I was thankful to have another wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. We’ve had another blessed year. I’m also thankful for some free time to indulge in my favorite past time, street photography. I’ve never been one to participate in the Black Friday frenzy, but we definitely take advantage of the sales. This is usually through online purchases. In fact, on my way to my favorite street photography theater, Nashville, I stopped at an electronics store to pick up a new lens I ordered online the night before. I was dreading the crowd, but I managed to get in and out in a reasonable amount of time. Although I was anxious to use the new lens, putting the new telephoto zoom through its paces would have to wait. My goal for this outing was to use my favorite prime lens for the streets, the 17mm f1.8.
This is only the second time I’ve used my new camera for street photography in Nashville. At this point, most of my street work has been shot with my OM1 SLR on black and white film. With a better understanding of my digital camera, I set out to play around a bit more than my last outing in Music City. One of the things I tried was using my flip out screen to be less obvious in certain situations. I also attempted some panning techniques on fast moving subjects to introduce some motion. Regardless of the camera used or my goals, I always have a great time combing the downtown streets in the heart of Nashville.
My street work is a work in progress. At this point, I’m still feeling my way around. My ultimate goal is to one day be able to create compelling photographs. Maybe with more practice and a better understanding of WHY, I may be able to create more memorable street photos. While there are no great shots in this series, I do believe it is a good body of work that gives the viewer a good sense of the atmosphere in the downtown area. There is one more important change from my typical street work. That change is presenting the final images in color. The black and white medium is my favorite for the streets, but I wanted to try something different. Even though it was a dull and cloudy day, I gave the color a little pop! I hope you enjoy the images.
I will be the first to admit that my panning game is a work in progress. Panning is something that takes practice and I’ve only practice this technique a few times. While these results are not the greatest, they are promising.
I can’t think of a better way to spend Black Friday than to walk the streets with my camera. I made some mental notes during my trek that I will be using the next time I hit the streets. These mental notes include thoughts on camera settings and technique. My panning needs some work, but more practice will yield more keepers. Overall, I had a good day. I hope you enjoyed the walkabout through Music City. As mentioned earlier, this is only my second time using my new digital camera on the streets of Nashville. You can check out the work from my first venture in my blog post titled Nashville Nights. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! You can catch my next street adventure by subscribing or liking and following my Facebook Fan Page Shuttering Thru Life.
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