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.
Posts Tagged: Film Photography
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 
13
Aug 10
Wreslin’ with steel film reels
Mira’s new friend – REX the Dinosaur from Toy Story. This was a quick photograph to get to the 36 frame mark so that I could try my hands at loading a stainless steel reel for like the second time in my life. After fumbling around in the dark for about 30 minutes I finally was able to load the reel. In the process I managed to scratch. kink, and maul the film . But I think I have the technique down.
25
Jul 10
Ghosts entering the Park of the Laments Version 2
Another version of the “Ghosts” theme that I wrote about the other day. I do not remember the exposure information. Film used was Fuji Neopan 400, developed in Kodak HC110 for 11 minutes at 68ºF. I use a Epson Coolscan 8000 to scan the negative and do post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop CS3.
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
