The best street photography, and also photojournalism, is about opportunity and seizing the moment. That’s what Ville Miettinen did on Oct. 13, 2007. “Some thick rubber mats caught fire in the building next door to my […]
Tag: urban photography
Flickr a Day 112: ‘Eiffel Tower’
A magazine advertisement inspired today’s selection. My wife marveled over the Eiffel Tower, snapped using iPhone 6, on the back of a magazine cover. Hours later, on Flickr, I spotted this stronger shot that Jeroen Bennink […]
Flickr a Day 108: Bus Ride
Early Micro Fourth Thirds and oddballs like the Sigma DP1 led affordable, mirrorless cameras to popularity. Among the key benefits: Convenience of a rangefinder, like the one used on Day 87, but for much less cost; physically smaller size; and lenses that are less bulky. The DP line, like the Fuji X100 series or the Leica X1 and X2, stand out for being compacts with fixed lenses and APS-C sensors common among digital SLRs. Another, the Sony Cyber-Shot RX1, and companion RX1R, up the ante by offering something more: full-frame sensor.
A full-frame sensor is typically 24mm by 36mm with an effective focal point of 35mm. APS-C is cropped, by comparison, adding an effective multiple of around 1.5 times (depending on the camera) to the lens’ focal length. Full frame captures more detail, suffers from fewer visual artifacts, and produces better results in natural or low-light. You pay more, too. Either RX1 retails for around $2,800—for camera with fixed, non-interchangeable lens.
Justin Kern used the RX1 to shoot today’s selection, which I chose for its detail, rich color, and stark contrast—perspective smartly split between the bus interior and the road outside. Vitals: f/2, ISO 125, 1/80 sec, 35mm.
Flickr a Day 106: ‘La Nave de Juan Diego’
Today’s selection comes with a question: Does the effect appeal to you? Computer scientist by day, photographer the rest of the time, Pedro Szekely is a fan of HDR—high dynamic range—techniques for shooting and processing images. Done right, the method can add great depth to the final photo, particularly when taken in unfavorable conditions, such as low or harshly-mixed lighting.
Self-titled “La Nave de Juan Diego”, captured on July 10, 2013, is one of Pedro’s better photos using HDR. On Day 105, we saw example of a photographer who years later decided the original was better than the HDR composite. By contrast, given the high view count of this photo, more than 22,000, and that of other renders in the photostream, many, many other people presumably prefer Pedro’s punchy style.
Flickr a Day 105: ‘Mickey’s Diner Take 2’
File today’s selection under category “less is more”. Joe Dammel borrowed a friend’s Nikon D3000 to shoot self-titled “Mickey’s Dining Car” on Oct. 26, 2011. The original was a “7-shot HDR image” that nearly two years later demanded re-processing “to better-reflect my editing tastes today”—June 2013, according to the metadata. “I realized that the original single image kept all of the tones I’d ever need”.
Hence, we have “Mickey’s Diner Take 2”. He adds: “My workflow now is about isolating the subject in a more natural way, emphasizing the tonality of the image rather than tone mapping the hell out of it”. Please compare to the original; I, too, prefer the second take. Vitals: f/8, ISO 100, 1 sec, 18mm.
Flickr a Day 90: ‘A Perfect Day in Lisbon’
Where is the year going? We end the third month in this series with a beautiful townscape from Portugal, courtesy of photographer Diego Sevilla Ruiz. He shot self-titled “A Perfect Day in Lisbon” on Nov. 17, […]
Flickr a Day 78: ‘Broken Symmetry’
This spectacular view of the City of Arts and Sciences structure, set before background buildings, in Valencia, Spain, demonstrates the utility of a wide-angle lens in competent hands. Gerard Arcos shot self-titled “Broken Symmetry” on May […]
Flickr a Day 75: ‘Matera — the Old Town’
Today’s selection steps back from the parade of people to urban photography. Michele Ursino shot self-titled “Matera—the Old Town” on Sept. 16, 2014, using Nikon D7000 and 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. Vitals: f/4.5, ISO 100, 1/200 […]
Flickr a Day 72: ‘Going That Way’
For this second Friday the 13th of 2015, Juan Carlos Gonzalez is your lucky charm. His Flickr stream is a magnificent presentation of color and composition. Many of the photos seem to leap off the […]
Flickr a Day 69: ‘Breaking the Silence’
The intensity exploding from the photographs of Isengardt can’t be ignored, and it draws in and envelopes you. Today’s selection is among his tamest, but I’m not alone fancying it. The image is his Flickr banner. Color and mood make self-titled “Breaking the silence”. Yeah, I can almost hear that car punching through the fog.
Bond is a name. You don’t need to hear the James. I have to say the same of Isengardt, whose name is a mystery to me. But not his equipment. He used the Canon EOS 550D to shoot this photo, on Sept. 30, 2012.
Flickr a Day 45: ‘Love in the Subway’
Happy Valentine’s Day! As you can see, today’s selection is all about love. They say love is mysterious—so is the photographer, Benurs, who joined Flickr in October 2009 but hasn’t posted to his stream in […]
Flickr a Day 44: Lucky Lightning
Do you feel lucky? Happy Friday the 13th! It’s the first of three in 2015, and another follows in March. Except leap years, next month mirrors February for 28 days—hence the lucky double appearance of […]