.

And so i haven't blogged in a while.... Which is interesting because not too long ago I'd have at least 4 blog entries per month. It's a true testament to the time and focus I have been giving to Photography lately and as much as I have immensely enjoyed writing anecdotes of my life it seems like that creative side of me (or at least a lot of it) has shifted to the gratifying yet extremely dissatisfying world of Photography. It used to almost make me feel uncreative when I wasn't blogging, and I think i felt that way because my mind was stagnant. How does it go "A mind is a terrible thing to waste?". Well that's sounds like something a genius would say, and clearly I am not. But the point is when i blogged I felt like I was using my mind, and now I feel the same way about Photography...

What's there to think about exactly when shooting? Well lets not get into that because quite frankly to a lot of people it's quite boring. What I do want to talk about is "Street Photography". If you are on my facebook and if you frequent my Flickr Page i'm sure you've noticed an increasing number of Street Candids as of late. A far cry from what I use to do when I first started shooting... I used to think that I would pursue the glitz and the glamour of fashion photography, or at least I thought I was preparing too. Somewhere along the way however, I discovered that I didn't really quite have the flair of the would-be glam photographer nor the passion for it. Perhaps the personality for it too.... I was not feeling the Editorial and Commercial type either after some time. I don't know perhaps it was all a phase? Or maybe I was dellusional for some time there..... yeah that must have been it. That said, I think i'm doing okay with the Bikini Shoots though so I think that'll be sticking around (... i'm sure my photog friends would be delighted to hear that). Or am I dellusional to think they are okay too? lol

As mentioned before in previous photography blog entries, Shooting the Streets was what swayed me to Photography. Uninspired though the Streets would not come to me until my pal Bradford showed me the ropes in Downtown L.A., as much as i tried to do all by myself. And once I got the hang of it I fell in love with the streets, just as I thought I would. Downtown L.A. (and Venice Beach a close second) is replete with very interesting and often in a quite disheartening or depressing characters that really make them quite the subject. And perhaps that is what is most interesting about them. The photos that we hope to capture would evoke emotions and tell stories (and sometimes we get really lucky...).

Yes the street is RAW. And the people that mill about are perfect in a sense because they are in an unsuspecting state. Sort of like children in play if you will (the innocence draws us in). Pure and unmolested because there is nothing contrived about them even in those fleeting moments in which you're subject seems to know you're there and is looking right at your Lens. Yes the "eye contact" is also something we strive for on the streets, and yes there is certain tecnique to it... "Subtlety and grace" (and oh a good camera and more importatly a Lens with an ultra fast AF couldn't hurt either). The eye contact not only adds drama to an already dramatic form of Photography (if not the most dramatic) but a certain sense of primeval interaction, albeit fleeting. Because street photography isn't about being sneaky or thievery... It is Art in a most peculiar form.

See all the pics