Steve Mitchell Photography

Street photography is, in a nutshell, an amazing art form.  The glimpses street photography provides to it’s viewers are arguably unmatched in any other genre. Street photography is also a wonderful way to familiarize yourself with you gear. You’re constantly moving, looking for interesting frames. If you are fiddling with your dials or buttons, you WILL miss them.

The street genre is an art form that has evaded me over the past five years. To be fair, I’ve only made two solid attempts at street photography. The first was in Savannah, GA. I had just purchased a D80, and thought [incorrectly] Savannah would be a great place to hone my skills.

So there I was, by the cobblestone lined waterfront of a beautiful and history-rich southern city with street photography opportunities staring me dead in the eye. I came out firing with the precision of a military sharpshooter. As I ripped through frame after frame, I built up an unprecedented  confidence. Never once did I chimp. Not to check exposure, color, contrast, nada. I just kept firing. When I was satisfied for the day (it may have been exhaustion, it’s kinda fuzzy), I capped my lens, enjoyed some good eats, and headed back towards my family’s timeshare in nearby Hilton Head. As I headed back to by car, however, street photography hit me with a serious low blow – my camera strap broke. That’s right, just snapped in half. My brand new camera fell face first on what felt like the pointiest cobblestone road in the entire state of Georgia. A prelude to the disaster that awaited on my memory cards. I watched as my battery door flew on to the side walk, my lens hood virtually disintegrate, and every tourist – man, woman, and child – gasp as my rookie error came to light. FYI –  always, no ALWAYS, secure your gear.

Disgusted with myself, I didn’t check the cards until the next day. The results made me sick, literally. I scanned through an endless stream of terrible frames. Not one photo gave me an inkling of pride. NOT ONE! Clearly, the first round goes to street, or the street in this instance.

For those of you who are not aware, I’m a Philadelphian to the core. I bleed Eagles green, devour cheesesteaks and Tastykakes like water, and (speaking of water),  sweat Schuykill Punch. So basically, I don’t quit. Ever. Blue collar mentality baby. Rocky would kill for this type of tenacity.  Revenge would be mine. That’s right, street photography and I would have another go. And I had all intentions of serving up an ice cold dish of revenge. This time we would dance in historic location on MY turf – The Italian Market, South Philadelphia.

My chance would come about a year later. My skills were sharper and I had made some upgrades in equipment. The time had come to tussle with my nemesis once again. It just felt right. The day was gorgeous and clear. I packed extremely light. I had my D300, a 35mm prime lens, a lens cloth, and a bottle of water. There is not a lot of space to move at the market, so I wanted to be as compact as possible. I had been to the market many times in my life, so the territory was beyond familiar. Obviously, I thought the advantage was mine for the taking. Surely, I would be victorious in round two.

Or, maybe not.

Once again, I was bested. I spent about 2 hours down there hunting and pruning for that one frame. One frame was all I needed to declare sweet victory and restore my confidence. It didn’t happen. I came away empty handed. I let my previous experience get the best of me. Opportunities were all over the place, I just missed everyone of them. If I didn’t chimp before, I chimped too much this time around. I spent way too much time worrying about my camera strap instead of securing the D300 where it is most effective – in front of my face! And to top it all off, I made yet another rookie error. I pre-conceptualized what I was going to shoot. While this works for landscapes, stock, etc., it is a huge no-no for street photography. Sadly, but understandably, round two goes to street. The saving grace is that none of my equipment was injured in round 2. Just my pride.

Round 3 is next.

Today, I make my third attempt at street photography. Philadelphia will once again be the arena for this round.I have some ideas of where I will go, but I am in now way certain where I’ll end up. Three things are certain this time around. 1) I WILL learn from my previous mistakes; 2) I will not pre-conceptualize; and 3) I will secure my equipment.

Let’s hope Round 3 goes to MAN!

Be sure to like my Facebook page for additional content!