2016 is almost over and it has been a wonderful ride for the last the year. In terms of Street Photography I tried many different styles and went through many changes that I am happy to be done. Therefore I want to present the phases I went through and share the experience.
The Start of 2016 in Street Photography
The year started with meeting Thomas Leuthard on a public Photo Walk in Berlin. Although the weather was quite harsh in January he managed to gather a huge crowd that was interested in Street Photography. Therefore it wasn’t very easy to take pictures or have a long conversation. Nonetheless it was very motivating to photograph with him and have a glance “behind the scene” of one the staple Street Photographers known in the german speaking area.
In terms of Photos I was pretty much in a slump. The winter isn’t very inspiring for me and doesn’t leave a lot of opportunities when it’s just cloudy all day.
Seen above is the first picture that I was satisfied with in 2016. It also represents a change, when I focused more on these high contrast scenes, that a good friend Oliver Krumes introduced me to. Through his advices I was able to spot the interesting light more sufficiently. While it was still very complicated to find the right settings at first it helped me a lot to understand the lighting of a scene much better.
The tricky part is, that the human eye processes these situations very differently than the camera. We often stumble across great opportunities for a photo without noticing them. Taking my time to search exactly for these harsh contrasts helped me to understand the limits of my camera and how to meter without blowing out the highlights.
Changing to the RicohGR
Another great change came when I changed from my Canon DSLR to the smaller RicohGR. With the Canon I always felt quite distanced to scenes and never really in the middle of the action. The RicohGR helped me to get a lot closer and I tried to focus on other aspects of composition.
The following picture was focused more on layers. As you can see there are two women having a conversation in the foreground, a nice gesture in the middleground and the scene is surrounded by the frames of the cafe.
In general I wanted more “action packed” photos where the observer can get lost in the scene. Past pictures felt often times very clean and sterile. I wanted to get away from that. It was very rough at the beginning because focusing more on other parts of styles also means to start over again. In theory I am quite comfortable to create pleasing pictures, but in reality it takes a lot of time for me to compose them.
Becoming more emotional
This is one of the pictures that still focuses more on the visual aspect than the story. It looks quite good but there isn’t really much more to it. Typically most silhouette photos are like that. They are pretty easy to take, look good, but in the end this is not the Street Photography style I want to focus on heavily. When the light is great it is still a lot of fun to do, but in general I weigh the story more heavily in a good picture. Unfortunately a great story is very very hard to capture.
These were two attempts of mine to capture more emotional pictures. On the other hand, the composition isn’t very overwhelming. In both pictures the background is quite distracting and there are other elements that I am not very content with. But when talking about finding yourself in the scene, I hope you can understand what I meant with it.
In contrast to silhouette photos where I am able to wait on the very same spot for over an hour, it is still very hard for me to create great pictures spontaneously. In my opinion being able to compose a picture in the matter of seconds is one of the greatest traits of expert Street Photographers. But training this feature probably takes a few years from now on, if even not a decade.
The Flash and me
In the middle of the year I tried my luck with using a flash in Street Photography. Although I had a lot of prejudices and was very scared to try my first steps in this direction, it turned out as the most fun and rewarding challenge of this year.
As you can see the flash is used very shallowly. The focus is still on the picture itself and the flash has been used to enhance the image. It was not a stylistic element on its own.
“My experience about shooting the Berlin Marathon in 2016“
This changed over time and as I got more comfortable with the flash in one and the camera in the other hand I pushed the limit of both devices. I experimented a good amount of time with long exposure and simultaneously a flash, creating these blurry images.
A Short Runaway to Heilbronn
Once again I had to start from very little and it showed very soon that the use of an off camera flash in Street Photography requires a lot of practice.
During the summer I also had some days off and traveled to a small town in southern Germany. It was a nice change of environment for once and thanks to the sun I was still able to enjoy my fair amount of Street Photography, even with a less amount of people. In contrast to Berlin I focused more on the visual aspect and nature.
“Read more about my experience of shooting the small town of Heilbronn in street photography in smaller cities“
This showed me that Street Photography is possible outside of Berlin and that there is beauty to be found in the smallest places. Changing the spots is also a great boost of inspiration for me. Even in a big city like Berlin I feel like I already know every corner and opportunities for great pictures. Traveling refreshes empty batteries and it doesn’t need to be huge ventures. Every small change, maybe a weekend off in the suburbs or a day in a different city can reset your mind and open up yourself for new pictures in your hometown.
Feeling at Home again
For the end of the year I stuck to the flash and long exposure combination. Although I thought that the winter might be a very tough season, it turned out to be the most inspirational time I had since the beginning.
I overcame my fear and photographed even during the night with a flash. Against my natural fear it was a lot easier than expected, to some extend even more pleasant than during the day. People are noticing the flash but don’t become suspicious since I look just like your typical tourist with a camera.
Until the sun welcomes Berlin again, I want to continue this style of photography and become better at it. There are a lot of unknown factors for me that influence the outcome of photos at night.
Hopefully 2017 will be as adventurous as 2016 was and I am able to enjoy Street Photography as much as I did the past year.
If I have to choose one lesson that stuck with me the most, it is that trying out different directions can lead you to your goal rather than committing for one track. Don’t be afraid to enter new terrain, to try out new things, to fail and then succeed.
As long as you are thoroughly enjoying the time out on the street, you are on the right path.
Stay Curious
Sebastian Jacobitz
