thechrisproject photography

Since being exposed to Frank and Winogrand this year, I’ve been extremely interested in street photography. There’s some really amazing work out there being produced by all sorts of people. Check out this slideshow for some of the better street work on Flickr. That group has taught me a lot, most of all how to be critical of my own work.

So every focused group has their own set of frequently asked questions. For DSLRs, it’s usually, “Which lens should I get?” You see it over and over. For street, it’s usually, “How do I take pictures of strangers on the street?” It’s a good question. There are many excellent resources on it, including Ways of Working by Michael David Murphy. There was a thread in the HCSP discussion area recently about overcoming shooting shyness. Jim O’Connell added this great comment, which sums up a lot and even answered some questions I have.

Here’s what I tell people to help them get over their shyness and avoid confrontation:

Be obvious.

Never try to hide what you are doing, just put yourself right in the middle of the busiest place you can at first and keep your camera up by your face. Make it obvious that you are right out in the open, taking pictures.

At first, spend some time planted in the middle of the sidewalk, between oncoming foot traffic and look right through people. Don’t pan in on any one person, just look at your whole frame and watch how people move. Wait five or ten seconds at least before taking your first shot and a bit of time before changing position.
Snap an occasional photo, but don’t immediately take the camera from your eye, just pause a moment. This adds a bit of doubt as to whether you actually took a photo or not. Make it seem as though you changed your mind at the last moment. After shooting, move the camera slightly aside and look above and beyond and straight through the people, as though you were waiting for them to get out of the way.

Never stare, look through people. Never “whip out your camera” when you see an “interesting” person or situation, “already be taking pictures” when they enter your frame. It helps transform a situation from a stolen snapshot of someone into one of “you happened to be in my frame.”

Concentrate on setting up a good composition first. Pick a background that works for you and start working with it. Keep your camera up and move it to your eye to check the frame. Move slowly and deliberately. Never let your camera get out of sight and people will feel less threatened. Smile and nod to people who see you. Say hello and don’t be afraid to tell them that you are just out having a walk and taking pictures. If someone seems to want their picture taken, take it and get their name and email to get them a copy of the photo.

If you make up some bullshit story about what you’re doing, people aren’t likely to believe you, especially if you are nervous. Pulling out the “photographer’s rights” pamphlet will seem confrontational to a lot of people. You’ll do better by offering to send them a print, rather than telling them that they have no right to stop you from taking their picture. If they still object after seeing the preview, delete the photo and let it stay deleted. That’s just good karma, unless there is some overriding value to the photo, such as a news event or possibly a really good composition where the person is not identifiable.

If confronted, be calm and reasonable. If the cops show up, be the one who appears more sane and you’ll have less trouble. If the cops tell you that you’re wrong and you know that you’re right, *that’s* the time to dig a rumpled copy of the “photographer’s rights” pamphlet from the bottom of your bag. Rights or not, you’re going to get hassled if people think you’re some creep sneaking photos.
The more obvious you are, the more likely it is that some sympathetic stranger will step in to vouch for you and explain that you’ve been out there taking snapshots innocently all day. Having a half-dozen postcard prints of your work will help let people know that you’re not a pervert shooting upskirt pictures of teenaged girls. Give your cards and prints to people who like them. Tell them that it could be worth a lot of money one day, if you become famous. ;-)

Listen to your sixth sense and if you feel like things are getting strange, move on and get out, as fast as necessary. Always wear shoes that you can run in and don’t carry a lot of cumbersome junk with you.

If possible, take some time with a friend and a video camera. Have our friend record how you shoot and watch it. Ask yourself how you would react to having your picture taken by someone like you.

First up, Eurobad, the worst of European interiors from 1974.

Next up, great Olan Mills portraits:

I’ve actually dabbled in the Olan Mills style before:

And in a discussion on Mike Johnston’s ingenious satire of internet photography critics, someone brought up this amazing photo from a deleteme group on flickr. These groups work like this: you add a photo to the group’s pool. Then members look at your photo and critique, ultimately issuing a delete or save for the picture. After you get a certain number of votes, your photo stays in the pool or gets deleted from it. They’re great for getting critiques and views, though whether either of those features is worthwhile is up for debate. What Andre did was upload a photo taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson and submit it for critique without giving away who took the photo. Some people obviously got it quickly but others offered their advice on how the photo could’ve been improved. The blur was a big no-no. Someone suggested using a tripod. Some people figured it out but defended their critiques, saying that some people were worshipping the photo just because of the photographer, and not the photo itself. However you look at it, it’s pretty damn funny.

My only gripe is with the people thinking they’re giving good critique, when all they’re doing is giving some technical wankery.

My problem with these groups is not that they give critiques, it’s that I don’t think it’s useful to get critiques from just anyone.

Original Interview

DL: Is there something photography is lacking, if anything?

JR: I can’t help thinking that it lacks so much, simply because of its inherent limitations. In that sense you can’t blame it. But you can feel a bit embarrassed observing it’s importance being inflated to laughable proportions. Photography is the homeland that flocks of itinerant charlatans have spent generations seeking. It it so replete with the ordinary pretending to be extraordinary … and I’m as guilty as anyone of lionizing mediocrity - my home-loan company requires it of me. I suppose there’s an academic argument for it being the art form of our age … shabby times, given to a relentless stream of product rendered quickly for an audience of glazed eyes and dull, lazy minds. As such I suppose it becomes relevant as a kind of cultural emblem. This relevance, however, doesn’t go far in offsetting the paucity of the experience of dealing with what is frequently required of us on a day-to-day basis. But like anything, if you suspend disbelief and confer special status upon material which is deeply banal, you can quickly build yourself a new hierarchy of value whereby bad is good and okay is wonderful … and ten minutes later you can confidently pontificate upon such things as ‘greatness’ and ‘beauty’. People will apparently know what you’re talking about and nod accordingly. Maybe you can even sell some stuff.

(emphasis by me)

I don’t even remember how I stumbled across Big Happy Funhouse, but I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it since I did.

From Wikipedia’s entry on Vernacular Photography

Vernacular photography refers to the creation of photographs by amateur or unknown photographers who take everyday life and common things as subjects. Examples of vernacular photographs include travel and vacation photos, family snapshots, photos of friends, class portraits, identification photographs, and photobooth images. Vernacular photographs can also be considered types of “accidental” art, in that they often are unintentionally artistic in some way.