Evaluation of Street Photography project // Street

What was the project brief?
The brief for our street photography project was to capture the images in public places by using a camera patience and guts. Also to watch people and observe the perfect place and time to press the shutter release button to capture the image. 
1. What was the project theme and what did you think of it?
The theme of this project was 'street photography', which at first I wasn't too thrilled about for a number of reasons. Firstly because with our first project which was 'portraiture' we could mould our image and subject in a way so that we could capture exactly what we want. Also we were trying to take images of a moment in time and capture something as it happened with people which wasn't at all easy. With 'portraiture' we were able to take photos of our friends and they knew we were doing it and were happy with it, but with 'street photography' we were having to take pictures of people that we had never met before in our lives, and at some points they expressed their grief to us about having their picture taken.
Midst of this project, I was starting to get used to the type of photography that was needed for this brief. I came to really enjoy the project's theme when I had a trip down to London, as I found that everywhere I went in London had people just about everywhere. Also with London there is major tourist attractions such as Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Oxford Street, the London Underground System, and Covent Garden; these places always have tourists taking pictures or are just generally busy which makes street photography an interesting thing to do in London. Overall I enjoyed the project but I also found it difficult to get images that were as I wanted them. 
2. What part of the project did you enjoy the most/found most interesting (taking photograph? developing the film? etc.)
The part of this project which I found most interesting was taking the images. The main amount of my images I took around London which I really enjoyed doing, as I looked much more closely at what was going on around me and I felt as if I captured some interesting photos as I ventured around London.
3. What new techniques have you experienced?
I have learnt a few new techniques through doing this photography project. These include things such as observing my surroundings and keeping an eye on what's happening at all times. As well as just taking pictures and waiting until I can get to my desktop to see the full resolution of how they turned out. Also to not delete pictures that aren't my favourite, as I always used to delete images straight away if I wasn't particularly fond of them - but I have now came to realise that each picture I take could be useful at some point.
4. What technique would you like to develop further?
The technique that I would like to develop further would be arranging my composition of my image before I press the shutter button to take the picture. This was difficult to do in this project as it involved people and I had no control over what anyone in my images did. But I would like to be able to make sure my composition is right so that I can get everything exactly where I would like it in the image. This also means being prepared to turn my camera from landscape to portrait instantly. Also it would meant that I wouldn't cut anything out of the image in the process of taking it that I would want in the final image.
5. Which photographers did you research through this project?
The photographers that I researched throughout this project are Sam Burton, James Harold, Laurent Roch, Kin Chan, Julien Legrand, and Ronya Galka. I also got inspiration from a website which is http://www.ftud.net/. They all have aspects of the street photography that I took within their work which I really like of theirs.
6. How have they influenced your photographs?
They have influenced my photography work by taking aspects from their works and using them in my own work. Also Julien Legrand did a whole project of his called 'Underground Life' which showed life on the underground and I took inspiration from this by taking images whilst I was using the London underground system.
7. Which technique did you enjoy the most?
The technique that I enjoyed using the most was taking images from my waist level, this is because I liked taking the images and having to think about the composition in my head and then taking the image. This means that I wasn't able to look through the viewfinder and see exactly what was going to within the composition of the image. I then also liked looking at the images after i had taken a few from my waist level to see what they came out as and if and how I liked them.
8. What do you feel is the most successful part of your project and why? (sketchbook pages, final prints, cyan tones images? spray developed images, etc.)
I feel as if the most successful part of my project is the images I took from the top of a London bus. This is because I feel as if it adds a different perspective to street photography as the images haven't been taken from eye-level from pavement as they usually are. This is effective in my opinion because you are now looking down on people instead of straight at them and are having a new view to what they are all doing. Also taking pictures of things that wouldn't have been able to have been noticed from the floor.
9. Did you encounter any problems in your project?
I encountered numerous problems throughout this project. With problems such as having trouble to get the type of image that you want with the composition because you had to try and capture a moment as it happened otherwise you missed it, so you didn't have chance to make your composition absolutely spot on with how you want it. Also you were taking pictures of people quickly and without their permission, which can suddenly result in someone that was in your image complaining to you. I also found it difficult to capture the exact moment like the photographers that I took inspiration from, as you had to be in the right place at the right time and be ready in that exact moment to take the picture.
10. How did you learn from them and how did they affect your final prints?
I learnt from the problem with composition by making sure that I didn't get anything extraneous, such as a white van in my image, as this would draw the viewers attention to that object which you wouldn't want. The way I overcame the problem with people not being happy that I took their photo is by deleting the image if they came up to me and asked me to because they weren't happy with the idea of me having a picture of them. I overcame the problem with trying to capture a perfect moment in time by capturing what was around me and what was happening, because everything that is happening is interesting in one way or another.
11. What would you do differently given the chance to complete the project again?
If I was given the chance to complete the project again, I would do a few things differently. The things I would do differently are things such as making sure turned my camera round from landscape to portrait in an instant so that I got a different view and perspective on my subjects, for instance I could have included some of my subjects whole bodies. I would do this because portrait pictures are good for some types of images and landscapes being good for others, so if I had have taken some images with my camera being rotated so it was taking portrait composed images. I would also use my telephoto lens, as this would give me a larger opportunity to capture different things as I would be able to get images of people who were much further away from me and be able to tell what they were doing.
 12. What do you think about your final outcome and what are your feelings about the project?
Overall I am happy with my final outcome because I feel as if my images that I have used as my final pieces express what general life is like at certain places, especially London with all my favourite images that I took and that are on the blog are all from my trip to London. My feelings about this project are now much more positive from when I started it, this is because I have gotten used to this type of photography and have spent time doing it which has meant that I now look at what's happening around me much more than I ever used to. I am actually really happy that we did this project because it has meant I have now started observing and enjoying what's going on around me and taking the time to appreciate it. The only thing I had about this project was that I found it much more enjoyable around London, as there is something going on just about everywhere there and there's always something interesting to capture; I ended having trouble with Sheffield because it's the opposite of London with no where near as much going on.