Autumn in Shanghai
Here are some pictures taken during my street photography outing with my Essential Photography Class Students. All shots done with Panasonic Lumix GH4.
by Franc Peret
Once during the 25 hours (10 weeks) Essential Photography course, I am going out with my students to give them a chance to practice what they had learn so far in term of technical set up and composition.
Sunny Hairs (GH4 and 12-135mm f2.8)
Wet Broom
I am taking benefit of the class to demonstrate some ideas and to develop Student’s inspiration by just walking around the block close to our starting point, which is The Apartment on Yong fu lu.
Splash of shadows on a Wall and a Rusty gate (GH4 and 12-135mm f2.8).
No need to walk long distance to get a wide collection of shots. Imagination is not calculated in meters.
Side leaves
Center Leave
Shanghai former French Concession is a great place for shooting due to its historical background (trees and houses) and the traditional life local people are still enjoying there.
Checking the bill.
On this series of shots, I tried to extract structures out of the element of the environment.
Passing by
Grey Cubism
Whatever I am shooting is not real anymore, it becomes my own interpretation in term of association (color, shape, texture) and balance (contrast or common point).
“Kuaidi” means Express delivery.
This is what I am calling “structuralism”.
Having a seat
Empty Chair
Sometime it can be quit close to a reproduction of the real life, sometime, it is pure reformatting of the surrounding i am in.
Camouflage
light, Shadows, Lines, texture, colors and shape are directing my eyes and inspiring my brain.
And there is much more to come!
I am not turning my camera in the direction of real people, trees, car or building.
What are they shooting? My Saturday Essential Class students in action.
I am not choosing a specific subject or person according the way they look as is, I am assembling elements and collecting interesting reflection of light for reaching a personal feel of balance.
Shape and Colors
Gate and Window
A red, pink and blue world
My pictures might not please or attract viewers, but this doesn’t matter much to me as I am using my own language to build up my images and I am not expecting that everyone is going to understand it or, even if they understand it, to agree with it.
Wrong hand position! A lens is not a cup of tea!
Shooting a shooter.
Shooting Fever. My students at work…
Creation is something personal and as soon as I know what I am looking for, I guess that I know it better than outsider who might have a totally different sensitivity and approach to street photography.
Gate and leaves
And more leaves!
Texture and shape on Gate and wall
I am simply true to myself, building up my image according my need of structuring things visually and I am just trying my best to succeed to do so.
Pier knows how to use his camera with style.
Antic on wheel
Even, when I am not carrying a camera, I am composing with things I am seeing, it is always useful, like a training, helping to detect interesting combination faster when I am having a camera in hands.
Mini Yukie loves Mini car
Mini Car
Composition is an extension of being sensitive to light, reflection of light and its character.
In China, dogs drink white paint…
I might say, in Photography, the light is the verb and the composition the adjective. They helps to build up the phrase we started by picking up a subject.
Yukie hides and…
Philippe seeks
Actually, we often pick up a subject not for what it is but for what he/she is doing.
A couple of parrots shot by a couple of students
To get more information about my Essential Photography Course, check it here
I love what you say about taking pictures that please you rather than worrying about pleasing others, Franc.
Chasing likes, shares and retweets is the name of the game for so many folk now, but for what? I don’t want to tell my grand-nephews how my pictures got me x amount of followers on Instagram; I want to show them the body of work, printed in self-published photobooks, and explain what the pictures mean to me.
It’s great to see your pictures here too, as they give me inspiration to try new ways of capturing the urban landscape.
I still haven’t trained my eye to pick up on inanimate objects being worth shooting (like the chair and wall, or the Grey Cubism shot) as I do ‘moments’ involving people and their surroundings, and I think I do okay at that, but seeing your shots is a great example of how interesting shapes can be found in the places I usually walk straight past.
Hi Lee
Thanks for your message. You can also check my Flickr page, I posted shots in an album named structuralism. As soon as you are using adapted lens with manual focus, you will be in position to feel the structure as, at first, you need time and concentration to put things together. And I think you are having the spirit and the character to achieve great personal things.
And you are right to go on your own way, without caring about judgement.
I can understand that some of my other students are eager to get a price of any kind (such as number of click on one of their Flickr image) or to get some images chosen for any exhibition, but I had the opportunity to NEVER need this as since day one I took a camera it was for publication and I did it for 15 years, getting paid for my pictures if my pictures were good enough to be published in front of dozen of other freelance photographer. I made a living with it for a great number of different magazines and publisher worldwide who were professional in their field I respected and this was worth any price to my eyes
I am very suspicious of people calling themselves “artist’ as the judgement criteria of their level of creativity are very unclear and often based on consideration which are close to BS.