Street shots

Gee I wish I could do this.




Quite apart from having the brass neck how does he compose, focus and shoot so quickly. I guess he has the focus preset and I think his Leica has a very good viewfinder attached.

What I found particularly interesting is the way he gets such a low angle.

Mike

A really interesting link, with wide angle lenses (is it a 24mm) and long telephotos you have to use a supplementary viewfinder on Leicas, you use the built in one for focusing and the one on the flash shoe for framing. Not that he's using it!

It was the framing that puzzled me. He seems to get very good shots but the speed at which bends and shoots he doesn't seem to get to use the viewfinder.

I did so love my Leicas but who can afford them now? Not me for sure - I reckon it would 8k minimum to match my very basic Pentax setup. I'm not sure I'd miss the SLR side though and I'd certainly not miss the noise!

Mike

He would have had so much practice that he's able to compose well without paying attention to the viewfinder. Still it must be a bit hit and miss, and we don't get to see the failures.

He certainly has got a lot of bottle. I would feel he was being quite rude if I was one of his subjects with his camera suddenly in my face.

Great photos, wish I had the nerve to do this but somehow think I'd end up with my camera rammed down my throat if I tried this in Essex.

That was very much the reaction of everyone on the forum I pinched this from - but he was doing this on the streets of New York which surely is much rougher than Essex?

I wouldn't dare do it and I wouldn't expect to last long if I tried it in Nottingham but that said when I was a nipper I would take people's photographs in the street and think nothing much of it. Not quite so much in their face however.

An Australian friend did a lot of street portarits just by stopping people and asking but I reckon he's a real smoothie and could charm the birds from the trees.

Mike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkIWW6vwrvM

Good clip. This guy gets away with it because he's got more attitude than those who would threaten him. Hear how aggressive he is to anyone who challenges him. This is the stray dog mentality so typical of New York. I'll bite you before you bite me. It is profoundly antisocial.

Personally I think Bruce Gilden is a good photographer but not my style. The picture look like exactly what they are... a threat to his victims -- I mean subjects. He is documenting the streets as though it was a wild kingdom of competing animals. His attitude and method of photography creates the conditions for the images he captures. In fact documenting is totally the wrong word. He is reshaping his environment in his own image. And he's been doing the same thing for decades. Bruce Gilden is an artist. An antisocial aggressive monomaniacal artist.

Yeah, I like his stuff, and I've seen the video before.
However, I believe if I tried that here.. Id probably get stopped and someone would say something (most likely aggressive, and probably do something aggressive) - people he photographed just didnt seem to care.

He is trying to be a second Garry Winogrand. He doesn't succeed
Google up Garry Winogrand, see the videos and know what I mean.
Just my 2 cnts,
Martin.

Oh yes, the guy who did those amazing Bronx zoo photos. For fun you can check out his Leica M4 -- now there is a used camera!

I'm not sure this guy is trying to be Winogrand unless that's meant in the sense of shooting off a dozen rolls a day in a vague hope of getting something interesting. Winogrand's best shots (for me) have a sense of composition that is perfectly realised. He often had something askew in the frame, but also cared about balance between disparate elements.

That JFK space centre photo with the people pointing and aiming with binoculars out of the frame. Perfection.

I lived in Nottingham for ten years, so I know what you mean! However, during the evening on a Friday or Saturday night if you target just the hen parties, I would imagine that you could get away with it. In fact if they were drunk enough (well, when are they not drunk?) they may even suggest an impromptu shoot!

I think the thing that I would find the most annoying is the flash. Otherwise, it is no different to anyone else gawping at you in a busy street. Conversely, it is probably the flash that protects him, because people are too startled to take instant action.

Richard

I watched the Bruce Gilden in NY video a while back and probably like most of you my thoughts were along the lines of: "he only gets away with that because it's New York, if I tried that in the UK I'd get attacked by some irate yob".

Then I discovered last night that he did it in Derby earlier this year! link. I don't think I'd have the courage! In fact I know I wouldn't

Off topic, but I'm glad to see the current owner is still using it!

Cameras and lenses are made for use. The only difference finding something rare or minty makes to me is that I use it even more carefully.