Comments on: Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:33:03 +0000

Thanks, Lee. Isn’t it a thrill when sometimes there does end up being some sort of story?

By: Lee Gillen

Lee Gillen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:19:38 +0000

I really love the story here.

By: cj gordon

cj gordon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:02:08 +0000

I put one of my “grouchers” on for you at the top of the page.This chap was not happy with me at all.If you go back a bit in my archives you’ll come across a few others.I think from my life so far it has been harder to find grouchy in the small place I live now than when I lived in Vancouver.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:33:54 +0000

I still am not that practiced, but I’m certainly encouraged.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:33:26 +0000

I hope to be able to do the same thing in Paris and London. *sigh*

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:32:53 +0000

Ha, Andy. I have the opposite problem. I’m often shorter than the subjects I’m looking at and then my waist high photos end up being focused on people’s legs.

I do think you’re right that there’s an implied innocence to these kinds of photos, both by the “looking up” aspect and because there is absolutely nothing staged about them.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:31:03 +0000

Ha ha, CJ, you should share a link to one of those photos. It would be interesting to see what kind of expressions you are getting from your subjects. So glad you found us and enjoying the site!

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:29:31 +0000

I agree. You can get away with a lot more, too.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:28:32 +0000

I have to remember to slow down, almost stop walking in order to get these shots. I don’t mind the blurry, in fact I think we’ve been so accustomed to seeing crisp, clear shots that we forget how wonderful a blurry shot can be.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:25:20 +0000

You’ve said it perfectly. You have nothing to lose by taking pictures in this manner. I realize I should probably do it more often and not rely on luck (ie., one shot) to get better at it.

By: AlexJB

AlexJB — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:44:18 +0000

I shot this way a lot when I was in Paris and London; it’s not that hard to get the hang of, and I’ve gotten great results!

By: Andy Frazer

Andy Frazer — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:37:11 +0000

I’ve been shooting all of my street photography this way (from waist-level without aiming with the viewfinder) for a few years. I started it doing it that way because I’m taller than most of the people I see in the street. When i was aiming through the viewfinder, I ended up with a lot of photographs of the tops of people’s heads.

Once I got a handle on how to aim a camera without looking, I realized that the angle of the images reminded me of the first time I went to the “big city” (London) when i was five years old and I was looking up at all of the people.

Andy

By: cj gordon

cj gordon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:17:14 +0000

I like doing this sometimes but really like it when I photograph someone and they don’t like it and give me that angry look I love.Now I live in a small town and we Canadians are a polite people so no one has got in my face yet as a result but that technique might not work to well in San Fransisco. It probably helps also that I’m a mean looking son of a bitch myself at the best of times. Nice shot Julie.I’ve only been in your city once for a very short time back in the 60′s.I’m enjoying the work I see on this site.

By: Spruce Moose

Spruce Moose — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:14:20 +0000

Heh – great shot. Waist level gives a really good perspective I think that you wouldn’t get with the camera up at head level.

By: Jonathan Moore

Jonathan Moore — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:46:16 +0000

I have been shooting a lot of frames in this manner. For me I find that the biggest challenge is finding days where there is enough light that I can set the shutter and f-stop high enough that my photos are sharp. Thou I still like many of the blurry ons.

By: mark h

mark h — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:19:23 +0000

I’ve found it takes a lot of practice … I used to use this technique years ago but I went back to just firing away and let the chips fall where they may……..

By: Generik

Generik — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:05:17 +0000

It’s worth having to waste eight or ten shots that way when you get one like this one. And the great thing about shooting digital is that it doesn’t cost anything but time.

Really like this; it has kind of a Garry Winogrand feel to it for me.