Today I went out to hunt again.

[the warrior]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Slowly I think I'm picking up the pace to 21mm

 

 

 

[A miller]

Jhon - I think the 21mm might be too wide for you.  Or, you are not getting in really close to your subject.  It is not clear from the photos what you are trying to capture, and whatever you are trying to capture is not being framed effectively, in my own personal opinion.  You seem to be a person who is not shy; why not try to get really close to whatever is interesting you on the street and compose and shoot? 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[MT0227]

I have to agree with Adam.  I think you can get away with the first shot, however you have multiple options with 2 & 3.  

 

Shot 2, you have the guy behind the metal gate, and the woman walking toward the dude in the hat. I would have narrowed my composition to them and excluded the right quarter of the composition which includes additional subjects that are a bit too far away.

 

Shot 3, I would have composed my shot to include either 1) the 2 gentlemen on the left or 2) the guy on his cell phone who is ignoring the group of women talking right in front of him.

 

As Adam suggested, get closer to what you want to capture or use a narrower lens and force it to happen.

Edited February 8, 2016 by MT0227

[Iduna]

Jhon,

 

yes, I agree with Adam and with MT:

 

keep going closer and frame the symmetries or whatever you want to capture. You have to draw in the viewer and share the feel of the subject. Wideangle has the advantage of showing the subject in its own world. I like your approach, keep going!

[Adam]

I like the photographs. So I must I beg to differ, with my previous commentators. 

 

I think the 2 last shots are an excellent case of showing multiple scenes, as if in parallel universes. There are 2-3 scenes in one picture and they compose well. There is no chaos or distraction just layers.  This mantra of getting closer to your subject often results in boring and formulaic, for me anyway,  wide angle lens shots that I see on this forum and in other places.  

[the warrior]

I really do appreciate the views because I'm starting to look through a 21mm, which is very large and contains a lot of information.
My eyesight has trained many years 50 and 75.
Now it's time to change and therefore ask opinion who always uses large angular.
For interior is well and know how to use, but on the street do not really know.
I would like to find established authors with 21 or 24mm, you know ?, please tell me some links.

The 21mm has the ability to allow further cut, I get to it so it seems.

 

The problem for me and others photographs is that pure Street photography is very different to the portrait on the street, it´s the night and the day..

I am very grateful for their honest opinions, all opinions, seriously, thank you my friends.

Today I will go out into the street with 90mm .......

[MT0227]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Adam,

 

I can see your point about being too close, however it's on the photographer to compose their shot to include the appropriate level of surrounding value added targets which complement their subject(s).  A boring composition is a boring composition.

 

When I walk around the streets, I find a 50mm forces me to concentrate on one subject (person/thing), adding in some high value targets to complete the scene.  A 35mm allows me to concentrate on a small group of subjects (persons/things), adding in some high value targets to complete a slightly larger scene.  I personally like a 35mm for street, it provides me with the most flexibility and ability to capture the street based on how I "see" it.  I can typically get close enough if I need to single out a specific subject, with the flexibility of having a wider frame to capture smaller groups of subjects, making a slightly larger scene.   

 

I have also have a 21mm as well, but I use it mostly for traditional landscape and architecture/design shots.  For me, 21mm in the street creates the dilemma of having multiple subjects and multiple scenes in one frame.  As Mr. A. Miller points out, this can cause confusion of what it is you're trying to capture. However 21mm can still be used effectively as Iduna suggests by having the advantage of showing the subject in its own world. The tricky part is for this world to complement the subject by not including multiple scenes which distract the viewer from your primary subject(s).  In other words a landscape shot with your subject in it as opposed the other way around.

 

I don't think shots 2&3 are too chaotic, however I do see at least 4 shots that could have been made between the 2 of them.  When I see this, I have to say that getting closer would produce a more desirable result.

Edited February 9, 2016 by MT0227

[the warrior]

Ok, I get the message, I have to get closer to subjects to penetrate their worlds.

Soon I'll go with the 21mm again.

 

I leave a picture with this lens, but ending the image of different form.

 

[Steve Ricoh]

Your parting gift is great, mate !

 

(Vaseline ??)

[Adam]

Adam,

 

I can see your point about being too close, however it's on the photographer to compose their shot to include the appropriate level of surrounding value added targets which complement their subject(s).  A boring composition is a boring composition.

 

When I walk around the streets, I find a 50mm forces me to concentrate on one subject (person/thing), adding in some high value targets to complete the scene.  A 35mm allows me to concentrate on a small group of subjects (persons/things), adding in some high value targets to complete a slightly larger scene.  I personally like a 35mm for street, it provides me with the most flexibility and ability to capture the street based on how I "see" it.  I can typically get close enough if I need to single out a specific subject, with the flexibility of having a wider frame to capture smaller groups of subjects, making a slightly larger scene.   

