Of street portraits, from last month’s StART On The Street. The Nikon D300, and 70-200 f/2.8 VR. Once again, Adobe Lightroom 5.2-
Looking performers up.
This gentleman was in black and white a few weeks ago. You can now see how colorful his getup was.
Serving food up.
Taking customer orders.
Kung Fu Academy!
Taking a call.
Roller Derby, vignetting courtesy of Lightroom preset.
A nice digital diversion with Lightroom. Back into the darkroom, soon.
Gathering before a group plays a set.
As mentioned earlier, Lightroom offers the photographer a powerful toolbox of endless creative potential. There is no question that digital image editing software can be somewhat daunting, and frustrating. Adobe, with its Photoshop/Creative Cloud suite of products, is undoubtedly the king of the hill, the 800 pound gorilla. Many third parties have developed add-on’s, in the form of presets, for Lightroom. OnOne is one such developer. Their vignetting options really do work well. More stuff I shot with the Nikon D300, 70-200 f/2.8 VR, at StART on the Street-
Roller Derby! OnOne Software makes some great presets for Lightroom, including many that are available for free.
You can even add some grain, and effortlessly desaturate images, if you like, maybe, the pushed Portra 400NC kind of look I was able to create with this one-
Isn’t this supposed to be fun?
I mentioned in the last article that the program seems to have a very radical sharpening engine. I wrestled with the following portrait, almost finding it to be too sharp. The beautiful light of this early fall day seemed to be a specular highlight engine of its own.
Deep conversation.
The program contains beautiful, easy to use, black and white conversion presets. High contrast, low contrast, red filters, orange filters, multiple looks. Always a fan of higher contrast, the Lightroom B&W presets might be enough reason alone for a photographer to invest in this software. An early attempt at such a conversion, this reminds me a lot of the look of Ilford Delta 100:
Banging on the drums.
Lightroom might bring some fun back to digital photography.
No shave, but a haircut.
A few final B&W Film shots from StART On The Street. I promise! More of my favorites…
Getting ready to perform.
Banging on the bongos.
Interactive demonstrations from the folks at The Ecotarium.
I think they represented a special interest group.
Is that a Dixie Cup on my head?
Big strings.
I’ve been very busy trying to learn Lightroom 5 and Windows 8, while reconfiguring two PC’s. Rarely, I do post digital shots. About as often as I shoot digitally, which these days, is not often. Once I get Lightroom somewhat figured out, maybe I will get a few up.
Godzilla?
Or, is it? I hope this images from last Sunday’s StART on the Street are not becoming redundant by now. But seriously, there were almost too many fun ones, like above, not to choose. As you can see from the joy in the faces of participants and volunteers, there was true joy, and a near perfect day. You know the camera, and the film.
Buying, selling, and volunteers.
Lots of buying and selling, up and down the street. Jewelry, art, and handmade items, all very popular.
Ready to spin.
I do think these guys were also here last year. I got action shots with the D300 and 70-200. But as portraiture was more what I wanted for film, really pleased with the results. I think the 135mm was the lens for the shot above.
Roller Derby in full force.
I think roller derby was absent in the spring, due to street incurred injuries. A much smaller “track” than in years past, maybe to minimize the potential of injury. But, still tons of fun.
Helmuting Up
I think the 105mm was the glass that was on for the above shot. Only because if it was the 135, it would have been much too tight and close up.
Artisans selling jewelry.
The 135 was definitely used here.
Believe it or not, his suit/hat is orange.
And here. This guy shows up in many of my digital shots as well. Love the bokeh, and the gradual background out of focus look, with the subjects in sharp focus.
Some more favorite shots from this past Sunday’s StART On The Street. Once again, the Nikon F3HP, and Kodak BW400CN, developed in the C-41 process. Nikkor 35, 50, 105, and 135mm lenses.
There were indeed many street performers with musical instruments in the sidewalks, alongside the event. This gentleman, with his guitar, and harmonica. Case open for donations-
Strumming For Cash
I think this woman was like the Hula Hoop guru-
More Hoops
This was one of my favorite shots with the 35mm lens. As mentioned on an earlier blog entry, I think it is more of a normal focal length than 50mm. Not to say that is not also a great length- it is. But, there is something magical about a 35 when you get down to ground level. Here, some volunteers, making the rounds before things get started-
Getting ready for cleanup.
Of course, there is always time for chatting, and making new friends:
Hanging Out
These folks had some great photos. Not sure which group/cause they were from:
Smiles
Speaking of smiles, this was one of the more blinding ones from the day!
Metal Material And Arts
Finally, speaking of metal, how about a little fencing and swords? Higgins Armory was a pleasant site. This, in their last year. I think they are closing in December. Good thing this was such a perfect day. Those outfits do look rather warm.
Unguard!!!!
Still searching for that favorite ‘money shot”, and still really hard-pressed to find it. I love them all so far.
