Street photography 1

I thought I would do a post about street photography as this is something that I really enjoy looking at and doing... 

I have always been fascinated by people... I can sit for hours at a coffee shop and just look at all the people passing by, studying their facial expressions and apparent emotions and write my own stories about them in my mind.  Often on my long drives with a baby/toddler who doesn't want to take a nap, I get to drive through so many little villages here in Mauritius and I get lost in the energy and ambiance that you can feel even through the window of the car.  

I think this is what charms me about street photography... It captures this "feeling" of a place and it tells a story - even if this story might be different for every person looking at the photo.

I found a few good articles on street photography and I am sure there are many more amazing ones out there... Please share some in the comments below, or if there are specific artists whose photos you enjoy most.  

Seeing that I am very much a beginner (even though I have been taking photos of people in the streets since I got my first camera) and still haven't even mastered all the techniques on my camera (still waiting for my teacher to return from her trip) or own photoshop yet, I enjoyed the following article:  The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Street Photography by Erik Kim.  

I like how he is more open to the definition of street photography and that your photos doesn't have to be candid (because I sometimes feel like a bit of a stalker taking them) and that you can ask permission if needed and also that your photos doesn't even need to have people in it.  And I enjoy his quote on what he thinks could be a definition of street photographs/memorable photos: 

Photographs that stir us emotionally, that make us think about humanity, society around us, the people we interact on a daily basis, the small beauties of life that we pass up for granted, others who are suffering, and the hopes and dreams of everyday individuals. Erik Kim 

I want to take those kind of photos!  I want to stir people with emotions. The same kind of emotions I get from looking at the world around me and getting lost in the beauty, wonder, complexity, bareness and often melancholic moments that I see around me... That is life as we know it and yet know nothing about. And I will practice and learn and take thousands of photographs until I can capture some of these moments.

Here are a few "street photos" that I find inspiring...

Henri Cartier Bresson - 1932

This is just so stunning.  One of my dreams is to one day photograph people at an old age home and tell their story with a few shots... 

 Having a little boy who just loves looking in the mirror, this one definitely stir emotion in me...

What lovely juxtaposition (read more about it in the link above)... 

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I love the use of shadows here and how this photo tells a story without even showing someone's face...

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Lost in her own thoughts 

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What amazing use of natural light

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Beautiful composition  

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Have to learn a lot more about shutter speed before I can get shots like these. Wow!

And even though I love black and white photos, I do love the beauty that colour creates...

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 I will soon start my own adventures to find and capture more memorable moments.  Look out for me... I will be the one showing your life through a lens... :)