Street Focus 11: Q&A and Street Challenge

Episode 11: Q&A, Street Challenge and Pick of the Week

And the winner of the HUMOR challenge is….

Rob Langhorst for his entry titled Selfies are Everywhere'.

Rob provided some details about how he shot this image:

During a trip in Portugal my wife and I visited Fatima. Fatima is an important Catholic pilgrimage. This pictures was taken during the evening ceremony. On one hand the priest taking a selfie during mass deserves a smile on the other hand is shows that experiencing Fatima is special, even for a priest. Technical details: Canon 5DIII, 105mm, f4.0, 1/30sec at ISO 4000.”

See more of Rob's work on his website and through this link.

Selfies are Everywhere! ©Rob Langhorst
Selfies are Everywhere! ©Rob Langhorst

I'm happy to send Rob Photography as Meditation by T A Hoffmann , compliments of our friends at Rocky Nook Publishing.

Q&A Segment:

This week I answer questions sent by Marshall DeCouto and Aaron Witherow about simplifying your gear and the impact it can have on your creativity and how to shoot without bringing the camera to your eye to remain invisible.

Link to one of my articles about the power of limitations published at dPS.

Street Focus listener Richie Palmer in the UK is using a Mamiya 7ii, which is a manual focus rangefinder, and would like to get in contact with street photographers using a similar camera to share notes on techniques. If you want to reach out to Richie, you can do so in the comment section below. Thanks!

New Street Challenge: LOOKING IN! or Window Street Photography

Do you ever photograph people through windows, in cafes, restaurants, trains, buses? Use reflections to your advantage, help give a sense of place. Shoot at an angle to avoid your own reflection in the glass unless you are doing a self portrait at the same time.

This may be out of your comfort zone, so an even bigger incentive to try it. Remember that’s the best way to grow as a photographer. Remember, respect is the number one rule. don’t photograph people in embarrassing or vulnerable situations.

The contest closes on December 19. Have fun!

Pick of the week:  The new Critique category in the Street Focus Community Page on Google+.

This new category is a space where you can post an image to get constructive feedback from your peers. Don't forget that it works both ways. If you post and image for critique, you also need to give feedback on other’s work. A critique needs to be constructive to give the photographer the tools to make better decisions the next time he or she hits the streets.

Special Announcements:

The 2015 photo workshops are filling up quickly!! a few spots left for Paris in May and Sept-Oct. New weekend workshops added in NYC and London. I hope to meet some of you in 2015!

Samples of ‘Looking In' for inspiration. The images below are the Copyrighted by Valerie Jardin.

52 Comments

    1. No worries, the pic shows up when I click on the icon. It’s probably too large to display.

  1. On a rainy day in Hamburg, Germany. This is at the tram station. The train was wet after an open section …

  2. I asked, “She said Yes ok!… Southbank London on a night shoot walk about! Fujifilm X100s

  3. It was a dark, dreary day, but I went out anyway (umbrella in hand). I didn’t truly understand the advantage of dark days when shooting through windows until this day… and now it is one of my favorite viewpoints!

  4. I had to wait a while for the young couple with the puschair to walk up the hill as I wanted their reflection to frame the man in the bar, and just as they did he looked at them – lucky!

  5. Picture is taken during festival of light in Lyon, this year the festival was visited by around 3 million of people… and she was in her world.

  6. I took this in London, near Oxford Circus, this past October. I didn’t see the customer’s smile until I got home. I admit I felt a little creepy taking this shot, but now looking at that moment it makes me smile every time.

    Great show Valerie!

  7. This was in Tallinn, Estonia. The guy had been studying a menu and whilst waiting for his order, started looking around and caught my eye.

  8. This was in Tallinn, Estonia. The guy had been studying a menu and whilst waiting for his order, started looking around and caught my eye.

  9. This was in Tallinn, Estonia. The guy had been studying a menu and whilst waiting for his order, started looking around and caught my eye.

  10. Night walking loving the lights and windows. The expression looking at the ‘window still’ was priceless.

  11. In the heart of downtown Kansas City, Missouri lies a very chic urban supermarket. The gentleman in the cap was apparently catching a snack in the quiet of their cafe. Reflected in the window is the H&R Bloch tower.

    1. Michael, please try again, the photo didn’t upload. Maybe it was too big. you may want to try a different browser too.

  12. Hello Valerie!

    I love shooting photos of people through windows 🙂 It is one of my ongoing projects in fact! For the contest I will submit one I shot in Rethymno, Crete that is called “Face in a Window”.

    Good luck to all!

  13. This is my son in the famous scottish restaurant in which his mother and brother took him. Unfortunately he is vegetarian and therefore doesn’t sedem to be very happy…