'' "Everybody Street" illuminates the lives and work of New York's iconic street photographers and the incomparable city that has inspired them for decades. The documentary pays tribute to the spirit of street photography through a cinematic exploration of New York City, and captures the visceral rush, singular perseverance and at times imlmediate danger customary to these artists." "
The film features many successful street photographers such as, Joel Meyerowitz, Elliot Erwitt, Jill freedman, Martha Cooper, Boogie, Bruce Davidson, Bruce Gilden, Jeff Mermelatein, Jamel Shadazz, Mary Ellen Mark, Clayton Patterson and Rebecca Lepkoff. |
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Favourite street photograph: Boogie
This image was taken by Boogie. It looks to me like the photo was taken outside of a bus window by chance and the passenger inside just happened to be sleeping with a book in his hand. The photo is in black and white, and not in colour this makes it have a calmer and more relaxed atmosphere. The man is still and composed and that atmosphere radiates off of him. However, the background does not look as calm because of the reflection from the window, so you have to focus on the window or the background itself.
From the angle it was taken in, it seems like the photographer was stand diagonally at the bus stop or just a pavement and while the bus was slowly moving passed he took the image. I think the photographer was standing still when he took this image because if not it would have been slightly blurry where the man is sitting. I think the photographer used lecia because the photographer is mostly focusing on one thing and did use not a wide angle lens to put lots of information. He was isolated the subject and drew all out attention to it that is why it is what we look at first.
From the angle it was taken in, it seems like the photographer was stand diagonally at the bus stop or just a pavement and while the bus was slowly moving passed he took the image. I think the photographer was standing still when he took this image because if not it would have been slightly blurry where the man is sitting. I think the photographer used lecia because the photographer is mostly focusing on one thing and did use not a wide angle lens to put lots of information. He was isolated the subject and drew all out attention to it that is why it is what we look at first.
What I learnt about the film 'Everybody Street'
I have watched the film 'Everybody Street'. It consists of many different major street photographers. The movie includes Joel Meyerowitz, Boogie, Elliot Erwit, Jill Freedmen, Martha Cooper and Bruce Davidson there are many other photographers that contribute to the film. The photographers each get interviewed and they reveal how they got into street photography and some of their techniques, interests also other tips to the world of street photography. I have learnt a lot about the photographers, for example, I learnt how they behave when taking pictures. The photographer Boogie describes himself as being a ''samurai''. This suggests he is very quick on his feet and ready to take the next image in a swiftfull but elegant movement like the samurai. He says ''Don't think just react''. I also learnt that street photographers have to be very secretive and invisible when taking pictures to make sure nobody notices. This also means they have to think carefully about what type of equipment they use.
The equipment that the street photographers influences what kind of image they produce. Most of the street photographers use a 35mm leica. The is a very useful equipment especially for street photographers because it very handy its; light, small, portable, has good lens and good optics. This tool is perfect because nobody will hear the camera and in most cases people never notice that the picture is being taken of them. However, Martha Cooper used and SLR with long, telephoto lens. She used this to take pictures that were far. She would take photo of subway trains which had graffiti on. She would stand of top of cars for hours waiting for the trains to come pass.
The subjects that most interest them is 'culture' and 'physical and emotions of the public'. Observing the way that people behave in their daily lives. For example, Boogie would go to the projects, a place where the poor, gangsters and drug addicts live and take photos of them. He would take pictures of how they behaved and interacting with them by listening to their stories. His photos of the people had a deep meaning and gave the audience an insigh of how people survived and why they took drugs.
Street photographers like to pretend it's a movie when taking pictures and they are just capturing the moment, they also find clarity in it that is why they do it. ''Busy and unpredictable'' - says Joel Meyerowitz. This suggest that he like how the streets function and how something can happen at any minute. Street photographers like learning to read the culture around them. The fashion, community, diversity and trying to preserve that they see for the next person. To them it is their sanity.
Photo Challenge #1 - Ways of seeing
First set in school
My teacher told us to complete the first challenge, ways of seeing. I was told to take images in the way we see things.
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Here are my very first sets of 'Street Photography' photos taken in school and I think for my first I'm impressed with myself. I got really good close ups of some of the people and was able to to some over the shoulder shots and caught the images at good moments while some of the people didn't see it coming. |
EBI
It would have better if I was able to get more close ups of people faces like the street photographer Bruce Gilden when he goes right up to faces. This would got more of a reactions from the people. Futhermore it would have more effective it if I focused on the angles and the light I got from the sun. |
Looking Down
I took this photo looking down at the school from the railings. I slightly tilted the camera so the arrangements works and so it emphasises the images more. Its quite interesting to me how the 3 students form a triangular shape also how they are much darker from the background. This makes them stand out more and draws all the attention to them futhermore, its more dramatic because the image is tilted.
I took this photo looking down at the school from the railings. I slightly tilted the camera so the arrangements works and so it emphasises the images more. Its quite interesting to me how the 3 students form a triangular shape also how they are much darker from the background. This makes them stand out more and draws all the attention to them futhermore, its more dramatic because the image is tilted.
Over the shoulder
In this photo I stood behind the student and took an over the shoulder shot as he was walking across the railings to the next block. It was some easy to take because the the railings are so crowed none thinks to look back at what is going on behind them. I like this photo because the contrast of the black white because the students bag it black and his shirt looks white however, everything else just looks grey.
In this photo I stood behind the student and took an over the shoulder shot as he was walking across the railings to the next block. It was some easy to take because the the railings are so crowed none thinks to look back at what is going on behind them. I like this photo because the contrast of the black white because the students bag it black and his shirt looks white however, everything else just looks grey.
