Working With Layers in Street Photography, Part Two
John Lewell Photography
by John Lewell
3y ago
One of the keys to success in layering is to have meaningful correspondence between the different layers: between subjects in the foreground, middle-ground and background. It’s not enough simply to fill up the image with layered content. There needs to be something more, such as capturing each element in an aesthetically pleasing position within the frame. You may need some luck to get it exactly right because you can’t control the subject. You can adjust only your viewpoint or the settings on your camera. Three Steps The best way to capture a moment in time and preserve the various layers of ..read more
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Working With Layers in Street Photography, Part One
John Lewell Photography
by John Lewell
3y ago
In street photography, layers are successive planes of interest and action, occupying the foreground, middle ground and background, each one holding information that captures the viewer’s attention. Together, these layers form a complete, “symphonic” image, taken in a single capture. I use the term symphonic in much the same way as E.M. Forster used it in Aspects of the Novel. The symphonic novel represents the pinnacle of a writer’s achievement, being the most difficult form to create successfully but also the most rewarding for the reader. For example, the symphonic novel will have multiple ..read more
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Do Street Photographers Need the Validation of their Peers?
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
Comedians get validation when people laugh. Politicians get validation when you vote for them. Street photographers get validation when you look at their work and don’t complain about it too loudly. Among the many definitions of validation is this one from the Oxford Dictionary: “Recognition or affirmation that a person or their feelings or opinions are valid or worthwhile.” I love the way “or” is repeated four times in that sentence! It’s like one of those vague recipes which says “use chicken, or beef, or lamb or turkey.” However, if you think about it (and it’s actually a very well crafted ..read more
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Will Street Photography Last for a Thousand Years?
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
I’m sorry for the ambiguity of the title. There are two questions here: will people still be taking candid street photos a thousand years from now? And will they still want to look at the street photos we’re taking today? Please note: I’ve already discussed the latter question from a 500 year perspective (“Will Anyone Want to Look At Our Street Photos 500 Years From Now?“) Looking Back To help us think about it, we can look back a thousand years, and, in the absence of photography, consider other media such as writing, painting, and sculpture. For example, in The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, t ..read more
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When Your Street Photo Really Has to Be Square
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
Just before taking the above image I felt the familiar set of mental signals that tells me: “this is potentially a good shot.” The composition has all the elements I like: movement, purpose, engagement, colour matching (orange), colour distribution (blue), a curious object — no, two or three curious objects! Yet even as I took it I had a sinking feeling that it didn’t quite work. There was a blank area at bottom left, too much car at top left and distracting detail on the other side of the pillar on the right. I didn’t store the photo with the ones I like best until after I’d thought generally ..read more
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BNE Was Here, There, and Everywhere
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
Going through my photos from Bangkok from last year, I came across the featured image (above). It has the kind of juxtaposition I like: with the surfeit of visual messages on every object, including the woman’s body. Most prominent of all the messages is one that says: “BNE Was Here.” It’s a message you’ll come across again and again if you take street photos in the cities of the Far East. For example, here’s another one (below). I took it because of the distinct oddness of the couple: a girl with a big floppy ribbon in her hair and a boy furtively holding a cigarette while carrying in front o ..read more
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Must Street Photos Always Be Imperfect?
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
We live in an imperfect world — photography records the world as it is — therefore photography is always imperfect. Looking at the impeccably finished images of advertising, fashion, and landscape photography you could be forgiven for overlooking this fact. After all, creative people strive for perfection — or at least try to make their work as good as it can be. Only in the street or on the battlefield does reality successfully resist our natural urge to make it appear aesthetically perfect. I have a measure of sympathy with the view expressed by Canadian photographer Patrick La Roque, who ma ..read more
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How Fast Does the City Change When You Take Street Photos?
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
Before our great cities were locked down, making their streets deserted, they were places of swirling humanity. In fact, in the busiest areas the scene could change dramatically in a few seconds. Here are my observations about this phenomenon, written before the world was paralysed by SARS-CoV-2 from Wuhan. So Many Opportunities Big cities offer far more opportunities for street photography than you’ll ever find in a small town. Why? Not necessarily because they’re bigger but because they contain huge crowds of people who gravitate towards the most popular areas. I hasten to add that you can t ..read more
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When Street Photography Is a Game of Two Halves
John Lewell Photography
by john
4y ago
There’s a “retro” feel to my featured image today although I took it only two or three years ago. It does, however, illustrate one important point: that street photography — like football — can be a game of two halves. We are constantly told about the “Rule of Thirds” and how helpful it can be when we want to create a satisfying composition. The rule is even built into superimposed grids in photo editors, as if we’re incapable of dividing an image into three by the eye alone. Divide by Two I’m going to make it really easy. Stop dividing by three and divide by two! Have something going on in on ..read more
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Is Imitation the Sincerest Form of Flattery in Street Photography?
John Lewell Photography
by john lewell
4y ago
Like everyone else, photographers learn from other people’s experience. If you want to succeed — at cooking, carpentry, or rattlesnake venom extraction — you need to bear in mind how people have done it before. The real problem arises when an original idea is at stake, as it often is in the creative arts. So is it OK to nick it? A Glorious Past Great painters of the past had no qualms about borrowing ideas from their teachers and peers. A few of them, like Raphael, even borrowed from their own students when a particularly talented apprentice joined their studio ..read more
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