#89 Isaac the biblical man who thought it was still Friday night

I loved his tank hat. He was standing on the kerb smoking when I approached him. His mates shouted at me not to pick him. 'He is an ugly b***ard! Why would you pick him?' He posed for me smoking and pouting. It was a laugh! 'Well, it's an awesome Friday night. It's still Friday night, right?' I haven't giggled like that in ages.

 

#81 Friday Night on Brick Lane

One taken a few weeks back while wandering around Brick Lane on Friday night. Loved her hair and her attitude. She was on her way to a party but was kind enough to stop. Thank you!

#76 Vogue Fashion's Night Out 1

Fabulous time at Vogue Fashion's Night Out. This lovely lady travelled  from Austria to London especially for the Vogue Fashion's Night Out. I am sure she enjoyed it too.

#69 Puppy girl

While enjoying the sunshine last Sunday, I spotted this lovely lady walking through the crowd cuddling her puppy at Columbia Road. She was kind enough to pose for me. Thank you!

#66 Fashion student

This lovely chap was sitting on the shop window sill with a couple of friends chatting and laughing. I loved his bright colours and asked him for a photo. It turned out he was a fashion photography student so we exchanged a few tips. He had the most wonderful smile.

#62 London Correspondent

Last night we wandered around South Bank as the sun was setting. The sky was this beautiful red and orange colour and was just screaming for a portrait. All we needed was a suitable subject so we stopped this beautiful girl. She is a London correspondent for a German website interviewing artist and reporting on fashion and art events from London.

#60 Cycling chic

One of my many passions is cycling and I like nothing better than a sight of stylish and yet casual looking cyclist, maybe because I can never quite pull that look off. I saw this lovely lady cycling down Columbia Road and stopped her on her cute little fold-up bike. I really enjoyed photographing her. I really liked the fact that she took initiative and thought about poses and chose not to look directly into the camera.

#36 Roll-up girl

Now that exam marking has finished and the school is out for the summer I can do more street again. However, one from February for today. I saw her rolling up her cigarette and simply loved her look with the graffiti flowers in the background. Her date returned when we were wrapping up the shoot and looked at us half-stunned half-puzzled then looked at her and said 'I can't leave you unattended even for a moment then?'

#34 Milk can lady

Had a fabulous afternoon with a group of fellow street photographers at a photowalk with David Gibson organised by London Street Photography Festival. We were making our way through Brick Lane when I noticed this young lady with her milk can. She was more than happy to pose for me and explain that she doesn't usually carry a milk can with her but she found it abandoned on a wall and decided to adopt it. Lucky some! Not a brilliant photo technically but I was in a rush.

Did you know that the word 'dairy' comes 'from an Old French term, dey, meaning maiden. A dairy, in other words, was the room where milkmaids were to be found, from which we might reasonably deduce that an Old Frenchman was more interested in finding the maid than the milk.' (extract from At Home by Bill Bryson)

#30 Vas Karpetas

Top tip: 'Some people are everywhere.'

Meet Vas Karpetas, happy-go-lucky soul running Tommy Guns hairdressing salon.  He was sitting outside his salon drinking beer with his mate. He was bemused by the request but happily obliged. He has a beautiful and incredibly expensive collection of road bikes and loves his tattoos. I seem to bump into him all over London these days. Some people are simply everywhere.

#26 Brick Lane Man

Feeling tired after a very stressful week at work, I headed out to Brick Lane last Sunday in hope of a bit of street relaxation as I call it. I was hanging around the Vibe Bar with my best mate people-watching but wasn't really feeling it. Then I saw HIM. I thought Warrick Brown straight away., a character in CSI for those unfamiliar with the name. 

He agreed to pose with a big smile, happy that someone spotted him. His mate tried to run off saying that he saw me and knew I was going to ask him before I even approached him.

I asked them what they were up to. My model responded with a laugh 'My mate wants to pick up some girls.' It's funny that he said that because he was the one who chose my business card with a photo of a stunning model while his mate went for a BMXer boy. 'I am worried about you, mate.', he said.

#25 Black Beauty

Another one from yesterday. I saw her walk past earlier but didn't stop her as she was too far away and Brick Lane was quite crowded. I was lucky enough to spot her walking back and approached her in the middle of the road. She was happy to pose and I nearly got run over. The car was beeping behind me, she kept laughing that there was a car coming and I still aimed and snapped a couple of shots.

#21 Tog girl chic

WARNING: Today's blog entry includes a lot of girl bag talk and no street photos.

