Category: Meetup
VanSPC PhotoWalk
Last Sunday I partook in a Photowalk with the Vancouver Street Photographers Consortium. It was a planned outing with the Delta Photo Club. We met at The Gallery George in Vancouver where some images from the VanSPC was on display. There were some great images on display. After some time we headed out in three groups led by members of the VanSPC. We lucked out as the weather was spectacular.
They challenged us with a Scavenger Hunt by handing out a card with a list of ten things to photograph. I have had very little (read NO) shooting in the last one and a half years because of personal reasons. Add to that the fact I headed out with a new camera I am not familiar with including a new focal length lens. Trying out 27mm vs 23mm focal.
Here are the results. Not keepers, but not bad for a 1 hour 45 minute walk while mostly chatting with both members of the walk and some individuals I met on the street. I think, all in all, not a bad day.
I like the Scavenger Hunt card as it focuses you to look and find images. It’s why I love ‘projects’. We will touch on Projects in an upcoming blog. Not the Learning Project but specific, detailed art projects that can elevate your work and can help you through uninspired dog days.
I am fairly happy with the results. I loved being back out in the street shooting. It reminded me of why I love Street Photography. The ‘people.’ It also was a great prep for tackling Paris in nine days.
I missed many shots on this day. Practice, need more practice. Almost all the images were shot blind either from the hip or from a quick lift without using the viewfinder or back display (which I usually leave off.)
As you probably noticed most of my imagery is ‘square cropped.’ I love challenging myself to that format but sometimes it just doesn’t work. As with this next image I struggled with making it square. I will probably return to it and spend more time exploring if square will work.
This day was another first. It was the very first time in all my years of shooting digital that I did not shoot RAW. All my shooting was in JPG, all in B&W. Done. No decisions to make. It is what it is. All the images have less than 10 seconds of editing and that includes the cropping decisions. I will revisit and re-edit my favorites.
This last image of the ten on the list is far from perfect. But there are elements I like very much. This is the kind of image or scene that you can revisit and work on until you get all the stars to align properly. Perhaps something to work with in Paris. What would it look like at night? With Lights?
It was a great way to spend a gorgeous afternoon with friends doing what I love to do. It would have been a great day, with, or without a camera.
A Dry Day of Shooting on Main Street, Vancouver.
So we had another great outing on Sunday. The weather co-operated this time keeping everyone dry, if not a little cold. Coffee & doughnuts by the fire were great as usual. Met a few new photographers interested in Street Photography including a Film Shooter with a Nikon F2. That takes dedication and forces you to get the right shots and be more selective. Well done Warren.
Speaking of shooting film, we did see (and photographed) someone walking along Main Street with a Hasselblad over their shoulder. Not too often do you see that nowadays.
Overall a great day with some good shooting opportunities and a few need to return opportunities including a lady that walked out of the Library to feed the birds. After shaking their food tin and calling for some time, a large flock of pigeons came down. Will need to time that better.
Cold Wet Day of Shooting on Main Street, Vancouver.
So, we had our first Meetup on a cold, windy and very wet day in Vancouver. After expecting no one to show up, a total of 9 brave souls came out to learn and shoot. Almost everyone showed up early for the coffee and doughnuts at 49th Parallel on Main Street. Well done everyone!
Here are a few of the images I captured playing around with the setup on my camera. Testing Auto Focus today with the 23mm f/2.0 and practicing Shooting from the Hip.