This is the first in a series about street photography from my good friend and photographer Daniel J. Wood. 

So, you are looking to increase your street photography chops? Great, because there is no right or wrong camera for the job. Whatever you’ve got, it will be perfect. Okay, maybe not perfect, but it will be more than adequate. Eventually, you’ll find a style and subject that suits you and can choose camera/lens combos for your needs. In another segment we will go through different camera modes and lens types, but for now let’s take a brief walk through the history of street photography and the philosophy behind it.

A Brief History

Street photography really started to take off in the 1930s and 40s with the popularization of 35mm film which helped the photographer move around much quicker and inconspicuously compared to the larger format cameras of the time. Also, film was starting to become more light-sensitive which allowed the photographer shorter shutter durations and the ability to shoot handheld in lower light levels.

Essentially journalists, guys like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and Walker Evans pushed photography as an art by capturing the humanist side of life. Finding emotion by using split-second decision-making in available light to create what Cartier-Bresson termed, with a book of the same name, “the decisive moment.” It was about creating something momentous of the mundane. Since then, the basic premise of street photography has been the same, taking candid photographs of humanity. Or as I like to call it, journalism of the everyday.

Tools of the Trade

Technology has come along way since then. From a smartphone to a full-frame SLR, you have the tools to get the image you want. The great thing about the camera in your phone is that the lens is similar in focal length to what most people use for street work with interchangeable lens cameras. For those who can change lenses, I am a big fan of 28mm (full-frame equivalent) lenses, which is what I have attached to my camera. Such a big fan that for my main camera, this is the only lens I have, but anything from 24mm-50mm is adequate. And as always, you are not limited to that by any means.

No matter what type of camera you are using you can easily practice several techniques to push your skills a bit further. Just because it is street photography and not some carefully crafted fine art still life doesn’t mean that composition is not important. There should still be a carefully defined foreground, middle-ground and background, but feel free to play with what is in those areas. When you use your camera enough, you start to know what the images will look like without even putting your eye to the viewfinder. Knowing this is important to composition as you will see like your camera does and therefore, what will and will not fit into the frame.

Filling The Frame

Pick a subject, a person is always nice to show emotion, but even a unique object such as a certain sign or building can be especially great if you use composition to create interesting angles and color (or tonality for those B&W shooters) changes. If it is a person, focus on them, wait for them to hit the right area of the frame or a particular glance, hit the shutter and let the magic happen.

Obviously light plays an important part, really the whole part, in photography so choosing a good time of day to shoot helps, particularly when photographing buildings. Different lighting situations will help create different moods for your images. Those times of the day in which strong shadows happen are great, but I will take shooting in or just after it rains any day — I have to take what I can get here in Seattle. Sometimes, though, the best photos happen in less than optimal conditions, so go ahead and take it. If the subject or emotion or whatever it is that grabbed your attention is great enough, who cares if it is “golden hour.” Just take the picture.

daniel j. wood

Daniel J. Wood is a writer, photographer and musician who currently resides in Seattle. He is a lover of music and art and is consistently working on blending different mediums together to create unique pieces that tend to focus on introspection through the outward examination of others. His works include “Self-Portraits” a hand-bound letter-pressed photo/story book featuring 4×5 fabric contact prints and “Untitled Dreams I, II and III” which are massive 35’ long prints. His ongoing project “The Streets” is a collection of photographs which document the surroundings in which he immerses himself in. The main image in this article is part of a collection called "Sea Breeze" that will be available as a book soon. Wood can be found on Instagram here.

By Daniel Wood

Let me first start by saying I don’t want this to be a film is better or digital is better discussion. It’s useless as they both have their reasons for using. And luckily for both camps, advances in technology have made it easier to use both and incorporate them into each other’s realm.

A while back, even a mere 5 years ago, nobody dreamed of artistically viewing photos on a computer screen or especially a cell phone screen, but, because they have become so ubiquitous and with such high-resolution displays, people do view digitally more than they look at printed photos. Still, there is nothing I love seeing more than a well-printed photograph or an incredibly curated photo book.