What to wear? Which handbag goes with my outfit? Now all girls (and yes, some men too) struggle with those questions pretty much everyday of their lives while every photographer spends a lot of their time looking for the perfect camera bag. And if you are a girl photographer, oh boy are you in trouble! For too long camera bag manufacturers have been ignoring the female population of photographers assuming than we want to be carrying around our kit in bags that are not particularly flattering. Don't get me wrong, when I am heading to a studio shoot or for a photowalk in the countryside, I couldn't care less what I am wearing as long as it's comfy and the same goes for my bag. My priority is that I carry as much of my kit as possible without my back ending up in pain but if I am heading out to shoot street, a formal event or a fine restaurant, I want the bag I am carrying to go with what I am wearing. I want to look stylish, I want to feel like a girl.

I am on the quest to find the perfect girly camera bag but it seems the US are doing so much better in that department that the UK.

I looked at Jill-e Bags and I quite like the look of small red bag but it wasn't just quite what I want, not entirely my style. The interesting and shocking thing though is that if you live in the UK, you need to pay double the price, it costs in the US. It actually costs less to buy it online and have it sent from the US.

Continuing my search, I came across Kelly Moore bags and loved the cranberry croc one. I was just about to press Add to Cart when I noticed the magnetic snaps that allow you easy access to your gear all the time. Fabulous idea! Except not for shooting street in England when well, let's be honest it rains a lot. Have you heard the term British summer? It means 'not summer, autumn really with lots of rain and plenty of miserable faces' so I sighed with resignation and continued my search.

River Island have just released three camera bags as a part of their bag range and I absolutely loved the look of the navy one. I was a little concerned that it's fairly narrow strap might not be the best one for my fairly heavy Canon 5D Mark ii and 24-70mm f2.8 L beast but I thought I'd give it a go and order one since let's be honest I absolutely love the look of it.  

When the bag arrived, it left me wandering what the River Island bag designers know about camera bags? My guess is not much. It's a beautiful handbag but there is nothing about the bag to suggest that it is a camera bag. There are no cushioned compartments to protect your camera from accidental bumps. It fits my beast and a Speedlight nicely but there is nothing to protect the two from knocking each other as you walk. It's a handbag and not a camera bag as they claim so I asked for a refund.

Frustrated by River Island fiasco, I searched the net again and found this beauty from Jill-e Bags designed for Canon. Sadly, for most of us UK peeps it's only available online in the US. After a few inquiries with friends across the big pond and the help of fabulous Maite (thank you Maite for your kind heart and internet for online friends!), I am now waiting for this beauty to be delivered to me. I just hope I love it as much as I do when I look at the photos of it as no chance of returning this one. I'll let you know if I've found THE bag when it arrives.

#13 Two for the price of one

Top tip: 'Want to boost your street confidence? Bring a friend.'

I headed out for the streets with the lovely Lady Velo today. After delicious dinner at our favourite dim sum place, we strolled down the Carnaby Street. I stopped this lovely lady below then encouraged Lady Velo to pick someone to go up to. First there was a gentleman with a hat but she was a little shy about asking someone who wasn't alone. Then we spotted the second lady battling with her bike and I suggested she asks her for a photo for her blog and she did! The lady said 'yes' and you can see her picture below. I fixed her bike so really at the end of it everyone was very happy. I hope Lady Velo uses the picture for her blog as I took the shot but she was the one who asked. 

Stopping strangers is so easy when you are not alone.

Lady #1

Lady #2

#11 Kathrine The Designer

There are many ways of asking someone for a photo. I find that complimenting people with a big smile often works best. I will usually go up to a person and say 'Hi! I am Tyla. I absolutely love your (insert what attracted my attention to them). We are a bunch of photographers doing street photography. Would you mind if I took your photo?'


Before I even read Emil's invite on London Strobist (mentioned in post #2), I saw Clay Enos' video (see below) about shooting street portraits and was immediately fascinated. He gives plenty of useful advice on how to stop people and how to speak to them. I find his work shown here inspiring.

Meet Kathrine. She grabbed my attention with her clothes. Every detail of her wardrobe was carefully designed for effect. When we started chatting, it turned out she is a designer swapping London for a seaside town. She had the coolest business card too.

#9 "Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet."

Absolutely fantastic day out yesterday. Despite the rain, I managed to get a few really fab street portraits and plenty of 'yes' responses. Rejection blues truly over and forgotten.

This is Gemma from South Africa. She has now lived in London for 11 years. She was standing by Truman Brewery waiting for her friend. I really liked her look. Stylish girls on bikes rate highly in my books.

I spent the afternoon wandering around Brick Lane with Emil, who as always was kind enough to share his expertise. I mentioned a couple of entries before that when I am faced with a stranger, I simply forget what I know about photography and rush into snapping. 'You need a method', said Emil. 'I need a list.', I replied.

Here it is then written down so I don't forget:

1. Set the camera exposure to match the ambient light.

2. Take a test shot.

3. Review the test shot and direct the strobe (choose the ideal angle, power and distance from the subject)

4. Take another test shot and adjust the strobe not the camera settings.

5. Take three or four photographs varying the angles and composition each time.

6. Remember to breathe!

Thank you Emil.

