Lucy And The Lens

Tag: #StreetPhotography

  • Q And A With Multiple Exposure Photographer: Calum Heywood Photography

    • How did you get into Photography?

    I started taking photographs when I was about 13 when my dad gave me his digital camera to try out. I just kept taking photographs from then on looking at new ways I could experiment, I shot a lot of nature-based work to start off with because I found it interesting and it was everywhere.  I tried out black and white film photography and darkroom work while I was at college and then dropped film photography entirely in favour of digital for a few years and now I shoot colour film and medium format photography alongside my digital work.

    • What kind of gear do you use?

    I use Canon Eos systems for my digital photography and videography, with a Canon 6D as my main shooter and a Canon 100D as my secondary shooter. I try to mostly stay away from extra gear and shoot handheld wherever possible.

    For my film/analog practice I shoot 35mm on an Olympus OM1 with a fixed 50mm lens and Medium format on my 6/4.5 Zenza Bronica. In terms of film I shoot Kodak Colour plus for 35mm and Kodak Portra 400 medium format. I shoot on a Petri 7s 35mm rangefinder and a variety of point and shoot 35mm cameras as well.

    I’ve got my eye set on getting a Pentax 67 as an upgrade from my 6/4.5 but I haven’t found the right one yet.

    • Which is your favourite lens? Why?

    Recently my favourite lens to shoot with is the fixed 50mm which I use with both my Canon 6D and Olympus OM1. I’ve been shooting a lot of portrait-based work recently and the prime lens allows the aperture to go extremely wide to about 1.8 which adds this amazing distance between the subject and background. Below are a few examples of my fixed 50mm work.

    • So, you like to use multiple exposure in your photography? How did that subject peak your interest?

    My initial interest for the project came from the introduction sequence of HBOs true detective (Screenshots below) and the work of Swedish artist Erik Johansson. Both styles use image layering and altering to create surreal and intricate images. A key point of Johanassons work I wanted to replicate was the level of detail in the images contain so if you were to scale the images to A0 or larger you would be able to pick out tiny details in the images.

    So, from there I kind of ran with the idea and just experimented and went with what worked and kept exploring and expanding my style of practice.

    I have a new multiple exposure set which should be out by the time this interview comes out. The images are a joint project with Manchester based fashion brand For the Fly Customs which combines the multiple exposure style with leather jackets designed by For the Fly each jacket centres around one of five iconic creatures from classic horror movies made up by Dracula, The Mummy, Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. This is the first time the multiple exposures have been tied together with a set brief of creating a multiple exposure which not only looks good but ties into the theme of each creature and works together as a set of images which was an exciting and interesting challenge.

    Calum Heywood, 2019

    HBO, True Detective

    HBO True Detective.

    Erik Johansson

    • What settings do you typically use for your multiple exposure photography creations?

    The portraits for the multiple exposures are shot in a studio environment as it makes them easier to work with in post. I try to work mainly with prime lenses and on the 50mm if I can, but I shoot on a shallow depth of field to make the images easier to lift off the background and onto a plan background in Photoshop.

    When shooting I like to take a lot of shots from various angles so that I have a lot of flexibility. The aim is to create an almost 3D view of the model so that I can pick and choose which angle of the model works with the image I want to overlay with it. I try to use this technique when shooting the secondary images as well to give myself the maximum amount of flexibility in post. Then it’s just a case of playing around with the images in Photoshop until something clicks together. The process is more trial and error at first, but the more images come out of the style the easier it gets to tell what shots will work best together which speeds up the editing process massively.

    • Are there certain shots you need to get before you post process and make your creations doing multiple exposure style photography? Or do you just go with the flow?

    There’s always the start of an idea, so with the mechanical portraits (the stuff around power stations) I knew I wanted to combine the industrial structures with the human figure but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do it, so I just shot 4-5 possible locations and models and spend 10 hours or so in the editing process experimenting with ideas to see what would and wouldn’t work. However, the new set with For the Fly Customs had more of a focus as the images had a clear theme to work around. The Mummy took a more sand/desert-based approach for example, so this just meant I had to be more creative with my approach to the work often using more abstract ideas and working with shape form and texture.

