Walking in the Rain
Street Photography is hard and getting harder.
Street Photography is hard and getting harder.
Street Photography is not easy. If you are persistent and lucky, you may be blessed with a great sunset. But this isn’t really street is it? This is an urban landscape. In my mind, true street photography is the art of capturing people being people. Great Street Photography tells compelling stories through candid shots.
The Washington State Fair, 2023 edition, closed its doors a month ago. I was browsing through my collection of shots and thinking that these images tell a story of a fair that could be anywhere. The Ferris Wheel. Lots of people on the Midway. Could be a shot from anyone’s cell phone just recording the moment. Ho Hum!
I will say it again, Street Photography is hard. Trying to capture a moment that tells the story about a place and time. It takes a practiced eye. Add to that there is a building fear of litigation because the subject of the image may be recognizable. Never mind that the context of publication is editorial and therefore does not need permission.
So, what is a person to do?
Well, Washington is the Evergreen State. It’s supposed to be raining and gloomy all the time, right? How about living for that rain? How about using the rain to gain a different view? How about looking down? How about looking for puddles and reflections? The reward may be something completely different.
While browsing my fair photos this morning, I came across this shot. Lots of color. Lots of reflection Too much dead space in the lower half of the frame, but lots of potential.
OK, let’s crop it. Let’s crop it hard. Let’s get rid of that distracting yellow drain on the right.
Better.
But what happens when we rotate the image one-hundred-eighty degrees?
Yes! Now I have an image of people walking in the rain.
The world is a beautiful place. Share the beauty. Leave only footsteps.