Porto Notebook
And a few thoughts on staying happy while photographing in an unknown city as a stranger
Last week, my assistant and I flew to Portugal for what was initially intended to be a two days job for a german sustainable fashion brand, shooting a combination of stills and motion to document the manufacturing process and the people behind it. The idea was initially to finish the job and spend half a day in Porto, but later we discovered that our flights got canceled because of a union strike at our destination airport.
This gave us one more day in the city, and I did what I enjoy the most: curiously walking around an unknown town and swinging the day away, wandering and taking pictures with no imposed agenda. On the occasional coffee breaks throughout the city, I had a few brief moments of contemplation in between. I want to share with you some thoughts on my way of discovering and photographing in the streets of a city unknown to me.
Coming up is a selection from the 1 1/2 days in the city in beautiful, sunny weather that smelled a lot like spring (we were fortunate there as it has been raining for the last couple of weeks), alongside some notes that I jotted down in my sketchbook before leaving.
FAILURE AND PRESSURE
Get comfortable with the thought of failing to shoot decent pictures. Especially if you have limited time in a city and it’s not easy to get into a state of flow if you feel like a stranger, have a bad day, or have too big ambitions. Remember: You are not on assignment, and there is no editor, except yourself, demanding a certain number of pictures. Take time to observe, sit down often, listen to the sounds, notice the different scents of the city, and observe the people around you. Taking it easy is the key to entering a flow state where you suddenly see everything around you with a clear eye.
INTERACT
One of the hardest things to overcome is the feeling of strangeness and, thus, the reluctance to walk around freely with your camera. Try to interact with the locals as much as possible, ask people for permission to take their picture, and have a friendly chat. Ask for directions and suggestions and walk around with an open mind. Accept and apologize when you get rejected. Don’t try to hide that you are photographing; you will get noticed anyway. I’m almost always walking around with my more extensive setup, consisting of my Canon R5 with the 28-70 f.2, which makes my intentions on the streets easily recognizable. But I always try to make up for it with an attitude of openness and genuine curiosity for the people on the streets. I don’t believe in tiny, half-hidden cameras. Or Leica’s in that manner…but that’s another topic.
FOCUS ON A SPECIFIC THING FIRST
The first thing that draws my eye while walking in a new city is a specific set of colors and light. I take this as a base for my wandering eye and photographically work my way from there. This is highly personal and just the image I want to take. It might be something else for you, but it is essential to focus on one formalistic conceptual thing first and work your way up from there, especially in a short time out on the streets. Expanding and playing with some key elements can give you a solid base.
TIRED, LONELY, AND HUNGRY. AND BAD WEATHER.
As in daily life, you will get tired, feel lonely and get hungry at a certain point throughout the day. Take time, eat well, discover the city's culinary offerings, and release the pressure for a while. After all, enjoy your time; real memories are not automatically the ones you can photograph. And maybe you are lucky enough to spend your days in the city during a brief rain, thunder, and hail period. Appreciate all weather conditions and train yourself to deal with every situation. There are a lot of things you can do in the rain. If the sun is out, avoid the time around noon at any cost. Mornings and evenings are your friends. Choose good and light food and a nap at noon time instead. Additionally, it’s sometimes worth it to jump on a tourist bus for a short time to get a first impression of the scale of a city before taking a walk, all from the comfort of shitty tourist-bus seats.
DETAILS AND HAPPY ACCIDENTS
I like to train my eye not only for the big pictures and panoramic views; instead, I’ll do my best to notice even the most minor things that spark my interest. Try to stay as open to happy accidents as much as you can and never hesitate to pick up your camera, even for the most apparent scenes in front of you. Sometimes you’ll notice something beautiful in the edit.
REVISITING PLACES
Regarding your limited time, you might be tempted to see as much of the city throughout the day as you can. But it might be beneficial to take mental notes when you like the vibe of a place but need to check back in at a different time of the day. Sometimes a place in changing light conditions can inspire you a lot differently. Just ensure you don’t take the same route while returning to the area of interest.
SUNSETS ARE BORING
Instead, turn around and enjoy the long, sharp shadows and reddish hues. If you absolutely need to shoot toward the sun, block the fireball with something nice to avoid the cliché.
Thanks for reading, and remember, these notes are highly subjective and represent how I personally approach the free-roaming and curious part of my work. I would very much love to read your thoughts on photographing the streets and your approach toward this ever-exciting topic.
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That’s it for this week;
speak soon!
Ramon
lovely and warm!
A special day as always, when I receive a new post in my mailbox. Very inspiring and interesting to hear how others think about certain things.
Also very excited about your thoughts on small cameras. (: