The Weekly Street Photography Thread #1 21/03/2025

The in your face graphics of advertising are everywhere on the streets. They create endless opportunities for street photographers. Sometimes the juxtapositions are humorous, often they are ironic. Then there are moments like this that can be sad. Advertising usually puts a glamorous veneer on its products while the reality will be something very different.

That photo is absolutely stunning! It’s so well composed and tells a timeless story. I think you should really consider taking up street photography. It can be a bit nerve wracking, but having confidence and a positive attitude can really help. Of course, there are some risks involved, but it can also be incredibly rewarding.

Thanks for clarifying! I totally misread the photo. I thought you were trying to create a juxtaposition of shapes and postures.

Your city is pretty, and you bring it to your photos skilfully.

There are many street photographers who see a billboard or advert and wait for someone to walk into their frame to complete the scene. They can be humorous, eye catching, but unfortunately for me, they are uninspiring, low hanging fruits. They can make me chuckle, but that’s it.
I only use this sort of juxtaposition when it actually happened just by chance and when it requires observational skill and awareness.

Laundry day.
It's becoming less common, but in the old part of the city it's not unusual to see windows and balconies decorated with clothes hanging out to dry...

Pride

I'm not much of a street fotographer myself. At least not in the sense that I fotograph people in the streets. I do love taking pictures of streets though.
Anyway, my first contribution to this thread is a picture of something near and dear to me. Pride parades. This picture was taken last year at Munich pride. A huge event, with 500k attendees. I adore how colourful everyone is and how bright everyone's spirits are. It is honestly quite magical. (You'll probably see a few more of these in the upcoming weeks)

It was rather challenging getting a good pose from this striking person in pink, as they were circling the road on their bike in tight little circles. Even if they don't quite fit the frame, I am rather happy with the energy I managed to capture.

Avoiding the Gazes

Taken in Lyon, France.

Plenty of good things here, especially the framing. The horizontal and vertical echoing by the top and tight pinks of the frame edges is striking and unusual. Even more so with the pinks against the greys. The same for the crop of the head above the eyes. Unusual and, so to speak, eye catching in the intensity of the resulting eye contact.
The mini frame around the bike, lower left, is a valuable part of the whole as well.
Tell me again that you don't do street shots? Tell me again that this doesn't quite fit the frame?

¡Hola! Doctor

I remember in my first visits to Singapore (Singapura to the natives) circa 1980's they used to hang their washing out the windows / balconies on long bamboo poles. It was always a colourful display and I thought it appropriate for those in high rise buildings.
Unfortunately the snobs thought it unsightly and forced everyone to get clothes dryers...

I saw this in the same way as Daneland. In view of your intent, consider some cropping here to give a little more left -right movement and connection between the two areas. Perhaps a slice off the left and a little off the top?.

Complete agreement with Daneland's statements and I agree with minniev as well. My street photography however rarely has me making direct contact with the subjects. It shows in the shot I posted here this week.
You might discuss it with Roel. I've watched him. I once saw him wade into the middle of a bunch of bikies and simply start shooting. Confidence and a smile can do wonders. He carries a number of business cards, If things look prickly he offers to send copies and this seems to work,

Hi Mike, thanks for your comment.
I still think the image looks better this way in terms of depth of field. On the other hand, it would be difficult to achieve reasonable focus in both areas, given the distance between the fountain and the woman, and the focal length needed to compress that space.
As for the cropping, I understand you want to sort of concentrate the elements to make it easier to move from one to the other, right? Something like that?

Mods.

You know, a Lambretta…

That is exactly what I had in mind. To me, the relationship between the fountain and the woman is now strengthened. Any one else have an opinion on this?

Well spotted, a good street candid. There are two stories here. The glasses story is the easy one. It's quick, the connection makes us smile. The deeper, more bittersweet story is the great care with which this older lady chose her going-to-town outfit, carefully matching her socks, skirt, sweater and scarf. We get to imagine, where is she going? To buy those much needed new glasses? To pay a sympathy call? To beg an extension on a loan? It is somewhere she took care to dress in rose from head to toe. Those stories are what appeals to me about Street.

The second one is my pick because of the look of surprise on the young lady's face, as if she's been caught and spoiled the surprise.

Thanks for commenting! I have forever been told by those more knowledgeable than me that my photos are too busy. For a while I fought it, but in latter years I've decided that the busy-ness is too ingrained. I write too many lines, I speak too many words, and I cram too much stuff into the frame:)