How do you photograph the vibrancy of city life?

[Michael Heald]

Hello! Living in a large city, I find many interesting things that I would want to photograph, but many of them are fleeting scenes that don´t seem conducive to LF work. I find myself going to parks or similar places to get more contemplative shots, but that excludes a lot of bustling shots that give cities vibrancy.
How do folks use LF to capture the vibrancy and bustle of city life? Best regards.

Mikw

[David A. Goldfarb]

Try shooting handheld, Weegee style--

http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/halloween/

These are with a Linhof Tech V, a rangefinder cammed 210mm lens, and flash, but if you've got good daylight, you can do it without flash, and a Crown or Speed Graphic is an inexpensive way into handheld 4x5".

[Ralph Barker]

Although dynamic subjects are more of a challenge for LF than static subjects, I think it's still possible. Techniques, however, probably need to shift more toward the "press camera" style of working, similar to the use of press cameras to capture sports action decades ago.

Ignoring the issue of the tripod, I'd approach the task by picking a location that provides an interesting "architectural" environment and good pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Obviously, the vantage point is also critical in creating the desired composition. Then, I'd zone focus and balance the exposure between the desired DOF and the level of action stopping desired. Whether the people and cars have some degree of motion blur is, I think, a matter of style and personal taste. Then, it's just a matter of timing as to when the shutter is released, and developing the "press-style" sense of timing.

[Walter Calahan]

First you've got to define 'Vibrance' for yourself.

Then you've got to anticipate 'Vibrance' as you define it.

If you are success at selecting the scene and anticipating what defines 'Vibrance' for you, then you'll have your camera ready to capture the moment.

I love shooting LF in urban settings precisely for the thrill of capturing what is so fleeting. It helps that I was trained as a photo-journalist, with many years working in the field shooting small format. My sense of timing gives me a leg up when shooting LF I believe.

Here's a page from my web portfolio ( http://www.walterpcalahan.com/Cheers/Carroll%20County.html ) that isn't neccessarily an urban setting, but still demonstrates how I bring my photo-journalism to LF.

[Ed Richards]

I can second the press camera approach - this was how a lot of famous photojournalism was done, back before digital:

http://www.epr-art.com/mardigras/2007-Zulu/index.htm

These are handheld during a Mardi Gras parade, overcast day and Tmax 400.

[David Louis]

Its simple - and you can use a tripod and you don't need a speed graphic or press camera. Just take a look at the work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia. He sets up his LF camera in front of a buzy building or at an interesting street corner waits for the vibrancy to come to him.

[Brian C. Miller]

I second Walter's advice: define your vibrancy first. Then go photograph it.

One thing that won't fit with LF photography is the Winogrand technique: obsesive-compulsive (not disorder) methodology of photography. "When Winogrand died in 1984, he left more than 2500 rolls of film exposed but undeveloped, 6500 rolls developed but not proofed, and 3000 rolls proofed but not examined. That's a total of a third of a million unedited exposures." (Philip Greenspun (http://photo.net/photo/winogrand))

Compare that to Arthur Fellig (Weegee the Magnificent) and you'll see that Fellig practiced slow and contemplative photography, no matter how many dead bodies were in the frame! :) I think the limiting factor is how many film holders you can carry.

Also think about what other photographers made a big splash capturing slices of life, like William Klein (http://www.designboom.com/portrait/klein_bio.html). You don't need the subject to be in focus for the photo to be what you want.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia (http://www.noorderlicht.com/eng/fest99/wonder/corcia/) got sued and beat the rap (http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/archives/001665.html). diCorcia and Winogrand are the only two street photographers that I've heard of being sued, though.

If I were to go after street photography, I would go after scenes like Fellig did. The heart of the city, the life of the city. Not just hanging out on a sidewalk. Look at how many photos were in a bar or from unusual places, like a fire escape or movie theater. One was set up. Look at The Critic (http://jssgallery.org/other_artists/Weegee/The_Critic.htm), where Fellig and a pal got the poor lady drunk, and then sent her stumbling down the sidewalk at the appropriate moment.

