Hi my name is Karen and I'm a photographer. I love all aspects of photography and especially enjoy Street Photography. I use a variety of cameras but for this project I have used a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a variety of lenses. For this shoot I have used the Lensbaby Composer lens.
With this lens you have to manually focus, the depth of field is limited and can be modified by bending the lens itself or adding aperture discs, different macro screw in filters, or you can add a macro extender or telephoto convertor to the main lens which creates all sorts of different effects. One of the things I particularly like is you really have to work at your composition with one of these types of lenses, it makes you stop and think about what you are shooting, the rate at which you shoot as well as the light and the subject. You cannot adjust the aperture digitally, this has to be done by adding the aperture discs which are equivalent to your f stops. I love the creative nature of this particular lens and how you can create images within the actual camera itself.
On Sunday the 30th April 2017, I took part in a Photo Walk in London organised by Michael Rammel. A large group of Photographers all met in Carnaby Street at one of the local coffee shops there. It was fab to see different photographers of varying experience and different cameras and lenses. It was a great opportunity for us all to chat about Photography in the full knowledge that we were chatting to someone who was as equally enthusiastic about photography as they were.
Here are some shots that I took on the day, I will be adding a link to more as I post them up on my website
I really enjoy street photography and find in lots of way that being in a wheelchair can often work to my advantage, people are generally more willing to have their photo taken and engage with me in a more personal way, I also have a nice perspective being lower down when taking the photo which aids my composition.
This was taken in Carnaby Street in London. There was a gathering of Lambretta scooter owners and people were dressed up as Mods and Rockers. This guy was surprised when I asked if I could take his photo as I liked his "Look", he was hoping I would take one of his bike.
This photo was taken in China Town. I had been chatting to some of my fellow photographers when I noticed this lady on her break sitting in a busy street but finding the one place where there were no other people. I loved her pose and couldn't resist taking this shot. After I took it I did ask her if it was okay to take her photo, she was more than happy. This was taken using my Canon 50mm f1.8 lens.
This photo was taken in St Martin's Lane, near Soho in London. I loved the way these ballet shoes were displayed and the Lensbaby Composer Lens with the Wide Angle lens on captured the sweet spot of this display nicely. I like the way it draws your eye into the image.
This was taken in Covent Garden, London. A large number of people had gathered to watch this street performer. Initially I had no idea what he was doing as he almost seemed to do a mime act prior to starting painting. He suddenly changed the music and in just over a minute transformed this black canvas into this image of Amy Whinehouse, it was mesmerising watching him work and great to see such a talented artist. I used the Lensbaby Composer lens with a 1.6x Telephoto lens attached
This was taken in Covent Garden, it was one of the many shops in the area. I was drawn to this by the vibrant colours that really stood out, again taken using the Lensbaby Composer lens with 1.6x Telephoto Lens attached
This little alleyway is situated in Argyle Walk not far from the busy Kings Cross area of London, it is off Whidborne Street and having passed by it many times I had never really looked at it before. I love the masonry and doorways and wondered what stories these places would have to tell about times gone by.
I hope that you have enjoyed my insight into the world of street photography.
Thanks for taking time to read my blog and get in touch if you have any questions at karenbrammerphotographyandart@yahoo.com
Credits:
Created with an image by Michael Gatchell - "Lensbaby Composer (Four-Thirds)" Photos by Karen Brammer of Karen Brammer Photography & Digital Art