Upon Reflection...
Cafe window, shot from the street in Newtown, Sydney
Cafe window, shot from the street in Newtown, Sydney
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Jul, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was a 'street shot', taken as I walked through the busy main street of Newtown, a Sydney suburb. My eyes were on people on the outside - until I saw this man sitting inside in a cafe window.Time
It was lunchtime, as the cafe was busy - forcing this customer to find a seat at a bar in the window.Lighting
It was a perfect situation for an image. The sun was glaring but there was an overhead covering above the sidewalk which evened out the exposure.Equipment
Upon Reflection (I'm borrowing the title) I shot this with a Panasonic with a fixed Leica lens. It was natural light through the window.Inspiration
Even though I love street photography and set out as often as possible looking for street scenes, people, lighting, I can sometimes arrive back home feeling a little jaded and even frustrated at not finding at least one good shot. Sometimes I'll miss an opportunity because I wasn't fast enough or someone, perhaps, had stepped into the scene and ruined what I'd envisaged. But on this occasion, here was a cafe customer happily sitting in a window out of reach of the bustling world outside. And I was so close to the glass that no-one could step between me and my subject. I was captivated by his contented expression, giving the impression that all was well with the world, a world that, thanks to the reflections, appeared to be wrapped all around him.Editing
If I do post-processing (which is usually with every image!) on my battered old Macbook Pro I tend to use Lightroom. Should I do work on another device, it will be either on my iPad pro (using Snapseed), while photos shot on my iPhone are also treated on Snapseed. I guess I could say I have irons in all fires...In my camera bag
I'm right down to minimalism these days. I've dumped my Canon DSLR, cried over the loss of my 100-400 Canon lens and have sold my lumbering great flash. My 'bag' is often just my pocket in which I'll carry the brilliant Fuji XF-10 with its fixed 28mm lens, my iPhone Max Pro II, or the Panasonic ZS200 - the latter being a great all-rounder with its 24mm-350mm Leica lens. Previously I also had a Ricoh GR but it was stolen while I passed through Bangkok airport. The Fuji XF-10, which is equally good, replaced it.Feedback
Just get out there and shoot, shoot, shoot. If you're shy and worried about getting too close to people, try practising by moving in closer each time. Or if your subject is stationary and they're looking your way you can always ask if you can take their picture. Tell them you're out and about taking pictures and they would make an interesting subject. And look for good light mixed with mysterious shadows. As for my man in the window, he was a perfect example of a subject unwittingly posing. If he'd looked up and seen me snapping away I'd have smiled, given him the thumbs up - and I'll bet he would have smiled back and continued enjoying his coffee...
