No.6

     8.       This relates to the theme well and I like the composition so it’s certainly usable 

     9.       I like this one because it show what a farther and son work as a team which is nice

10.    Same as No.9 but I prefer the landscape format

11.   I like this one because it reminds me of me and my mate when were younger

12.   This one’s my favourite because it captures the enjoyment in the kids face and it’s a well taken action shot

13.   Misfire

14.   The people in the picture are too far away to be seen clearly and it’s pretty boring to look at

15.   Someone commandeered the camera

16.   This one is very similar to No.2 but there more people so I think it’s more successful

17.   I took this while the camera was hanging from my neck just to give it a try because I have seen some nice shots using this technique.

18.   Over exposed.

 

 

This picture was taken in Grangetown on the way home from Redcar while parked. I had seen this family walking along the street with rolls of carpet under their arms so I moved a bit further up and waited for them so I could take the picture. I am happy with the picture because I managed to get all four of them in the frame which was a struggle because the kid at the end kept stopping. I think to improve this picture, it needs more contrast to make the house whiter while keeping the kids’ clothes exposed correctly.

 

I think this is my favourite picture because it reminds me of my early days playing out on the street with my mates. I also like it because I think it’s well composed with the correct exposure so all the detail in the brick work is captured and the expressions on the kids’ faces are captured.

 

I chose to print this one because I love to photograph back streets because there’s always something interesting in them or something going on.   In this case there was a father and son fixing a car. I particularly like this one because the cobbles on each side of the road lead you into the focal point and the two metal bars frame it.

 

I am very happy with this picture because I had to react quickly to get the picture and it still came out with a decent exposure and focus. This picture was inspired by Rene Berri and his picture ' Children playing'  for this i tried to get close enough to capture their eemotions .

Red Carr

Unfortunately the film was exposed in some areas before I went out to shoot, so theres blank bits.

Really annoyed

     1. I probably won’t use this one because there was a problem with film, however I could crop into it to avoid the dark patches.

    2. I quite like this one because I like how the grass breaks up parts of the industrial background. However it isn’t really relevant to the brief

    3. I won’t be using this one because it’s a bit over exposed and it doesn’t really relate to the brief

 4. I like this one because it has a clean look to it which is due to the light shining equally on the van, so it doesn’t cast large shadows on its surface.

    5. I like this one because the large aperture draws you into the centre of the picture where the point of interest is. I also like how the fault on the film provides a soft graduation of tone from right to left

    6. I think I was a bit too far away from the guy for this picture and I miss timed the shot so the guy has almost walked past the light side of the building that I wanted to frame him in.

    7.  This one is way over exposed

    8. I like this one because the shadows fall perfectly on the pavement and its well exposed throughout

    9. For this one I tried to shoot this couple with the camera at my side because the guy was aware of my presence although I was trying to be discrete, but it didn’t work out because the picture turned was poor

10. Same as No. 9

11. For this one I managed to get a picture while he was looking away but It didn’t turn out to well when you look at it on the contact sheet but I think it will look better once its enlarged so I will give it a go

12. I think this would have been a decent picture but while I was walking to a position where I thought I could get the best shot, pretty much all of the guys walked back into the pub. But I look he picture any way

13. This is my favourite picture because it’s a very simple composition with one clear point of interest.

14. I don’t like this picture because it has relevance to the brief

      Out of the pictures that came out correctly, this is my favourite because of the situation at the time. Basically, pretty much all the streets on either side of the this one were busy with the obvious things but this one seemed dead with only me and this window cleaner which seemed strange. Because of this, I had plenty of time to find the right position to take the picture without the possible interruption of cars. In hindsight I wish I had waited a bit longer so I could get him on the ladder which I think would have created a more interesting shot.

       This is another one I like but it doesn’t really tie in with the theme of street photography. I like it because it reflects the significance of the area. The steel industry supports mainly working class housing and amenities in Redcar. I like it from a technical point of view as well because of its deep contrast between the grass, sky, and the industry in the background which acts as a middle ground between them.

Because some of the film was exposed before in went out, i decided to shoot an other film there hopefully with better results.

Pictures from Newcastle

Newcastle

Before i left for Newcastle i decided to look at the work of Garry Winogrand to gather some ideas on what sorts of thing i would like to shoot. I particularly like the pictures where theres groups of people because they all interact with each other in different ways. This is due to there varying relationships which is what i want to explore.

