Dubai Street Photography from 2015
Dubai seems to be an interesting place to shoot street photography. I think the next time I would like to concentrate more on portraiture using medium format.
Dubai street photography from a previous trip in 2015. Re-edited to be more in line with the colors that I now prefer. These were shot using a Fujifilm and the classic chrome film simulation but it has always bothered me that the skin tones always seemed too red. I’ve stopped using this film simulation for a while and do all of my color correcting in post.
Shanghai Street Photography
One thing for me that is great about shooting street is that I know I won't have to do any major retouching so the editing goes really fast once I have decided on what color or black and white feel I want.
Adding to my street photography portfolio. These were shot over a long period and recently retouched. One thing for me that is great about shooting street is that I know I won't have to do any major retouching so the editing goes really fast once I have decided on what color or black and white feel I want. I do however still always shoot in raw just in case my white balance is off or on the rare occasion I feel a photo is really good but needs some sort of serious photoshop work.
Hong Kong Street Photography
As you can see I'm really into color these days and trying hard to make this the focus of my photos. It's not an easy thing to do well as I have always felt that one of the great things about black and white is that it helps to simplify the scene so with color there is a lot more that you have to consider in the frame.
Crazy times these days but I thought I would finish up a blog post in this rare moment of peace and relative quiet. These are from an old trip shot more than 2 years ago but recently retouched when I was stuck in front of my screen drinking jet fuel espressos at 1am last week.
I really love this image, the colors as you can see are very film like.
Welcome to Hollywood where are your dreams come true.
And our eyes met for a brief moment but alas, the love was lost.
Take my money.
In my world.
As you can see I'm really into color these days and trying hard to make this the focus of my photos. It's not an easy thing to do well as I have always felt that one of the great things about black and white is that it helps to simplify the scene so with color there is a lot more that you have to consider in the frame. I'm trying to learn from the masters of color like William Eggelston who's name I had heard of before but who's work I have just recently discovered and man, it's blown me away.
Thats it for now.
Chad
Japan Street Photography
After dreaming and talking for so long about Japan and all it has to offer I was finally able to visit it and the country did not disappoint. A little bit of everything but especially interesting for me was where the old meet the new. A place that successfully mixes traditional dress, buildings and way of life from hundreds of years ago with vending machines on every street corner that sell everything you could imagine has to be admired in my opinion.
After dreaming and talking for so long about Japan and all it has to offer I was finally able to visit it and the country did not disappoint. A little bit of everything but especially interesting for me was where the old meet the new. A place that successfully mixes traditional dress, buildings and way of life from hundreds of years ago with vending machines on every street corner that sell everything you could imagine has to be admired in my opinion.
I have read before that the local people's attitude towards foreigners can be racist but I found nothing but respectful and polite people. Of course all the good things you hear about the food are all true and the one regret was that we were not able to simply spend more time tasting more dishes but this alone is a good enough reason to return.
For a street photographer the country is also a paradise of interesting and unusual subjects and although I never went to Tokyo I hear its the place to grab your wide angle lens and get some great shots. From a photography point of view this trip was a bit frustrating and I will explain why. Originally my plan was to shoot both digital and 35mm film only black and white but when I arrived I started to feel that color was the way to go so I shot both. At the end of it I had a whole lot of crap or average black and white film photos which I was disappointed with. Also for me I am really trying to to minimize my travel kit, in fact it is one of the reasons I was drawn to Fuji for the smaller sizes and excellent picture quality but on this trip I found myself lugging around 2 cameras and five lenses of which I probably used two. So, from now on I've told myself to choose before hand if I am shooting digital or film and stick to one camera and one lens. Ok ok, two bodies with a lens each and thats all!
Although we saw plenty of beautiful temples and shrines you will see that I don't have many photos of them here. it's not that I didn't take any, rather that I didn't take any that you couldn't already find anywhere on the internet so instead this post will look more like a street photography post.
I may do a second post just to show you the film shots and you can give me your opinion on which was better, color or black and white.
As Always I hope you find the photos interesting
Chad
Look closely, if only I could read minds, what would these tell me?
The men in black.
For me this image could have been good if not for the car.
