2015 Project 52; 1st Quarter by Andrew McDermott (AndrewMcD)

[flashback]

Andrew, the more you look the more you'll see. I am learning street photography as well and it's really a hit or miss thing. Too often I'm out and I just don't see anything that catches my eye. Mostly I'm looking for a scene that tells some kind of story and that speaks to me. So to that end I avoid street performers as they are not behaving naturally but rather acting, I avoid the homeless because I feel it's intrusive and 'cashing in' on their misery, unless there is something about the scene I think speaks to their humanity. So mostly I look for interesting scenes, interaction between people, something that suggests an unknown story, like seeing a still from a movie and trying to figure out what the movie is about. Feel free to look at my flickr page and keep looking and have fun.

[mknittle]

Street photography would be pretty boring here. However the gold rush 1849 goings on in neighboring towns can get interesting.

[AndrewMcD]

Hi Andrew.

Dont dispare, street is incredibly difficult! Try going to a festival, somewhere where people will be expecting photographers and drinking alcohol, their inhibitions are lessened and youll have an easier time of it, Also try large cities, i took some good stuff in New york and found it much easier because it seemed less confrontational.

Look at what other street togs are shooting and learn from it. A lot of street togs process to black and white, try that, Look for interesting subjects with contrasting light or people with skin thats been "lived in"

Have a look at this, it my attempt at shooting a festival. It was actually quite good fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VDENYfSrUg

Thank you for your comments and encouragement. I had naively imagined when I conceived of this project that I would walk about and see all sorts of interesting things. I recognized going in that given my personality (I am not a naturally extroverted person) that getting over the sense of intruding on the lives of others was going to be difficult. In an effort to ease into this with a bit less stress I will look for festivals and other public "events" where I will feel less intrusive.

[AndrewMcD]

Andrew, the more you look the more you'll see. I am learning street photography as well and it's really a hit or miss thing. Too often I'm out and I just don't see anything that catches my eye. Mostly I'm looking for a scene that tells some kind of story and that speaks to me. So to that end I avoid street performers as they are not behaving naturally but rather acting, I avoid the homeless because I feel it's intrusive and 'cashing in' on their misery, unless there is something about the scene I think speaks to their humanity. So mostly I look for interesting scenes, interaction between people, something that suggests an unknown story, like seeing a still from a movie and trying to figure out what the movie is about. Feel free to look at my flickr page and keep looking and have fun.

Thanks for the comments Jack. I agree entirely with your policy with respect to the homeless and people in obvious distress; unless done with great skill and sensitivity that sort of image reeks of exploitation. I think it may take some time to get past the technical and personal challenges of this sort of endeavor to begin to start seeing the stories that make for interesting images.