Chicago People
I often struggle with street photography. For one, I don’t live near a major metropolitan area, so I don’t get a lot of practice.
And for two, when I do street photography, I feel like I capture people from too far away. Rarely, I’ll get the right conditions and have a great session or day out in the city.
During our most recent trip to Chicago, I gave myself a challenge: get closer. Capture people, not necessarily scenes with people.
With the Canon EOS M2 and 22mm f/2, that means I have to get close – sometimes uncomfortably close. But that’s part of the challenge.
And you grow with a little bit of discomfort, right?
Walking around town with my family, I tried to stay incognito with my little mirrorless camera. I set the lens to f/8 and try to react quickly to grab a person on the street.
Sometimes it worked great. Other times, I would misfire or miss focus. But over the long weekend, I grabbed enough close shots of people that I started to get comfortable with this new way of shooting.
Here’s what I noticed: people stare at their phones. It’s such a modern thing, but it’s true – you rarely catch someone just looking, walking, sitting, or engaging in conversation without a glowing screen in front of them.
I really noticed that when I got back and looked at the photos. Phones everywhere.
All in all, the challenge was successful.
Even with the limitations of a 35mm field of view and a slow-focusing M2, there were enough opportunities to grab people (and pets!) face-on, and enough anonymity in a big city like Chicago, to get some decent street photography.
