Guest posts

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NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Marius Vieth and was originally posted on his personal website.


This is the story of how I wrestled with death twice to live for photography. Before I wrote this article, I told a couple of people about it since it means so much to me. Although some didn’t understand how I could talk so openly about this topic, I decided that it’s my duty to generate awareness and help others even if it means that I’m revealing my biggest weakness in front of the world.

marius+vieth+street+photography

Ever since I could think I loved being creative. I drew a lot of pictures when I was younger and not one day passed where I didn’t build something new with Lego or just another tree house. When I was a teenager, I wanted to apply my creative drive to as many outlets as possible. It all started with gaming, finding creative, daring strategies to win Counter-Strike clan wars. After a while, building my own maps fascinated me more than anything. I spend day and night coming up with my very own digital worlds to play in. Luckily, one of my maps even made it to the biggest gaming magazine in Germany. To maybe work in the gaming industry one day, I started with coding. If my grades weren’t obvious already, this endeavor soon made me realize how math retarded I actually am.


NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Anton Fortein for www.streethunters.net


Introduction

So, our young Spyros is coming to do a street hunt in good ol’ Londontown on the 6th of June. The subject of his hunt will be ‘Flash photography on the Street’ and we are expecting a few to tag along for the show. We have planned a circuit of the West End, The City and The South Bank. This will not be the longest trek, but as anyone who knows this town will know that there is loads to take in.

Photo by Thomas Leuthard, Street Photographer

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Thomas Leuthard for www.streethunters.net


Introduction

After five years of intense street photography with different cameras I chose to shoot some time with my mobile phone. The reason for that is simple. First of all, I had not always been carrying a camera and also got bored using it. It seemed to me that my subject was repetitive and redundant. I didn’t see a lot of new things and thought about stopping street photography. After purchasing a new mobile phone, I signed up for Instagram again after years of inactivity there. The decision was clear. I wanted to shoot Instagram only for 50 days and built up a community there.

Nikon 1 trinity

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Mauricio Hernández (a.k.a. Mavritivs) for www.streethunters.net


This is not a review of the Nikon 1 cameras or lenses. This is my general experience using these cameras, primarily for street photography. Lastly, I do not label myself as a street photographer. I am just a photographer who happens to like street photography.

*** The Nikon 1 (CX Mount) lenses have a 2.7x crop. Keep this in mind when looking at the exif data of the following photographs. ***

NIKON V2 : 30mm f/5.6 1/640s ISO 400
NIKON V2 : 30mm f/5.6 1/640s ISO 400

When the J1 and V1 were released, many complained about the sensor size being too small. However, it seemed that most of the negative reviews came from people who did not own or had not used the cameras at all. Everyone who did own or had used them, seemed to love the system. Fortunately, I bought the V1 a couple years after its release which enabled me to enjoy a more mature system with some improvements and wider selection of lenses. At the moment, I own the V1, V2 and V3 cameras along with 5 lenses and the SB-N5 flash.

A Mobile Darkroom

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Edward Conde for www.streethunters.net


Introduction

I have been using an iPad since the first generation came out in 2010. I have always been drawn to PDAs, handheld computers and other computing gadgets. That same year I bought myself my first DSLR. As I started snapping away, I thought about what I would use to process my images. I had been using iPhoto on my MAC to store old photos. It did a good job with organizing my images. Then I tried Aperture. It was great for photo management, but for post processing I was lost with all the options and it  just didn’t feel very user friendly. I then looked for apps in the App Store to see what was available for iOS to process my photos. I found several applications that were interesting and decided to give the iPad a try as my mobile darkroom. I instantly got hooked processing my images on the device and the rest is history.

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X100s RicohGR LeicaM

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Buru Llwyd for www.streethunters.net


Introduction

Although I’m a very shy person, and into street/documentary photography, I always try to force myself into taking the photos that I’d like to get. There’s no other way around it. Also I feel the need to use flash because of the preferred dynamic look I’d like to get. It’s quite surprising sometimes how people in general don’t seem to mind or are that bothered or even don’t notice at all. I’ve had plenty of people question and debate this type of photography on the street and within my circle of friends, but at the end of it, there is no law against it. A little confidence goes a long way.

As much as I tend to try and steer clear from wasting money on camera after camera, sometimes it happens. Sometimes you do see a camera that just makes you stand up and think “wow I’d love to have that”. Or you may see a camera that you’d just like to try just for the experience, even if it is a stupidly priced one. Cameras that suit you as a person are always important, even if it IS a ten thousand pound medium format kit or a cheap and cheerful disposable holiday camera.

Marble Arch by Anton Fortein

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Anton Fortein for www.streethunters.net


It could be that deep down I’m a bit of a hipster, an old-school hipster. I’m certainly old enough (having been born before the moon landings) to remember a pre-digital time. A time before Windows NT 3.1 powered systems invaded the workspace, and commodore 64 consoles were a distant memory. And more importantly, I’m young enough not to be seen as an old fart who goes on and on about the ‘good old days’

It could be that I don’t earn enough money (or been given, won or saved enough) to afford a top of the range DSLR, or a mirrorless system camera. I do however have a few ‘old school’ mirrorless cameras… lovingly called rangefinders. Gone are the days of picking up a ‘like new’ YASHICA 35GT, but a few good deals on The Bay are still to be had.

The importance of backgrounds in Street Photography

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Mario Mancuso for www.streethunters.net


Introduction

Every time we take a picture, most of our attention is on the main subject.

Certainly we must be careful to place it properly in the frame and position ourselves correctly in relation to the subject, we must avoid cutting off important parts of the photo. After all this attention to the main subject of the photo, we should not forget the background.

When reading numerous books and blogs written by professional photographers, I often encounter the claim that a great subject requires a great background. Very often we focus exclusively on the elements we are most interested in which is what our eyes are seeing. So, when we photograph, if we do not make an explicit effort to consider all the other elements that make up the scene, we risk including something that will ruin the final result.

The background is of fundamental importance in the composition of the image emphasizing the subject, improving the photography, or if not adequate, it may cause irreparable damage to the image, making it chaotic.

What Is Street Photography... Oybek’s Opinion

NOTE: This is a Guest Blog post written by Oybek Boltayev for www.streethunters.net


Introduction

Without any ado, I will commit a crime of telling you the answer now. Simply, I don’t know. Before you start to think “what a boring post” this is, let me tell you that I don’t know because my definition of street photography is different to yours and yours is to a person next to you.

Before we go on, I have to say that I will try my best to accommodate creative geeks who have thought of street photography but never had a chance or will to give it a shot. This post will be casual so relax and hope you will enjoy it.

My definition of Street Photography

Now, if you want to know what my definition of street photography is and what I love about it then stay on and we will look into it further.

Let’s start then by giving you a brief background of me. I was born in 1989 in Uzbekistan. This was an environment of uncertainty and fear of the future as Uzbekistan was declared independent of USSR. I am not sure about others but I owe this brief crisis of my unimportant life at the time a great deal. What do I mean by that? I am sure in West and East people have an image of Soviet Union as gray standard 4 storey flat blocks with windowless concrete government buildings. Communists with no religion and tradition that know only to worship their seniors, work like a zombie with obedience. Well, yes… Buildings were like that as I grew up myself in a gray 4 storey flat but I don’t know how people lived in USSR. My parents told me that whatever ideology was creeping in your head, it had to stay there. Your tongue and limbs had to do what you were told. You make your own mind up on this.