 

I have also have a 21mm as well, but I use it mostly for traditional landscape and architecture/design shots.  For me, 21mm in the street creates the dilemma of having multiple subjects and multiple scenes in one frame.  As Mr. A. Miller points out, this can cause confusion of what it is you're trying to capture. However 21mm can still be used effectively as Iduna suggests by having the advantage of showing the subject in its own world. The tricky part is for this world to complement the subject by not including multiple scenes which distract the viewer from your primary subject(s).  In other words a landscape shot with your subject in it as opposed the other way around.

 

I don't think shots 2&3 are too chaotic, however I do see at least 4 shots that could have been made between the 2 of them.  When I see this, I have to say that getting closer would produce a more desirable result.

 

I appreciate the remarks, I get your point and I think it applies to image 1. But the other two I do not find as  boring as you do. The composition could be better, but they remind me of medieval pictures where there are background and foreground scenes occurring in parallel. There is no complementarity, but I find that refreshing. The street is a backdrop to different scenes set apart only by distance from the camera and each other. The last image reinforces that for me. After  blurring out the backdrop, one can see the tree subjects only in relation to each other.    I guess a boring composition is in part in the eyes of the beholder and what he or she expects.

[MT0227]

Adam,

 

I never said any of Jhon's shots were boring.  You had said that you see a formulaic/boring result when photographers get too close to their subjects and I agreed with you that this could happen with improper composition and technique.

 

What I did say was "I see" several scenes between 2 photos that could have been captured and perhaps a more desirable result could have been achieved; more images, with a clearer focus to the scene or event being captured. 

 

People see things differently; what some enjoy others may dislike.  I'm just stating my preference and what I would have tried to execute being in Jhon's shoes at the time.

Edited February 9, 2016 by MT0227

[Adam]

Adam,

 

I never said any of Jhon's shots were boring.  You had said that you see a formulaic/boring result when photographers get too close to their subjects and I agreed with you that this could happen with improper composition and technique.

 

What I did say was "I see" several scenes between 2 photos that could have been captured and perhaps a more desirable result could have been achieved; more images, with a clearer focus to the scene or event being captured. 

 

People see things differently; what some enjoy others may dislike.  I'm just stating my preference and what I would have tried to execute being in Jhon's shoes at the time.

 

 I misunderstood when you were saying "a boring composition is a boring composition" - I assumed you were talking about the OP's images. In general, I agree with the statement, hard not to.

 

I also agree that we see stuff differently. I entirely respect your point of view, I just see it completely differently. BTW I am curious how you would set up the scenes differently. From what you post here, I think the results would be terrific.

[the warrior]

Yes Steve, filter with vaseline, very little, and PS CC.

 

Each of us thinks differently, otherwise it would be boring, just a photographer would be enough for everyone.
I need time to define my way of looking through a 21mm, it is more difficult for me to look for 50 or 90.
Thanks for the views of all, I learn from them.

 

I keep trying .......

 

Thank you very much.

[MT0227]

Adam...since you have asked.

 

2nd Pic:  The security guard (I think) in the doorway looks like an interesting target.  I would have tried something from the center of the square;  shooting toward his general direction in the doorway, and if interesting, capture a bit more to why he's standing there.  

 

3rd Pic:  You have scene with a guy giving handouts to people coming out of the train.  That would have been an are of focus to capture some interesting expression shots of people interacting.  For me, I would have just kept it to this area, waiting for something to happen.  Then you have oblivious ones;  the guy on the cell phone in his own world and the group of women standing in the middle of the sidewalk (Hate it when people do this).  I would have tried to capture the conversation of these women with cell phone dude off the the right in oblivion.  

[Adam]

Adam...since you have asked.

 

2nd Pic:  The security guard (I think) in the doorway looks like an interesting target.  I would have tried something from the center of the square;  shooting toward his general direction in the doorway, and if interesting, capture a bit more to why he's standing there.  

 

3rd Pic:  You have scene with a guy giving handouts to people coming out of the train.  That would have been an are of focus to capture some interesting expression shots of people interacting.  For me, I would have just kept it to this area, waiting for something to happen.  Then you have oblivious ones;  the guy on the cell phone in his own world and the group of women standing in the middle of the sidewalk (Hate it when people do this).  I would have tried to capture the conversation of these women with cell phone dude off the the right in oblivion.  

 

MT02277,

 

These would have been great shots - it would be one scene at a time. I was myself thinking about the third one, I would also photograph the guard from a less narrow angle, but  narrow enough to capture people walking by, I would also use a lower vantage point, using an evf,  to highlight his dominance in the scene. 

 

Thank you for the insight.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Adam