Learning New Tricks

Over the past year, I’ve felt that I have developed leaps and bounds as a photographer. I got into a pattern of shooting on the streets almost every day, and that pattern in turn led to me developing a style of my own. In my case, that style mostly consists of a wider lens (28-40mm), harsher sunlight, and lot of geometric shapes and patterns.

Having a unique style is something I’ve wanted to work towards for years, it’s a step in the right direction towards mastering the craft. If I want to be a renowned street photographer in the future, if I want people to study my books and hang my prints, I have to stand out from the others.

That being said, my style is dependent on certain conditions: sunny days, harsh mid-afternoon light, and warmer weather (that one is more of a personal preference). As winter crept in, starting in November, I started having trouble producing images consistent with those I had been making from the Summer through Fall. After struggling with the creative rut for a few months, I recently stumbled upon this video from Faizal Westcott about the work of Ernst Haas, and after doing more research into his style, I decided to give long-exposure Street Photography a try. I loved Haas’ incorporation of saturated, colorful elements into his work. His use of motion-blur also adds a fascinating illustration of motion and action, adding life to his photos.

Since shooting in the daytime had proven a struggle for me, I decided to try and give myself advantages wherever I could. While Haas shot mostly in daylight, I decided to use the darker evenings to my advantage by shooting closer to dusk in Ballston Quarter, a neighborhood in Arlington with lots of shop windows, neon lights, and nightlife.

See below for the results of my first foray into night-time slow-shutter street photography:

I think it was a pretty successful first attempt! I looked for spots with really strong colors, human elements, and as always I love some patterns and shapes in my compositions. I especially love this image:

I love the patterns in the floor, chairs, and shelves. The colors pop nicely, and the person walking in frame brings it all together.

I really like this one, the lines and angles come together perfectly to lead your eye right to the subject.

This is my favorite shot of the day, I’m a big fan of the matching blues, as well as the split frames and the lines in the window creating a nice little frame for the subject.