photo copyright by Ibarionex Perello
There are few things that hold the allure for me photographically than a walking city. Simply walking out the door provides an unlimited palette for street photography. In New York City, for example, it all involves just shoe leather.
There is something about the physicality of walking for hours while seeing intently that provides an almost meditative space. That's especially the case when I put aside expectations of making "great" photographs and rather focus on the moment that I am in the midst of in terms of light, color and gesture. It's always a bit of a struggle to get into that place when I first arrive, but after a short while I'm able to put the ego aside and just move through the life and world around me. And when I'm lucky and prepared, I can make an image that not only works, but captures my sense of discovery.
Sometimes, the moment is waking up the subtlety of light, the gradation from bright white to gray to black, accented by the presence of a figure leaning back in a chair. In and of themselves, they wouldn't be particularly interesting, but their juxtaposition makes for something wonderful to my eye.
Such moments are everywhere, all the time. But the challenge becomes putting whatever agenda aside that I have in my head and becoming open enough to recognize a momentary and beautiful convergence and to raise the camera at just the right moment to capture them.
Note: Pro photographer Ibarionex Perello teaches a number of excellent online photo courses, including The Pursuit of Light. Also at BetterPhoto's online photography school, Susan and Neil Silverman teach the online digital camera class: Street Photography.
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