Man with bag in crosswalk – Cordoba, Spain (2016)
We all exist in the same world. We generally see the same things. But most of us struggle to see the world in ways most others would find unique. The biggest challenge for every serious photographer, specially those whose passion is street photography, is to find unique ways of seeing the world that most others have not noticed.
Whether one lives in a city, the suburbs or in a rural area, there are limitless opportunities to find unique photography subjects. Even if the subjects have been photographed countless times, look for ways to make a photograph from your own perspective.
I love street photography. For me, crosswalks in cities draw my attention. This is especially true in Europe where the crosswalks are much wider, with broader stripes, than in the United States. It’s generally easy to find crosswalks full of people in Europe.
The trick for me is always to find a unique way of making a photograph on a crosswalk that others have not made. When I was visiting Cordoba, I was lucky enough to be staying in a hotel in the Jewish Quarter of the city with a small balcony overlooking a crosswalk.
I didn’t notice the balcony right away or the fact that the room overlooked the crosswalk. By the time I noticed the balcony and the crosswalk, it was late in the evening. Nonetheless, I stood on the balcony, focused my camera on the crosswalk and waited for someone interesting to pass by.
Over the course of three days, I patiently spent over 3 hours on the balcony and made dozens of pictures. Many were not worth keeping, but several were exactly what I was looking for. The photograph pictured here is one of those unique pictures.
So the next time you pick up your camera, try looking for a unique, interesting backdrop for you photograph. You can either just make the photograph right away or you can patiently wait for something interesting to happen in front of your chosen background. In either case, forcing yourself to find a unique photographic situation takes time, but the results are well worth the effort.
Equipment
Fujifilm XT-1
Fujinon 27mm
Settings
1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800
Processing
Adobe Lightroom
Nik Silver Efex Pro 2