My trip to London 2023 - Day 1 (Street photography)
This blog will be a short overview of some of the key moments that occurred during my trip to London along with a deep-dive analysis of what my goal was regarding my photography while there. I hope you manage to get something out of this and enjoy it!
Intro-
I should state that before experiencing London I had to have one main thing in mind. The key question I had to answer was "What do I want to achieve regarding my photography?". I wanted to capture Humanity in the best possible way and in whatever form that was. By Humanity I mean emotions. The emotions we share and how we interact are based on those emotions within our environment. I also wanted to practice my black-and-white street photography and used this time in London as an opportunity to go all out! With that in mind, the rest of what I have to say shall follow.
Day 1:
The first day was by far the most successful regarding the volume of photos taken.
The photos presented are arranged in order of time taken throughout the day.
Most of my photos in London were taken in Black and White to use light to convey texture and emotion through contrast. I also took inspiration from photographers such as "Alan Schaller" who is known for his very contrasting elements within his photos and how he can convey the emotion that the subject is feeling purely through their placement within their environment.
The following images are the ones that resonated with me the most.
Sunstar at Buckingham Palace:
I was never one to mess around with the concept of a "Sunstar", but I decided that I would attempt to frame the sun in a manner that would bring an element of surrealism to the subjects.
I had attempted to light up the actual palace with the sun in a manner that would give the palace a sense of superiority. But the flat architecture of the palace made such composition almost impossible (at least to my current ability).
While walking around the main square opposite the Palace, I noticed that I could manipulate the sun in a manner to display that same superiority with the statue.
If you can line up the sun in a manner that "interacts" with your subject then you can give your subject a sense of power. Light hitting your subject when he/she/it is shown as a silhouette is key to conveying a mix of emotions, but it is very important to be precise with where and how the light is hitting your subject. The subject can either be backlit, front-lit, or side-lit (examples of the different types of light
interactions are shown in the following photos).
This photo shows the subject (the statue) being backlit. The statue is formed as a silhouette while the sun pierces from a crevice giving the sense that among the darkness, there is always light.
Additionally, for the sake of composition, I went with the good old "Rule of thirds". I believed it was the best choice in this case as the remaining frame is empty. To center the subject would compromise the photo. I believe that if the subject is to be centered in the middle, then you must be closer to the actual subject. The distance between me and the statue just didn't allow for such a composition to be possible.
Curious little squirrel:
Just a cute squirrel :D
Contrasting subjects:
I took this photo because I wanted to show a difference in the size of the subjects (the two women) and the building on the right. The difference in size can also be perpetuated by the subjects being white and the rest of the environment being darker black. By slightly enhancing the "whites" in the image, I wanted to show just how small the subjects were compared to their surroundings. The engagement between the subjects adds a touch of life to the image.
The busy streets of Trafalgar Square:
This photo is a great example of the use of backlighting. The sun is in a low position and thus the shadows are shaped at exaggerated angles on the ground. Giving the appearance of "leading lines" towards the bottom right center of the image. Even though the image does not have anything of particular interest, it is the geometry and abstraction of the shadows that create this interest along with a sense of depth. The subject on the left walking towards me along with his shadow appearing as a distorted figure adds to the depth of the image. There are also other distorted shadows but the left one particularly strikes out.
In a rush:
While walking back to Trafalgar Square from Westminster I noticed this man light his cigarette a bit ahead of me and decided that I would try to get a hip-shot of him. I walked a bit closer to him and took the shot. I won't go into detail with this image because it was more luck-based than anything else. But, the idea of capturing him among the chaos of the busy streets was planned way in advance. Think ahead of every shot you take. Have a general idea of what you want and do what you can to execute it as best as possible.
Dancer dancing:
This was just something caught at the right moment. But, I do stress that for these situations to even be possible, there must be interaction between you and the subject. The both of you should be comfortable and it is your job as a photographer to create the initial sense of trust between you and the subject. You can do this initially through body language. Showing a genuine interest in them along with talking to them can create a comfort zone between the two of you. Do not be afraid to talk to your subjects. Perhaps if you want to take a photo of someone or notice that they have noticed you taking a photo of them, approach them and say something like "I took this nice photo of you, would you like me to send it to you?". Describing what makes the image good can make them feel that you are being genuine.
A wholesome moment:
If I could describe this image in one word it would be "smiles". This is an example of an image taken at the right moment. All subjects are smiling and interacting. The drawing that the artist is drawing is a smiling rendition of the father. All of the interactions lead towards one emotion. Such as the leading lines within the "Busy streets of Trafalgar Square", so to do the emotions of all the subjects lead towards making the viewer of the image (you) smile along with them.
Conclusion:
Thank you for reading up to this point, I will make sure to upload more content regarding deep dives into some of the other images I took along my trip.
