Let me start by mentioning that I’m not a professional photographer. Not even a hobbyist photographer I would say. I’m just a guy who loves capturing moments that I see unique and worth capturing. Particularly street photography is my favorite. To me street photography is the most appealing area of photography. Streets and people are always changing. There is always something to tell. The moment you capture has a background story. It can be an impression on a person’s face or a light that shine upon an object. I always look for things that inspires me. Things that might look so ordinary but when captured, you can realize it can be interpreted by each person differently. Whenever I visit a new city, I look for these and usually hate taking touristic photos and selfies. But I should admit that I have another collection of photos that full of them.
Black and White Photos
There is something magical with black and white photography. I believe the colors are a bit distraction and without them, black and white photos are much more about the scene and the story of the captured moment. Let’s also not forget the nostalgia effect. I usually prefer setting my camera directly to black and white film simulation (Acros in Fujifilm) and look through my viewfinder without the colors rather than post editing to black and white. I’m not even shooting in RAW. Just JPEG with film simulations applied. Don’t hate me. I’m so impatient and lazy for post editing. I only care about the scene. And Fujifilm color science and default film simulations are just perfect.
Not Easy
I should admit that street photography is not easy. You should be patient. Either you can let it flow and catch the moment randomly while you are wandering around or wait till the scene matures for the photo. I think I’m on the first camp for now. Also I’m still shy about pointing my camera to a scene or people. Especially capturing people is risky. Because either they can get angry about being captured or they can notice that they are being captured and the natural scene disappears. No one wants a posed photo. Another thing is not liking the photo you took. Most of the time I take hundreds of photos. Amongst those, I only love one or two of them. Usually after few weeks I come back to archive and find new ones that I think good enough for my liking. This is another beauty of street photography. Because sometimes you don’t even realize you captured a story worthy moment. Only can be seen after some time passes.
My Camera
At first I had a Canon M50. Best known for it’s vlogging capabilities. But I wasn’t interested in vlogging or anything. I love shooting some random memory videos and that camera was great for it. Besides it was a relatively small mirrorless camera. Easy to carry for my travels. Good quality photos and videos. Unfortunately it was stolen from me during a train ride within Europe. After that I researched a bit for a camera which is compact, stylish and not so expensive. Finally bought my self a Fujifilm XE4. It is a perfect camera for street photography and travel. There are things I like and don’t like with this camera but since this is not a review, all I can say is I’m in love with it and enjoy using it.
For more photos you can follow my Instagram profile. My journey on street photography is in the beginning and I will continue.
Can Uludag 