Street photography is a type of photography that focuses on capturing candid and unplanned moments in public places. It is often characterized by its use of natural light and the ability to capture a sense of the everyday life of people on the streets.
Street photography has a long and storied history, with some of the earliest examples dating back to the early 1900s. Some of the most famous street photographers of all time include Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, and Garry Winogrand, but some of my current favourites are Dan Culberson and Jason Lee.
One of the key elements of street photography is the ability to capture a sense of place and atmosphere. Street photographers often try to capture the unique character of a particular location, whether it be the hustle and bustle of a busy city street or the quiet solitude of a rural village.
Another important aspect of street photography is the ability to capture candid and unplanned moments. Street photographers often try to blend into their surroundings and capture people going about their everyday lives, often without their knowledge or consent. This can create a sense of intimacy and authenticity in the photographs.
Street photography can be challenging, as it requires a high level of technical proficiency and an eye for composition. However, it can also be incredibly rewarding, as it allows photographers to capture unique and fleeting moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Overall, street photography is a fascinating and rewarding genre of photography that allows photographers to capture the beauty and humanity of everyday life on the streets. Whether you are a professional photographer or just starting out, street photography is definitely worth exploring.
It is a strange notion for a lot of photographers to hire other photographers… or is that just me? I’ve started to look at things bigger and recognize it would be great to have a photo with my whole little family without the selfie angle. So, when we travel and have any special purpose I try to look to local photographers in the regions we’re visiting and hire them to do a session. Granted, I’ve only started doing this and it has certainly been a while since the last time with Alan Brandt Photography in Copenhagen, Denmark during our honeymoon. The session with Alan was wonderful and he made the day - taking us to some different locations we wouldn’t have seen otherwise and produced some wonderful images (he also left his bag out and open - coming from Toronto that gave me heart palpitations).
Another time when I booked, but had to cancel for recent global reasons was for some baby portraits for my daughter. Now, I’ve certainly made a few images of her, but I wanted someone who specializes in that style to make some images to produce something a bit different…
Now, the next trip we’re excited to make images in my home town and likely in an area that although doesn’t have houses anymore is a spot where I lived and made some of the best memories and great friendships. Happy to say we’ve booked a session for the three of us with Abigail Rae Photographer. I love seeing how other people work, how it feels to be in front of the camera, how much more the ladies in my life listen to other photographers… and just enjoy the experience.
So, why not hire a photographer if you’re a photographer and make some memories.
Packing for a road trip to cover off a much needed vacation – travelling with wife and 3 year old daughter, combined with professional photography needs all in a VW GTI… will this be possible with no roof rack? I think so yes, the biggest thing in packing (learned from several adventures around the globe), is keeping things simple and editing your pack.
To edit your packing there are some simple questions you can ask:
• Are there items you can simply buy when you get to your destination?
Small toiletries - this is even better if you’re flying and don’t need to take the bag out while going through security for scanning because of no liquids.
• What activities are you doing while travelling?
Can you pack multipurpose attire - I find casual hiking attire to be the best option, it is super light weight, rolls up nicely and suits lots of various venues - usually in black or grey for the trousers and simple tops - button downs or layered items for colder climates. If you get into high end technical gear, it typically looks a more hiking/climbing specific.
If you’re flying, you can wear your layers on the plane to keep the bag reduced. For our travel packs, we’ve updated from our awesome Deuter packs to 40L travel backpacks from TOPO Designs that really help keep our stuff organized and accessible. Our daughter luckily doesn’t need the same level of stuff we took for 3 weeks in Europe, making her packing a bit lighter and easier - thank goodness no stroller!
• For photography… Do you need all your lenses, lights, stands etc - or can you rent at the location or simply force yourself to use less?
I used to travel with more, but I opt for the later part of the question and force myself to work with less. The challenge gets you moving and thinking differently. For this trip, I will take a bit more than I would for a flying holiday, but that is because I have the luxury of driving (yeah - some luxury of 15 hours driving a single direction). I will still edit down what I would do for a local production and use a smaller light kit (Profoto B2, with a 3’ octa and a small light stand), my camera will be my trusty old 5diii with a 50mm 1.2 and 85mm 1.2 (portrait focus photography work), chargers, light trigger, tether kit and my 13” macbook pro for editing… It all fits into a single small backpack (except the stand and the octa). I’ll also have my pocket camera the Ricoh GRIII on hand for when we’re just enjoying our days with no photo obligations.
So when you’re packing for a vacation with a few photography obligations, there are several ways to go for various needs (ensure you can deliver on the photography needs but don’t overthink it). Over the years simple is better - less lugging & less worry but a lot more enjoyment and getting creative.
