Exploring Street Photography
Street photography forces you to be present and really see your surroundings. When I step out onto the sidewalk I see so many interesting stories taking place. It is exciting, but frustrating at the same time, as it is so hard to be able to capture one of those little stories or situations without getting in closer.
I needed a project. One that involved actually taking photos as opposed to just sitting in front of my computer going through my archives*.
*More on that in a future post
I wanted to explore a different form of photography, one which - most importantly - would get me out of my comfort zone. I’ve always been a huge admirer of the “father of street photography”, Henry Cartier-Bresson, and other masters like Robert Doisneau. Their work made me fall in love with black-and-white photography. When you remove that seductive colour from an image, the photograph gets stripped down, exposing its basic elements: light and shadow, line and shape. To quote the photographer Ted Grant:
“When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. When you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.”
I bought a little 23mm fixed lens Fujifilm camera, the X100F, for my street photography. It is small, inconspicuous, and cost me half the price of the very much praised newer version: The X100V.
Street photography forces you to be present and really see your surroundings. When I step out onto the sidewalk I see so many interesting stories taking place. It is exciting, but frustrating at the same time, as it is so hard to be able to capture one of those little stories or situations without getting in closer. At the beginning I felt anxious taking photos of people without them knowing. I felt like a spy. If I asked someone to take their photo they would either decline, or the situation would be gone and therefore the "magic" of the photograph gone with it.
Therefore I chose to stop asking my subjects for permission. I decided to walk around with a more open and relaxed attitude. The few times someone has seen me taking their photograph I would give them a smile and show them that I mean no harm. It has lead to interesting conversations with people I would never have met. Maybe I haven't been doing this long enough, but no-one has asked me to delete a photo yet. And if they do I would gladly comply.
In any genre of photography you, the photographer, have a responsibility: To have empathy for your subjects, to not exploit or take advantage of them. Street photography is a very important form of photography- documenting life as it really is: Unfiltered. Not like the over-manipulated selfie-world society is obsessed with today.
Below I’ve added a few photos from my recent wanderings with my camera. I’m posting them on my personal Instagram profile too, if you are interested in following my experimentation with photography there: @admill_explores
William Turner in Lucerne
Turner could truly paint the way he experienced a scene. Which brings me to his oil painting, “Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth”. This one really made me feel like I was caught in the vortex of the storm myself. “I did not paint... to be understood. I wished to show what such a scene was like.” – JWM Turner
“The Blue Rigi, Sunrise” 1842 JMW Turner
I visited Lucerne to see the special exhibition, “Turner. The Sea and the Alps”, featuring works by the famous painter J.M.W. Turner. I arrived in the morning before the museum opened, so I decided to hike along the city’s 14th century wall, the Museggmauer. You can climb three of its nine towers. Of course, I climbed them all! My mother in law doesn’t call me Bambi for nothing. (Not because I’m cute, alright, just because I have an urge to climb steep things. Deer like climbing things.)
Back to the exhibition. Have you seen the movie “Mr. Turner”, directed by Mike Leigh? That’s where I first became acquainted with the painter. The movie is also a work of art.
Between 1802 and 1844, Turner travelled to Switzerland six times. Until then people just saw the Alps as a hurdle to overcome to get to the South. Few landscape painters had given it much attention. Turner loved painting water and mountains, so Switzerland was obviously the place for him.
He travelled Switzerland sketching and painting with watercolours. The first impression you get when viewing his work is one of atmosphere. He was quoted saying: “Atmosphere is my style.” You may think it’s impressionistic. But then you start noticing the Romanticism, the rich details, some showing how people lived in those times.
One of Turner’s favourite subjects was Mount Rigi, which you can see across the lake from Luzern. His watercolour painting, “The Blue Rigi, Sunrise” 1842, gives me such a sublime and peaceful feeling.
Turner could truly paint the way he experienced a scene. Which brings me to his oil painting, “Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth”. This one really made me feel like I was caught in the vortex of the storm myself. “I did not paint... to be understood. I wished to show what such a scene was like.” – JWM Turner
Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth by JMW Turner
Afterwards I went to pay his muse, old Rigi, a visit myself. I crossed the lake from Lucerne to Vitznau by boat. Then I took the Rigi Bahn, a charming little cogwheel train on Europe’s first mountain railway. It took us literally into the clouds. So, the view was not clear, but the experience was surely enjoyable.
Bicycle in Lake Lucerne
The Rigi Bahn in the clouds