The ghost in the darkness. Again another potentially interesting photo missed, this time because I wasn't quick enough to change my camera settings.
Just me channelling a bit of Bruce Gilden style photography.
Shanghai Street Photography B/W
Just a quick post before I head off to do other things. Here are a few shots that have been marinading for a while. Shot around Shanghai they show 1 side of life here. Never a dull moment on the streets, all you have to do is look out for them.
Just a quick post before I head off to do other things. Here are a few shots that have been marinading for a while. Shot around Shanghai they show 1 side of life here. Never a dull moment on the streets, all you have to do is look out for them.
Have a great week, and for those here who worked yesterday, congratulations, Monday is over and you only have 4 more days until the weekend.
I will start to post more of my street photography on my Flickr account so you can find these and more shots there. Same username, Chadwickimages.
Shanghai Streets In Colour
The Weather these days in Shanghai is trying to become semi decent an I thought it was a great excuse to go out and shoot some street again seeing as it has been a while since I've done it. Unfortunately I didn't get one decent shot, somedays it happens. It could be wrong place at the wrong time but in a city as vast as Shanghai I think it's more realistic to say that I just wasn't on my game and I wasn't looking at the city and the people through the right eyes.
The Weather these days in Shanghai is trying to become semi decent an I thought it was a great excuse to go out and shoot some street again seeing as it has been a while since I've done it. Unfortunately I didn't get one decent shot, somedays it happens. It could be wrong place at the wrong time but in a city as vast as Shanghai I think it's more realistic to say that I just wasn't on my game and I wasn't looking at the city and the people through the right eyes.
Anyway it just serves as more reason for me to get my ass out there more often and improve. I'm going to try to make it a regular thing and after looking at the results of my last session in the street using flash I've decided that I quite like the resulting motion blur so I will continue the same style for a while and see what sort of body of work I can create.
Here are a few shots that I forgot about from my last time shooting in the streets. If there are any street photography shooters here in Shanghai that follow this blog and are keen to shoot together then let me know. I'm keen to shoot with new people and discuss ideas.
Have a great weekend.
The Face Of Work.
The Face Of No Work. Don't Worry Man I Feel You.
Eye Contact.
No Eye Contact.
And Finally Spiderman.
Street Photography Using Flash
AAAARRRGGGHH, This is the 3rd time I am writing this post because my blog keeps on crashing.
AAAARRRGGGHH, This is the 3rd time I am writing this post because my blog keeps on crashing. So, as I was saying twice before, currently I am using a Fuji EF-X20 flash to shoot street. I really enjoy the compact size and solid build of it but the downside is that it doesn't last very long before I need to change batteries. I am looking for another option if anyone has good experiences with a small flash suitable for street photography then send me a message.
The Long Road To Consistency
Once again it's been far too long between posts. Life has been crazy for the past 5 months and I have had to learn to manage my time differently. Having said that, as you can see from the lack of posts I haven't been entirely successful but I'm getting better.
Once again it's been far too long between posts. Life has been crazy for the past 5 months and I have had to learn to manage my time differently. Having said that, as you can see from the lack of posts I haven't been entirely successful but I'm getting better.
So, what have I been up to? Lot's of shoots, building up some great work on my personal projects, also I've been shooting some beautiful clients, always a pleasure, explored a bit of China and I still need to post those landscapes from a while ago. Also, I'm rekindling my love affair with street photography and hopefully I'll start shooting film a bit soon. My friend has been bugging me to do it and I have always loved the feel of film, in fact most of my favourite photographs where shot with film. It's gritty, raw and honest in a way that digital just struggles to be. Of course this is just my opinion and it still doesn't stop me from trying to simulate the film feel when I shoot digital.
Speaking of Street Photography and legends of film photographers, if you are in Shanghai be sure to check out the exhibition by Fan Ho at the M97 gallery. It is on until around the 31st of this month.
Below are some street shots of the daily life in Shanghai, I've been playing around shooting with flash a la Bruce Gilden style and I have to say I like the effect. For the moment I am moving away from this obsession of needing my photos to be tack sharp, in fact I really like a bit of intentional blur in some of my shots.
