I'd never tried before, so I decided to be a "street photographer" yesterday. I forbid myself from using my camera's meter or autofocus, and made every exposure based on what I know about light. I set the camera as ISO 400, stuck on my 50mm (which is more like a 75mm for me) so I wouldn't have to get TOO close, for now, and did the best that I could.
I learned a lot.
First of all, it's not as easy as I thought it would be. I lost MANY shots because I couldn't focus fast enough. My eyeglasses were a real pain, making it difficult to see, quickly, how well the focus was. Next time, I'll wear contacts. If I did manage to fire the trigger just to take a stab at the shot, generally, that meant I hadn't left enough time to think about exposure and the shot was, usually, underexposed. I tried to adjust the camera as the light I was in changed and this worked, for the most part. It really helped to force me to memorize proper lighting for different scenarios instead of starting at something I knew and counting forwards or backwards. But when I was standing in something a few stops brighter than what I was shooting, if I took the time to change my exposure, the shot was gone. Sometimes, when I knew I missed it, I'd try to retake the shot. It's funny to look at the images I ended up with. First you'll see a well-framed shot that looks as though I got there at just the right time, but two stops under exposed. And then, right after, you'll see a shot properly exposed, but not nearly as interesting to look at with the subject turned away, uninterested, or… just no longer there at all.
Secondly, I'm not risky enough. I don't get close enough, I don't have balls enough to jump in there and do it. Even though I was using my 50mm, I found that a lot of the images were more interesting if I cropped them (or got closer). And the fact that the really good street photographers often do it with a 35mm lens is impressive. I didn't realize it would be so hard. As soon as I get the exposure and focusing times down a bit I'm going to try this a little bit differently. The next time I try this, I'll do it without Jess around and I'm going to force myself to act beyond my comfort zone for at least 50 shots in a row.
I'm pleased that most of the exposures were correct and that most of the focusing was right on (when I had the time to get it there). The shot you see above is one of the better shots I got where people were involved and timing was important. Even then, I had to crop out a little from the top and a little from the right side to make it interesting. And, I had at least 10 seconds to take that, which is more than usual. And, even with all that, it isn't that great. Below is a slightly better shot. Exposure and focus was all handled manually, but, in this case, I was able to take my time getting ready.
The best shot of the day was lost… twice. There was a man out behind the tents cooking two giant smokers full of chicken. As he started to open the cover, I adjusted the exposure and focus and started to frame him in the viewfinder. The smoke was billowing out all around him, and the lighting on the chickens was great. It was really a GOOD shot. But, by the time I was ready, he was closing the lid. I chalked it up as a loss until I saw him grabbing for the other lid. I put my camera to my eye and was ready to go. But this time, he didn't even spend 2 seconds checking them. So, even though I snapped, the lid was half shut and I only got a whole lot of smoke. The guy turned around and noticed I was trying to take his picture and he said, "you want me to open it again?". But, I'm too nice, and my balls are too small, so I said, "no thanks. That's okay." Yeah, I know. I'm stupid.
it's empty without you
(click to enlarge)
