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cweeks — four worlds...
Published: 2005-09-16 08:01:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 9560; Favourites: 142; Downloads: 2350
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i love spy photos. shot at the hip. i love being able to estimate distance and focus by the depth of field scale. as much as i think i know what i'm going to get ... you just don't know. it's not like digital. i like that "one take" kinda thing that goes on with film. especially film shot thru a rangefinder. personally, i don't think one can acheive this with ANY other camera system or format.whilst waiting for my doppio. i noticed this really cool like coming in from the setting sun. for some reason starbucks always have this sun effect. the one in my neighborhood does. this one happens to be in los feliz -- those that don't know ... it's just one of the best neighborhoods in los angeles. chill. cool. hip. with not that bad of parking.
when waiting for my espresso. my afternoon espresso. not the evening one. i looked over. and in those few seconds ... i new that my iso and film were at 400 which meant that i would have to shoot tight with all that light. f/11. conversely i knew i wouldn't necesarily need a really fast shutter speed. so ... i put it at 1/125th. when i looked at the scene i was looking at the medians ... the guy all the way frame left as opposed to the highlight which would be the dude center right.
luckily, i pulled it off.
it helps to know EXACTLY where your 35mm is framed.
another scene from the city.
one i'm glad i remember thru photography.
leica mp. 35mm/1.4 summilux ASPH. f/11 at 1/125th. ilford delta 400 (normal).
AGAIN, ilford is film not a sensor. this is an analogue image made on film and scanned by my lab. yell at them for the dust. it doesn't bother me.
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Comments: 154
you need to clean the dust off your ilford sensor.
heh.
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Beautiful. I found myself trying to size these individuals up; figure out what they're reading, what they're drinking, where they are going next. Reminds me of "Magnolia" or a Guy Richie film where everyone's lives overlap and they might have been completely oblivious to the whole thing.
I'm featuring this on my "22 Must See Deviations Edition XI" journal, alongside 21 other deviations. Please swing by and support the other artists.
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oh yes. it's a moment !
capturing many different expressions is a real satisfaction for me. i know what you're talking about !
very well done once more !
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It's funny: I just assumed the shot was in Europe until I read your description. I'm from L.A., and it didn't look LA-ish. But I haven't been there for awhile. Too crowded for my purposes. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. And thanks for all the tech. info. It helps.
1) You say you prefer the non-digital for shots like this. What do you think a digital would do for this scene?
2) What's a "doppio"? A drink? There is no Starbucks where I live, but that's a good thing.
3) When you do "spy" photos, is there never any worry about getting permission and using release forms? Thanks, again.
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where'd you move?
i love l.a. i love the crowds. the crowds are one of the interesting parts of europe.
1) couldn't have been made with a large dslr as i would have been spotted.
2) a doppio is a double espressso.
3) why would i need release forms? they're not being used for anything commercial. i'm not submitting them to my stock agent. also, they're made in an area designed for public egress and ingress.
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I now live in the Appalachian mountains in Kentucky. Thanks for answering all my questions. So the camera you used was smaller than a digital slr. You could have used a small digital non-slr. Would you get a similar quality? I'm really intrigued by that shot. An ethereal quality to it. The floor to the left looks like it's raised, but I guess it's just the shadow. As far as release forms go, isn't there a chance that you change your mind and decide to publish or sell the photo?
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hmm ... the mountains of kentucky. interesting.
there's no such thing as a small dslr. in fact a film-based slr couldn't get it either. any other digi ... would have had too much lag.
the lag on my leica ... well ... there's nothing that can touch it.
i have so much model-released material that ... it really doesn't matter.
i could publish this editorially with no problem whatsoever, though.
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I don't know anything about photography, but I know what I like. and this is good.
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Film is the vinyl record of the visual arts......IT has a texture that dig. film cannot replace/ recreate.
This may be due to the way a dig. camera processes/captures the moment.
LTR,
KenF.
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wow, looking through this persective makes them seem so much bigger than me. You captured a great shot of real life and real people.
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I always want to take shots when im in my starbucks, spy shots, whatever.
Too scared to point my camera at people in this city, need to get over that.
