The Snapping Bishop

Chinese New Year ‘09. ‘people’ (Set 1/3)

Set two. (2/3) Titled. ‘Street’ Photography and Perspective.

Third set; (3/3) Titled. Free Hugs Anyone.

This first set of three sets contain shots picked for their aesthetic values, clean and clear (before the snow). The first five or so shots below can be, and are labeled as a ‘Street Photography’ to many it seems.  I feel however, they fit more readily into a portraiture genre. Candid they are, and taken in the street they are. But are they ‘Street Photography’ or just portrait photography taken in the street?

BTW, if you’re a regular reader of my blog and you’re wondering where the heck my new urban exploration stuff is… well its cold innit! Too cold to go clambering and sliding around unknown ground I feel; I do have a few new locations and oddities to start the ball rolling in spring and they’ll all be mapped onto the East London Map index page when done and filed under the Artifacts-Building-Ruins category, as well as others.

Meanwhile… following on from my last blog and the question above which I’m trying to answer to complete my personal perspective…
My next blog (Set 2/3) will cover the more gritty type of view I associate with true ’street’ Photography. Some more examples of this type (my better examples I feel) can be found in my main photographic gallery under the album title ‘Street-People‘.

It’s Chinese new year again, doesn’t it fly round quickly, and a perfectly good excuse to wander the packed streets of my Capital. This year however it turned out the streets were not quite as packed as last year and in being so I was able to get access to the various entertainments and festivities spread around the area without being a hundred yards away bobbing to see what’s what. The freezing weather we’ve just had down here in temperate London had taken its toll on the usual millions; thankfully it seemed to have no effect what so ever on the Chinese entertainers, clothed in very little, their wondrous coloured performances of dance and styles enthralled the frozen crowd for hours. In fact the snow coming down later in the day somehow added to the mood; what could be better, hot frothy coffee and Chinese take-away food with the whole family, a performance from a far land worthy of a king, all set in the buzzing surroundings of Trafalgar Square, with just a gentle falling snow to finish of the setting nicely.

You might expect to see below images of the entertainment and costumes mentioned above but, my intention that day, as it is most days, was to capture a different perspective on ’street’.

And some fun shots to finish off the clean theme …