Sebastião Salgado (http://www.terra.com.br/sebastiaosalgado/) is another interesting photographer. I don't know what camera he uses, but you could do work like that with LF.

What matters is how you choose your subject. Bill Jay wrote in On Being a Photographer, "Ralph Steiner, the late, great photographer, would occasionally write me a funny, provocative letter after he had read one of my published articles. He would end with the words: 'But you still have not told me in which direction to point the camera - and this is what matters.' And he is right."

[tim atherton]

One thing that won't fit with LF photography is the Winogrand technique: obsesive-compulsive (not disorder) methodology of photography. "When Winogrand died in 1984, he left more than 2500 rolls of film exposed but undeveloped, 6500 rolls developed but not proofed, and 3000 rolls proofed but not examined. That's a total of a third of a million unedited exposures." (Philip Greenspun (http://photo.net/photo/winogrand))



funny you shoud say that, check out his filing system in the movie...!


http://photo-muse.blogspot.com/2007/03/winogrand-at-work-movie.html

[paul stimac]

Chris Jordan's older photos are a great example of what you are talking about. Motion blurr of moving people with everything else stationary. I don't know were to find them online anymore. Maybe Chis can let you know.

[Doug Dolde]

I hate the city and would never want to photograph it.

[Joseph O'Neil]

You have to "feel it inside" first. This is true for any photogrpahy subject, in any format. For example, if you want to capture the serenity of a peaceful landscape, you have to make yourself quiet inside first. Sometimes I'll sit down and chill out under the trees for a half an hour before I start shooting.

For a city, at least to me, it's opposite. When I want to shoot downtown in my city, I often start with a cappichino (spelling?) at Starbucks.

Once you get yourself into the mood, you stop thinking about it, and then just do it.

good luck
joe

[Bill_1856]

At least two of the "Greats," Atget and Brassi, made their wonderful Decisive Moment pictures of Parisean life with their cameras on a tripod, by carefully posing it. I believe that Bill Brandt sometimes did the same in England.

[al olson]

If you are doing street photography, one press camera technique we used in the 50s and 60s was to place the camera on your shoulder. Since it is on your shoulder, the camera is aimed in the direction you're facing. I believe that later on the videocammers used to use this technique before lcd displays became common. It is amazing how accurate this aiming technique can be.

The lens is prefocused to an estimated distance, such as to a lamp post or doorway. If you are doing people shots, click the shutter when the subject moves into your focus zone.

With the camera on your shoulder it is more stable than handheld. People are not threatened as they would be if you were aiming it at them through the viewfinder. This is an excellent approach to candid photography as well.

As far as a vibrancy and bustle of city life I would look for places where people like to gather. In the summer time office workers are eating their lunch in the parks. Consider early morning shots of joggers running through the streets.

Even better is when there are street entertainers around. Their audiences themselves can be very interesting subjects. Some of my favorite places are the Baltimore Inner Harbor, the docks in Alexandria, VA, the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, CO, the Busker Fest (annual event) on the 16th Street Mall in Denver to mention a few.

[tim atherton]

At least two of the "Greats," Atget and Brassi, made their wonderful Decisive Moment pictures of Parisean life with their cameras on a tripod, by carefully posing it. I believe that Bill Brandt sometimes did the same in England.

for me Atget is almost the antithesis of the Decisive Moment... more like the exquisitely extended moment :)

("It’s a commonplace to say that photographs interrupt or arrest the flow of time. They do it, however, in thousands of different ways. Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment” is different from Atget’s slowing down to a standstill, or from Thomas Struth’s ceremonial stopping of time.")

[E_Aiken]

Most every modern LF "street" photographer I know/know if has at least a degree orchestration in their shots. DiCorcia has lights and often poses/places people for his work. Many will give some instruction to their subjects while stopping short of true posing. I don't have a handholdable LF camera so I don't use my 4x5 for what we usually think of "street" photography - I'll do portraits, urban landscapes, etc, but for fast paced work I prefer a Leica or Mamiya 7. I'd love to sometime get a Crown Graphic or the like and do it Weegee style...