Roll your own
Here's a few more visual anthropology shots (aka street photography) from Laguna Beach.
Prayer circle at Main Beach
Chess game
Morning joe
Street photography
November 27, 2011
October 12, 2011
Wandering around the Las Vegas Strip
Here's a few from Las Vegas in mid August on our way to Colorado. I don't get much from the gambling anymore. It used to be you could get a fair amount of play gambling in this town. With the poor return on the slots and the high minimum bets on the tables, I just don't feel like I get much entertainment value for my buck anymore. Now I just amuse myself by photographing the street. Much more cost-effective.
June 07, 2011
Shooting Laguna
Without a doubt, one of the best places for street photography in Orange County is Laguna Beach. There's no shortgage of interesting a diverse people wandering around this town.Here's some color shots. I'll post some B&W in the next few days.
When shooting the street, I look for people who I think would look interesting photographed. If I saw me walking down the street, I wouldn't lift the camera. Now I hope I'm and interesting person, I just wouldn't be a good photographic subject. The folks on this page are.
June 01, 2011
May 30, 2011
Wandering around Orange
I grew up in the city of Orange, so I can remember the downtown area from when I was a kid. No, the photo above was from a few weeks ago - I wasn't around in the 1920s. Anyway, we occasionally head to downtown Orange for dinner and I take the opportunity to shoot some photos. Orange circle was built in 1886 amd many of the existing buildings are from the early 1900s. This was a tired downtown area from my earliest recollections in the early to mid 1960s and the only thing that seems the same today is the Army Navy Store (except for the GPS units in the display case). I can also remember waiting in a long line with my sister at the movie theatre to watch the premiere of the Beatles Hard Day's Night. The line wrapped around from the ticket window and well down Walnut Avenue.
Here's a few photos from the around the Orange circle.
What's on the roof of that car ahead?
Chapman University graduate and street musician. I don't remember his name.
And, of course, the fountain.
And even a Mother's Day antiwar demonstration by Code Pink.
March 21, 2011
Trying something new - Street Photography
Most of the photography I've done since i started shooting about 6 years ago would be considered outdoor or nature photography. I thought it would be fun to try some street photography. To a purist, street photography is done in large cities (L.A., New York, London, Paris) with a black & white film camera, preferably a rangefinder. Some photographers including Chris Weeks, a Los Angeles street photographer, don't consider you a street photographer unless you shoot with a Leica camera. Well, being a non conformist, I'll do it my way, thank you very much. Anyway, Chris is an excellent photographer and I figure he is just making a point - probably a good one.
After getting some feedback from my friend Carl Garrard (who often does use a rangefinder), I decided to buy a Canon S95 point and shoot since my primary camera, a Canon 5D mkII is a bit large for street photography. My first attempt was a Laguna Beach a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, I'm not a purist and I'll do some in color, some B&W, all in digital and most with a point & shoot. It's a fun but tough genre.
I have no illusions about becoming a Henri Cartier-Bresson (in my opinion, the best photographer of the 20th century), Garry Winogrand or Bruce Gilden. It's best not to be self conscience. My advice based on limited experience is to keep in mind that what you are doing is both moral (everywhere except places where people expect privacy), legal (at least in the U.S. although not in most of Europe) and you must keep your focus on the world you are watching and not on yourself. Also, don't take compromising photos of people; that's rude.
