Street Photography

[NB23]

You have to have Balls of Steel.

I wouldn’t say Balls of Gold. Those Balls enable you to save lives by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to people in their own vomit. Rare are those with Balls of Gold, and they are not needed for good street photography.

But definitely Balls of Steel.

 

[AgX]

I am not quite sure what understanding of street photography you have and whether this is linked to vomit.

 

[Cholentpot]

I do street. Not Bruce Gilden style. If you want to be a jerk and follow the jerk rules then yes, by all means you need to be a rude moron.

Or you can get an autofocus SLR, stand on a corner and be polite. You can even use a 'gasp' telephoto lens! Self imposed rules are for chumps.

Shoot street on a 200mm lens, with a DSLR full vibrant color and ask your subject to pose or to walk into the light you want. Then you can dump that 45mp photo onto Instagram where it will be seen on a postcard sized screen for .2 seconds before swiping next. Maybe through some gaudy filter on it #nofilter #analog #portra #R6 #streetwise

Or you can go Vivian style. Shoot shoot and shoot, never develop and become a hero when you die.

 

[warden]

You have to have Balls of Steel.

I wouldn’t say Balls of Gold. Those Balls enable you to save lives by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to people in their own vomit. Rare are those with Balls of Gold, and they are not needed for good street photography.

But definitely Balls of Steel.

No you don't.

There, glad we got that settled.

 

[NB23]

I am not quite sure what understanding of street photography you have and whether this is linked to vomit.

Balls of Steel.
Balls of Gold.
Balls of mashed Paper.

Which one is you?

 

[AgX]

I know that on street, be it even at busy main station, it matters not being there at wrong place, wrong moment.
Knowing about this, which kind of balls makes that?


Well, in Germany there is no equivalent term to "street photography" other than meaning in the past commercial photographers taking pictures of tourists. This shows that it never was such a topic as in America.

I prefer the countryside, but before the pandemic I still strolled a lot through big cities including grim neigbourhoods. So far I have not yet come across anyone lying in his vomit.
If such ocurrances are a prerequisite for street photography, I am per definition out of the game. Thus my remark/question above.

Well then, is doing street photography a means to present once own ego?

 

[Willy T]

No you don't.

There, glad we got that settled.

Look at NB23's street.

It's not Vivian style, which is often quietly brilliant. It's not Herzog, which is emotive color field, and it is not Gilden, which is a mere sneak-attack, a goosing of victims into an involuntary neurologic startlement that is, in the end, phony.

it's not the well-exposed zero-impact, silent, motionless emptiness that characterises most of what is touted as "street" anymore by the huge crowd of the lorn manque who wish so badly to do "street" and buy all the gear, but lacking the sentience, flop.

It takes an eye, a sensibility for frisson, and it takes the kind of presence and engagement that wants the nerve he speaks of.

 

[Cholentpot]

Look at NB23's street.

It's not Vivian style, which is often quietly brilliant. It's not Herzog, which is emotive color field, and it is not Gilden, which is a mere sneak-attack, a goosing of victims into an involuntary neurologic startlement that is, in the end, phony.

it's not the well-exposed zero-impact, silent, motionless emptiness that characterises most of what is touted as "street" anymore by the huge crowd of the lorn manque who wish so badly to do "street" and buy all the gear, but lacking the sentience, flop.

It takes an eye, a sensibility for frisson, and it takes the kind of presence and engagement that wants the nerve he speaks of.

I mean in general it takes nerve to be a decent photographer. I do event work and have worked with others on gigs. Sure, you can lurk on the fringes taking potshots with a zoom. Or you can gorilla like me and charge your way into the fray to get that shot. I don't care, I'm being paid to get the shot. If the host feels I'm interfering then I expect the client to tell me to back off. I'm not rude or pushy but you need to have a bit of get-n-go to get the job done. Shy folks take shy photos.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

You have to have Balls of Steel.

I wouldn’t say Balls of Gold. Those Balls enable you to save lives by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to people in their own vomit. Rare are those with Balls of Gold, and they are not needed for good street photography.

But definitely Balls of Steel.

Look, I mean no disrespect, I do think it does take a certain amount of chutzpah to do street, but isn't it a bit over the top to state it as you did when you have photographers risking their lives in the streets of eastern Ukraine and other war-torn countries at this very moment?

I'd award the Balls of Steel to those who really deserve it.

 

[NB23]

Please don’t put intentions where there aren’t. This is a discussion forum and let’s discuss for the fun of it. Who cares about ukraine.

But if you want to get all serious about it, no need to go to Ukraine. Taking a simple photo at the corner of Milton and Park avenue can easily get you in trouble, in danger of getting into a fight, spitted on, and who knows what else.

