[Through My Lens] Fun Weekend
In this edition of Through My Lens, I take on a Fun Weekend during Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 in Austin, TX.
After years of shooting concerts and festivals with two DSLRs, three lenses, multiple batteries, and other accessories, I was looking forward to trying out a mirrorless system. I've been researching different mirrorless systems (Panasonic and Fuji, among others) for about a year now, but have yet to make the jump. After watching a video of photographer Jason Lanier talking about his 10 reasons why he left his Nikon system for a Sony mirrorless system and boasting about how great these smaller cameras were, I wanted to try it out for myself.
For Fun Fun Fun Fest, I rented a Sony a6000 from Borrow Lenses with a 16mm f/2.8 and a 10-18mm f/4 wide angle lens. For insurance's sake, I took my Canon 7D with a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 lens to the Fest. I pretty much kept the a6000 around my neck the whole weekend. I only really brought my 7D out when shooting artists live, but even then, the a6000 was great to shoot with. After shooting with the Sony a6000 all weekend, I can safely say I love this little camera. It gave me the freedom I was looking for to shoot street photography that my mobile doesn't give me. The WiFi technology made it seamless to take a shot, send it to my phone, edit, and post on social media.
Below are a bunch of photos I shot from the whole weekend, mostly from the Sony a6000 and a few with my Canon 7D.
San Francisco Reflected in City Puddles by Angela May Chen
Photos by Angela May Chen
By focusing on the ground rather than the horizon, photographer Angela May Chen captures street photography in San Francisco reflected in city puddles. For a city that's already known for it's beautiful skyline, Chen captures it's lush architecture from reflecting it in upside down view points, and unique angles, pretty much in ways it's never been done before. Through each watery reflection, Chen has been able to transform everything from the city's rich cityscapes, bridges, sidewalks to even trolleys and palm trees, into a whole new perspective. The creative combination of various textures and elements causes the viewer to take a deep look, as each photograph begs for a second glance.
So the next time you're walking through your town, take a look at the reflections in the puddles, it's guaranteed to add amusement to any rainy day. Check out some of our favorite photos below, and be sure to follow Chen on her instagram page where you'll find some of her ad work, more San Francisco street perspectives, and even some delicious looking food photography. Her eye for the city will definitely want to make you pack your bags and go.
[Via Curbed]
Nearly Lost Street Photography of NYC and Chicago from the 1950s-60s by Vivian Maier
Photos by Vivian Maier
Amazing New York street photographer, Vivian Maier, took thousands of photos in the 1950's and 60's that went unacknowledged until recently. In 2007, historian and collector John Maloof found a box with thousands her of black and white photography and film negatives, and struck gold. In 2011, only 2 year after her passing, he published a book of her photography and started traveling through exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe, gaining the acknowledgment that she rightfully deserved. A true story of fate and destiny.
For further background on this miraculous story, Maier was born in New York in 1926, lived in France and then returned to New York in 1951 where she lived for five years. In her time back in NYC, she wandered the streets with her Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera, and snapped pictures wherever she went. Later, she moved to Chicago to work as a nanny and did that for forty years, taking tons of photos into the late 1990's, all with a unique perspective. Throughout all these years, Maier ended up leaving a body of work comprising of over 100,000 negatives that she never shared with anyone, and many she never saw herself.
Now, her body of work has gone on to receive critical acclaim after 50 years of shooting them, and all to the credit of John Maloof. In 2007, after purchasing a box full of Maier's negatives for $400 at a local thrift auction on Chicago's Northwest Side, he realized that he stumbled upon an amazing set of photography to share to the world. And we're all glad he did.
Through the power and grace of black and white photography, the following photos capture a raw beauty of mid-century, metropolitan city life in America. The story and photography is all so captivating that it even inspired a documentary film, titled Finding Vivian Maier, and is showing in select theaters now. Also be sure to check out the official trailer, and more find more of her work here.
[Via Demilked]
The Streets: East Side Austin,TX (10/16/13)
Photography by Virgil Solis
It had been raining for a few days and pretty much all day on the 16th. Once the rain died down, Bobby Reys and I grabbed our cameras and headed out. These are some of the photos I shot.
[Via VirgilSolis.com]