    • How do you usually post process your work?

    I do post process my photos, but I try to keep my process minimal, so I’ll only do basic editing and stick to exposure and colour corrections in either Photoshop or Lightroom.

    The multiple exposures are a different story of course, with them every part and detail are planned and constructed I have even moved away from straight black and white and moved into adding colour filters as well. An interesting point to mention on the multiple exposures is that they look different depending on what screen you look at them on and this is especially apparent when they make it to print so I usually end up doing test prints and looking at the images on retina displays if I can to get an idea if any part of the images looks out of place or needs more editing.

    • What makes a good photograph in your eyes?

    That’s a great question! It probably sounds cliché, but I’d say telling a story or making the viewer feel an emotion. I have a real love for street photography for this because you can play around with colour, space, light and movement to create stories out of street scenes.

    For me personally a few Instagram communities I look at for inspiration are @Somewhere magazine, @Nowhere Diary and @Documenting Britain.

    • Are there any other styles of photography you enjoy?

    There are a few styles which I’m really into at the moment I love shooting on film, especially portraits and documentary photography but I also have a passion for street photography and I’m branching out into fashion photography.

    I’ve recently discovered a passion for shooting just stuff that feels boring and mundane but is interesting without its surrounding context so an example of this is that a few months ago I was in Manchester walking to the University and I wanted to finish off a roll of 35mm film, so I could get it developed that day. I saw a half-eaten Greggs pasty lying on the floor and without thinking I took a picture of it, so I now have this strange image which tells the story of a discarded pasty on the streets of Manchester and for me that’s very interesting.

    1. Tell us the story behind your favourite picture?

    One of my favourite photographs is a street portrait I took a few years ago of a girl crossing the road through a beam of light in the northern quarter in Manchester. I love the moment it captures, it’s almost a nod to Cartier-Bresson idea of a decisive moment. The image has a sort of sentimental value for me because I was there for about half an hour photographing people walk across the same street before I got the right shot. It was very dependent on the right weather and being in the right place for the light to come through at just the right time for the shot to work.

    • Have you done any cool projects recently that you’d like to discuss?

    I’m currently working on a few different projects the largest of these is a portrait and documentary photography project for my master’s degree which centres around socially distanced portraits and observations on the lockdown. All the portraits are shot on medium format film and document people from the area around me. I’m aiming to collect the project into a photobook once its completed.

    I’m in the process of starting my own business as well which takes up a majority of my time so I’m working on shoots and collaborative projects relating to that which are mainly fashion and portraiture based.

    • When you do travelling what do you take with you and why?

    When I travel try not to take anything digital with me to shoot on, this probably sounds a bit controversial in the digital age, but I feel like it makes traveling more of an adventure and instead of taking loads of photographs it slows the process down and makes me look close at the what I’m shooting. I came to this realisation near the end of 2019 when I went to Berlin for the first time. There was a strict bag size which I could take on the plane because I didn’t want to pay for extra luggage, so I was pretty limited on what I could take with me in terms of gear (unless I wanted to wear the same pair of clothes every day) so I settled on taking my Canon 100D for digital shots and my Petri 7S 35mm rangefinder to shoot film.

    I decided not to take any film over with me because I didn’t want the hassle of taking it through security and I thought it would be fun to source some film while I was over there. I found shop near Alexander Platz about a 10-minute train journey from where I was staying where I picked up two rolls of kodak Ultramax 400 which I shot over the next two days.

    I found that once I came back to the UK that I was a lot more interested in getting the 35mm rolls developed than digital photographs. I applied this same idea when I visited Edinburgh in March of this year and found the same result that I was a lot more interested in the film images than the digital ones. So, after that I decided that I’m going to fully commit to this process and next trip abroad the plan is to just take 35mm and medium format.

    • Is there any photographers work that has influenced and inspired you? If so who?

    There are three inspirations which come to mind;

    Australian Magnum photographer Trent Parke was a massive inspiration when was younger and to an extent still is today. His project Dream/live inspired me to shoot purely in black and white for a solid 2 years and to break into street photography.