Despite what Instagram might suggest, filters are not meant to make photos look like film. They’re meant to make photos look like OLD faded photographs. Like what you find in your grandparents box of photos tucked inside their closet. Film itself is actually incredibly well detailed and with lifelike colors and sharpness. Each brand (mostly Fuji, Kodak and Ilford these days) have their own look to the film and offer different types (film stocks) for different occasions. Film even has a much higher dynamic range, and before anybody talks about HDR techniques, they are available to film shooters too and it requires a static subject. I shoot film because of this realism that it creates.

fiona

One of the most important aspects of photographing to me is the experience I have while shooting. I want to be inspired when I photograph. Each and every camera, whether film or digital, offers its own unique style. The way the camera handles, the controls, the way you see through the viewfinder, the feeling you get when you click the shutter. It all adds up to inspire you.

When I feel like walking around shooting whatever pops in front of me and I need compact camera that is discreet, I strap my Leica over my shoulder and shoot nearly invisibly due to its whisper quite shutter. However, when I need something a bit larger and have an idea of what I will be photographing I will bust out the Hasselblad and peer down through the most amazing viewfinder in the world. I feel like I’m in another dimension with that camera. Plus, the big square image I get afterwards and the huge CLUNK when you press the shutter is immensely satisfying. And when I have a project that is set in stone and I want to get the best image I can, I mount my 4x5 monorail camera on its tripod and take all the time in the world. That is a camera of patience and imagination since you must set up your photo, look through the ground glass screen and then insert the film which blocks your view and finally you can activate the shutter. But the detail of that image is unparalleled!

For someone who wants to get into film photography, whether already well-versed in digital or getting into photography for the first time, there is a camera for you. I tend to shoot cameras that are purely mechanical without automatic functions but that is only because they work for what I shoot and fit my workflow. There are film cameras still being made with just as much automation of exposure and focus as any digital camera will give.

For someone who wants to learn all the basics I’d stick with a manual camera like my trusty Pentax K1000 that can be picked up with a great lens for $50-$100 on a regular basis. For someone who wants a bit more dedicated functions the Canon AE-1 is a great camera around the same price. And if you want something like the experience and handling of shooting a modern digital camera, the Nikon F6 is still being made for around $2000 new. If you already have a digital and want to use your current lineup of lenses, there are plenty of great used film cameras that will most likely accept those same lenses, especially from Nikon, Canon and Pentax.

Once you find that perfect camera for you, choosing what you do with the images is up to you. First you must get them developed either at your local photo lab or there are plenty available online in which you mail your film to the lab and they return within a week or two. You can also choose to have them scan the film for you to edit on your computer and upload to your portfolio site, send to friends, or post on Instagram. If you are adventurous, it’s rather easy to develop black and white negatives at home using a few simple chemicals and a bathroom.

rada

If you choose to print your photos, labs will typically do very good inkjet prints for you at a size you choose, or if you are lucky enough, there will be a darkroom lab in your community you can go to and print your photos yourself. That’s where the real magic happens! Many colleges also have at least a black and white darkroom that can be used if you enroll in a class. Color printing is a bit more difficult and requires specialized chemicals and equipment, but well worth it if you have access.

Lastly, for those who aren’t ready to dive into film but want to explore some of the looks of different films, companies like VSCO sell different “film stocks” that can be used as plug-ins in Photoshop and Lightroom or whatever other photo editor you use. Some of them are intended to replicate actual films both current and vintage but also offer effects like expired film or light leaks and faded photographs.

All that really matters, though, is that you find something that works for you. Maybe it’s one camera that does it all or several different cameras that offer their own experience. Go out and explore, experiment and be inspired.

Daniel Wood is a writer, photographer and musician who currently resides in Seattle, WA. He is a lover of music and art and is consistently working on blending different mediums together to create unique pieces that tend to focus on introspection through the outward examination of others. His works include “Self-Portraits” a hand-bound letter-pressed photo/story book featuring 4x5 fabric contact prints and “Untitled Dreams I, II and III” which are massive 35’ long prints. His ongoing project “The Streets” is merely a collection of photographs which document the surroundings in which he immerses himself in.