Shooting on holiday: Istanbul

Last week I was in Istanbul with my camera.  I pressed the shutter close to 1000 times in 6.5 days of wandering the city,  the most I’ve used a camera in months.  Initially I found myself out of practice.  I had to refamiliarize myself with the mechanics of the camera, with which buttons controlled which functions.  I then had to remind myself to slow down and think through my situation, what I was attempting to capture, and how I might best achieve this.  It was in many ways a frightening experience – My god, look at what I’ve lost!  On reflection, though, it was also inspiring – Look at how much I’ve learned and how much comes back with just a little thought and application!

DPP Assignment 2: Seeing Like Your Camera: Planning

The title for Assignment 2 is Seeing Like Your Camera and requires a collection of high-contrast images shot in jpg and presented without post production.  The intention of the assignment seems to be to have the camera operator create as close to perfect exposures as possible in-camera under high contrast lighting conditions.  

The assignment is in two parts.  Part one requires shooting three images in four situations (twelve images in all).  Part two requires rethinking one set and reshooting it to reduce contrast. Total images in the assignment are thus fifteen.  

While not required, my plan has been to shoot thematically.  For the past few months I have frequently returned to images of poles - such as light posts and street signs - that punctuate the urban landscape like naked trees.  This has been done as part of my SZR project, documenting the few blocks around my residence on Sheikh Zayed Road, the city’s most well-known thoroughfare, the one lined with skyscrapers, including the world’s tallest, the Burj Khalifah.  My project has been the antithesis of the glamour and glitz as typically presented in travel and tourism images.  I see myself working more in the tradition of Atget, capturing everyday life in my little corner of the city in as realistic and unaffected manner as possible.  My intention is not to sell the city or make it attractive, but simply to record what I live and what I see.  

As for poles, I don’t quite know where the idea originated, but a review of my SZR images reveals an early interest in the concept of verticality as expressed in street signs, advertising, and metal rods. These three images from June 2013 show an interest in capturing collections of poles.

Film Review: An Expert Guide to Street Photography, with Zack Arias (2013)

An Expert Guide to Street Photography, with Zack Arias
Kelby Training, 2013

Arias quotes Capa on the need for photographers to get close to their subjects and says he prefers wide to long lenses when street shooting.  He says shooting with a long lens feels someone voyeuristic, the implication being that shooting wide and close means being part of the experience being captured.  His appearance and his practice, though, seem to belie his intention.

The photographer wears a black t-shirt with the word Minimalist printed in white, but even a glance reveals a personality not particularly modest or restrained:  large belly, long goatee, earrings, exposed pale flesh of the arms and legs, tattoos.  His approach to street shooting requires being able to remain somewhat anonymous and unobserved.  He wears sunglasses to keep from making eye contact and tries to disguise himself with a baseball cap sporting the local team logo.   Were he going to a tattoo convention  or a rock concert he would not be particularly notable.  He seems to fit in after dark in Times Square, for example, but when he’s out on the Coney Island beach he can’t help but stand out.  He notes everyone at the beach is walking around in the equivalent of underwear, but he doesn't even bother to take off his shirt. He feels equally out of place in China Town, but never considers it might be because of his own appearance.  Long sleeves and trousers might be less conspicuous.  As for getting tight, I don’t recall any examples of him talking to, let alone getting close to, a subject.

UAE photography has become more precarious

The UAE government this week announced that it is now illegal to publicly display images of anyone - still or video - without the subject's permission. Presumably, prosecutions will occur only after complaints are lodged by the offended and aggrieved.  Those found guilty face up to six months in jail and fines of up half a million dirham (US$140,000).

This is the apparent result of a case this summer in which  film taken on the side of the road showing an Emirati citizen beating a South Asian expat was uploaded to Youtube. The Emirati claimed defamation, the case was dropped, and no one was prosecuted.

To read more about this new law, have a look at some of the press links.  And happy shooting.  Just don't share your photos while visiting the UAE, eh?

Arabian Business
International Business Times

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Notable: Rob Walters' Omaha

The comments to Walters' photos are revealing. One notes that the photos are self-selecting, that is, the photographer deliberately ignored scenes that did not fit his ideas about a people-less city.  An Omahaan chimes in to say, yes, visit this part of town and you'll find lots of people.  Another commenter believes the photographer should be more in touch with his subjects, approaching people on the street to find out why they are on the street.  Someone finds the images bleak.  One man wonders why readers would be interested in "amateur random pictures" of "mundane scenes."

What we prefer is to feel safe, with other people around; to feel charmed by stories that reaffirm our own stories about ourselves; and reassured that our existence isn't really this bleak. What most people seem to prefer when looking at images can be found in popular styles of photography relying on creating super-saturated hyper-realities.  

Rob Walters website.  

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