Street.Photo.Oslo.
How did I get started?
My interest for photography - or any visual expression actually - started a long time ago. I have always enjoyed to nurture my creative side - at one point I wanted to be an architect - and photography was just one way of exploring my creativity.
As with many other people the pandemic changed my everyday quite substantially, and therefore I decided to pick up a new camera to explore the field of street photography even more.
_____
Why street photography?
Initially, I started street photography out of convenience. I live in the middle of Oslo - the capital of Norway - and it is a fairly large city.
I really enjoy living in the city and street photography felt as a natural choice for me. I also wanted to explore street photography because it is a very broad category with many different styles.
_____
What is street photography for me?
To me street photography is about taking photos of everything in an urban environment at a specific moment of time:
Morning. Afternoon. Night. Summer. Spring. Winter. Autumn.
The possibilities are endless and you can get a variety of different shots in the very same places due to different moments.
The urban scenery changes all the time, which is a natural part of living in a city; people everywhere and sometimes nowhere, traffic in and out - up and down, new buildings popping up, old ones taken down, streetlight, sunlight, neons, shadows.
_____
What do I look for when shooting?
I feel this has changed quite a lot since I started out, but still I see some similarities across the board.
I usually look for simple and clear compositions. The scenes I choose are very much determined by how the light and shadows move during the day and whether or not the interplay between the two can be used when I pass by.
In addition, I am very much drawn towards lines, structures and symmetry, which most of the time can be part of a situation typically involving a person within the frame.
With that being said this is definitely an area where I try to challenge myself to look for different things and other types of situations.
_____
What gear do I use?
I use a Canon RP. My decision to go for this camera was very closely related to Canon’s introduction of the new line of RF lenses. In the beginning only the professional and most expensive RF L-lenses were available. Now Canon offers more options, which includes lenses within my budget.
Check out my gear here.
_____
Who inspires me?
The thing I love about street photography is that it has so many genres and you can dwell on so many different facets that motivate and inspire you. I have deliberately tried out several things on my path of developing my own way of seeing and documenting the urban life.
In general I think it is a good idea to follow a number of photographers that appeal to you, who you want to imitate and get inspiration from. This way you will path out the direction you want to go while uncovering your own unique style.
I like to seek inspiration from all kinds of sources including some of the «greatest» photographers. Fan Ho (Chi.) and Ray Metzker (Am.) are two photographers I really admire for how they creatively used light and shadows in their urban photography.
In terms of more contemporary photographers I find Craig Whitehead (Gbr.), Josh Edgoose (Gbr.), Joshua K Jackson (Gbr.) and Sean Tucker (Gbr.) as great sources of inspiration. Each of them represent their own style with some similarities and I feel inspired by various elements in their work in terms of composition, framing, use of lighting and color, shapes, perspectives, abstraction and ‘coincidence work’.