Friday, September 19, 2008

City from the Hip

Walking the streets of Philadelphia. Camera at the hip. Taking blind shots no one notices.


I set the lens. Cock my wrist. Then, *click*.



Come along to the organic city.



Walk the lunch-crowded streets.



Philadephia.



From the hip.

20 comments:

Vesper said...

Fantastic pics, Jason! The idea too.
If your "blind shots" are that good... Thanks for sharing them in a great post! :-)

SzélsőFa said...

Neat idea, although some people might notice you and claim your photos get destroyed/deleted on the spot.
So...is you city a hip one?

Kim said...

Cool. Very cool.

Sameera Ansari said...

Thanks for the nice tour :)

Sarah Hina said...

Great idea, Jason! There's such energy in these photos...it makes me want to visit the city.

I think the one with the crushed cans in the spokes is my favorite. Not something you see every day. And I like how everything seems more honest and candid with the stealth cam. Looking forward to seeing more! ;)

Charles Gramlich said...

I just watched the movie "Invincible," which was set in Philly. Interesting town. Good movie.

Aine said...

Great idea. I'd love to see more. I bet you could really capture the heart of a city this way. It would be interesting to compare shots from different cities.

And, as you know, I'd really love to know what was up with that bike. I wonder if it belongs to an art student....

Geraldine said...

This was excellent Jason! Felt like I was walking along with you. I miss the hustle and bustle of the city (lived in Toronto for many years) but for the most part, I am a ocean/small town kind of person. What is the population of your fair city?

Have a great weekend, G

Miladysa said...

I think that the guy with the bike was collecting aluminium cans to weigh them in for scrap? There's money in cans and recycling... at least over here there is.

The top photograph is my favourite, I love the angle and it looks a little surreal the way the people are crossing the road and behind them another one stretches on and on.

Anonymous said...

Vesper, something extra gets captured with this kind of photography. Strange how that happens.

Szelsofa, not a chance. I'm crazy stealthy. I'll even throw people off by messing with something else, checking the time, etc. Any other motion to draw attention away from the camera. The click is the only give-away, and the city is pretty loud.

Kaycie, thanks! I can't wait to do more.

Sameera, my pleasure. I hope you come along on the next one.

Sarah, I wish the crushed cans came out better. I should have had a wider angle going, and unfortunately, the camera focused on the truck behind. As the energy, it's so weird!! I first noticed this "effect" taking free hand/no aim pictures from a car. They had an odd life to them.

Charles, Philly does have a long relationship with movies. It's always fun to see.

Aine, the shots from different cities idea is great!! Now we just need to do some trips. ;) Yeah, the bike was seriously weird. I just wish you could see the rest of it. The frame and wheels were totally covered.

Geraldine, Toronto would be a great place to do this! The population of Philadelphia is 1 million, I believe.

Miladysa, I have no idea about the bike. It was a real head-scratcher. The street crossing picture was my favorite too. I also got a shot of a car coming at me. (The light was red, don't worry.)

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed the spontaneity of this. I also liked the guy with the cans and the very first shot of the street was brilliant. I hope you do more of these. I am a big fan of urban shots!

rel said...

Jason,
Cool idea...candid shots captures a different feel of human surroundings.
I thought the bicycle was the owners idea of a new bike lock, i.e. who would take the trouble to remove the cans in oreder to ride away on a stolen bike?
rel

FANCY said...

I love the re-cycle cycle...*LOL*

Jamie Ford said...

Nice. I did a project like that in college where all my photos were from a "worms eye view"--basically on the ground. Always nice to change the normal perspective of things.

bekbek said...

I love blind shots.

Way back in film school, we shared facilities with the photography school (not surprisingly), and one of my photographer friends had a range of cameras - but she claimed her favorite was a little kitschy-looking snapshot camera. She'd found that she could get shots that "professional" photographers with obvious-looking equipment couldn't get. She even used it at press events and such, because she's somewhat perfected the art of shooting the subject with her hand up in the air.

Something I've always dreaded is the book of photos, all of people looking right back at the camera. I much prefer photos that show life in progress, as yours do.

Terri said...

Shooting from the hip... how very Billy the Kid of you ;-)
Cool shots - I love the look on Phone Guy's face.

Lena said...

thats indeed a good idea :)
just the way one can see the real city.

Anonymous said...

Selma, yes, something about the spontaneity and motion that's tantalizing. :)

Rel, that's a great theory about the bike!! It would be quite a racket to ride the thing away.

Fancy, some enterprising young lad collecting cans. :)

Jamie, you should "dig" that up for your blog sometime! I could imagine lots of great effects from a worm's-eye view.

Bekbek, that would be wonderful to experiment with! All sorts of equipment. Even simple, surprising ones. I smile to think of the pros trying to figure out how she did her stunning effects.

Terri, Billy the Kid.... :) Quick draw. Nailed it. *blows smoke*

Lena, can't wait to see what my next trip brings.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Philly is a great city for sure. I love shopping on South Street and eating good ole cheesesteaks at Jim's Steaks. Love the way you captured the essence of the streets.

Anonymous said...

Kaye, mmmmm, cheesesteaks. :) I'm also partial to the Italian hot pork sandwiches, with aged provolone and greens.