STREET PHOTOGRAPHY.
There are a few points that are essential to all those who are about to attempt street work, one of which is to work quickly, attra&ing as little attention as possible ; another is to be able to take in a pleasing and attra6live situation at a glance. By combining these we are enabled to make exposures without the annoyance of useless and sometimes embarrass ing- questions and situations. This can easily be accomplished if one is familiar with all the workings of his camera, can level it quickly and make the exposure the instant he has the obje& in the right position in the finder. You will frequently notice upon the examination of piEtures taken on the street that a number of people were looking at the camera when the exposure was made. For instance, take a group of boys interested in some game ; notice the action, the life and intensity of the scene, which is certainly one of the rai e bits of street life. Now if you are aCtive without being conspicuous you will be able to record that scene with all its life and reality; on the other hand, should they become aware of your presence they would undoubtedly lose interest in the game and you would find most of the little group staring- at the camera. In that case the artistic value of your
composition is entirely lost.
Another important point and one that must not be overlooked is the holding of the camera during the exposure. Many pieThres, and W e must include those of all classes, show that the point of view from which they were taken was too low. The distance upward from the ground or objed upon which we stand to the level of the eyes, or the point of view from which we see our subjeel will range, in most cases, from four and one-half to five and one-half feet. Now if we hold the camera say ten inches above our knees it can be readily seen that the point of view is radically changed, and that the effe6I produced upon the eye might be entirely lost if taken from that position. The proper place is against the chest, or as high as we can manage it and still see what is in the finder.