Often I lament living in a small city when I discuss shooting in my home town. I curse the lack of action when I’m free to go out and photograph. I curse the difference between my town and larger cities in regards to the amount of people on the street. The truth, I’ve come to realize, is that is some lazy thinking. Living in a small town just means I have to work harder. I have to be more creative. Do more research.
The week before Halloween, I was fortunate enough to finally take a small vacation with my girlfriend. The destination was New England. Specifically, Salem and Cape Cod. We were just going to “wing it”. Drive to these towns and explore. Provincetown, Massachusetts was the last stop on the road trip we loosely planned. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous. Skies were clear and the temperature hovered in the mid 50 degree F range. Relaxation and sightseeing was the main objective, but of course, I wanted to shoot as well.
Whether we care to admit it or not, luck is an ingredient in street photography. When on the streets, walking about, we sometimes get lucky and a shot just falls into our laps. Instances like that remind me of the idiom, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.” If you’re out there, you’re bound to get lucky sooner or later and a decent scene will find its way through your lens. After that, it’s up to the photographer to shoot the photograph using composition, exposure, shutter speed and all the other righteous ingredients we use in crafting an image. However, the shot doesn’t always fall into our laps and we must try to “make” our own luck. And one of the ways I’ve done that is by simply not giving up on a subject. By not giving up on a shot.
This is a photograph that has been shot with a Sony NEX-6 and a SEL35F18 lens, in Rethymno, Greece.
This photo was taken more than a year ago in September 2014. I remember it was about the time when my eye was starting to see things in colour. I was in transition, moving from B&W to 100% colour.
The reason I shot this in colour was because of the two brightly coloured bins. The blue one is for recycling paper and plastic, while the yellow one is for recycling glass. Both those bins, side by side gave a certain look to the composition that I liked and for that reason the photo wasn’t converted to monochrome.
The Little Italy neighborhood in Baltimore it’s smaller than similar Italian neighborhoods in New York and other bigger cities. It still has bunches of charm and character, though. It’s one of the city’s busiest restaurant districts, and with good reason… there’s a small bunch of excellent independent restaurants that offer delicious Italian cuisine. Even though it’s a very tightly-knit community, I’ve always found the people there warm and friendly. In the summer they show movies outdoors, projecting them on the outside wall of one of the restaurants. There’s also a public bocce court. And , Saint Leo’s church holds two festivals, the Feast of Saint Anthony, in June, and the Feast of Saint Gabriel, in August. During these festivals, a few of the streets are closed off, food, wine, beer and foods are sold, bands play and processions of the respective Saints march through the neighborhood.