 

[AgX]

But you did not speak of Milton and Park avenue, but about street photography in general.

Thus again my question, is street photography about the bad, ugly and dangerous?

 

[NB23]

But you did not speak of Milton and Park avenue, but about street photography in general.

Thus again my question, is street photography about the bad, ugly and dangerous?

Eeehhh... It wasn’t about Ukraine, neither.

Balls of steel is not about being a “warrior”.
Balls of steel implies, simply, lifting the camera to your eye without caring about what other people think, will say or do to you. It sounds almost stupid but it isn’t.

The psychological and invisible Astronaut suit that one must wear to make good street photography necessarily involves balls of steel.

Lifting the camera to your eye and taking a photo involves a lot.

 

[AgX]

This reads quite different from your first post.

However not caring for what others think (of what you are doing to them in public space) is debatable.



(By the way, at my very first "street photography" back then as a teenager I was threatened with a court case. Maybe this has influence on my photography until today...)

 

[NB23]

This reads quite different from your first post.

However not caring for what others think (of what you are doing to them in public space) is debatable.



(By the way, at my very first "street photography" back then as a teenager I was threatened with a court case. Maybe this has influence on my photography until today...)

You misread my first post. Seems to me you failed to understand the humor and the subtlety.
Instead of getting the idea between balls of gold and steel, you stuck on the vomit narrative. Funny.

Yes, my humor is awkward, I love it.

 

[Moose22]

Yes, my humor is awkward, I love it.

So are many of the subjects in your photographs. Doing odd things, reaching for a chair in water, kids playing in the snow bundled up... your street work sometimes reflects your vision. Sometimes awkward, sometimes funny, sometimes just "wait, what the heck is that?"

 

[Moose22]

Here. Awkward. And hilarious:

Post your street photography here

Not to mention paying less for the film and being more likely to process it yourself, hence saving even more. You might want to use Tri-X instead and then you would not have to deal with anything other than white, gray and black. Gee, thanks guys! I never would have thought of that myself...

www.photrio.com

 

[AgX]

You misread my first post. Seems to me you failed to understand the humor and the subtlety.
Instead of getting the idea between balls of gold and steel, you stuck on the vomit narrative. Funny.

Yes, my humor is awkward, I love it.

Keep in mind that some fellows here are not native speakers and already clueless about some standing expressions, let alone being able to understand certain humour.

 

[NB23]

Here. Awkward. And hilarious:

Post your street photography here

Not to mention paying less for the film and being more likely to process it yourself, hence saving even more. You might want to use Tri-X instead and then you would not have to deal with anything other than white, gray and black. Gee, thanks guys! I never would have thought of that myself...

www.photrio.com

Approaching this guy was not easy...

I have lots and lots of stories. Like that one time when a random dude in a car did a serious U-turn to double-check why I shot his car.
Or a stranger I wasnt even aware of came to me and warned me, in a super aggressive way, that he will spend his entire life tracking me down abd do what needs to be done if I ever post his photo online. Drugs...

 

[Moose22]

Approaching this guy was not easy...

I have lots and lots of stories. Like that one time when a random dude in a car did a serious U-turn to double-check why I shot his car.
Or a stranger I wasnt even aware of came to me and warned me, in a super aggressive way, that he will spend his entire life tracking me down abd do what needs to be done if I ever post his photo online. Drugs...

I had a homeless dude (one of the locals) go apeshit at me in a crowd.

I was taking pictures of the birds that will form in a V and cruise along the bluffs, not even people. People were actually in my way and pissing me off, stupid tourists.

I called him over and calmly talked to him. Showed him some of my photos (it was digital), told him if he was uncomfortable with me in the future to come and chat and we could delete anything with him if he wants. Dude didn't know what the hell to do with that and just shook my hand and walked away.

I have had less pleasant interactions as well. And always while NOT taking pictures of people. Like a fountain at a tourist town in Germany where a crazy lady started yelling at me. Or taking pictures of a little dog in a coffee shop (his owner knew and was good with it, we'd made eye contact across the room). It does make me worry more when I actually AM taking pictures and including people -- which is one reason I'm a terrible street photographer.

The dude when I was taking pictures of the dog was really passive aggressive. Kept saying "People think you're taking pictures of them" when he meant "Don't take my picture" but wouldn't just say it. kept hinting that I wasn't allowed to take ANYONE'S picture, even my new dog friend. When I told him what I was doing, specifically, he definitely didn't want to talk to me, just kept saying I shouldn't take people's pictures, "I'm just saying." So I yammered his ear off, told him my strategies for getting dogs to look at me, pulled out the phone and showed him pictures of other dogs I'd taken, and was generally really annoyingly friendly until he got sick of me and left, because screw you for being passive aggressive. My mom was catholic, so I can out passive aggressive you any day of the week.