    I guess I could argue although not a photographic influence that Louis Theroux is one of my influences especially for the show work Weird Weekends peaked my interest in the strange. I have plans in the future to photograph UK subcultures through portraiture and documentary photography from an interest peaked by Theroux.

    A large inspiration for my recent portrait work and socially distanced portraits work is a portrait from the Sleeping by the Mississippi series by Alec Sloth. The way which Sloth uses the camera and captures people in their natural environment is a huge inspiration and something I try to replicate within my own work.

    • Do you shoot both digital and film?

    I’ve been shooting digital since I was about 13 and I started shooting 35mm black and white film when I was at college when I was 16/17 but then I stopped for a few years because I didn’t like having to developing the film and I found it kind of limiting because I didn’t always want to work in black and white and at the time I felt like shooting digital photography was easier than working with colour film.

    In November of last year shooting colour film first on 35mm and later I moved onto medium format as well. I haven’t moved back to shooting black and white although I do have some plans for creative work using black and white film and darkroom printing in the future.

    • Where do you expand your photographic knowledge?

    I gain a lot of knowledge from just doing new things and pushing myself out of my comfort zone as much as possible. I went on a photo walk a few weeks back with one of my friends to take portraits around Hebden Bridge which was a great experience and pushed me to work in a different way by approaching people and asking to take their portraits. I would certainly recommend working with others and collaborating on projects as a way to grow and expand knowledge and expand your comfort zone.

    In terms of the business side of my practice I find a lot of inspiration from listening to podcasts and audiobooks a few are; the Creative Rebels podcast. Crushing it by Gary Vaynerchuk and Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley.

    For more of Calum’s work visit his blog at https://pushedfilmmagazine.wordpress.com/, Website at Calum Heywood . You can also see Calum’s work on Instagram @CalumheywoodPhoto and Twitter @calumheywood .

    I hope you enjoyed something a little different showcasing and discussing the work of Calum Heywood Photography: Multiple Exposure Photographer. Stay Tuned for the next installment.

  • Q And A With Street Photographer: Alf Myers Photography

    Welcome to the second instalment of monthly Photographer Q and A. My second photographer is Street Photographer: Alf Myers Photography.

    • How did you get into photography?

    That’s a rather simple one to answer – it was holidays. Many, many, moons ago I went on holiday to the Greek island of Corfu. It was in the days of film and I had a little point and shoot camera with me. Nothing amazing, but I took one image from the two weeks that caught my attention and I wanted to make more.

    It was the inside of a little Greek church and the colours of the print when they came back just blew me away. It took me back to that moment. I have to say that it was the only decent image. That frustrated me so I looked for ways to get better images but in a foolish way – better equipment. It didn’t work!

    Don’t buy equipment and think you’ll get better. You won’t. It is a false economy!

    Greek Fishermen By Alf Myers Photography
    • What kind of gear do you use?

    That depends. I mostly do street photography so I like to keep it simple. My current set-up is a Sony Alpha 7mkIII with a Samyang 35mm f2.8 lens. That’s it.

    If I’m doing something else, like an event or wedding, then I double it up with my old Canon 5d Mk III with a 24-70mm f2.8 and a 70-200mm f2.8. I have a converter so can use the Canon glass on the Sony body and it works rather well.

    • What is your favourite lens? Why?

    It really depends on the job, but for a long time it has been my Canon 24-70mm F2.4 L series, it is just a sweet lens which I used for about 80% of my shots.

    However, since moving onto the Sony a7 Mk III, I’ve switched to a 35mm prime – the Samyang 35mm f2.8. I love a faster lens to reduce the depth of field and for capturing more light which helps at night and in low light situations. The Samyang doesn’t have this but it has a small profile and weighs very little. The whole setup is very easy to carry for the whole day. Not like the Canon 5D Mk III and the 24-70mm which is what I used to use on the streets.

    Art Gallery by Alf Myers Photography
    • So you’re a street photographer? How did that subject peak your interest?

    I guess you could say that I’m more known for my street photography than anything else. For the most part I like people photography, but for street, well I’ve always been a bit of a people watcher and I like exploring different cities. Both of those and a camera, lead naturally to street.

