Here’s something I don’t usually do: some street photography around downtown Austin, Texas.
With all my work travels this year, I’ve had the chance to do more of this style of photography: Philadelphia, Mexico City, etc. And even with my recent practice, I still find it hard to do well.
But there’s nothing like practice. Austin’s perfect weather, manageable downtown, and good light all around helped.
One challenge was focal length. Either I wasn’t close enough, or my 22mm and 32mm on the Canon M6 didn’t get me close enough. Another challenge was traffic blocking some key shots.
Still, a good photowalk out and about, exploring the city.
A smaller, much more manageable version of the behemoth Art Fest during the summer, Ann Arbor’s Artoberfest had us downtown on a lovely October afternoon, exploring Corktown and grabbing some prints from local (sometimes snoozing) artists.
It was my first time walking around downtown Ann Arbor since last year’s holiday season, and I had a chance to do some street work with the Canon M6 and trusty EF-M 22mm f/2.
And unlike the giant summer Art Fair, this festival had top-tier art worth checking out. Spending money on area artists’ work feels good – an easy way to freshen up our decor at home and shop locally.
After starting my new job in March, I did what I always do: got out and explored.
I’ve been to Ann Arbor, Michigan, many times, and done a lot of shooting here. Now that it’s my jobby-job town, there are a lot more opportunities to get out and see the city. Lunch hours, in between meetings, after work – all good excuses to get out and make photos.
This is, at its most basic, the best reason to make photography a hobby. You get to really learn about and know a place through the viewfinder.
A new place also provides that little spark of freshness you might need to practice your craft.
Do your everyday surroundings get stale? Go somewhere new, and – bam – instant inspiration.
I’m not a huge fan of doing street photography, either – not in its traditional sense. I’ll head out with a camera and explore a city. I’ll even take photos of people in the streets, in windows, in their cars, wherever. It just has to be a pretty special shot for me to share it.
A shot like those guys (or ladies) in the mid-century would make.
Shapes, shadows, the kind of urban landscape stuff that Stephen Shore would make – that’s more up my alley.
I took a spare Friday this summer and hit the not-so-mean streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was a beautiful evening, Summerfest was going on, and Friday nights in Ann Arbor are pretty hopping. The light was past the too-harsh phase. It was one of those great June nights in Michigan.
For this exercise, I shot locations, mostly. I saw an interesting scene, waited until something fun came along, and made a photo. Or the sunlight would come in at an interesting angle, so I’d shoot that scene.
What I didn’t do was go out and try to find interesting people. Maybe that’s the Stephen Shore difference.
