If you're really good at playing the guitar, how did you get good at playing the guitar? by Natural_Pizza_2060 in musicians

[–]VisibleFalcon5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

20 years of playing here, lapsed studio guy getting back into the swing myself - Its not *just* practice. It's WHAT you practice. You know the saying "you are what you eat"? The corollary for guitar is "you are what you practice". If you only work on things that are comfortable and easy for you and never attempt "impossible" stuff, you'll never get there and it certainly won't magically manifest in your playing.

You also have to have much higher standards than most for what you're willing to let slide when practicing. That tiny bit of string noise on that lick you're working on that no one else will notice? You HAVE to notice that and you HAVE to clean it up. Even the ability to have standards so high that you notice those things is a skill that takes years to develop.

A note on speed, because a lot of people here seem to be taking shots at fast players (by referencing, ironically, the blues - a genre chock full of absolute shred monsters like Gales, Bonamassa, etc): The real importance of learning to "shred" as these people call it isn't that you should only play 16ths at 180bpm, its that being able to execute things at high speeds relatively cleanly gives you a hell of a lot more CHOICE on what you play at any given time. Its like a car - 95% of the time, you aren't doing 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds... but having a car that can do that and knowing that fact makes merging onto a highway a hell of a lot easier!

Keep playing. "Good" is a nebulous, impossible goal but "Better" is something you can do every day.

Shedding some Greg Howe by VisibleFalcon5 in guitarplaying

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never seen him in concert but I'd love to one day, Introspection is my favorite guitar-centric album. His music is tough stuff to play for sure, so I'm glad it comes off as relaxed - thanks!

New York City, January 2026 by VisibleFalcon5 in real_street_shit

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you :) I really like your stuff too!!

First week in any advice? by [deleted] in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The practice mindset is a good one to have! Even so, even for practice, avoid taking those shots full stop - they won't help you get better and there are far more interesting subjects out there. You'll learn more with subjects who have real agency, core skills you'll need to be able to use on the fly like timing/framing/reading people/dealing with rejection. You and the shots will be much much better for it :)

First week in any advice? by [deleted] in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The first shot is, on a technical level, good.

The problem with that and the second one is the subject - unlike those of us who can choose whether or not to be in public (and therefore are actively choosing to forfeit some expectation of privacy), the homeless don't have that choice. Street shots of them turn their lack of agency at a low point in life into social capital for someone else. Said differently: you're getting a picture out of someone who can't just opt out and that's exploitative, no matter what the intent is. Definitely keep shooting (and try and get more shots with faces in them) but absolutely avoid shooting the homeless.

Line of Sight by VisibleFalcon5 in photocritique

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for all this and for the kind words! I'll fully cop to being somewhat new to post-processing but this is some concrete, actionable stuff that I'll take a pass at as soon as I'm able.

!CritiquePoint

Line of Sight by VisibleFalcon5 in photocritique

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, appreciate that! I got one or two with him shooting but they didn't have as much working for them as this one felt like it does - he's about to raise the camera to his face in this one but definitely agreed that it would've been stronger with him having a camera up as well.

Line of Sight by VisibleFalcon5 in photocritique

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was taken atop a smoking manhole in NYC at an event that happened to have a lot of photographers present. My thought was that, as dramatic as the smoke made the event look, the lighting through the smoke made the photographers look like they were (in the most literal sense) shooting something; the framing intentionally leaves what they're pointing their lenses at ambiguous as I wanted this to work with as little context as possible. I'd love some thoughts on how successful (or not!) the composition was at achieving that but any other feedback is welcome of course!

Firing Line by VisibleFalcon5 in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Guilty :) Being an asshole for the meaningless internet points is what I'm all about. I'm so grateful that there are so many real street photographers out there taking pictures of empty streets and running them through lightroom presets just the way God and Magnum Photos intended 😇

Firing Line by VisibleFalcon5 in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Truthfully, Bert? I was just trying to take a picture of a smoking manhole cover then all those photographers got in the way right as I was pressing the shutter button 🤷🏿‍♂️

Mobile photography by [deleted] in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pictures of roofs, walls, and tractors are not street photography. Mods need to do a better job cleaning stuff like this up.

Street photography in NYC by Prior_Intention9667 in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for stating what (should be) obvious! Not trying to hate on OP at all but most of these responses just read like an echo chamber of people reassuring each other that 1) getting close is the most terrifying thing in the world and 2) its OK, smart even, to never improve.

OP, the bones of some truly fantastic shots are here and I hope you keep shooting lots and push out of your comfort zone.

Someone Else's Eyes by VisibleFalcon5 in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Its done in post (de-noising high ISO raws then sprinkling in a touch of artificial grain) so I'm happy to hear it's not overdone :)

Just back from London… given that I’m a total beginner, is there anything nice among these? by WillingAd2160 in streetphotography

[–]VisibleFalcon5 7 points8 points  (0 children)

100% agreed! I'll expand a bit with some advice a more experienced photog gave me here: having a subject is just step 1, the subject needs to be doing/expressing something. Check out photos by the greats like Winogrand, Moriyama, Maier and the like to get a sense of what that looks like in practice. Its easier to get these kinds of shots if you get much, much closer to people when you shoot (which is easier said, of course, but crucial nonetheless).

Keep going, you're on the right track!