It seems to me, the scene inside most starbucks are the same all over the world, people out with laptops, the odd excentric.
I like that.
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I love pictures taken of people when they are unaware.. and I've always wanted to do it. This is a awesome image... how the people are each in their own "world". The title fits perfectly! Basically... I love it!
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so much to see in this shot..and the title is absolutely fitting....
love it..
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You really are one of my favourite artists on here and perhaps in general. The photographs are fantastic and the ones I love to see appearing in my dA watches. But that's not just it. The stories. The way you tell it. The stories just bring things to a whole other level.
Great stuff here as always. Keep it coming.
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Wow I love this.
What a great moment to catch.
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Well capture moment, however you got there. Love the light. Leica shines for you.
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thank you, mate!
i love light ... and ... my leicas.
have a great weekend!
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You too, mate!
Party central so far!
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exactly the type of pics i adore so much...images of people living thier daily lives...in b&w...perfect...
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I really like this one. The composition is great, even though it's shot from the hip. It's great to know where your camera is pointed without even looking through the viewfinder hey? The title of the piece is fitting, too.
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brillant scene capture Chirs... this photo really has a powerful sense of both emotion and purpose 
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what can I say about this..firstly the scene is awsome the connection of words be it through the newspaper, a book etc.. is something that unites us all. And I have to agree with you, there is no way in hell, digital could have captured the essence of this shot.
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I love...what did you call them "spy photos"...very interesting because they are not always the most flatering or the most glamourous but they are the truest pictures you will ever see no phisodes intended for the camera to catch. No obnoxiously large smiles. I think you've done well here. Beautiful shot. ~Kar
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spy. sneaky. surreptitious.
i call them many things.
glad you liked it!
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ah! thank you!
um ... why no avatar?
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LOL cus i don't have my own computer and cus every pic i have is too big or something :S.... plus no one wants to look at my face anyhow 
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man now that's a street shot!
four worlds is right. love the shadow play, framing, everything.
four people so different all facing the same direction, its begging for a picture.
not much i can say about this one except- you nailed it. I don't think there's anything you could have done better with this one. do you?
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Oh man.. shot from the hip, and the composition and focus are still perfect, and better than I can achieve looking through the lens and working at it!
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It's so cool sometimes when you are sitting around watching people. I have sat in the local coffee shops here in my town and sometimes try to imagine what the lives are like from the people sitting around me. The 2 people who grab my attention the most in this shot are the old man in the center and the young man to his left. The old man looks almost haggard, crusty and bitter, yet he is reading a newspaper, drinking a tall water in a Starbucks. It helps remind me to constantly redefine what is normal.
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Really really nice...
And i completely agree with you about film : )
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Beautiful shot, you camera nerd. Haha, just kidding, you are amazing.
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Great title for this... this astounds me that you can pull off something like this shooting from the hip, that really shows some knowledge in your gear, some deep, somewhat scary knowledge!
Great framing and tonal range, and supub capture of 4 really different types of people in a Starbucks... nice stuff.
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Definitely like the way they're all in their own little reality.
Magazine, newspaper, writing and laptop.
The older man in the middle has a unique sense of style.
Something about the empty chair and cup in the foreground bothers me. In a good way. Can't figure it out though. It's aesthetic value in the composition is definitely high, though.
Great shot, mate.
I knew you could pull off hip-shots
Btw, I love that feeling of the one shot from using film.
Not the Leica one-shot. That feeling will be around shortly.
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Love it
The mix of cultures is clear too, not just races.
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What an amazing theme man! It's amazing how much more the title makes sense after you see the photo.
I love this. You rarely tend to look around and realize how much some people get into their own worlds. This photo grasps that moment perfectly.
Hands down, I think this is my favorite shot out of your collection.
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What you see is always so damn human. I love that. It's like small personal movies that squeeze down into the ache of humanity and therefore touch the heart. You do this so well. Many look, but you see the oppotunity and catch it. That's your magic.
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i had this conversation with a cinematographer the other night...
he said, "yeah you can light but can you do it from this point to the next?"
and i said, "can you tell a story in one frame?"
we're friends now.
thank you so much!!!!!!!
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I rest my case. You're welcome!
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