What is street photography? It’s a genre that has been around for over fifty years but is enjoying a renaissance among serious photographers who want to capture people and life on the street. Most of these latter-day Cartier-Bressons are working in black and white, it seems from my research, and many of the resulting shots have a curiously dated look that is at once compelling and appropriate. One of today’s foremost young streeties is Eric Kim from Los Angeles with his reputation earned through his Eric Kim Photography blog. Here are some of his pictures.
Richo’s GX-R is an oddball choice for a street camera. Here it is shown with the optional M-Mount which enables it to use Leica’s lenses such as this dinky little 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit
Successful street photographers need to be ready for action at any time. Often there is little time for fiddling with exposure or focus. But, curiously, manual focus combined with a semi-wide-angle lens of 28 or 35mm (35mm equivalent) can be even more effective than even the quickest auto-focus, zoom-lens cameras.
Long-time street photographer Mason Resnick, writing on the Adorama site, has set down his self-confessed opinionated guide to the best cameras for the job. It is perhaps no particular surprise to find that the Leica M9, costing £6,500 with a single 28mm or 35mm prime lens, is top shutter dog. But there are loads of alternatives, including Fujifim’s new X-Pro 1, the Olympus E-P3, the Ricoh GX-R with Leica M Mount module, the Sony NEX-7 and the fixed-lens Fujifilm X100 or Leica X2.