    I hope each image I make triggers the viewer to build their own stories in their heads. That’s what I like. That’s what makes a good image.

    Baker Street by Alf Myers Photography
    • What settings do you typically use for your street photography?

    It all depends on the available light and subject but generally I’m hovering f8 at 1/500+ shutter speed. That will mean a relatively high ISO for most of the time in the UK.

    That way you get a good depth of field and reduce the chance for camera shake, although you have to adjust for the light and for your intended image.

    • Are there certain shots you like to get when doing street photography? Or do you just go with the flow?

    For me street photography is all about going with the flow and adapting to what you see/find as you wander. That said, you’ll find each street photographer’s images will have reoccurring subjects, styles and approaches that they subconsciously gravitate toward when they’re out on the streets. Whilst I don’t specifically go to shoot a picture of x or y, certain situations will inevitability draw my attention more than others.

    I do tend to follow given ‘routes’ which I like to explore at different times of day and year. You notice how things change yet at the same time stay the same.

    Evening Walk By Alf Myers Photography
    • How do you usually post process your work?

    Again, it will depend on the image in question. What is it saying? What mood does it portray? Have I taken it with mono in mind or is it a celebration of colour?        

    However, I will generally start in Adobe Lightroom. I’ll import the images from the camera with a base setting that will look to apply some meta data, camera/lens correction and a few settings that I’ve come to regularly apply.

    From there I’ll confirm if I’m going monochrome which is mostly how I see and shoot, but from time to time the colour pixie will have whispered in my ear and colour it must be.

    In Adobe Lightroom, I’ll apply all the global processing such as cropping, correcting wonky horizons and verticals, exposure and tones. Then, it depends on the subject…

    If it is a street image, I’ll stay in Lightroom to dodge and burn etc., to help draw your eye.

    If it is a portrait or something creative, or for a club comp then I’ll go into Photoshop where all bets are off. There will be lots of layers.

    Board Meeting by Alf Myers Photography
    • What makes a good photograph in your eyes?

    One that triggers an emotion in the it’s viewers. It doesn’t need to be technically perfect, in fact the more perfect the less an image tends to trigger an emotion.

    Folk And Blues Festival by Alf myers Photography
    • Are there any other styles of photography you enjoy?

    Mostly anything to do with people. I regularly support as a second shooter at weddings and do various events, ‘Born Survivor’ being an example. Getting involved in the action is key here. Street photography really helps with these, it opens one’s eye to the potential of a scene and enhances your skill of a quick reaction when you need it.
    I also like doing studio-based work, especially head shots.

    I love viewing nature and landscapes but find the process of making them isn’t for me. I really want to get up to explore and experience the moment.

    Born Survivor 1 by Alf Myers Photography
    Born Survivor 2 By Alf Myers Photography
    • Tell us the story behind your favourite picture.

    I suspect I haven’t taken it yet.

    That said, of the images I have taken, in the too many years to mention there are a few that jump out and that I have on my wall in my office

    One image that I keep returning to is ‘Journey Home.’ I wouldn’t call it a happy image but it has lots of feeling in and I love the lighting. The expression on the man’s face crossing the road, and the crowd in the back waiting for the green man before they cross – it could almost be from the Walking Dead.

    The location is London, Euston Road just outside of the station with Prezzo behind us. We were heading back to our hotel after a long day exploring London.

    Here is the picture in question:

    Journey Home By Alf Myers Photography
    • Have you done any cool projects recently that you’d like to discuss?

    Currently we’re in a strange place, what with being socially isolated as a result of COVID-19, so a lot of my plans are on hold. However, at the start of the year, I joined a group of other photographers on Twitter in a project, the aim being to share a new image everyday for a year. Look up #365aroundthesun and you’ll see how we’re doing.

    I was hoping it would be a new image I’d taken on the day, but it has turned into just new images that I haven’t shared before. Although I suspect one or two may have got past that filter too.

    • When you go travelling what do you take with you and why?

