than taking a good (whatever that is) street photo? Putting your feet in the sand and knocking out 100 pull ups. Street photography is like going on a hike to Mars. You’ll never get there. You’ll never get good at it, therefore never feel accomplished. It’s kind of the appeal. But you’ll always feel accomplished after grinding out a good work out and seeing those odd back muscles take shape.
The More I Shoot
The more I appreciate imperfection and mood. While I think moment is still important, I think a blurry or technically bad photo can still work as long as it has nice colors or light and shadow in black and white. Not every photo needs a story and the “correct” composition.
Technically Bad
This photo is out of focus and shot on my Ricoh GRDIV which uses an iPhone sized sensor. But who cares, I think it looks great. The colors and scene are nice and dare I say look FILMIC.
Home Is Where The Heart Is
I submitted a photo series to the Street Photographers Foundation on March 31st, the deadline. I made the series the day before, in my hometown of Cincinnati Ohio at the Reds Opening Day Parade. I was chosen as a finalist in the competition. I’m still unfulfilled in my photography.
What is fulfilling is that I made these in my hometown. A place I’m connected too. This made me proud, to showcase my city and the unique experience it provides. It’s telling that’s I’ve been shooting daily in California and never had the urge to submit the photos for critique.
Two Color Photos
99% of the time, my photos look better in black and white. Not sure why. I don’t know if it’s my approach or lack of skill in processing color photos. Probably a little of both. But I found two photos I like in color. They were both shot in pretty good light which seems to be so much more important than shooting in black and white.
Five Frames From Venice Beach
Still experimenting with post processing. Really liking the Film Noir 3 preset in Silver Efex Pro. I made a few adjustments to each photo but it took no time at all.
Found A Snail
I asked ChatGPT to tell me an interesting fact about this snail I photographed yesterday.
“An interesting fact about snails is that they are hermaphrodites, meaning that each individual has both male and female reproductive organs. When two snails mate, they exchange sperm, and each snail can then fertilize the eggs of the other. This allows snails to reproduce quickly and efficiently, which is important for species that live in environments with limited resources or frequent disturbances.”
Five Frames From Santa Monica
Went out after work into the bad light and did my daily photo walk. When the light isn’t the best, I suppose that’s where post processing comes in. I decided to use the Film Noir 3 preset in Silver Efex Pro and I like the way the photos came out. It turned otherwise uninteresting light and photos into something that pops a bit more.
When Dynamic Range Is Nice
I try to get the photo right in camera, but sometimes it isn’t possible. This isn’t the best photo, but it is an historical account of an incident in Santa Monica. This photo is an extreme case as the super bright white wall and the firemen in the shadows are about five stops difference. I have my camera set to highlight weighted metering and 1 stop underexposed as it’s a monochrom camera that easily blows the highlights. The first photo is raw straight out of camera and the second is after a lot of tweaking.
Five Frames From January
You know GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is bad, a symptom of consumerism. I’m envious of people who do not suffer from this disease. I have a Leica Q2 Monochrom and I’m somehow doubting it. Not because of it quality, but because it’s “not fun.” I mean it’s a pretty lame excuse. The camera is awesome. Maybe I’ll take it out today to reinvigorate my excitement for it.
These photos were from early January of 2023. After running the photos through Silver Efex Pro, I was reminded by how nice the images are after processing. The light in all these photos was horrible (besides the second one), yet the images still have a nice pop.
Chris Athanasiadis 