glenerrolrd Posted October 18, 2007 Share #1 Posted October 18, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just returned from two weeks in Prague and Budapest attending a very interesting workshop on street shooting. The workshop was organized by The Maine Photographic Workshops ,theworkshops.com, and was lead by a very accomplished photo journalist Peter Turnley,peterturnley.com. Preparing for this workshop I organized my two M8s and the following lenses 16-18-21 WATE, 24/2.8 Elmarit , 35/1.4 Summilux, 50/2.0 Zeiss Planar and the 90/2.0 Summicron. In addition I also lugged my R9/DMR and several telephoto lenses. During the workshop we had 12 days on the street and could shoot most days from dawn until after dark. We had discussions with several Czech and Hungarian photo journalist and had work sessions to review our work daily. Generally these were between 9am and 1pm so we had easy 8 plus hours a day on the street . During this workshop I shot 3000 images . From the start I new this would be a "learning experience". Peter established up front some ground rules (he called them "the contarct"). (1) you had to decide to shoot everything in Color or BW ..but not both and you could not change...I chose BW even thru I shoot almost eveything in Color. (2) you can not carry a camera bag..in fact he recommended carrying one body and one wide angle lens...I almost went into Shock (3) no zooms or telephotos....nothing longer than a 50mm equivalent ..he made the Nikon users tape their zooms at the widest setting (4) no editing of images ..he was to see every image. You know with all that equipment ..I wasn t going to follow the rules completely . The M8s performed flawlessly..in all types of weather..indoors and out . This was an exceptional learning experience . I will post a few pictures after I resize them to meet the guidelines. Any questions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 18, 2007 Posted October 18, 2007 Hi glenerrolrd, Take a look here Street Shooting with Peter Turnley. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
glenerrolrd Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share #2 Posted October 18, 2007 a few images form the workshop Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36051-street-shooting-with-peter-turnley/?do=findComment&comment=379890'>More sharing options...
Paul_S Posted October 18, 2007 Share #3 Posted October 18, 2007 Interesting workshop, interesting guidelines (no camera bag, max 50mm eq.), very nice pictures. I have been in Prague many times, some 10 years ago, and started dreaming instantly from your pictures. Thanks for posting. Tell us more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
popum Posted October 18, 2007 Share #4 Posted October 18, 2007 Roger, What do you feel you learned? Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted October 18, 2007 Lessons Learned ...(1) to tell a story you often need additional context ..shooting closer to the subject with a wide angle lens can provide a more interesting and complete story than a tightly cropped image...we studied the work of three top photojournalist ...all shot mostly with 28-50 equivalents (2) getting at or below the subjects eye level often provides for additional depth and a more interesting perspective (3) working with just a few lenses ..for a given assignment ...improves the flow of your images ... jumping back and forth between say a long telephoto and a extreme wideangle doesn t work (4) leaving a little room around the subjects can often work better than cropping to the edge. (5) working light improves your ability to try different view points (6) look at everything when you see a "image rich situation" shoot as long as you can . Probably most important was ....you can get close to people when shooting ..you just need to get used to it. And of course ...wow do I ever have a lot to learn ! Go Wide...Get Low ...Get Close and watch your edges . Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36051-street-shooting-with-peter-turnley/?do=findComment&comment=379965'>More sharing options...
LichMD Posted October 18, 2007 Share #6 Posted October 18, 2007 Great stuff Roger! Thanks for sharing and for the pics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
popum Posted October 18, 2007 Share #7 Posted October 18, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks, sounds like a worthwhile experience. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted October 18, 2007 Share #8 Posted October 18, 2007 Roger - very helpful, and nice shots. If you have a personal website to put them all up on, please do and link to them. Sounds like a great experience and you made the most of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie_O Posted October 18, 2007 Share #9 Posted October 18, 2007 Nice work! I especially like the doggie shot. I got similar advice back in art school- I put a 28mm on my F3 and never looked back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted October 18, 2007 Share #10 Posted October 18, 2007 Hmmm. Prague... I once had a conversation with a former old hand on this forum about going out with only one lens. He just wouldn't dream of such a thing. Full bag of two/three bodies and lenses or nothing at all, was his advice. I, however, think that restricting yourself in such a way means that you have to think more, with a definite contribution to the results. Do post more, or link to a site, please. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmsr Posted October 18, 2007 Share #11 Posted October 18, 2007 Roger, Thanks for sharing the experience. I also second the request of asking you to post more or link to a site with the shots. I'd be very interested to see more and what your thoughts were on working the individual photos. Best, Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
