Attempts at Street Photography

Street photography definitely isn't my kind of thing. I find that I don't really feel anything when people are in the frame. Though that also pertains to general portait photography too. Though with an interest in photography, I still try to expand out and take photographs of things in the street, finding moments of interest or people that seem to stand out a bit. But one thing I always dislike about this sort of photography is the weirdness of photographing strangers. Some masters of photography don't really care, if anything the very confused, human and deeply personal reactions people give is what drives them to do it. In my case, I can't stand when people look towards the camera. I hate when people get into the frame or look in my direction, and for that reason most of the photographs I take just don't contain people at all. I prefer environments that are more open, urban, with composition and lighting as the focus rather than the people within the image.

In a place like London, however, that isn't always possible. It can be an incredibly dense city, with many areas just flowing with crowds of people seemingly at every moment. Areas with many things going on, many subjects to photograph if street photography and perhaps portaits are your thing. Though in the case of these photographs, I made sure that those subjects were mostly street performers, and protestors. People that knew they'd be photographed and certainly used to it. With some general attempts at shadows and crowds in the other two images that sort of fell flat. Though I'm glad I attempted them.

They were taken at different times throughout the years, but given their nature I never really bothered to do anything with them. They were some of my least enjoyed photographs! Some around the time I was still relatively new to digital photography and experimenting with the settings, also getting familiar with my -- and I know it sounds contradictory given my lack of interest in this area -- Sony FE 85mm F1.8 portrait lens. Though this quickly became one of my favourite lenses due to its open aperature and its 85mm focal length, while perfect for portraits, it's also a very versatile lens for getting up close to subjects with an incredibly nice bokeh to follow.

Each of the photographs were taken in different parts of London, I believe before the pandemic took place. Though fortunately these days it doesn't seem much different now. Everything back to normal, just more expensive! Perhaps once the weather picks up I may try to get more into street photography and see what I can do. While it isn't something I feel much connection to, I do feel like it helped train my eye a bit more subjects that stand out, and how to be quick and ready to capture such events without relying on the automated aspects of a digital camera.

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