So I haven’t been shooting a lot of pictures lately. I’m not entirely sure why that is. Certainly I’ve been busy with other things, but to be honest, I simply haven’t felt that pull to get out and shoot like a usually do. I seem to go through these ‘down periods’ with other things in my life as well. It’s hard to explain. Maybe it’s just a natural rest period before another burst of creativity. Whatever it is, I’m pushing myself to get back out there and start making some images.
One of the things I try to do to break out of these occasional ruts is to try something different. A different technique or a different style of photography. I’ve been reading a lot about about street photography lately. It sounds simple enough – grab your camera, head out on the streets and shoot something. Well, let’s just say it wasn’t quite that simple for me.
I live in a little town in Northwest Ohio, and every Thursday evening in the summertime we have a Farmers Market downtown. I thought this would be the perfect time to try my hand at a little street photography. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I thought it would be easy to walk around with my camera and shoot whatever caught my eye. Instead, I felt very conspicuous. Almost as if I was intruding or stalking people. This became especially evident to me when I tried to capture images of people. It was very difficult for me to make eye contact and grab an image. Some of the most interesting scenes I saw I let slip right by because I wasn’t comfortable going for the shot.
When I got back to my computer, I found out I had a lot of images of things, but not many images of people. The ‘things’ looked alright, but it was the people that really drew me in. The personalities, the untold stories.
Clearly, I’ve still got a lot to learn about this style of photography. That’s part of what I makes this fun for me – the constant pursuit of new knowledge and new experiences. At least I got myself back out shooting.
Here are a few of the images I captured that evening. I’d love to hear what you think.
I love your pictures and listening to you sing Jeff! What talent you have! Maybe street photography is what I need to get pictures of my son with autism. Any experience with kids with special needs?
Thanks so much for the kind words Cindy. I definitely have experience with kids, but not necessarily kids with special needs. That said, I’d be happy to work with you guys and give it a try if you like. Feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on my site and we can talk about it. Thanks again!
I’ve looked at your pictures in your other galleries as well in this blog. I love the way you use light to create warmth. I think your vision and perspective are very unique and communicate the substance behind the picture. The technical quality of your work is astounding. VERY nice work.
Much appreciated Brandi. Thank you so much.