Some people are just weird about shit. And that's coming from someone who is a terrible introvert who won't pose for a picture and far more likely to talk to your dog than to talk to you. You definitely have to have strategies. And read people to know which strategies to try. Sometimes you just need to stare at them with the dead eyes, other times you have to be so friendly they don't know how to be angry.

 

[NB23]

I had a homeless dude (one of the locals) go apeshit at me in a crowd.

I was taking pictures of the birds that will form in a V and cruise along the bluffs, not even people. People were actually in my way and pissing me off, stupid tourists.

I called him over and calmly talked to him. Showed him some of my photos (it was digital), told him if he was uncomfortable with me in the future to come and chat and we could delete anything with him if he wants. Dude didn't know what the hell to do with that and just shook my hand and walked away.

I have had less pleasant interactions as well. And always while NOT taking pictures of people. Like a fountain at a tourist town in Germany where a crazy lady started yelling at me. Or taking pictures of a little dog in a coffee shop (his owner knew and was good with it, we'd made eye contact across the room). It does make me worry more when I actually AM taking pictures and including people -- which is one reason I'm a terrible street photographer.

The dude when I was taking pictures of the dog was really passive aggressive. Kept saying "People think you're taking pictures of them" when he meant "Don't take my picture" but wouldn't just say it. kept hinting that I wasn't allowed to take ANYONE'S picture, even my new dog friend. When I told him what I was doing, specifically, he definitely didn't want to talk to me, just kept saying I shouldn't take people's pictures, "I'm just saying." So I yammered his ear off, told him my strategies for getting dogs to look at me, pulled out the phone and showed him pictures of other dogs I'd taken, and was generally really annoyingly friendly until he got sick of me and left, because screw you for being passive aggressive. My mom was catholic, so I can out passive aggressive you any day of the week.

Some people are just weird about shit. And that's coming from someone who is a terrible introvert who won't pose for a picture and far more likely to talk to your dog than to talk to you. You definitely have to have strategies. And read people to know which strategies to try. Sometimes you just need to stare at them with the dead eyes, other times you have to be so friendly they don't know how to be angry.

Yes, strategies. I generally don’t have the patience, all I want to do is to take photos and not talk. Not even smile.

I came up with a solution that I need to try asap: a Baseball cap with the word TOURIST in bold. And the only word to come out of my mouth would be “TOURISTOSSS” with a Frank Costanza tone.
The stressed “sss” is to make sure to differentiate the word from “turisto” and that nobody tries to engage a conversation. Touristosss is, after all, from an unknown language that even spanish couldn’t unlock.

I’m still too young to effectively fake Senility and Dementia, but that is in the cards also.

 

[awty]

People are weird, I mean really fkn weird, have you noticed? Its mesmerizing, sometimes I take snaps while passing by.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Approaching this guy was not easy...

I have lots and lots of stories. Like that one time when a random dude in a car did a serious U-turn to double-check why I shot his car.
Or a stranger I wasnt even aware of came to me and warned me, in a super aggressive way, that he will spend his entire life tracking me down abd do what needs to be done if I ever post his photo online. Drugs...

Fact is, since the Aubrie judgement, in Quebec it's illegal to publish—internet included—the photo of someone without his or her consent.

Not putting any judgement on the judgement, just stating a fact.

Aubry v Éditions Vice-Versa Inc - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Taking a simple photo at the corner of Milton and Park avenue can easily get you in trouble, in danger of getting into a fight, spitted on, and who knows what else.

Yeah, these McGill students are known toughies, especially those waiting in line for their latte at the Milton B. And I won't even mention the Chai Tea Lounge crowd across the street .

Since you're only a few blocks from what used to be known as The Golden Mile, I still think Golden Balls are in order, rather than steel.

 

[logan2z]

Fact is, since the Aubrie judgement, in Quebec it's illegal to publish—internet included—the photo of someone without his or her consent.

Not putting any judgement on the judgement, just stating a fact.

Aubry v Éditions Vice-Versa Inc - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The judgement does include this exception:

The Court limited this requirement to exclude persons whose photographs were taken during an event of public interest. That is, a person of public interest or equally an unknown person who is implicated in a public matter cannot claim image rights. Consequently, anyone whose photograph was incidental to a photo of some matter will be treated as part of the background and will not be able to claim their rights were violated.

So it seems like there are many cases - like photographing at a public rally/demonstration, etc. - that would not require permission to publish.

 

[AgX]

Fact is, since the Aubrie judgement, in Quebec it's illegal to publish—internet included—the photo of someone without his or her consent.

Such even is a crime in Germany. Since 1907...


Well, with few exceptions. The major problem here is recent legislation has been added, which already make the sole taking of photograph illegal. Making the whole a mess.