the unofficial Cosina-Voigtlander User Community

I&#039;m a street photographer.&nbsp; I mostly use Leicas and Bessas.&nbsp; Lately my favorite Bessa is the R4A, which I took to Europe and paired it with my M8 and Zeiss Ikon.&nbsp; I also use the R3A, R2A and the R2S and C.&nbsp; Plus I have couple of Ts.&nbsp; And a few Ls.<br /><br />As a street photog I do have a few rules.&nbsp; The first is not to use the camera to bully the sad and helpless.&nbsp; I have to keep this in mind as I have basically a comic spirit.&nbsp; Comedy is not something that I embraced but something that has embraced me.&nbsp; So I have to watch it because comedy can be mean.<br /><br />I generally do not try to interact with my subjects.&nbsp; But when I must I try to make them feel at ease.&nbsp; There is something about an RF camera that is less intimidating than and SLR I think.&nbsp; <br /><br />I&#039;ll soon be posting some of my shots made with Voigtlander cameras and lenses.

I shoot mostly street stuff as well and also have a few &quot;dos &amp; don&#039;ts&quot; that I adhere to, like &quot;don&#039;t hide that you are taking photos&quot; (i.e. don&#039;t be sneaky about it, just take the photos) &amp; &quot;no means no&quot;. I&#039;m out to explore people and culture, not to piss anyone off. I know a few photogs who intentionally act obnoxious in order to get an angry reaction...<br /><br />...I don&#039;t get it...<br /><br />they&#039;re reacting to you, and street photography is about documenting the subject interacting within their environment, right?<br /><br />

QUOTE:
<br />I&#039;ll soon be posting some of my shots made with Voigtlander cameras and lenses.<br />

Please do. I need some new stuff to feature on the main page and, although my works is awesome ( ) I&#039;d rather feature others.

It&#039;s a tricky one. I only tend to photo people on the street if i feel that they form an interactive or even passive part of a larger composition - perhaps the back of someone looking onto a scene or a person face on but &#039;lost&#039; in a scene - if that makes any sense at all. <br /><br />When it comes to the &#039;person is the photograph&#039; opportunities I tend to only photograph people that I have permission to photograph; such permission might be explicit but it might also be tacit (for example taking photographs of my students at school - when I take those photos I&#039;m doing so as a part of my job). To be honest if I feel that I&#039;m stealing something then I don&#039;t take the photo. Of course if I see someone holding a camera I dog them until the roll is finished&nbsp; <br /><br />I&#039;m still working it out. <br /><br />

Yes, I do consider myself a street photographer, and as such, I try to remain as unobstrusive as possible when shooting. My credo is the POLAR OPPOSITE of the "veni, vidi, vici" philosophy. I don't barge into a scene and I try not to rush my shots. Rather, I first try to soak in the street's "aura" and will often stand or sit at one location for a while before I even take one picture. By the time that I do, most people on the street would have already accepted me as part of the street scene. That's when I go to work.

kxl wrote:

QUOTE:
Yes, I do consider myself a street photographer, and as such, I try to remain as unobstrusive as possible when shooting. My credo is the POLAR OPPOSITE of the "veni, vidi, vici" philosophy. I don't barge into a scene and I try not to rush my shots. Rather, I first try to soak in the street's "aura" and will often stand or sit at one location for a while before I even take one picture. By the time that I do, most people on the street would have already accepted me as part of the street scene. That's when I go to work.

That's the best way. Honestly, it really doesn't take too long before you're seen as just a "fixture" and that gives you so much freedom sith your work.

A few years ago I was walking down Nathan Rd. in H.K. and there was a guy setting up a huge 8x10 camera on the sidewalk. Obviously, he was the center of attention. I walked into a shop to catch one of the great pre-CNY sales going on and when I walked out maybe 30min later he was still there but people were no longer looking at him. The interest had passed and the camera sitting there had become a "fixture".

BTW, love the pic.