c6gowin Posted October 18, 2007 Share #12 Posted October 18, 2007 Roger, that looks like a great trip and learning experience. I am curious why you decided to shoot black and white since you stated it was not your norm and how you did it, e.g. jpeg or raw. conversion. I am also curious which lens you found to suit your eye and style for this workshop. One last thing - show us more. Mark Gowin Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay101 Posted October 18, 2007 Share #13 Posted October 18, 2007 (snip) Lessons Learned ....shooting closer to the subject with a wide angle lens can provide a more interesting and complete story than a tightly cropped image... Spot on. I paid my way through Uni filling in a newspaper when various photogs went on vacation. The editor got mad at me one day and took all my lenses off me except a wide angle (camera at the time was a Canon F1). His instruction barked at me was, "I want faces, now get up close. Get in their face!" OK he amped it up to make his point, but he was right - I was standing back too much. Go wide. Get close. Get the moment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share #14 Posted October 18, 2007 First a couple of images of Peter Turnley demonstating "getting close" Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36051-street-shooting-with-peter-turnley/?do=findComment&comment=380157'>More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted October 18, 2007 The second image was a wedding in the main square of the OLD TOWN section of Prague...right under the famous clock. This was non stop weddings in the large church with the clock. Peter put the lens into the door jam. When they closed the door he knocked on the window and had them roll it down so he could keep shooting. Obviosuly a big discussion was about how to get close ..without upsetting the subject. He view was approach it positively ..they are in a public place and expect to be noticed ..by shooting you are saying ..I find you interesting . I watched him approach maybe 8-10 different subjects ...he never had a negative reaction . I tried for maybe 8 days ... I could get up to maybe 75% positive with 25% in shock that someone was 6 ft away and shooting like mad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share #16 Posted October 19, 2007 We were able to visit with three famous photo journalists .. I believe all three have exhibited at the Leica Gallery. Karal Cudlin and Marceta Luskacova both Czech and Peter Korniss Hungarian. I attached a few images to show how we viewed there work. Since several of the attendees were also Print Collectors ..we got the full treatment ..viewing large format prints. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36051-street-shooting-with-peter-turnley/?do=findComment&comment=380168'>More sharing options...
fotografr Posted October 19, 2007 Share #17 Posted October 19, 2007 Man, you are one lucky guy!!! Pete Turnley is a fantastic photographer and person. I've long admired him and his work. As I near a "retirement" phase, I fully intend to take advantage of opportunities like this one. The images you posted show just how valuable that workshop was. Either that, or you were already damn good before you went to it. What a pleasure it must have been to have the M8 there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share #18 Posted October 19, 2007 Roger, that looks like a great trip and learning experience. I am curious why you decided to shoot black and white since you stated it was not your norm and how you did it, e.g. jpeg or raw. conversion. I am also curious which lens you found to suit your eye and style for this workshop. One last thing - show us more. Mark Gowin Mark I decided on Black and White after looking at my first days images ...the Vapor Lights used to illuminate the streets and buildings must have been flourescent . All the early morning and night shots were impossible to color balance due to mixed lighting. My first batch was about 500 images ..they looked better in BW. Also when I looked at the Peters work ...his books and most essays are all BW. To get a quick conversion I used Lightroom ..tried a few individually ..then just batched them on import. I know I can do this a lot better . Where the Leica really impressed the group was in the available light situations. ...normally I shot ISO 320 which would allow f5.6 and shutter speeds over 1/250 ....but some of my best can at 640 or 1250 f1.4 and 1/30 or less. The 35 Summilux blew everyone away ....I could use 640 underexpose by 1 stop ...adjust for the noise in lightroom and get acceptable images ...this was at 10pm. The M8s were a real hit.. I am sure I sold at least a few more . Attached is the one M8 in full battle dress..Black Luigi Case ....taped with Black Gaffer Tape form Photo Village ...Upstrap . I used two M8s ..to get around the bag I used a Filson Travel Vest which held 2 additional lenses . In the day it was normally the WATE or the 24 on the one body and the 35 on the other. The 50 or the 90 in the pocket of the vest. Gradually I moved back to using the 90 a little more and revisited locations requiring more distance. Images were amazingly evenly split across all 5 focal lengths. What I learned was that you need the faster lenses for street photography..I will be adding a 21 2.8 as I could have used the speed and 21 was about right for most situations.. I learned more by using the WATE at 16 but didn t get as many keepers. We were not allowed to crop anything and at 16 thats a lot of coverage to keep clean. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36051-street-shooting-with-peter-turnley/?do=findComment&comment=380191'>More sharing options...
mat_mcdermott Posted October 19, 2007 Share #19 Posted October 19, 2007 Wow! I have never seen black gaff on the _top_ of the camera. Regarding get close: while I don't think I've ever put the lens right on someone's car door, in crowded settings I'm consistently amazed at how close I can get to a subject without creating a disturbance, so long as the approach taken to the situation is positive, not sneaking shots at all...just doing what as a photographer you are there to do. It's obviously different when the situation is less crowded or less festive... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share #20 Posted October 19, 2007 no question the tape is over the top ..but I used to tape my M s to protect them for resale....recently took the tape off a 20 year old M6 ...cleaned it up with alcohol and it looked new .. not positive this will work with the new finish as well 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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