Yesterday was the workshop and 14 brave photographers set out in the early morning for Mission Street in San Francisco. Our intended targets were Mission, Market, and China Town(we missed the Veterans Parade). Street photography for me is about people. And in San Francisco you have plenty of people subjects along with an assortment of other sights and opportunities that make for photo paradise. I was sent an omen that the photo gods were smiling on us when just out of the parking garage, Alex one of our photographers stepped in front of this sign. No kidding this just happened when we walked out of the garage!
So I knew there would be plenty of opportunity and right off the bat, I ran into this street condo that had a bedroom in the very back. Up against the wall was an area where someone was sleeping.
So here is a few hours later with the condo disassembled and the occupant shaving on the street. He was a young, well groomed, handsome guy? I don't know his story but next time.............
A few minutes, couple of blocks and a couple of bucks later, another street guy. And while he doesn't look to0 friendly in this photo he was, as you will see later.
Life on the street is tough as the next few photos illustrate. But there is a lot of ingenuity as this rig shows.
Some have it worse than others. And I wonder what turns in life let to this?
The physical signs of the area speak about the culture and lifestyle of Mission. The alley's reveal the dark side.
Posters that speak to feelings.
Signs tell the story of the services, as this dentist office sign speaks loudly.
Culture is everywhere, and I stopped in a local barbershop after seeing this sign in the window. Turns out, the barber is very talented at creating art with hair. They did remark I was not a candidate because my palette was slightly challenged with canvas.
So now flash back to the early street person I photographed and he shows up again, and I love this second image of him.
Mission has an abundance of things to photograph besides people, the street is full of murals. Here Peggy and Julie are taking advantage of the art.
Peggy even asked a shop owner who reminded me of Boy George to step outside for a photograph and she said great!
At this point, we needed some coffee, and I caught Peggy gazing out the window for this quick portrait.
After coffee, we are off to Market where lots more images abound.
Shooting from the hip is an old technique but takes practice. It's lots of fun and the images aren't bad once you get the hang of it.
Market is very interesting, here is street chess.
Shooting from the hip can also almost get the image you wanted, as this example shows. Not quite sharp enough but the subject was oh so interesting.
I love street dancers and since I watch "So You Think You Can Dance" I now know what popping is, so guess what, I photographed it.
You can also take a break from the street as we did yesterday and grab some cool shots from inside buildings.
But I always come back to the people, they can be so interesting.Urban dress is so cool and the way people express themselves with their dress is so creative.
You can't go to San Francisco without taking the street car. People are so expressive riding street cars, looking, holding on, wonderful subjects for street photography. I like this image because it is so busy, so much going on.
In photography, you can slow it down a bit by going in closer, giving the observer less to digest and still get a great image.
So at the conclusion of the day, we headed to China town. Unfortunately we were running out of time and you could spend a week in China town with photography.
But often closer is better in photography, so a bit tighter.
And now it's time to make our way back to BART, take the short ride to Mission, get our cars and return home.But one more stop at Maiden Lane to listen to the wonderful opera voice on the street.
Back at BART, gotta love the humor!
And our gang full of photography continues to engage folks. Here Ron and Chandan engage a guy with pure style.
And Julie who carried her Canon S100 instead of her full load of lenses and Canon bodies, shows off a picture to workshop leader Brian Tramontana, with Nathan also approving.
So we all hop on BART, and hold on!
And the day comes to a close. Everyone seemed to have a good time, certainly more than enough images around for the day. Tonight at Hold the Eye Images Studio, we will go over post processing with the workshop gang, share some captures, and talk about our experience. You should have been there if you weren't you missed some great fun.
But whatever you do with your photography, don't forget this!!
Special thanks to Brian Tramontana workshop leader, Don Schremp and Julie Kitzenberger. If you want to learn more about Hold the Eye Image workshops, go to http://www.meetup.com/Hold-the-Eye-Images-Meetup-Group/events/87177702/.
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