can it be street if shot with a 70-210 zoom?

[back alley]

is there a cut off focal length when street photography just becomes a 'hunt' with a long lens?

i see guys on the street shooting with these massive zooms and getting head shots from across the street...it seems like cheating to me.

i have always seen street as the domain of the wider lens, up to a 50mm...
maybe 75 to 90 on a rare occasion.

am i just wrong here?

 

[keytarjunkie]

There's rarely any connection between the subject and the photographer, and that's what street photography is all about.

Saul Leiter comes to mind, though:
http://photographyinterviews.blogspot.com/2009/04/saul-leiter-quiet-iconoclast-saul.html

 

[rbsinto]

is there a cut off focal length when street photography just becomes a 'hunt' with a long lens?

i see guys on the street shooting with these massive zooms and getting head shots from across the street...it seems like cheating to me.

i have always seen street as the domain of the wider lens, up to a 50mm...
maybe 75 to 90 on a rare occasion.

am i just wrong here?

Yes............

 

[nico]

Joe... IMO doing street photography with that kind of superzooms it's just like cooking a pizza in microwave oven ... 😀

 

[semilog]

I'm sure that it's possible.

But I'm also sure that the vast majority of street work that I see shot with lenses longer than 100mm is of disproportionately low quality.

You'd have to have something interesting in mind, and execute it well.

 

[mgd711]

Nope...

As 'keytarjunkie' say's above, there has to be a connection between the subject or subjects and the photographer. My longest lens (which I rarely use) is 50mm.

Using super zoom is akin to being a paparazzi or worse, a pervert IMHO.

 

[shyoon]

i see guys on the street shooting with these massive zooms and getting head shots from across the street...it seems like cheating to me.

i have always seen street as the domain of the wider lens, up to a 50mm...
maybe 75 to 90 on a rare occasion.

The thing is, you have based your definition of street photography on a set of self-imposed rules. It's not a bad thing, but it's not 'cheating' if someone chooses to take photographs in a different way, because at the end of the day, it's the images that count, whether it was taken with a 28mm, 50mm or 300mm lens.

 

[johannielscom]

🙂

I'm already in anticipation of the arrival of the one guy that does shoot street with huge dSLR lenses here, I just can't remember is name... He might be a Greg, not sure...😕 He shoots Leica too, so I guess he's forgiven beforehand 😛

In general, I like the close proximity of RF shooting in the streets. But, if you get the shot from 60+ yards, I guess what counts is that you got the shot. However, personally I do feel it's like cooking pizza in a microwave oven indeed...

 

[nikon_sam]

That 70-210 could be set at the 70mm range...
I did a ton of street shooting with the Vivitar Series 1 70-210 lens...
Rarely was I in someone's face from across the street...

 

[Darshan]

I don't mind calling a photograph a "street photograph" if it was taken with a tele zoom, as long as it conveys the message correctly.

 

[gb hill]

In all actuality the final print will speak for it's self whether or not it is classified a street shot. But like the first poster said & I agree, there needs to be some what of a connection with the subject. The common aspect of street photography is, it must be a Leica rangefinder, 35mm & wider, & preferably on b&w film! On this I disagree! What ever camera is the most comfortable for one to use is the right one. Some of the best street work I've seen was done with a TLR.

 

[rondo]

is there a cut off focal length when street photography just becomes a 'hunt' with a long lens?

well i realize you use the word "hunt" in a derogatory way, but many good street photographers were essentially hunters. One can find many good videos on youtube showing the big names in action.
Street photography has to be about being alert, good observation and very quick action: very much like hunting. You may interact or not, challenge them, engage them or just observe...no single right approach there...
But tele is inappropriate, I would say....If street photography is about catching a segment of social life, isolating it from the context makes very little sense. I find those people portraits with stereotypical expressions extremely boring: but the very same person's interaction with the city, and capturing their reaction to a situation, or another person can be very interesting. That would require you to be in the midst of things...Not enough tension and energy when you are a distant observer with a shallow depth of field...
This is probably the single most difficult kind of photography.

 

[Darshan]

This is probably the single most difficult kind of photography.

This, I agree with.

 

[kdemas]

To me it's a tool. If it works for someone and the resulting photo is in the street genre, good for him/her. Whatever works for you.

 

[venchka]

I spent most of last Saturday roaming the Riverwalk and Alamo in San Antonio with a 70-200/2.8 lens. Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't do steet. I was able to get some decent photos. When i get them online y'all can be the judge.

 

[Tsai]

when you have hunger, even microwave pizza will do. 😛

I guess it all depends on the final image as mentioned above.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

well, even if you can call it 'street photography'... that still doesn't mean it cannot be sh*t.

 

[Spyro]

I like Saul Leiter as mentioned a few posts before, I liked "heads" by Philip Lorca DiCorcia:

And I like what this guy does in the streets of Singapore. All with telephotos.
It takes some imagination and a good photographer to make it work.

But doesn't everything?

edit: in the interest of full disclosure I only use 28m for street but only because I find it easier to get what I want, not because telephoto is not kosher.

 

[FrankS]

I don't think anyone should impose their personal rules/biases/etc onto another person doing art (including street photography).

Artists/photographers do what they do, in whatever manner they do it. The viewer is free to experience the result and react to it subjectively. They are free to enjoy/appreciate the result, or not.

 

[Brian Legge]

A few thoughts...

It may be worth distinguishing between street photography and street portraiture. As I'm following it, long lenses can work well with the later due to the ability to isolate people from the background. That isolation is generally the opposite of what people look for in street photography, where the goal is the environment is a critical player.

I'm not sure where the interaction part people talk about comes into play in the photo. I've seen critiques where any shots with the subject acknowledging the photographer are attacked as 'not candid enough'. Obviously there are plenty of photographers whose work directly involves being seen, etc. Thats why i think the separation (bokeh and narrow FOV) are the bigger issue when it comes to longer lenses.

One frustrating point for me is how the density of the environment can make 'classic' street photography difficult. I've had good luck with 28mm-50mm lenses on crowded streets (or at least places where people walk within 20 feet of each other naturally). In sparse environments, only a single person in sight and across a multiple lane road, getting in close takes a more aggressive photographer than I. As a result, I tend to revisit the same areas frequently.

Edit: fyi, I'm probably one of the least experienced people here when it comes to this. Take anything I say with a grain of salt. 🙂