Getting closer to subjects without them being aware that they’re being photographed is more difficult, particularly in crowded situations. For this exercise I’m using the D300s with the 18-200 mm lens set at 18 mm and also using the Sigma 10-20 mm zoom. I used aperture priority. The majority of images are taken with the aperture set relatively wide, to allow fast shutter speeds – in this situation I won’t have time or room to use a tripod.
It’s Whitby Regatta Monday when the pier road and the West pier are transformed into a (quite tacky) street market and fairground – and lots of people doing what they consider the regatta is all about (nothing relating to boats!) The folk week is in progress, so there’s still some scope there too.
Starting on the East side of town we find the ‘happy’ people:
ISO 200, 18 mm (27 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/200 sec.
Happiness seems to be a rare commodity on this street. The wide angled lens causes some distortion at close range and convergence with the verticals – looking at this image, the distortion isn’t really obvious, but the verticals are well off true. This could be relatively easily corrected in Photoshop, but I’m leaving the images as taken for the majority of this exercise.
ISO 200, 18 mm (27 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/320 sec.
Using the wide angle here has put this group of musicians into context. They are obviously busking on Church Street. The acoustics are good just here and the sound carries very well. Another useful attribute with the wide lens is its long depth of field, so the band and their surroundings are all in fairly good focus throughout the image. They must have been aware that I was taking their photograph, but they carried on as if I wasn’t there (I’m still the invisible man to most people!). They had a surprisingly good sound and were well rehearsed too, so a contribution was well earned.
Moving across to the West side and into the market stalls, we come across more happy people carrying all manner of useful props:
ISO 200, 18 mm (27 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/800 sec.
This image again puts the seller into context with his wares and his stand. Looking at other things that are going on in the image is interesting and the depth of field, even at this relatively wide aperture allows reasonable definition to be able to see these elements.
I was in close proximity to this trader and he heard the camera as the shutter was released. He suggested £1 per photo, but he wasn’t forthcoming so I left without being paid! Obviously the sound of the camera is a disadvantage when trying to be invisible, but it’s a very small one.
ISO 200, 18 mm (27 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/250 sec.
This trader seems to be making headway with potential customers – all genuine bargains of course! Although I’m quite close to the group they don’t seem to notice the camera and just carry on with their business, making it easy to capture this interaction and see the skepticism of the on looking old lady.
ISO 200, 10 mm (15 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/7.1, 1/125 sec.
This shorter lens allows a much wider view, so the lady on the right has no idea she’s in the frame, although she was the main subject as she lays down the ground rules to her children. I was less than a metre from her, but as I appeared to be shooting away from her she was unconcerned. The distortion is showing more with this lens – the verticals are well off true and the main subject has developed large biceps and a somewhat elongated head.
Again there are lots to be seen in the rest of the image – look at the lady with her fish and chips. (She’s a little out of focus, but that’s due to her movement, not the depth of field) She can’t eat them because she needs to cover her handbag, but you can’t come to Whitby without eating fish and chips!
ISO 200, 18 mm (27 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/3.5, 1/1250 sec.
Moving onto the West Pier proper, the room for maneuver gets less, as the rides and stalls have taken up half of the pier’s width. It’s now clear that pushchairs can be a real problem, but at least the people are more closely grouped. There are several points to look at in this image. First of all there are the mothers with the pushchairs, pretending that this is such good fun. Then there are the inappropriately dressed revelers (just look at the cellulite!). Look further back into the crowd and see the fed up people who want to get along the pier but who are stuck behind another chair jam. A couple of them have noticed that I’m taking photographs, but they don’t seem to be bothered. This is obviously a disadvantage in this situation, but unavoidable as there was nowhere else to go. I think it’s worth it for the image.
ISO 200, 20 mm (30 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/400 sec.
This image puts the ride operator into context with the amusements and the potential customers into context with the operator and the rides. Again we can see more detail in the image – at least someone has bought a helium balloon and people are riding the Ferris wheel.
ISO 200, 14 mm (21 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/22, 1/8 sec.
I used a small aperture here, to allow a slower shutter speed in order to blur the movement of the speeding cars while still maintaining the onlookers in reasonable detail. This puts the onlookers into context better – at a higher shutter speed the onlookers could have been sharper, but the motion of the ride cars would have been lost. A disadvantage was the shutter speed being slow without the use of a tripod. It’s difficult to hold the camera steady for this speed – I must have been lucky!
ISO 200, 18 mm (27 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/3.6, 1/50 sec.
Returning from the pier, I went to look at the ‘Reaper’, a restored 1902 sailing herring drifter, in Whitby as part of the Regatta festivities. Taking this image from the quayside at low tide puts the visitors to the vessel into context in a different way. In this view the subjects are small in comparison to the mast and sail. This gives more of a perspective of their position.
ISO 1600, 10 mm (15 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/7.1, 1/13 sec.
In the forward cabin of the ‘Reaper’ I used the extra wide angle lens at a high ISO and without additional lighting, so none of the other cabin occupants were aware that they were being photographed. This has the advantage that there is no false posing by the subjects, but a disadvantage that they continue moving and are unaware that they are coming into frame (like the lady in the right of the image). Another disadvantage is the distortion caused by the wide lens: so the lady on the left has a longer head than I remember, with a long jaw and nose; and the verticals in the left of the image are far from true. I’m happy enough to accept this distortion for this image as I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The high ISO causes some noise in the image, but the camera’s noise reduction makes this acceptable for this situation.
ISO 200, 10 mm (15 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/7.1, 1/100 sec.
We must not forget the fish and chips! Using the wide lens again enabled this image of the queue outside this feted café. It’s a common sight to see this queue continuing across the street as customers wait their turn to share a table with total strangers for their dinner – it’s another expected Whitby day out thing! Again there’s distortion in those close to the camera and there’s serious convergence of the building verticals, but the people aren’t aware of being photographed, so it makes it worthwhile. Because they aren’t aware of being photographed, the subjects carry on regardless – look at the girl, bottom centre, tormenting her sibling and all the smiling faces as they wait for their treat!
So the wide angle lens has a lot of potential for photographing people unaware of the photograph being taken. It has disadvantages, but being able to put people in context with their surroundings is a major advantage.
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