street photography the video ;)

[Jamie123]

To think, he became the "official" photographer of 9/11. Unlimited access to the clean-up of the site.

Come on, give him a break. His Ground Zero photos are good.

As for the video being shot at 57th and 5th and not somewhere in Harlem. First of all just because that's where he chose to record the video it doesn't have to mean he always goes where it's "safe" (I don't know, though. Just giving him the benefit of the doubt).
IMHO street photography doesn't necessarily have to be done in dangerous places and IF you can make interesting pictures on 5th av. then there's nothing wrong with that.

Having said that, I don't think there were a whole lot of interesting pictures amongst the one they showed and why he followed the people carrying the chair for so long is a mystery to me.

There where a few things in the video that were quite ridiculous but also a lot of advice that, although nothing new for most people here on this forum, is good for people who want to get into street photography and don't know how to start. I visit the forum on fredmiranda.com from time to time and every once in a while someone asks about pointers on street photography and people start giving advice about using 200mm or 300mm (or even longer!) lenses! It's good to show people that street photography is about getting close, not hiding in the bushes.

 

[J. Borger]

He sure makes it look more exciting than it is ... and pretty dangerous too ....🙂

Unfortunately i also have nothing with Meyerowitz at all ........ i looked at a couple of his books over and over again .... but his photography leaves me cold ...
he must have something giving his authority ... i just never saw it.

 

[Nachkebia]

Hehe, excellent, thank you for the link! I loved the moment when he gets couple kissing each other from back 🙂

 

[ghost]

cripes, why is everyone surprised about the quality of the photos he took in probably an hour? there are dozens of street photoblogs and online galleries where people don't produce anything particularly good for years and years.

 

[Nachkebia]

I really don`t understand the negative vibe from you guys, what is the problem? very entertening and he definetly has very good shots! I mean common, sense the positive too! not only negative side of the film 🙂

 

[J. Borger]

Yes ,,, entertaining stuff ... but jumping in front of crowds with a camera in a street-warrior outfit is perhaps the way to go in New York or the US in general .... but i can assure you that if i would give this a try in the smaller european citys i shoot i would either end up in the hospital or be picked up by the police within a day .. whatever comes first 🙂 ..... jeeze he act like a streetrobber in his burglar outfit ...... good advice?

 

[jaapv]

Funny thing is: Not only he, but apparently also the guy taking the video, who must have been rather visible, attracts no attention at all, making the Ninja suit seem a bit overdone...Mayby the cameraman was dressed like a tourist. Nobody would take any notice at all of the whole circus in that case.

 

[nomade]

He gotta try to that some palces in Cairo and Alex, and disguise into a local first ebcause people have a strange allowance to foreigners and a stubborn denial to their compatriots!

My cameras fell a lot on the streets, and pavements, because peoplewere being so gently they didn't kill me, it's also a sort of harassement, if he ahs a solution for that i'll appreciate it, but don't take that as a negative comment.

Other aspects on the video were good, i enjoyed it, but was really furious when he was showing people how to hide...😀

 

[lubitel]

Funny thing is: Not only he, but apparently also the guy taking the video, who must have been rather visible, attracts no attention at all, making the Ninja suit seem a bit overdone...Mayby the cameraman was dressed like a tourist. Nobody would take any notice at all of the whole circus in that case.

Its new york! Nobody notices that kind of thing. If it was in any other city in US he would have been taken to police as a terrorist.

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

I watched the video and employed some of his methods yesterday on our Iowa town's main street.

I dressed in black, and used my Canon P with 35mm lens. In four hours of shooting; both of the people that came down the street noticed me. Maybe I should have been using a Leica or be dressed in blue & white striped Osh Kosh bib overhauls with a green John Deere ball cap.

Maybe I'll watch the video again, I'm reasonably certain that he said you could use those methods any where in the world. I am probably just not cut out to be a great street photographer.

Wayne

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

My cameras fell a lot on the streets, and pavements, because peoplewere being so gently they didn't kill me, it's also a sort of harassement, if he ahs a solution for that i'll appreciate it, but don't take that as a negative comment.

