Spent the morning shooting Old Sacramento with my Leica M6 with Kodak Tri-X film (expired).

Shooting Portra 400 film on the Golden Gate Bridge

After an interesting and eye opening chat I had with Reuben Redding a few weeks ago, I have been shooting various subjects with different cameras in an effort to try and find my way. One thing that came up in that discussion was that I seem to want to label myself a “street photographer” or a “landscape photographer” instead of just a “photographer.”

The class started with Gus discussing his various exercises for the street. These included some common street photography tips such as fishing (staying in one location for a while) and following (pursuing an interesting subject). He also talked about having shot lists and wish lists before going out and also forcing yourself to take half a dozen head shots if you’re feeling nervous or timid. But the real star of this lecture, and the most useful, was his idea of Sketching.

Shooting middle of the day "Street" Landscape Photography with the Leica M10 Monochrom with a red filter to create high contrast black and white images.

Street photography is a bit of a mystery to me. Probably because its origins are surrounded in mystique and filled with famous names and even more famous photographs. But what sets an iconic street photograph apart from just an average or a not very good one?

While contests like these don’t really mean much, I still thought it would be fun to enter them just to see what happened. I doubt I will enter any pay-to-play contests in 2022. Photography is such a subjective art that winning in one of these contests shouldn’t blow your ego up anymore than not winning should tear it down. Just go out and shoot and have fun.

I woke up Sunday morning to an email congratulating me on one of my photographs receiving an honorable mention. It was from the ND Awards, a photography contest that I had entered earlier in the year.

A brand new magazine for creatives called Lots has just issued its inaugural issue. I’m excited to be featured in their Street Photography section.