Chris Weeks is one of those guys who attracts a lot of fans but as many detractors. I imagine as many of both actually know as little about the actual person as I do. Thing is the guy writes with an attitude. Ordinarily I would be in the “turned off” camp if it wasn’t for the fact his attitude is backed up by some kick ass photography. The fact I am linking to a popup-launched-flash-based portfolio shows how much leeway I am willing to give when the photographs are so good. And just look at those faces, if you are into celebrity you have to give him some credit for that portfolio. Just Natalie Portman would be enough for me, heh.
What else do I know about him? Well he has a blog where he swears a fair bit and hates on people I don’t know and a couple I have heard of. Loves film cameras, particularly rangefinders, that I couldn’t afford let alone use competently. It’s a good blog, I mostly just look at the pictures.
Funnily enough I missed a really important piece, a clue if you will to his personality. He is really passionate about Street Photography so much so that the link I just provided goes to a page where you can download his ebook.
The photography contained in the ebook is good enough to justify the download alone. You do not need to like him or even take heed of what he says, although the spirit of it does resonate with me. Paraphrasing, don’t use anything other than a rangefinder, preferably a Leica, loaded with ISO 400 black and white film. Get in amongst the crowds using a 35mm or 50mm, optionally shooting from the hip so people do not notice you are snapping them. It’s about capturing the moment. Apart from the film stuff we DSLR users can take a lot away from his advice.
Even if you are put off by his writing style, go and download it just for the photographs, passion and the inspiration.
Technorati Tags: chris weeks, street, photography, ebook, download, tips
2 Comments
Already downloaded and read through most of it and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a gem. I even went out on Saturday shooting horizontally instead of my usual vertical orientation on the street.
I had a go at some street photography over the weekend with my 10-22mm and thought of you!