Unfortunately, the negativity got started when people who can't read said that the non-hurray comments were beating down on the photographer. I can never understand how that happens. I'm convinced it's a cultural thing.

I agree, being "part of the masses" makes the photographer more "invisible". I remember reading somebody's essay on blending in at a High School, how wearing like clothing, eating the same food, made him more acceptable to his surroundings as he was studying their social behaviour.

That's why I plead with all photo tourists: please, don't wear bright red shirts or baseball caps; you not only bring attention to yourselves, but stick out like a sore thumb in other people's pictures too!

 

[Todd.Hanz]

I watched the video and employed some of his methods yesterday on our Iowa town's main street.

I dressed in black, and used my Canon P with 35mm lens. In four hours of shooting; both of the people that came down the street noticed me. Maybe I should have been using a Leica or be dressed in blue & white striped Osh Kosh bib overhauls with a green John Deere ball cap.

Maybe I'll watch the video again, I'm reasonably certain that he said you could use those methods any where in the world. I am probably just not cut out to be a great street photographer.

Wayne

Wayne, you really need to be able to adapt to your surroundings. A good trick here is to drop your camera into a pkg of Redman chewing tobacco (poke a hole for the lens), then it looks like you're packing your cheek when in reality you're capturing the moment, farmer Brown and his wife Gertie will be none the wiser 😀.


Todd

 

[nomade]

I'd say being invisible also depends on where you are, the size of the camera, and how long you will stick there...

 

[jaapv]

Unfortunately, the negativity got started when people who can't read said that the non-hurray comments were beating down on the photographer. I can never understand how that happens. I'm convinced it's a cultural thing.

I agree, being "part of the masses" makes the photographer more "invisible". I remember reading somebody's essay on blending in at a High School, how wearing like clothing, eating the same food, made him more acceptable to his surroundings as he was studying their social behaviour.

That's why I plead with all photo tourists: please, don't wear bright red shirts or baseball caps; you not only bring attention to yourselves, but stick out like a sore thumb in other people's pictures too!

In a number of developing countries tourists started paying their subjects. Nowadays in some areas you have to carry a stack of one-dollar bills with you. That is where the 300 mm's come in...🙁 :bang:

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

Wayne, you really need to be able to adapt to your surroundings. A good trick here is to drop your camera into a pkg of Redman chewing tobacco (poke a hole for the lens), then it looks like you're packing your cheek when in reality you're capturing the moment, farmer Brown and his wife Gertie will be none the wiser 😀.


Todd

Todd, you haven't seen Gertie have you? I only own a 21mm wide angle lens. I don't think I could capture farmer Brown and Gertie on the same frame with that narrow of a view.

Wayne

 

[manfromh]

In four hours of shooting; both of the people that came down the street noticed me.

It seems there aren't much people in your area.

Anyway, i giggled a bit while watching the video. Ive only shot on the street once though, and that was with a SLR, a 135mm lens and in a tourist area, so im not the one to judge someones elses video. But i liked his photos

 

[kbg32]

Come on, give him a break. His Ground Zero photos are good.

I never said they weren't. I find the video entertaining, but extremely ridiculous. And Jamie, I don't have to give him a break. None of us do. E for effort - why sure. You put yourself out like that, you should be able to withstand the criticism whether good or bad. For me, the video doesn't garner him any respect.

Some of us liked it, some of us didn't. Enough said.

Peace.

 

[jano]

I dunno, maybe it's the california in me vs the whole new york thing, but I would have offered to help those people with the sculpture instead of laughing at them when they dropped it. 😛 I've found out that being nice, smiling, and actually part of the crowd is far more fun than playing "invisible" -- that, and you don't get the weird "stalker" or "voyuer" feeling.

My street stuff ain't the greatest, but I have more fun 😀 😛

 

[ghost]

i doubt it's an la vs. ny thing. i mean, i laughed. just because you have a camera doesn't automatically make you everyone's friend, either. that sounds more like overcompensating. =P

 

[Avotius]

the entire time I watched that I kept thinking...what camera and lens is he using? his photos didnt do much for me, but he seems to know for the most part what he is doing, except I cant figure out why he is dressed like a bank robber