I just wrote a piece of taking pics on the street

[koven]

Great stuff guys!

 

[koven]

Well it's the only "offensive" comment you ever get through your whole life as a photographer and writer asking for some critique, you're an happy camper, young grasshopper ! 😀

haha ive heard way worse but its good because it allowed me to get better and think about the things I did.

My post was mainly meant for the tumblr crowd. I posted this here on a whim and Im glad I did. I'm glad about the feedback I received, positive or negative. There's no set path (that I know of) on becoming a famous photographer or getting recognition and the people that are there aren't going to give you any answers.

This post was just me putting some energy out into the universe while getting people to look at my stuff. I'm pretty happy with the result. I'm going to be sure to edit the original post when I get the chance just to improve the writing and grammar.

 

[koven]

You're a better photographer than a writer. 😉

I have to be honest, although it's a short article I wanted to stop about half way through because you not only weren't saying much interesting, you were barely saying anything at all. And what you were saying was jumbled up, none of the paragraphs really leads into next one.

"I hate calling it “street photography”... "

"I believe the ingredients for taking pictures on the street are ..."

"I grew up in the city and I hated it as a kid. " etc.

The kid paragraph is sort of the killer because it derails the topic and you go off on a tangent - without first telling us why you're starting this tangent. You have three or four sentences in a row that say nothing about photography, which sort stops the article in its tracks. Enough nit picking though.

I also don't really know about this every picture must have a "point" in it. I guess because I generally consider a photograph to be only part of a larger work, a single image doesn't have to make the point. But perhaps you can expand that thought a bit more.

Oh man this was cringe worthy..........but I needed to hear it. That post was like taking a shot of bucklies, it tastes awful but it works. I'm guessing you're a teacher or something lol? I got some positive feedback on the post the a few places I posted it and by email but I'm going to focus on your feedback the most. I wrote this at around 3 in the morning and i just kept going. I'm definitely going to go back and edit it and try to make it flow better.

I used to be a good writer in high school but I took Engineering and physics in college and that killed my passion for writing and putting effort into write, it killed a lot of my patience too when it expressing my ideas. When I was writing that post I had a few ideas I wanted to say but I didn't know to put them together and I was tired.

Anyway thanks for the feedback and I'm going to edit my post tomorrow.

I'm so glad I wrote this post, going through this has definitely ignited something in me.

 

[airfrogusmc]

I agree with Keith and approach it pretty much the same way.

 

[Keith]

Great photos airfrog. 🙂

 

[airfrogusmc]

Great photos airfrog. 🙂

Thanks and yours too bro...

 

[csxcnj]

Koven, I just read the re-write. MUCH better, it flows more and seems more personal. I do wonder why your photos are only seen in "nervous" places around the world. I think you got auto spelled there. 😀

I had the jitters when I first started street shooting and missed a lot of things due to hesitation. Now I just shoot and don't worry. The more confidence I've gained the less confrontations I have had.

Regarding taking photos of homeless I don't do it unless I have gotten to know who I am pointing my camera at. In D.C., as I'm sure it is elsewhere, most homeless have their corners, street sections and/or doorways. I get to know some of them by dropping $$ in the cup regularly, buying cold water on hot days and passing it out, coffee on cold days, getting meals etc. After that I'll talk about taking a photo.

cheers, Bob

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Koven, first... way to go! Exposing your ideas and art to an audience of many opinions and tastes is a brave, brave thing! 🙂

I'd like to weigh in with a couple of thoughts. First, street photography is a VERY difficult art to pursue, at least to the point of producing art that is anywhere close to universally liked. There are just too many variables involved. My advice about getting better: (1) Get out there a lot (which I see you do) and make lots of pictures. (2) Look at a lot of the work of street photographers that have gone before you and try to suss out what people liked about their work. (3) Only listen a little bit to the criticisms of your contemporaries. Those criticisms generally come through too many filters of individual taste and experiences. and (4) Always be thinking about how you can refresh your approach... don't let it get stale. 🙂

And a quick thought about pictures of homeless people... they ARE part of our society. A very important part. By their presence, they say a LOT about who we are as a culture. I'd only suggest that isolating them in the picture doesn't reveal their importance. But when they're included in images of the larger milieu, things start to pop!

Keep it up and keep them coming. And thanks again for your bravery. 🙂