Takin’ it to the streets!

Street Photography: Urban Landscape

When I think of landscape photography, my colleague Jess comes to mind (you should really check out his articles). You might drift off envisioning lush, green forests, surreal sunrises and sunsets, and all the little creatures that inhabit the land and plains.  Yes, it is gorgeous, soul enriching, and deep down there is an intrinsic desire most of us share for the great outdoors and wide open spaces.  However, many of us are not fortunate enough to have an abundance of access to these vistas and views.  Therefore, us city-dwellers work with what we are given, and that means taking it to the streets.  So if your, wildlife means the party crowd on a Friday night and your landscapes have a slightly more angular and “concretey” and you want to make the most of the bright lights of the big city, this next one is for you.

Big and Tall:

Often we head out into the woods and marvel at the trees; their rich foliage, how long it took for them to grow, and the creatures that inhabit them.  When we head into the city, the feeling can be eerily similar yet completely different.  We look up at the buildings that “scrape the sky“, how quickly they seem to pop up, and wonder about the beings that work within.  When going on a photo safari within the urban jungle, the mélange of cement, pavement, steel, and glass presents interesting challenges (although in many cases the cement acts as a great grey card).

Perspective:

When craning your neck to look up and capture that skyscraper, you need to realize that it may not turn out exactly the way you see it.  The top of tall buildings will converge if you are using a standard camera lens. You will want to try and go with a wide angle lens to get as much of the building in as possible. Something in the neighborhood of a 20mm lens is fairly standard for both inside and outside shots. You may also want to look into tilt-shift lenses that can help straighten the lines if you want a more “architectural” feel to your images. Keep in mind, converging lines aren’t a necessarily a bad thing and may add a dramatic feel to your photo. (For an interesting thread on lens selection for architectural photography click here.)

Repetition and Reflection:

Photography in the city can be daunting if you are not paying attention. Depending on the city, there can be a whole lot of grey and the buildings can begin to look the same. If this happens to be the case, use it to your advantage. Switch your photos to black and white in post production (or shoot with black and white film for those of you who have stuck with the original format or are going against the flow). Contrast the vast difference in the greys (light and dark, black and white) with the plainness of the subject. Using repetition can also create a pattern which creates an interest we are automatically drawn to. There are a lot of different things you can look at or focus on if you are feeling bored with buildings, buildings, and more buildings. Reflections are also very interesting as usually there is an excessive amount of glass, mirrors, and fountains available.

Shadows and Lights:

When shooting within the city limits, you will always encounter shadows. It is unavoidable. The buildings reach out to eclipse the sun and drop you into pockets of obscurity. While this may be a little dramatic, an abundance of shadows can play havoc with your camera settings. Shadows can really add to your photograph if there is contrast, but when shooting completely in the shade, colors become muted and if you have no room left to play with your settings, flash may be required. When dealing with lights in the city, remember that they have different temperatures that sunlight and you will have to adjust the white balance; use this chart for a better idea of the temperatures. Without the right white balance your pictures with come out with different tints.

Wildlife; the buildings are the florae and the people are the faunae:

Natural landscape photography sometimes will spill over into the cute woodland creatures that inhabit the area.  Chipmunks, squirrels, and bugs! Oh my! While skunks and raccoons still managed to climb my fire escape to reach the trashcan, the city streets will bring out a different kind of animal.

City folk:

Big cities are a meeting ground for different people whom all have different values, cultures, and beliefs; this will be reflected in their activities, the way they dress, and the activities the partake in.  On one of my frequent photography walks in the downtown core I passed Tibetan monks in the village, streekt punks washing car windows for change, the upper crust dressed to the nines for the opera, tourists snapping pictures of everything in sight, and an unfortunate addict who tried to attack me for walking on “his” street. (I am not making this up)  The city is full of interesting characters doing unique things and there will never be a shortage of people to photograph.

