Street photography is a difficult art. Anticipating and capturing fleeting scenes as they happen before you is an extreme mental exercise and can leave you exhausted. You strip away everything relying only on your intuition and a keen understanding of your camera – it is photography in its purest form.
You get close to the action and sometimes end up staring into the eyes of the very subject you are photographing. You have butterflies in your stomach and get an adrenaline rush – not knowing how someone would react when they see you and your camera very briefly. I am still learning about my camera and how to operate it without even looking at the controls. I however decided not to shoot a photograph without first composing it in my viewfinder. There is something very beautiful about a well composed street photograph that utilizes the entire frame and needs very little cropping. It is a challenge but one that is worth taking.
Rangefinder
27
Aug 10
Butterflies in my stomach – Why I like Street Photography
17
Aug 10
I am turning Japanese….. I think so….
Mira was fascinated by the Kimono and the ladies at the Japanese Pavilion (Indiana State fair) were more than happy to help 
17
Jul 10
The joy of point and shoot photography
Every few months I get into this mode where I cannot help but collect old film cameras. I usually start at Goodwill and make the usual tour of all the pawn shops around the city. So if one of you saw me going in and coming out of a pawn shop – it is not because I am broke, but just hunting for that gem of a find. For some reason the prices for cameras at the local Goodwill have been going up consistently – good for them though. Back to the original topic – so I found a Nikon L35 AF P&S camera about a month ago at Goodwill and I instantly discovered the joy of the snap shot. No more fiddling around with aperture or shutter speed. Just point, focus, and click. I was hooked.
I then started scouring the internet for other classic P&S cameras and came to know a lot about the legendary Olympus XA series of cameras. Many have expounded on the brilliant Japanese design here and here.
I got lucky and took a chance on an AS-IS sale on eBay and now I am a proud owner of both an Olympus XA and XA2 cameras. I put both cameras to the test not only to make sure that they were working, but also to check for light leaks etc. The Olympus XA2 is a P&S cameras in the truest sense. It is a Zone Focus camera and is fully automated. Here is a photograph from the Olympus XA2 first:
The Olympus XA is a range finder and gives you little bit more control and operates in the Aperture Priority mode. Here are some photographs from a test roll that I shot using the Olympus XA:
Film Used in Olympus XA test: Ilford HP5 Plus ISO400
Developer: Kodak HC110 Dilution H
Time: 11 Minutes
16
Aug 09
Walking hands…
We went downtown to check out the “Taste of Africa” festival and while walking to the venue I saw this man trying to walk down the stairs of the Indiana World War Memorial using his arms. I think he was trying to climb all the way down, but kept falling somewhere around the mid-point. I was afraid that he might lose his balance and hurt himself. I just like the way his pose/body contrasts with that of the sculpture with its hands raised skywards.
Technical Details:
Camera: Canon Canonet QL17 GIII
Film: Fuji Neopan 1600
Exposure: 1/500 s at f/16
Developer: Kodak HC-100 at 68ºF for 14 Minutes
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan 4000
Software: Lightroom + Photoshop CS3
15
Aug 09
A Spirited Debate on Healthcare Reform without Angry Mobs
Last night around 80 hoosiers gathered at the IndyFringe Theater (719 East St. Clair Street, Indianapolis, IN) to listen to two very qualified teams debate whether healthcare was a right or privilege. For more details about the debate visit the debate page on Smaller Indiana. I had the privilege of photographing this debate using both a Nikon D70 DSLR (18-35mm and 80-200mm lenses) and a Canonet QL17 rangefinder (with Fuji Neopan 1600). I still have to finish shooting the roll to develop the film, but in the meantime here are the photos from the DSLR.
Digital Workflow Details:
Camera: Nikon D70 with 18-35mm and 80-200mm AF Nikkor Lenses
ISO: 1600 (Did not want to use flash) in Raw+ JPEG Mode
Image Logging and Processing: Adobe Lightroom
Adjustments: Noise Reduction applied to both Color and Luminance until desired results achieved
Output: Converted to JPEGs using Lightroom export feature at 50% quality to reduce size
5
Aug 09
When it rains the brave go out and photograph!
Gothic Chapel – Crown Hill Cemetery, originally uploaded by PK Koduri.