    It used to be a lot! But now, I generally take my Sony A7 Mk III with the 35mm Samyang lens, plus a 50mm too. Alongside that I have a little Fujifilm x70 which sits nicely in my pocket.

    All of this is carried in a ThinkTank Retrospective 7 v2.0 Why? Well, unless I know I’m going to a specific location and I’d be after certain shots that require something a little more specific, I like to keep the weight down and for the most part this setup covers everything I like to do. There are occasions when I regret not taking a longer lens but they are rare.

    One thing you learn quickly is how to make a bag look light when checking in at the airport.

    Evolution Of Man by Alf Myers Photography
    • Is there any photographers work that has influenced and inspired you? If so who?

    There are indeed, but some of my biggest influences are film and art galleries, just observing the visual, composition and ideas. I absorb them and in some cases their influence inadvertently rubs off.

    Photographers relating to street specifically –

    • Do you shoot both digital and film?

    I have shot both but these days I’m exclusively digital.

    However, I do look back with fondness to the days when I used to develop and print my own monochrome images. Maybe I’ll try again at some point.

    • Where do you expand your photographic knowledge?

    There are lots of ways, including reading around the topic. I’m currently reading Bystander by Joel Meyerowitz and Colin Westerbeck which is giving me an interesting and in-depth history of street photography. It is however a heavy read in many ways.

    There are courses and lectures which can educate and inspire. Matt Hart’s, “Learning to See” workshop was a real turning point for me.

    Then you have YouTube – which has something on just about everything. I can recommend popping by Sean Tucker’s channel.

    However, you can’t beat trying and failing – it is said that it is by failing that we learn. So shoot, look, and shoot some more. Or practice, practice, practice.

    And finally – helping others. You learn so much by helping others with their photography.

    For more of Alf’s work visit his website at Alf Myers Photography. You can also see Alf’s work on Instagram @alfmyersmono and twitter @alfmyers.

    I hope you enjoyed something a little different showcasing and discussing the work of Alf Myers Photography: Street Photographer. Stay Tuned for the next installment.



  • What Should You Photograph With A Wide-Angle Lens?

    As you may know from my previous posts or my FAQ page, I have seven lenses. Today I am going to write about the wide-angle lens and after this post throughout a long period of time, I am hoping to do a series of these for each of my lenses.

    There is no right or wrong answer as to what to use a lens for its all about your own self-expression but here I am going to tell you what I use it for.

    When I thought about buying the Sigma 10-20mm I wanted to have a better landscape lens as before this I only had the 18-55mm kit lens and the 55-200mm telephoto zoom lens which didn’t provide me with the depth of field I wanted for my landscapes.

    So, what is a wide-angle lens? A wide-angle lens is any lens that can view more than the human eye sees. Wide-angle lenses distort the subject and enhance perspective. This means whatever is in front of the frame will appear larger than anything that is further away.

    I soon realised that you can also create creative portraits with a wide-angle lens. In my opinion, by positioning yourself at a lower angle than your subject you open up your surroundings to a whole new point of view.

    In architectural shots, you want to use this lens to capture the entirety of a building so you can see all the detail and not just glimpses of it.

    In one of my university projects during my master’s I used the wide-angle lens to take images I wanted to create a perspective where I had the full person and aspects of a building behind to convey the way in which we use public spaces to this day.

    A great use I’d say is these lenses are great for events as they allow you to photograph much larger groups of people.

    The final thing I have used this lens for is when I photograph fencing charity events. The reason is that I want to get every one of the participants in the frame which I can’t do with a zoom lens maybe I’d need a zoom lens in a larger venue where I need to be further away from the action.

    I feel the wide-angle lens provides you with new perspectives that you didn’t even consider before. You can see a lot more with a wide-angle lens than a fixed perspective. Below is a gallery of some of my work using this lens:

    If you liked this post and want to read more please go through my previous posts, subscribe or check out my best of page here: Best Of .

  • Street Photography

    So recently I’ve been doing a vast amount of street photography so I thought I’d share with you what I’ve learnt.

    The first time I did street photography it felt obtrusive, I felt like I was doing something wrong because it is essentially photographing people without their consent.

