Lilserenity
Well-known
Things are only as hard as your mind allow.
I've never had problems street shooting in suburbia, or small towns.
I've never had problems street shooting in suburbia, or small towns.
dave lackey
Veteran
Well, in the State of Georgia, it is all about approach and that works best when you invest something in the people of the small town. Using the NYC style of shooting that is popular on Youtube will most likely put you in a bad situation quickly around here.
Photographers in small towns can be viewed anywhere from oddballs to potential pedofiles, rarely terrorists. So, be aware that carrying a camera around in a small town may label you something well in advance of your intentions and make street shooting even more difficult.
Leigh Youdale
Well-known
You might like to follow this link to see how one person managed this in a small community.
<http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh5l57_james-ravilious-a-world-in-photographs_creation>
Turtle
Veteran
Its very true and I think the longer I shoot the more shades I add to my chameleon repertoire. The 'soft skills' associated with shooting people can be far more challenging than the technical ones I find.
Lilserenity
Well-known
Well, in the State of Georgia, it is all about approach and that works best when you invest something in the people of the small town. Using the NYC style of shooting that is popular on Youtube will most likely put you in a bad situation quickly around here.
Photographers in small towns can be viewed anywhere from oddballs to potential pedofiles, rarely terrorists. So, be aware that carrying a camera around in a small town may label you something well in advance of your intentions and make street shooting even more difficult.
Absolutely Dave, my approach isn't brash wherever I am, I never try to hide the camera, I always hang about after taking a picture and make sure they see my face, I talk to people usually first, build rapport.
I think I've just built my methods on to what to me is common sense, a bit of respect and generally not wanting me to leave with people thinking what an arse she was!
I don't follow what others do, I have to do what comes naturally to me, what I am comfortable doing.
Everybody has their owns methods and it takes a few mistakes and some good experiences to build those. I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes to come but what doesn't kill you!
Vicky
Bingley
Veteran
Agree w/ Dave. The comment reflects an out-of-date stereotype of suburbia, at least in my part of the world.
N.delaRua
Well-known
Hmm street photography has pretty broad definition... I live in what I consider a small town, Burlington, Vermont. I take pictures in the street the same way I shoot anywhere else. Just have to be a little more patient and maybe talk to people more.
Maybe not the most significant photos, but still fun street photos can be found in small towns.
Maybe not the most significant photos, but still fun street photos can be found in small towns.
Attachments
Lots of good comments from folks actually having shot in small communities. My small city is about 13,000 +/- as it's a university town. I recognize a lot more people than I know, and there are a lot whom I don't really recognize, so there is some limited anonymity. Still, the nature of a community this size is that friendliness and good behavior is advisable to get along.
Street photography is viable here but on a more personable basis, most often with at least tacit approval from the subject. I know some street photographers avoid this like the plague, but that's life here! A few years ago I had a sizable project of "environmental portraits", and I still take advantage of such opportunities as appear.
My small city is about 13,000 +/- as it's a university town. I recognize a lot more people than I know, and there are a lot whom I don't really recognize, so there is some limited anonymity. Still, the nature of a community this size is that friendliness and good behavior is advisable to get along.Street photography is viable here but on a more personable basis, most often with at least tacit approval from the subject. I know some street photographers avoid this like the plague, but that's life here! A few years ago I had a sizable project of "environmental portraits", and I still take advantage of such opportunities as appear.
reagan
hey, they're only Zorkis
Often true. I moved from a city population of about a 1/2 million to a village of 13,000 (that I love) --- from livin' in the hood to being home on the farm. The nearby town I work/shop in is friendly and easy-going and everybody knows everybody. Main St. is literally 4 blocks long. Not many *crowds* to meander around in and grab a few frames here and there.
At first I just sunk into doing nothing. Didn't even unpack most of my gear for a year and half. What for? (I like shooting candid people.shots and taking pictures of cows just didn't do it for me.) And like the OP stated, with only occasional "gatherings", they were often missed because I was busy, etc. and then it's waaaaait for the next one. blah.
Ok, so different culture/atmosphere/demeanor calls for me to adjust my own attitude. I decided to start the process toward finding a solution - developing new *soft skills* as you say - that would eventually net me still enjoying taking the kind of photos I grew to enjoy. Or at least come up with a plan.
(1) Get back to keeping a camera with me everywhere I go. A small town may make it longer between opportunities, but still, if I don't have somethin' to shoot with, opportunities NEVER happen.
(2) I'm a pretty sociable person, but I need to figure out how to be sociable while momentarily becoming "invisible" to still get candid, non-posing/smiling shots -- in spite of the fact that most folks around here will look you in the eye, smile and speak when you pass them on the street. (As opposed to the larger city where i could easily mill around in a crowd for an hour taking pictures and no one would even notice, much less nod.)
(3) I've started watching for smaller, more frequent gatherings rather than waiting for larger infrequent festivals, events, holidays, parades, etc. Where is a spot or multiple locations where 50 or even less people are hanging around 2 or 3 times a week as opposed to a town-wide celebration of several hundred or a thousand people only once a month?
(4) When the smaller-group happening
But it's a start. And hey, I'm carrying my cameras again.
schofferhofer
Member
I travel to Sydney for photos. It's an hour by train and still not as lively as most capitals elsewhere, but it's better than my tiny town.
rionda
Never Used an SLR
Great video, and beautiful pictures (although perhaps a bit grey to today's standards, but he says that's what he likes in them, no extremes of black and white, shooting with a non-coated lens, etc.
Thanks for linking it.
Bingley
Veteran
The discussion in this thread is inspiring me to try harder to do "street photography" in the suburbs (or, at least, the suburb where I live). Part of the challenge is that street photography (as I understand it) is among other things about the photography of people in public places, and in suburbia the density of people in public places is much less than it is in cities, or maybe even small towns. Part of my response to this challenge is to focus on some themes that seem to define suburbs, particularly in the American West, including the importance of the automobile to suburban architecture and life in the 'burbs. I'm carrying a camera more frequently on walks to try to explore this.
Turtle
Veteran
Very interesting to see James Ravillious' work. A bit grey, perhaps, but many of them seem to suit this soft palette very well. I can really relate to a lot of those images.
rudolf
Pictures Taker
Well, I'm very surprised to read here, that small towns in US happen to be tough for photographers.
I always thought people in America are very friendly and open while seeing man with camera - which seems to be rare here, in Central/East Europe.
Anyway, I suppose one can get very interesting pictures in small towns - the bigger ones are very often already photographed far and wide - there is plenty of it on the web. Small times seem for me more interesting - people sometimes are more natural and one can catch more candid relations between them, which translates into more interesting photos.
Of course, it can be tough, but I suppose the smile (and like my predecessors wrote - some explanation what you are doing, along with showing example photos) will do it easier.
I always thought people in America are very friendly and open while seeing man with camera - which seems to be rare here, in Central/East Europe.
Anyway, I suppose one can get very interesting pictures in small towns - the bigger ones are very often already photographed far and wide - there is plenty of it on the web. Small times seem for me more interesting - people sometimes are more natural and one can catch more candid relations between them, which translates into more interesting photos.
Of course, it can be tough, but I suppose the smile (and like my predecessors wrote - some explanation what you are doing, along with showing example photos) will do it easier.
There's always something to shoot even in a smaller town. Even in a residential area one can encounter interesting stuff if you look.
The other day I turned the 3-block walk to check the mail into a lumpy 12-block loop, and wondered what was jamming up traffic on Main Street. I found out...
The other day I turned the 3-block walk to check the mail into a lumpy 12-block loop, and wondered what was jamming up traffic on Main Street. I found out...
