Photography in the streets

Exploring my personal interests can sometimes be a struggle. Everyone deals with their everyday lives and manages their time to the best of their ability. Sometimes, time management can cut out the things that we want to do in favor of the things we have to do.

Thus, I'm always torn between what projects get done and which ones get left in the idea bin. Which brings me to this point: I've always wanted to get into street photography but never had made the time. It has always been a passion of mine to capture the realism of the city with an overtone of surrealism, thanks to various photography effects and tricks.

And so, I'm writing this as a way to prioritize this passion and get out there on the streets. In 2017, I've come closer to living in the city than ever before. Previously, I've had to go out of my way to get projects done within the city limits. Now, I'm centrally located, making easy travel around the streets in any direction.

One of a couple of examples on my excursion.

To initially tackle this project, I took to the local South Side on a night just like any other. A short walk would find me amidst booming bars, businesses, and the colorful folks that frequent the area. Depending on the time of day or the day of the weeks, different types of crowds gather at different times.

On this particular night, it was quieter than usual. I couldn't tell you why, but it seemed the perfect night to take some photos of East Carson Street.

Without fully understanding the definition of 'Street Photography' I decided to take it upon myself to just play around with the idea, choosing a calm night juxtaposed with the bright streets lights and bar signs scattered through the street. The results were very satisfying, though I'm still not sure I fully understand the concept of street photography. Maybe it's something to be left up to the interpretation of the photographer. Or maybe I should actually Google it. I'll leave that for the next batch of photos.

While editing the photos, I simply made some adjustments to the RAW files. The high ISO that I used on this particular night made the blacks a little noisier than I preferred. Next time, I'll have to try a lens that works better in low light situations.

So, depending on the brightness settings on your monitor/screen, it might be slightly difficult to interpret. If that's the case, then I do apologize. Just another thing I have to work on when I have a little more time.

While this is far from professional, I just wanted to take the opportunity to dabble in the creative process before really doing my research. I'm hoping to learn and grow as I continue the process. Next up, I'll have to check out some popular examples to improve on what I have.

In meantime I'll leave this up to your own interpretation as continue my journey to become more proactive with my interests. On that note, anyone interests in doing some portraits?

Until the next time.

Cheers!
Steven