Contact Sheet

1. Overcrowded behind the focal point so it’s hard to pick it out

2. Poor composition, you can’t see much of the people in the boat

3. Under exposed and you can’t see much of the people on the boat

4. Under exposed and you can’t see much of the people on the boat

5. Difficult to make out any people

6. I should have moved round to look more at her face

7. Good composition showing the trader’s life at his stall

8. Nice range of tones throughout the picture but would need cropping at the top

9. Very similar to No 8 but I don’t like the pole coming down in the middle of the picture

10. Exactly the same as No 9

11. Has a good composition, nice range of tones and shows the interaction between the tradesman and his customers

12. A guy walked in front of the camera so I won’t be using that one

13. I like the composition but it needs to be cropped on the left side.

14. The picture was taken too late so the guy was too far way

15. It looks strange with the woman on her own in the middle of the road without an interesting background

16. Boring composition with no meaning

17. I don’t like this because you can’t see the faces of the people.

18. Exactly the same as No 17

19. I don’t like this because there’s little in the bottom of the picture

20. I won’t use this because I didn’t want the car to the guys left to be there because it draws you way from him

21. I won’t use this because you don’t connect with the people within the picture because you can barely make anyone out

22. I like this picture because it makes you think; which is what street photography is about. However I would increase the contrast of the tones because it looks a bit flat

23. I won’t use this because there’s someone entering the frame which distracts you from the guy on the phone

24. To improve this I would need to move round to the left to get more of the guy’s body, instead of the post box

25. I don’t like this one because the angle of the road is wrong. It should be horizontal

26. I won’t use this one because you seem very distant to the person in the centre of the picture

27. I like this one because it looks better in landscape format. However I will have to brighten it and increase the contrast

28. Poor composition, you can’t see their faces and there isn’t a wide enough range of tones

29. For these next three images I tried to frame the car perfectly in the centre of the image so I obviously won’t use No. 1 and 3. However even though its central, I won’t use No 2 because I prefer No. 27

30. I have taken a picture like this before but I prefer No. 27 because It has more of those black spots in it and it was taken from closer in so there will be more detail in it.

Favourites

This was one of my favourites because I like how the people stand out from the background which I tried to encourage by using the contrasting filters on the enlarger during that stage. I think that helps to put across their relationship which seemed to be strong from the brief seconds I looked at them. When I look at this picture, I am reminded of picture by Garry Winogrand where there are two people on a boat who seem to be cut off from the rest of the boat. I think my picture gives  a similar message because there is nothing else in the picture, and there wasn’t anyone else around when I took the picture.

 

I like this one because the busses frame the photo almost equally, also there a vast range of tones throughout which balances it. When I took this photo I wanted to highlight the contrasting relationship in the photo. The two guys on the crossing island seemed to be good mates, chatting casually, about their IT course perhaps. On the other hand there are the people closes to me  stood in silence not even acknowledging each other.

This one it my favourite because I like how the gazebo frames the picture, everything is well exposed and the large aperture works really well, making you only look at the people and the stall.  

Gary Winogrand

Garry Winogrand

Brief Background:

Garry Winogrand was a street photographer who was known for his portrayal of America in the mid- 20^th century. Using his fixed 35mm Leica, he documented the issues of his time which where social, and the big one, the way the media influenced the public. The popularity of his work meant that he was well known all across America and parts of Europe, and was regarded as the central figure in street photography in his time by John Szarkowski who was the director of photography at New York museum of modern art. Sadly he died at the relatively young age of 56 leaving behind thousands of undeveloped films and developed unproved exposures proving that this was more than just a job, but a thing he loved.

Analyzing his work:

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->When I look at this photo, I am instantly drawn to the couple in the center who seem to be cut off from the rest of the passengers. Garry fames them in the white door to make them stand out to emphasize this, or to show what a lonely place New York can be despite having a massive population. From a technical point of view it’s one of my favorites because I like the considered view point which gives it some symmetry, but most of all like the balance of tones in the clothes of the people around the border compared to the contrast of the blacks in the center of the image which makes them the point of interest. I admit this more to do with luck but he’s done a fantastic job to show this divide.        

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->I think this photo has a very powerful message because it represents most modern day society with the beauty and the glam in the forefront of our minds (woman in the sunlight casing shadows), while we ignore the more important things that require more attention, which is represented by the guy in the wheel chair who is in the shade. I personally don’t like this photo composition but I don’t think that it’s meant to be the most beautiful picture in the world. I think it’s more about the message it brings however I think the way the shadow seem to come together is very clever.

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->I like this photo because their motions are in sync making it look organised or even planned which you wouldn’t normally associate with street photography which is a refreshing change. Even though it’s a good image it doesn’t trigger an emotional response or tell a story like the other two did which is what you would expect of street photography.  

Conclusion of Analysis:

After writing a brief background on Garry and analysing some of his work, I believe that I have a greater understanding of street photography, i.e. what it can represent and what it can tell us. This research has taught me to capture people emotions and to emphasis it in their surroundings, secondly to highlight present issues in modern life and finally, to take care with composition as well as searching for unordinary.