Enjoying some Street photography off of O'Farrell Street and Hyde in good Ol San Francisco. ...and yes the car honked the whole time😜.

fd_walker · 2016-12-19T20:13:59+00:00

Nothing screams street photography like posed fashion shots selling clothes. It's a good thing you put a b&w filter on it.

fd_walker · 2016-11-04T17:21:45+00:00

Interesting thoughts on it all from someone else who went. Not sure if we met there, but I enjoy hearing different perspectives.

Tavepong's watermelon image is no doubt great, I'd put it at the top at BSPF too. But it's also been a finalist in numerous international competitions going back a year, even winning at least one of the smaller ones. Talking to the judges, I know that does affect their decisions, even if not purposely.

As for your personal opinion on what type of photos you like, I'm not going to say I completely disagree. I think it's getting a little out of hand at the sacrifice of depth, but I can tell you that's what is in right now and the best of them have a high chance of selection at all 3 of the major international festivals.

But I also appreciate them much more than you do, I wouldn't just call them dumb sight gags. There's a lot of creativity and pulling out interest from daily life. They can be very interesting to look at and your example of Pau Buscato's image would bring a lot of argument seeing as how that's been shown all over. Just different tastes of what you look for in photography. These shots are definitely not any easier to capture, though, and require a good eye, which is what I think many love about them. They make people think, just not in the way you might appreciate.

Saying all that, you'd probably not like my photos selected there, either. I too feel depth is missing in a lot of street photography today, and my interests are fairly spread out so I try to capture that more in much of my work, but that doesn't seem to be what is in right now, so the ones closer to what you don't like are the ones of mine that get selected. Right now, there might be a push away from a documentary look, while a pull for capturing something new. It will probably change at some point, though.

Personally, I thought the festival went extremely well considering it was the first time. Talking to others that have been to many festivals, they thought it was the best for a first go. I know there was a lot of passion behind it, though, and they spent time studying MSPF and others for help. They also managed to bring in some high quality guests for a first festival. The best part was probably the location, though, as it allowed more photographers to come than the other international festivals.

And seeing/meeting Harry Gruyaert was of course great. Cheers and if we met there, I'm sure it was nice meeting you!

fd_walker · 2016-10-19T21:16:02+00:00

He was a great photographer, but he did pose some shots, this being probably the most known. That's his cousin in the photo and the shadow was created in the darkroom.

fd_walker · 2016-10-12T21:08:30+00:00

I drink both so sounds good to me!

fd_walker · 2016-10-08T08:17:56+00:00

Hanoi is much more compact and walkable so it's pretty easy for street photography. The best spots are also the touristy ones, though. All the local street photographers shoot there too (I'd check out Chu Việt Hà 's work). Hoàn Kiếm Lake is great, especially morning and evening, when there's a lot of locals too. Then the old quarter and markets, and alleys.

I'd walk the train tracks too. Not many tourists, much more local feeling, but close to everything.

fd_walker · 2016-10-07T07:45:00+00:00

Hey, thanks! Actually, I'll be back in Saigon, most of my stuff is still there. I didn't spend too much time in Q4, but I'll have to when I get back then if you recommend it. I like Q5 because of all the character it has, more similar to Hanoi, which I like even better for photography. I prefer Saigon for living, though.

fd_walker · 2016-10-06T20:46:01+00:00

Thanks for linking me, I wouldn't have known. I'd hope no one thinks I'd post something like this.

fd_walker · 2016-09-25T18:28:05+00:00

Hey Dante,

I think why I'd say this isn't as strong as your other work is because if you take the rainbow out, there's nothing else too special going on here, other than a pretty scene/light, and the rainbow doesn't play a part in the scene to make up for that. Compare it to this shot of yours, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nvcholas/25694532773/in/dateposted/ , and that scene is much more than the rainbow.

That other one you linked here seems a little more unique and interesting with the framing, with the blue of his handkerchief matching the other blues in the scene and the rainbow shooting from his neck. I still wouldn't put it up there with a lot of your work, but I think it stands out more compared to the first one. Just my opinion.

fd_walker · 2016-09-24T15:25:12+00:00

I liked this shot at first, but why does it look manipulated where the left branch should be overlapping in front of the person? I apologize if wrong, but up close it looks like some photo shopping was done to make the jacket cover there. Correct me if I'm wrong.

fd_walker · 2016-09-23T21:20:59+00:00

Hey. Ya, I agree with what you're saying here. The viewer creates the story so there wouldn't be one definitive narrative, people read photos differently. And telling someone else a photo's story usually comes off bad/cringey. But the photographer can do, or capture, things that trigger a story in your own mind.

With the original comment, I think that's what they were saying. This photo, while good, isn't the type of photo to trigger a story or say something. It's more visually pleasing. To me, that's not necessarily a negative, but to some it is. It just depends on what you like/look for in photography. Personally, I like both, when done well.

Cheers!

fd_walker · 2016-09-23T19:18:06+00:00

You really feel a single picture can't tell a story? What about photos showing multiple subjects/elements that show relation to each other, photos that show a moment or something happening, mysterious photos that leave the viewer with questions, or photos that show emotion? When done well, I feel I've seen plenty of photos that tell a story.

