Let me start by explain a bit about Retro Kolkata:
We are ‘Retro Kolkata’ from India, a trust working solely on Art & Culture. Our web magazine is Retrokolkata.com, which will be the biggest online portal of India in Art & Fashion category.
From Photography to Fashion, Painting to Online Store, everything will be under one roof. In Photography segment, we want to feature Guest Photographers in International Street Photography Category and want to publish interview along with photographs.
In photography section, currently there are 15 Guest Photographers (included me) that had interviewed with Retro Kolkata. Check their complete interview here. I think they (Retro Kolkata) gave us useful questions that may help people who want to start or already active in street photography world. I truly hope these interview will able to inspire all of us to keep shooting and making art in our daily life.
Click here for my full coverage interview with Retro Kolkata. To add even more inspiration, actually there are 3 photographers inside interview section that I knew from Instagram (already followed them since several months or perhaps more than a year ago). My main reason follow their profile due to their beautiful photography result that I think artistic, creative, able to inspire me, and I simply love the way they “telling stories” about their city through photos.
Here are their full coverage interview with Retro Kolkata:
– Moises Levy (Mexico). His Website and Instagram.
– Belinda Corney (United Kingdom). Her Website and Instagram.
– Babak Kanaani (Iran). His Instagram.
Most Inspirative QnA
To put it short, here are several QnA from our interview (Moises, Belinda, Babak, and Myself) that I think could be really helpful to boost more inspiration to all of us in street photography:
Question (From Retro Kolkata): Do you have any tips for photographers to help them grow artistically?
Answer (by Belinda):
Always have your camera with you and shoot every day, it is only since I have been doing this that I have noticed my photography style improve and evolve, it is still evolving!
You will end up taking a lot of photos and only one or two may be good out of the hundreds you do take but when you get that shot you are proud of it makes all your efforts worthwhile and encourages to you keep going.
I think it is also important to learn, whether it is from studying other photographers work or doing a work shop or two, I do both and what I have taken away from them is invaluable.
Answer (by Moises):
Go to exhibitions, museums, see a lot of photos, paintings, sculptures, etc, try to define what you like and start making your own language.
Answer (by Babak):
Strictly discovering photos of the great classic photographers and contemporary photography helps a lot for novices photographers. I would strongly recommend discovering photo books and series of different photographs!
Surely pursuing and not disappointing is very effective in the advancement of rookies. Never stop trying to capture a photo and analyze your photos so in this case any of defects will be compensated in the subsequent photos.
Answer (by Nico):
Bring your camera everyday and start shooting right now. Anytime you see something interesting (even if only slight), always shoot it first and decide later whether it is a good image or not. Better to delete bad photos rather than miss great moment.
Question : What does ‘street photography’ mean to you?
Answer (by Babak):
To me, ‘street photography’ is a way to interact with the environment, in a delicate and artistic way. It makes me look at the world around me more precisely and for me that makes the process of taking a photo full of joy and satisfaction.
The joy of capturing that moment and makes it immortal is what moves me to take a photo, making that moment lasts forever. Each photo has a story to tell and that story is what makes it special and keeps the photographer’s idea and view within the photograph alive forever.
I believe photos have their own unique ways of defining perpetuity and that’s what makes photography mesmerizing to me; an endless way to eternity.
Question : Is there something unique about street photography that differentiates it from other genres?
Answer (by Moises) :
Street photography should be about man, about life, that’s what makes it special, and the spontaneous moments that become special.
For Landscape photography your skills should be to make an adequate research about the places you want to capture, in street photography you need a lot of skills, you should be fast, creative, and you need to improvise at all times, it’s much more complicated to create a good composition on the street because you have a lot of things going on.
Question : What is your approach with the camera when you find yourself photographing strangers on the street?
Answer (by Nico):
When I shoot stranger, I will keep my camera stay still even when subject already moved. I will put my eyes to any objects behind subject, so people think that I only photographed things behind them.
Answer (by Belinda):
My preference is to stay at a distance and photograph the subject in the environment around them so strangers rarely even look my way.
There are times I have gotten close and there are ways to remain discreet; you can shoot from the hip, or you can pretend you are filming the street around you whilst pressing the shutter, both these options keep the camera away from the eye so you can easily avoid notice. I think the most important thing when photographing strangers is to be quick, get the shot and keep moving!
Question : What do you want your viewers to take away from your work?
Answer (by Babak):
I always try my photos has interesting forms and combinations to attract my audiences in first encounter. So my audience’s mindsets engage with the photo and they spend more time for discovering to find the inner meaning of my photos.
Question : When you are shooting, do you have an image in your mind? Do you build the final photo before shooting it or are your images also a result of a post-production phase?
Answer (by Moises):
The beauty of street photography is that you have always surprises, you never know what you’ll discover and that’s very interesting, I try to be fresh minded and to create something new at all times.
Answer (by Nico):
Yes, most of the time when I see someone unique from further away, or if I find a certain unique place and wait till subject enter my frame, then I will try to create an imaginary image in my mind. Predict people’s movement. This way I will know better where and when to stand to click camera shutter. Post production is just a finishing touch, never “create” image based on post process. Bad image is bad image regardless how skillful the post pro technique.
Question : Exactly what it is you want to say with your photographs, and how do you actually get your photographs to do that?
Answer (by Moises):
I want to freeze special moments, sometimes is a movement or a gesture, something funny, or a hidden message. Something that talk about life in a beautiful way, I spent a lot of time searching and waiting for special moments, usually it becomes from the less expected place and time.
Question : How does Black and White vs Color play into your work? Do you find them to be totally separate beast or complementary?
Answer (by Belinda):
I am a big fan of black and white photography, so much so that my camera is set to the monochrome film simulation setting 99% of the time, this is a nice little feature of the Fujifilm X series cameras! I find doing this helps me better see the shapes and light when lining up a shot. When I do decide to shoot in colour I am still drawn to light and shadow with the added element of a bright colour so when it comes to my work I would say they are complementary as my style is consistent in both.
Question : What camera & equipment do you use now?
Answer (by Moises):
I love cameras , I have a huge collections of old and new cameras, Rolleis, Mamiyas, Hasselblads Leicas etc.
For my landscape work I use primary a Hasselblad or Alpa Cameras with digital and film backs.
For my street work I use a Fuji XT20 and a Leica M10.
Answer (by Babak):
I currently use the Nikon 5300 camera for documentary and portrait photography, and for street photography I often use my cellphone (iPhone 7). The mobile camera has good features, It is always available everywhere and provides the possibility of photographing the candid moments as quickly as possible.
Answer (by Belinda):
I currently shoot with the Fujifilm X-T2 and I use either the 23mm or 56mm lens.
Answer (by Nico):
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujifilm X-E3, Fujinon XF16mm f/1.4, XF23mm f/1.4, XF35mm f/2, XF56mm f/1.2
That is all about interview with Retro Kolkata, feel free to check their web for more inspiration about art!
Also special thanks to Moises, Belinda, and Babak for letting me include some of your interview here. I truly feel that your answers (and photos) are able to inspire me even more in street photography.
Thank you!
Nico Harold