#8 Natalya

I met Natalya on my worst rejection day ever. Yes, it was worse than that Friday with Sosij I talked about yesterday. Some days are brilliant for street photography and others not so much. Some days you won't be able to find anyone who catches your eye, some days almost everyone will say 'no' to you and rush past you and some days all the people you meet will enthusiastically accept your offer. I met Natalya on one of the 'no' days. We kept walking up and down Portobello Market. The place was heaving with people and yet I couldn't see anyone who would grab my attention. Every now and again someone would give me a glimpse of hope that I have found just the kind of personality I'd like to shoot but then they'd say 'no' and walk away. We ended up standing by this red wall sharing our admiration for it as the perfect background (yup! photographers have some exciting conversations at times) when I saw Natalya walk towards us with that touch of swagger that shows confidence but not yet arrogance. I was happy as hell when she agreed to have her photo taken. When she emailed me to ask for her photo, she described herself as ' that Eurasian chic'. It made me smile, not sure why. It just did.

You'll find that most people will say 'yes' if you stop them when they are not in a rush or they are heading on the night out well-dressed feeling good about themselves. The perfect place to start looking for your first stranger is at your local market or park where people tend to stroll around in a leisurely manner. Busy high streets especially on a Saturday afternoon are not the best of place to look for a stranger to stop. Too many people rushing to do their shopping, families juggling bags, children and their toys. If someone's on the phone or in a rush, the chances are, they won't be in the mood to stop. However, asking doesn't cost anything.

I'm off to Brick Lane today to hopefully beat the rejection blues. Wish me luck!

#7 The Archangel

Top tip: 'Sometimes once is just not enough.'

Street photography and shooting strangers often means you get to meet fantastic personalities and sometimes you get to photograph them more than once. Whenever I take a photo of someone, I give them my card. Some people will send an email requesting a photo, others will never contact you at all. Some will say 'thank you' for the shot, some will ask you if they can come along for a bit of street. Sometimes you meet designers or make-up artists who want to work with you. All in all, street photography is a goldmine of possibilities.

Meet Gabriel, the owner of The Archangel Emporium, an incredibly talented young man, who designs t-shirts with a difference. I originally stopped him last Saturday in Brick Lane as he was on his way to get his lunch. I was a little surprised when he said that as it was already coming up to 6 o'clock. He quickly explained that he was busy all day preparing for Streetfest the following day. I really liked his very friendly manner. Yesterday I met him again but this time for a planned shoot to get a portrait for an article about him and his gallery. Check out his website or even better visit his gallery at 151 Bethnal Green Road.

On another note I took Sosij out for a bit of street photography. She rocked the show (click on her name to see her shots) while I suffered a blow after blow. Yesterday was a major rejection day for me as I got turned down by a stranger after stranger. I guess you can't win everyday!

#5 A lady with a cup of coffee in hand

I saw her on King's Road among her friends holding her cup of coffee. I really liked her natural look and gregarious nature. She seemed the life and soul of the party. She agreed to pose for me but unlike most subjects she didn't stand there quietly waiting for me to direct her. She started making conversation. 'Why do you do this?', she asked. 'For fun.', I answered. 

Whatever you may think, spending my Saturday afternoons with a bunch of guys wandering the streets of London is proving quite an enjoyable activity. I have tried many things photographywise since taking it up four years ago. I completed two years of self-portraits, I have participated in and organised photowalks to discover the world around me, I have walked the streets of London and tracked gorillas in Uganda, I have attended and organised strobist shoots, I've worked with models and still life all in pursuit of photographic happiness. I've spent the last couple of years trying to figure out my style and my photographic 'thing' and I am slowly beginning to feel that I have found it. I love the hunt, I take time to watch people and their manner. I get to meet some amazing characters with fascinating interests, personalities and looks. It simply feels right.

#3 Straight from Japan

A visitor from Osaka. She was the very first stranger I photographed on my first outing with Emil. A lovely girl with very little English and yet very happy to pose for us. We certainly got along as soon as we started talking designers and clothes. Portobello Market is the perfect place for quirky looking characters.

Not the best photo technically but at the moment of taking it, I was more stressing about the fact that I was taking my first street portrait.

When you take a street portrait, there are a number of the usual things you need to consider: aperture, exposure, natural and strobe lighting, background, pose and obviously the overall composition. However, the major difference is that you usually only get two or three takes before the subject you photograph on the street gets impatient. I started off my photography journey with a self-portrait project meaning I had plenty of opportunities to take, review, attempt to edit, bin, re-shoot, edit, bin again, re-shoot self-portraits. Not so much on the street when photographing strangers though. I tend to keep them busy with a bit of small talk and lots of smiling and it usually pays off but all this takes practice and I still find that when I get the rush of adrenaline photographing a stranger, I still forget to stop and think before pressing the trigger or review the photo once shot. I rush, I know I rush too much.