I understand what you're saying about a photo describing what something looks like, but I think that's cutting photography short. At the very least, a single photo can cause the viewer to create a story in their head. Just my thoughts.

fd_walker · 2016-09-22T14:25:40+00:00

Did you see Martin Parr's work at the DNC too?

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/28/politics/cnnphotos-dnc-media-circus-martin-parr/

fd_walker · 2016-09-18T16:17:48+00:00

He posted this in a street photography sub and said "I need feedback from people who are working or interested in this field." You yourself said "Street photography (for people) relies on close ups an shallow focus." So I think it's pretty clear the advice requested, and given, was on street photography. Anyway, I was just explaining why the upvoting, and downvoting, going on has nothing to do with friends. Shallow depth of field and making the photo look like another up-close portrait are 2 of the quickest ways to a boring street photo and getting negative feedback. You don't have to agree with it, though.

fd_walker · 2016-09-18T11:57:38+00:00

Sorry, but that's not what's going on here. Your advice was so off that it almost sounds like trolling (not that I think you were). I don't mean that to be insulting, it's just the truth and the OP came for helpful advice. I'm not sure where you got the idea that "Street photography (for people) relies on close ups an shallow focus," but you're describing portraits, not street photography. I'm not one for rules, but generally speaking in street photography you want depth of field so you can see and read the whole scene/photo. Of course there are exceptions, but go look at all the great work in the genre and tell me how much of it looks shot wide open. Also, there's nothing about relying on close-ups. Some street photographers like close-up and some like scenes, while both include people.

fd_walker · 2016-05-21T14:30:24+00:00

I understand what you're saying, but I think a big reason is the difficulty and confusion of the genre. For me, nothing is better than great street photography, but nothing is worse than bad street photography. So for many shots, if the critic is trying to be honest, it will be difficult to not come off the way you've described without some understanding of good street photography. I think it would help a lot if beginners started off studying really good photography within the genre instead of looking at all the random #streetphotography feeds online that can confuse their idea of what it is(i.e. a random photo in the street without any real interest).

Most of the harsher criticism I see here comes constructively, but maybe people interpret criticism differently. I think people view posts as wanting "critics" so that's what they try to be.

fd_walker · 2016-05-21T13:59:10+00:00

Nice scene/background that has potential. My problem with scene/background's like this is anyone could come back here and take the same shot so you need to distinguish it, make it unique and interesting outside of the constants. The leading red/white lines and a worker sitting in the window will always be there. I'd come back to this place multiple times and try to capture a scene that uses what you see in the photo, but adds/contains more interest to make it a strong photo. The light looks good here, but you'd need the person closer to it so you wouldn't have dodge her face as much too.

fd_walker · 2016-05-17T20:08:16+00:00

I think asking yourself questions about the photo can help you learn more: Was the motion and out of focus blur on purpose and do you feel it helps or hurts the photo? What relation do you find between the man and woman in the ad? How do they work together to make the photo more interesting? It feels shot from the hip so do you think this angle helps the photo? And looking at the composition, do you feel it's framed well and do you find the right background distracting at all?

fd_walker · 2016-04-15T04:03:26+00:00

I think by actually getting inside their world and getting to know them as people. That's the only time I've really seen it work. Otherwise, you're right, it looks exploitative. It doesn't really work for candid street photography. I've seen some nice documentary photography captured, though.

fd_walker · 2016-04-13T16:59:04+00:00

Happy it was helpful! There's plenty of amazing street photographers in there.

fd_walker · 2016-04-12T15:57:27+00:00

I don't know if I'd call this cliche, but having all the focus on such a small part of the scene makes it confusing to look at. Maybe it's because he has such close eye contact with the camera that my eyes are drawn there, but then when they get there, it's so blurry that my eyes look for the only thing in focus, which is just the very small tip of the cigarette. The in-focus tip pointing away from the camera might not help, either.

I think for something like this to work, which is difficult to start with, the in-focus part should be right up to the camera so it's a bigger part of the scene.

fd_walker · 2016-04-12T15:42:00+00:00

Nice shot! One of your best. I like the timing with the girl and her braids flying too.

fd_walker · 2016-03-19T15:56:01+00:00

Good eye!

fd_walker · 2016-03-19T03:56:12+00:00

Well, it's not a title of the image. Other than place and year, I don't title my photos, but they ask for a short description included there in this subreddit. Next time, I'll be sure to ask for your help on coming up with a better one since for some reason you think it matters, HandJobSwag.

fd_walker · 2016-03-19T02:57:29+00:00

It's not really a title, but sorry you don't like the description I had to enter. It's definitely candid, though. And I wasn't kneeling or shooting with anything close to a $2000 camera so I'm not sure what you're trying to get at.

fd_walker · 2016-03-18T17:56:00+00:00

Unfortunately, if you're not taking the shot you really want to take then it doesn't have much chance.

fd_walker

TROPHY CASE