Crooping
Cropping is simply when you take a photo of somebody but then crop it, to draw the focus so another part of their body. Usually it's what the person is holding or doing with their hands. This photo interested me because how black her bag was compared to her surroundings and also the lines of the concrete bench and floor. The lines or the concrete floor are crossing each other and from the angle I have taken the photo they look some what diagonal when they are not.
Cropping is simply when you take a photo of somebody but then crop it, to draw the focus so another part of their body. Usually it's what the person is holding or doing with their hands. This photo interested me because how black her bag was compared to her surroundings and also the lines of the concrete bench and floor. The lines or the concrete floor are crossing each other and from the angle I have taken the photo they look some what diagonal when they are not.
Walk on by
This technique is basically when capture a shot of when someone is walking on the street or in this case the school concourse. This image is intriguing to me because the student blocks one of poles with his body but then the pole reappears from the top of his head. Also it is interesting how the other sets of poles (to the left) are in a parallel line and how there is one after the other.
This technique is basically when capture a shot of when someone is walking on the street or in this case the school concourse. This image is intriguing to me because the student blocks one of poles with his body but then the pole reappears from the top of his head. Also it is interesting how the other sets of poles (to the left) are in a parallel line and how there is one after the other.
Set 2
I am going to take a set of images and try to improve on my first set.
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Here is the second set of images I took, these are also in the school. What I like about this that I was more close to the people and some of the pictures are taken from a high view. Also I got more images of peoples faces showing theirs expressions. Futhermore, I like the fact that there is much more angles involved in this of images. In addition I'm pleased with the way I was able to capture people with they were moving so the image looks blurry. |
EBI
To improve these images It would have better If I took more pictures where the people were moving in a fast motions making them look blurry and hard to see. Also, it would have good if I took less photos of peoples backs but instead I should have taken them of their facial expressions. It also would have been interesting to see what would happen if I put the camera on the setting which makes a moving object seem still but the background is still moving. |
Garry Winogrand, Sunset Boulevard 1969
I made this mind map during my lesson time. I was then told to put my whole evaluate together to make a solid paragraph.
This photo is an image taken by Garry Winogrand, in 1969 at Sunset Boulevard. The first thing that captures my attention in this photo is the man in the left corner who is hidden in the shadows, he is almost invisible. The fact he is disabled suggests that the angle is purposely like that so he is put in the shadows because if you analysised picture there is a obvious class difference between everyone (only one person actually sees him). There seems to a hierarchy where three women are the top and the man is at the bottom. In the image the main attention goes to them because of their clothing, it's very fancy and glamours also the street they are is for the famous which suggest they come from a wealthy background. However, this photo is very irritating because its tilted so you need to move your head a lot to see it at the right angle. Futhermore, the tilt in the photo makes the image look like it stops at a certain point and the lines are no parallel.
Photo challenge #2 - Bruce Gilden
My aim of this challenge is to evaluate Bruce Gilden's picture and to make some of my own in colour and black and white in same why as Gilden.
This is one of Brue Gildens photos, it really captures the pedastrains facial expressions and feelings. The emotions on the peoples faces look surprised, scared (especially the old lady) and flustered. This photo has a ghost, where the background is blurry and looks like its moving whereas, the people look like still images but the out line of their clothes looks faded and transparent. The camera angle in which Bruce has taken this photo is low like he was crouching down a bit. I can tell because of how you can inside the women's nose. The image is really close up to the old lady, one of Bruce's favourite subjects is to take photography is of old people because they are wrinkle faced and have more experience in their expressions.
BEFORE
AFTER
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What went well for me in these photos was that I got really close to people just like Bruce Gilden also I got really good ghost effects, where the people look almost transparent and ghostly. In most of them the whole images looks completely blurry and the people are faded. I got some good expressions from some of the students, I was quick and secretive like Gilden. The photos have much of an effect in black and white because they resemble Gilden's work. Futhermore, the black and white are effective because of the way they contrast together for example, how the subjects of the photos contrast with the background because some people are darker than the background and some are lighter. |
EBI
It would have better if I tried to move will taking the picture because the flash would have had long exposure which means that the images would have come out bit like Gilden's photos. This would have been more effecting because the images would have been more faded/transparent. |
Photo challenge #3 - Diagonals
My aim was to take images with diagonals by tilting the camera and changing the angles I took the images in.
Photos I took during the half term:
What I told to do for this halt term homework was to combine all I've learnt about street photography so far and to produce a homework with all that in it.
Out of all the images I took, these are my favourite because they represent uniformity. Uniformity means when something is in uniform or in order. Overall, it means homogeneity and sameness or regularity.
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What I admire about this first image, is how the pedestrians are all in diagonal line going up the escalator and that the opposite side is going down. All the people look in uniform, standing behind each other holding on the escalators. What I also like about the second picture is that its' somewhat in uniformity but not much. Because even though the crowd is somewhat jumbled, when you look closely in the middle of the photo its easy to spot that the crowd is going in opposite direction. |
EBI
However, it would have been more affective if in the first image I was to raise my camera a bit so that the opposite side of escalator that is going down can be seen. By doing this it would have showed uniformity more clearly. In the second image, it would have better if I moved while taking the images because then the the pedestrians would have been slightly blurry and more abstract. |
Photo challenge #4 - Rule of thirds
The Rule of Thirds is like a guideline to help you make better images.
controlled assessment
I was given the theme Street Photography. I really enjoy it because of how natural its is, not all of street photography is posed so its like capturing the world around in a picture and the image s taken no editing is done to it.
I researched 'Street photography' on pinterest to develop some inspiration and come up with some ideas.