Thinking With A Camera
The Ricoh GR III, that I take most of my street photography images with, has the potential of getting everything from one meter to infinity in instant focus. This is an example of that.
This couple was actually posing on the sidewalk next to a store widow for professional photographer with a pretty long zoom lens. As I passed close by with my little camera I was able to quickly snap off just this one shot. It turned out pretty well.
I know I’ve told you numerous times that we live very near the Frog Pond which is located in the Boston Common. For a photographer, this area is a never ending source of material. This shot was taken just as the light was going from dusk to dark.
It’s not often that one sees a rescue dog with an Instagram handle posing in the middle of a window of a fancy photo studio.( Maybe the previous sentence is an overstatement. Let’s change “It’s not often that one…” to “One never…”)
You know, I kinda miss this guy. Michael (last name unknown) was almost a permanent fixture on the corner of Beacon and Charles streets. He was a very good street hustler and was very well known in the area. However he got stomach cancer and had to go to the hospital. The word is that Michael now has his own room and has given up his old life.
I got lucky with this shot. I had already passed this doorway when something made me turn around. This man had just appeared carrying a large can of construction debris. I had my camera ready and took a single exposure.
This group of friendly panhandlers on Cambridge Street in Boston look almost like they’re posing. They weren’t though. In fact the guy on the right spotted my little Ricoh GR camera and cheerfully yelled something I didn’t understand as I strode by.
I’ve tried a lot of camera brands for street photography but none have served me better than Ricoh. It’s very small, it’s got a great lens and best of all, it allows something called “snap shooting” which is having the camera always prefocused so all one has to do is click the shutter. In short, it’s discrete and deadly fast.
Bobby’s usual begging spot is on the steps of the Starbucks shop on the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets in Boston. He’s one of the nicest beggars you’ll ever meet. Bobby has been trying to get a room in the Charles Street shelter for as long as I’ve known him. Today he told me that he thinks he’s getting near the head of the line. He’s been trying for that room for as long as I’ve known him.