    Later I found out that street photography is legal in a public place. A subject is also allowed to ask you to delete images and it’s always better to agree to avoid an argument, as chances are you will find another interesting subject pretty quickly.

    Street photography involves observing the people around you when your wandering aimlessly round the streets and people are an extremely interesting subject when you find what you’re looking for.

    Everybody has a story to tell and after photographing them on the streets you become an author, a writer of images waiting to be discovered.

    But for me on the streets I don’t just look for people I look for something quirky, something out of the ordinary.

    Street photography is essentially speed dating for the minds eye, you see what you envision as an interesting subject and shoot them as fast as you can before the opportunity disappears.

    So previously I wrote a post called read this if you want to take great photographs of people by Henry Carroll but I purposely left out his street photography tips to use here.

    Henry Carroll says that ‘capturing fleeting moments on the street is all about making your own luck’. To me this means that street photography is hit and miss if you don’t capture the right person at the right time you will lose the opportunity or if you see something interesting it might have moved before you have the chance to photograph it.

    Carroll states photography is all about finding the right spot so all the action will come to you. If lots of people are looking at something you can’t see then assume they are an interesting subject. Approach people as well as capturing moments. Slower shutter speed blurs your subject and faster shutter speed captures less movement.

    To conclude this post street photography opens your eyes to the world around you and it gives you an in depth view into the people in any city and the stories they have to tell which is what makes it all the more intriguing to me.

    Here are a few of my street photography shots from a variety of walks in different cities:

     

  • Charity Photowalk In Liverpool

    Charity Photowalk In Liverpool

    Last Sunday I went on a Charity photo walk organised by Terry Donnelly in Liverpool to raise money for a little girl with eye cancer. You can find the go fund me page here:Go Fund Hayden

    It was a dreadful dreary day for a photo walk but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits. We started of in St James’ Gardens at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and then explored the inside. In the gardens we found the perfect spot to shoot the three models that Terry had organised and it’s always nice to have the opportunity to shoot a variety of models.

    One of the highlights of the time spent in St James’ Garden was when I asked one of the photographers if the lens he was shooting on was the new lomography lens and he said yes would you like to try it, and gave me a master class for a couple of minutes. I never would have known what it was if I hadn’t seen fashion photographer Emily Soto shooting with it on her Facebook page and Instagram. That’s the best thing about going out with other photographers they are generally open to letting you try out their lenses as they know that photographers have a sense of pride looking after their own lenses so they will be careful with yours.

    Inside the Anglican Cathedral my main fascination was with the stained glass windows I was amazed at the intricate and beautiful detailing when I used the zoom on my lens for a couple of shots.

    The next part of the walk consisted of some street photography and finding some stunning textured walls to shoot the tattooed model Rhi against and it was hard to take a bad shot of her. As we were in a big group it became increasingly difficult to get any one on one time but the model Rhi had this great red hood and some interesting tattoos and I had got some shots earlier in the day but I had this particular shot in mind. What I wanted was a shot of Rhi with the hood up, where she was holding it in her hands and I wanted to add the feature of the finger tattoo while looking for the perfect background to compliment her. With a little help from my photography friends I found this sign that looked like a magazine style poster that was perfect for my idea.

    Photography is all about seeing something in everything, in every wall, in every sign, in every building that is worth shooting. You must use your eyes to see what other people don’t see. Photography is a similar medium to film in that every person watching the film sees something different, every photographer sees something different in an image. You may submit your image to one photography competition and the judges will love it but submit it to another and the outcome may be quite the opposite.

    After the street photography we looked around Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral but having been there twice previously I found less to shoot. Finally we ended the walk back at the Anglican cathedral and then I spent the rest of the day editing a few of my images and then looked at them again to do some more editing on Thursday.

    All in all it was a great day and each photographer contributed £10 for the little girl with eye cancer and some giving even more money and its always rewarding to raise money to help someone or to help out a charity. Photography isn’t always about taking photographs for yourself or a client it can also be about coming together and doing something you love to put a smile on someone’s face.

    So I hope you were inspired by this post to not only photograph for yourself or a client but to raise money for someone else.