Natural Habitat:

The trick is to catch them in their element (candid).  Getting a photograph of someone in their element, doing what comes naturally to them, is a thing of beauty.  Even something simple as someone going to work, driving a cab , or going shopping, it is an event we can identify with on some level.  At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there is also something attractive about staring into someone’s eyes as they have given a moment of themselves to the camera and by extension, you.  I have had some great moments talking with the homeless and other individuals when I have walked up and asked them if they wouldn’t mind having their picture taken.  You get as many yes’s as no’s and often the yes’s give you a great story and an opportunity to experience human interaction.

Nocturnal:

Night-time in the city is when things start to get going.  The buildings are now blackened silhouettes against a dark blue sky but the city comes alive.  Revelers are heading out to eat, drink, and be merry.  There is an energy in the air, as people are wearing their best and colorful lights call out to the passerby’s.  (For a more in depth look at night photography, check out this Fuel article by Ameena.)

Lights (white balance settings and ISO):

As with any photo op, light is your friend.  You have to become a Jedi light-meter master; whether you actually have a light meter or you are using your hard-earned experience.  Shooting in really low light conditions becomes even more important.  You will not have the warm 5200K sunlight (head back to the near beginning of this article for the temperature chart) and will have to rely on neon beer signs, car headlights, street lights, and your own flash.  However, get creative with it and play with the available light.  Try changing your focal length in mid-shot, grab a flashlight or sparkler and try some sky-writing.  Do not get frustrated with the lack of light, there are always ways to add more without taking away that magically mysterious feeling of when the sun drops out of sight.

Equipment:

In terms of equipment nothing too special is required. As previously mentioned, a wide angle lens is very helpful as you may want to capture an entire building, room, street, or crowd. If you can afford a variety of lenses, throw them (delicately) into your bag and head out; you never know what type of situation or setting you may encounter and if it will every happen again. However, make sure that you have at least one fast lens. You can throw out any hope of being versatile with your aperture unless you plan on long bulb exposures; an aperture of 2.8 or more is ideal. A tripod is recommended, but don’t feel like all shots must be nailed down. I have found a certain flexibility with your surrounding environment will allow you to get a different take on what might be an average scene. If its part of your arsenal, try a Gorillapod. Adding to the effectiveness of whatever type of tripod you chose, throw in a shutter release cable or get used to the built in self-timer on your camera; you will need every little bit of steadiness available to you.

Night time activities:

While people are heading out to the clubs, clinking glasses (of the beer, shot, wine, or champagne variety), or just driving home, your main activity will be manual focusing.  That’s right, if you haven’t practiced you will be getting your practice in now!  If you leave your camera on the AF setting, you know that it will focus for you simply by holding your trigger halfway.  Your camera’s brain will use it’s built-in focus points and go all that work for you.  While this is quite helpful, it can be particularly frustrating in some circumstances; one circumstance in particular is night time street photography.  Since it is so dark, your camera will not be able to focus for you and will quickly give up.  Another activity you will be doing is ignoring your camera’s recommendations?  Huh?  Really?  Oh yes!  Your camera’s ideal parameters are certainly not low-light situations.  You are trying to create art by manipulating the light to create moods and feelings.  When shooting light in the dark, get a reading for the high light and the low light.  (You camera will pick one or the other depending on where it thinks your focus is.)  Then be prepared to take at least a couple of shots with different settings (look up bracketing)  and look at them, if you are shooting digital.

So get out there, look both ways, stay safe, and have fun.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised with any venture out into the streets whether it be the warmth of the day or the coolness of the night.  When you get those awesome shots, please post them to the FYP Flickr pool and tag them with fypstreet.  Look for mine and I will look for yours!

Photo Credits from top to bottom:

1. © Philipp Klinger

2. © Philipp Klinger

3. © Philipp Klinger

4. © zelnunes

5. © zelnunes

6. © strkyer66

7. © Ben Heine

8. © Photo-Fenix.com

9. © Dreamer 7112

10. © Photo-Fenix.com

11. © Philipp Klinger