| Street Photography: Finding Order in Chaos |
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| Instructor: Mason
Resnick Duration: 4
Weeks Cost: USD195 |
Photographers looking to quicken their reflexes, become bolder photographing strangers without disturbing them, and to break away from the constraints of classical composition can learn all of this and more by mastering street photography. Arguably the most challenging area of photography, but practiced by such legendary photographers as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, and Elliott Erwitt, street photography is a form of candid photography that often defies the rules of composition.
Street photography is all about finding order in a chaotic world. It doesn't rely on pre-visulaization; quite the opposite: the skill in street photography is being able to anticipate action, interaction and humorous juxtapositions and capture those fleeting moments. By the end of this course, students will understand what it takes to see and create successful street photos as people whirl around them in urban environments anywhere in the world.
While few photographers achieve financial success from street photography alone, many have been able to apply the techniques and vision they developed as street photographers to other forms of photography, from fashion to sports to photojournalism. In fact, many of today's best-known photojournalists have been influenced by street photography.
At the end of the course, each student will have a small portfolio of their best
work hosted on Resnick's web site: www.photogs.com.
Course Outline:Week 1: Anti-Composition
We will assign several exercises designed to encourage students to unlearn the classical rules of composition in order to discover a uniquely photographic visual language. Students will be assigned to view interviews with Elliott Erwitt and Henri Cartier-Bresson on YouTube, and will be assigned to visit several street photography web sites.
Week 2: In Your Face
Students will be assigned to walk up to total strangers and take their pictures while looking through the viewfinder. We will discuss techniques to do this in a non-threatening manner, as well as discussing the best gear. Students will be assigned to view YouTube videos of Garry Winogrand and Jeff Mermelstein doing street photography. We will review/critique the previous week's assignment.
Week 3: Work a Corner
Students will be assigned to choose a city intersection with lots of pedestrian traffic and spend an hour taking pictures. We will review/critique the previous week's assignment.
Week 4: The Editing Process
We will look through the photos taken on assignment and help each student edit a portfolio of their best street shots'then post them on a new web site devoted to street photography.
Suggested Gear:
A rangefinder camera or SLR (film or digital) with a wide-angle lens (in the 28-35mm range) or a normal (50mm) lens. The optimal setup is a Leica rangefinder camera with a 28mm lens.
Instructor: Mason Resnick
 Mason Resnick, a veteran photography writer and street photographer, is the editor in chief of the Adorama AIRC Learning Center, an online photo magazine hosted by Adorama Camera. He has served as the Managing Editor of Popular Photography and Photo Business magazines, webmaster for PDN Online, Associate Editor of Modern Photography. A student of street photography master Garry Winogrand, Resnick’s street photography has appeared in Stern and Hadassah magazines. Recently, Resnick curated “Crossroads: Contemporary Street Photography” (2006) at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and his photos are in that museum’s permanent collection. He is currently working on an eBook of his work from the 1970s. A sample of his street photography can be found at http://www.photogs.com/pedestrianphotos.
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