This photo was shot in Rethymno, Crete with a Canon 6D and a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens.

More often than not, experimental shots are just that. A nice interesting experiment by not something worthy of sharing with the wider world. That’s certainly mostly the case with me. It’s almost never the case that I take an ‘experimental’ shot and like the result first time. I tend to have to refine the shot a few times to get something I like, and each time I do so it becomes a little less impulsive and ‘street’ and more and more ‘art’ style. Every now and then though, a risky experimental shot will produce a result first time. This photo is an example of one for me.

The Ricoh GR is a beast of a camera in a small and almost anonymous package. I could rave on about the greatness of this little powerhouse, but my partner in crime, Spyros has pretty much covered it here. I’m still unlocking the joys of using this camera, and I’ve not been disappointed in it at all. In fact, it continues to impress. But, I’ve never taken it out alone on Street Hunts. What I mean is that I’ve always had my beloved Sony NEX6 with me. Ridiculous as it may sound, the NEX was my safety net. I had grown so familiar and comfortable with it, that I felt it necessary to have the Sony tag along. Absurd. In retrospect, I think I had some sort of strange separation anxiety! And it was like I didn’t trust myself with the Ricoh. Also, the GR is so small, that it fitted into the bag with my NEX. So, everybody came along for the ride. And I had options. With the few different lenses I have for the NEX, and the wider focal length of the GR, I could take on any shooting situation on the street.

Corners!

This is a photograph that has been shot with a Yashica Electro 35 GTN with Ilford HP5 400 film, in Rethymno, Crete, Greece.

I made this shot during the time I was obsessed with film, about 1 year and a couple of months ago. As I have mentioned many times in the past, film relaxes me. It slows me down and makes me focus more on the photograph I want to make. I have talked about this with other Street Photographers and most of them feel the same way.

Photo shot with a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens and a Canon 6D

I think the best thing about street photography is that it is unpredictable. When you head out onto the streets with your camera in your hand (or round your neck) you never know what will happen. You might be confronted with the most amazing street scene you’ve ever seen within moments of stepping out of your door and be able to start snapping away, or you might pound the streets for hours and not see a single thing or make a single photo. I know the latter is more often than not the case for me! Even if you don’t manage to get any photos, street photography is great because it gets you out there, in amongst it all, surrounded by and witnessing humanity and life in its many varied forms on the streets. If you choose to make street photography your vocation you are able to see and experience things that you just wouldn’t otherwise come across sat at home online or watching tv.

Sporting events would appear to be a potential goldmine for Street Hunting. Obviously, one factor that makes them great is that there is so many people there. For example, the venue where I took this shot is Camden Yards in Baltimore, home of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles and it boasts a capacity of almost 46,000 people. Even on a slow day, say with only one-third of that amount of people attending, that’s a lot of humans, and potential subjects, concentrated in one spot. Also, all those people are funneling into just a few entrances, usually just two or three. One would think that setting up camp or walking about one of the entrances would be akin to shooting fish in a barrel. However, it’s not as easy as it seems. Being that most of the folks attending are there to support a “local” team, they’re wearing the team’s colors. They’re sporting replica jerseys and caps. Essentially, a lot of the folks look the same! So, even though there’s a large quantity of people, it takes a keen eye to pick out memorable subjects, expressions or gestures in a sea of like-looking people.

Psychedelica!

This is a photograph that has been shot with a SONY NEX-6 with the SEL20F28 lens, in Rethymno, Crete, Greece.

In the summer of 2014 I did a really cool photo gig for a theatre. It was the first time I had ever done anything like that and I enjoyed the experience immensely. It really helped me unleash my creativity in a way similar to Street Photography but not exactly like it. What do I mean? Well Theatre photography is like shooting in the streets, especially if you have never watched the show before, but it is without the stress of photographing strangers. Composition opportunities are the same, in a more controlled environment, but with the unpredictability of the human behaviour, expressions, movements. Even though there are similarities with Street Photography it is more relaxing and feels a bit different. But hey, you must be thinking why am I rambling on about Theatre Photography on a Street Photography blog! This is why.

This photo was taken in Rethymno, Crete, Greece with a Canon 6D and a Canon 70-200mm f/4 L lens.

With street photography it’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and try something new sometimes. A good way to do this with photography is to try experimenting with shooting with different gear and working within the ‘limitations’ and restrictions this gear can bring. I use quotation marks around ‘limitations’ because you can see from the gear details above that it wasn’t like I was using a Holga or a pinhole camera or something, but I wasn’t using a gear combination traditionally suited to street photography either.

When I shot this photo back in March I was feeling a bit annoyed that the telephoto lens I’d managed to pick up for a great deal back at the start of the year had been sitting relatively unused in my cupboard for a while. I’d actually bought a telephoto with a view to being able to land some sports and wedding photography gigs but none had materialised, and I felt guilty that the lens was being neglected. So, in the absence of any sports events or weddings to gatecrash, I thought I’d challenge myself by using a 70-200 lens for street photography.

There’s nothing quite like the new gear buzz. And the buzz applies not only to new gear, but used gear that’s new to me. I find it to be an emotional rollercoaster. Peaks and valleys. There’s almost always an initial feeling of buyer’s remorse. Even though I thoroughly attempt to justify a purchase with hours and hours of research, I’ll still feel it. Specs. Reviews. Forums. Image samples. Budgeting. Then repeat. Over and over again. But then there’s the rush. The thrill of exploring what a new camera or lens is capable of. And there’s also frustration with newer digital cameras. The menus. Getting the settings dialed in. Just getting the feel. I felt all these things when I purchased a Ricoh GR recently. But in all honestly, it’s all irrelevant now, because this little gem has brought a huge amount of joy to my shooting in a very short amount of time. I’m so in love with this little beast and I think we’re going to have a very special relationship.

Boy & Girl

This is a photograph that has been shot with a Yashica Electro 35 GTN with IIlford HP5 400 pushed to 800 film, in Rethymno, Crete, Greece.

A year ago I was into film a lot and I loved shooting black and white trying out pushing and pulling and generally enjoying the film experience. One of the film cameras I own is the Yashica Electro 35 GTN, an absolute gorgeous fixed lens rangefinder camera that sports an amazing 45mm f1.8 lens. With that lens and the correct film I can shoot all the way into the night without any issues. The film sensitivity is different to the digital sensor sensitivity and when employing pushing techniques one can get some pretty impressive results.

Photo shot with 16-35 f/2.8 L lens on Canon 6D in Rethymno, Crete, Greece.

When it’s my turn to choose one of my photos for Street Hunters Weekly Pic I always choose a photo I’m particularly proud of, and with an interesting back story. But this week I want to do something a little different, and share a photo with you because of what it means to me personally, and the emotions it conveys.

You will probably have been bombarded of late by news of Greece’s economic and political woes, with photos of rallies, protests, and queues at ATMs. I’ve shot my own share of photos at ‘No’ Syriza rallies and ‘Yes’ rallies too, but it doesn’t seem right to share one here and now. This week I want to share a photo that epitomises the positive spirit of Greece, and the incredible qualities this country has to offer, and remind us all that the hard times now are just a period in the country’s rich and long history, and will eventually come to an end.