Street

Seeking inspiration, I picked up a book I like to spend time with, David Gibson’s Street Photographer’s Manual (2014, revised 2020). It’s not really a manual but an idea book with short features on a number of (mostly male) street photographers. It’s one of the women he spotlights who expresses how street photography is for me. Her name is Merel Schoneveld and she writes, “When I get home I upload the photos…and then usually stay there for hours, with my coat and shoes on. I forget the time and everything around me.” As Sue can attest, I’m just like that.

It’s Portland summer, school is out, and the streets are thronged with shoppers, tourists, and sidewalk-eaters. I didn’t find a prize-winner today, but I like the three generations in this photo, the mom’s gesture of pulling clothes away from her body to catch a little cooling air, and the busy wait-person with her two glasses of water. (Sharper in large.)

I’m attaching an extra—there’s an idea! I’m familiar with the corner, and I know this graffito appeared since the debate that gave us all a headache last week. 

I'm finding I don't like using the long lens for street photography. It's heavy, it makes me have to back away from the action. The 35mm is so sharp it can be cropped 100% without losing anything. So maybe I'll save the long lens for nature shots if I ever do any of those.