I brought a lot of gear Sunday to the Fall edition of StART on the Street, Worcester’s biannual street art festival. As I have mentioned previously, it truly is street photography heaven. Having just received my Nikon F3 back from a shutter braking adjustment, as well as a winder retorque, it seemed the perfect choice for the day’s film shooting. Another good reason? Fast, easy lens changeout and swapping out on the fly. No need to index lenses and do the “Nikon Shuffle”, like on the F Photomic FtN, or the F2S- true auto indexing. I brought a whole bag of Nikkor glass- the 28, 35, 50, 105, and 135mm. Of those, the 28 was the only lens I didn’t use. My film of choice, once again, Kodak BW400CN. The day really seemed to lend itself to being upclose and personal. I love street photography with a passion, and these festivals are an opportunity to indulge, without having subjects ask why you are photographing them. Here, they welcome it.
Back on Park Ave, in front of Elm Park, which is in the midst of an extensive makeover and renovation, some of the activity even extended back into the park itself, which is the first time I have seen it used that way. For example, the performer below was up on a platform, right in the park itself.
Voices carried loudly in Elm Park.
There was plenty of interactive opportunity for spectators walking the street, including Hula Hoops-
Trying a Hula Hoop out.
The toddlers had their own area to play in, giving them lots to do. The 105 f/2.3 truly is the greatest portrait lens Nikon has ever produced-
Blocks and boxes for the kids to play with.
There were lots and lots of artisans selling their work, and volunteers all up and down the street-
Time out for a nice cold soda, and some laughs.
This gentleman was here last year, I am wondering if he remembered my F3, which he had admired. I really tried to photograph performers and onlookers in natural ways, but he seemed to almost pose. This taken with the 135mm f/2.8 Ai-
Hey, I remember you!
There was a whole busload of really hot vintage clothes. Retro seemed ideal for the event. The 35mm f/2.8 Ai, with its virtually distortion free optics, worked to perfection-
Haberdash Vintage
A different approach to fundraising. The letters below, as they stood in the park, each had a slot for donations. As they kept blowing down from the slight breeze, the idea was to fill them up with money, allowing this wonderful event to continue and evolve.
Fill those letters up with cash!
I also shot digitally, with the D300 and 70-200mm f/2.8. But, after going through the negatives here, the problem, like in digital, is, how do you select the best shots? No idea where to StART.
This fantastic event, which takes place twice a year, is street photography nirvana. As I have posted many images from past events, including the one that took place in June (strangely referred to on the website as the “Spring Edition”), these shots from the Fall Edition (9/16/12) are just a few of many. Yet, I think they do cohesively come together nicely, thanks to the DJ and street performer. Great photographers, such as Steve Simon, cohost of the podcast This Week In Photo, with roots in street photography, believe strongly in using photography to try to tell a story. Taken with the F3, 135mm f/2.8, Kodak Tri-X. I developed in D-76, 1:1, at 11 1/2 minutes.
Excited that there is going to be a winter edition this year, at Union Station. Winter doesn’t mean that great events like this need to wait until June.
Rapper and friend.
Street dancer- I love the contrast here.
Dancing and rapping.
A few years ago, I saw the spectacular, based on reality film “Lords of Dogtown”. Based on the famous Z-Boys of Venice Beach, CA in the 1970’s, the film introduces its audience to a surf culture that had long been misrepresented in media and pop culture. It even features a few great cameos of none other than the Nikon F, as photojournalists are seen throughout the film capturing these amazing performers. Worcester, MA’s StART On The Street, once again, proving itself as a spectacular photographic mecca.
Drawing upon that inspiration, I decided to stop down for a few shots, and “drag the shutter” for some, yikes, slow shutter speeds. This went totally against my usually scientific, rule-based approach to photography. Afraid that I would have crazy looking blurs, I instead was able to capture a sense of motion. The slowest speeds here, if I remember, at 1/30th/sec. Pretty daunting with a 135mm lens, but I think it worked.
Cannot wait to photograph this type of event again. Once again, Nikon F3HP, and Plus-X.
Hitting the jump ramp at blinding speed.
A little faster shutter speed, yet still slow enough to bring a sense of movement.
Guessing this was indeed about a 1/30th/sec. exposure.
Some more shots, featuring another performer, and others simply enjoying the day. These shots are really making me impatient for the next StART On The Street event this fall- a different street, less harsh light, a different feel. But more spectacular photo opportunities on the street. This warm June day was like a bonus. The 135mm Nikkor was never handier. September 16th is StART’s 10th anniversary Fall edition- it cannot come soon enough.
The Fender logo on the amp and guitar are sharp and detailed. The 135mm Nikkor continues to amaze and exceed expectations.
Dancing, and cooling off. That’s a fan in the lower right.
The 28 mm lens might have been a better choice here, as this bubble was huge!
This wonderful event now takes place twice a year. This most recent one, on June 10th, in a somewhat different venue than the fall one. This one had a much grittier feel, and a lot of local commerce and business nearby. I shot with the Nikon F3HP, and Nikkor 135mm f/2.8. With Kodak Plus-X, I took what I feel are some of the best shots I’ve ever taken with this glass. The 125 ASA film seemed the perfect choice for this sunny afternoon. And it helped get close enough so as to capture a few of those “decisive moments”. It is street photography heaven. Many more to come, but here are a few favorites-
So sharp, the label inside the acoustic guitar is legible.
Drum solo.
Spectators enjoying the afternoon.
Another amazing guitar performance.
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