Street photography - my first attempt

[iamaelephant]

I went out to the arts center near the city center in Christchurch, New Zealand to try my hand at some street photography today. Most of my photographs come from my hiking adventures or various other nature-oriented activities, so this was very different to what I'm used to. I must say that street photography is among the most challenging types of photography, as it is very difficult to get a "clean" shot with few distractions, while still conveying the chaos that is the very essence of the city.

All in all I was pretty disappointed in most of my shots, but thought I would share them anyway. I plan on doing a lot more of this type of photography because it is a lot of fun and there is just so much out there to photograph. C&C welcome of course.

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street2.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street3.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street4.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street5.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street6.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street7.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street8.jpg

[iamaelephant]

...and just a couple more. Hope you guys don't mind the volume :)

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street9.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street10.jpg

http://iamaelephant.net/images/street/street11.jpg

[Rooz]

i'm no street photographer but the better street photography i've seen is in B&W, more focussed in densly populated urban areas which gives the impression of busy city life or picking a solitary figure to show the loneliness amid the masses. it's also shot using a wider angle with more of the city in the background or of unsuspecting people in the city that look like they have a story and are interesting.

while those photos are technically fine, some of them are of performers who expect to be photgraphed and i'm not sure that they convey the spirit of the city that you took them in. looks a little more local neighbourhood or local fair than city.

not sure if that makes any sense or not. lol street shooting sure is a tough gig though, kudos to you for giving it a go, it can be very intimidating.