I was admiring a compendium of waterfalls photos a
landscapes and nature colleague of mine had taken, in B&W, during a trip to
Latin America.
“It is all about patience, “he started, “the
technique is relatively simple nowadays with digital cameras. But composition, the
right light and surrounding high textured structures remain what distinguishes
a seasoned photographer from one who is fascinating by the water, rocks and
trees and forgets to tell his own story.”
“Eventually, the story is capturing the perfect harmony
between the movement and stillness; between fluidity and still textures,” he
concluded.
“I assume you never used a tripod for street
photography, yes?”
Indeed, my work relies on walking among those who
are moving as well” I summarized. “Most importantly, to do so without effecting
their behavior. So, a tripod or a large camera is not what I carry in my small,
vintage leather bag.”
Then he asked if, as he had done with the focusing
on patience, I could narrow down the secret of B&W street photography.
It was not a difficult question to answer.
“It is the search the perfect imperfection that in moments
that are not framed by the photographer,” I replied. “There is no time to
compose, wait for the light or reformulate the best combination of shutter
speed and lens aperture. You just guess, through experience, how the composition
could naturally shape itself based on predictable human behavior, and get ready
to capture it before it changes and disappears.”
He laughed. “Especially since you are in the ancient
ages of using mechanical cameras and film! By the time your thumb rewinds the
film to the next frame, the world had changed around you…”
So, I promised to share a few shots with him.
A. The
photo atop the page is from Old Town Vienna,
Austria. The evening light was soft
upon the stone columns and I was having coffee with friends. I saw the young
woman pushing the stroller and had enough time for a quick click on my Nikon F
sporting a 1960s Nikkor-Q 20cm lens. The composition was created by the moment,
serendipitously.
B. Stephansdom, Vienna, Austria.
I took a few seconds to frame this shot because I was using a Mamiya 645 1000s
camera and a Ukrainian Arsat fisheye lens. But the mime unexpectedly opened his
eyes just as clicked, making the shot a story.
C. Siena, Italy.
Ancient stone walls, when the light is
right, are among my favorite framework (and frame) for capturing stories in
B&W. As I was walking the streets of Sienna, I saw a pigeon in the gap
between two stones. As I was about to take a photo with my 1954 Canon L3
rangefinder, the pigeon got out and another popped its head from the opening
between the next stones. I was delighted, when I looked at the developed film,
that I had caught the split second of the moment as a witness.
D. Paris, France.
Here is an example of the stone walls, almost at dusk, helping with the “texture
serenity.” I was walking along the Seine
when I saw this young woman comfortably sitting on the stone steps wearing
sunglasses. The photo is taken with the Mamiya 645 1000s and the venerable
Mamiya Sekor 80mm 1.9 lens.
Next, are a couple of “aquatic” photos for my friend
to perhaps see street photography in aquatic settings.
A. Watson Lake, Prescott, Arizona.
These are one more of an anthropomorphic rendition of ducks’ behavior in the
lake. The 3 of them dove in synchrony and I took a photo. Then I saw one
separated from the other two, and clicked again. I took the photo with a 1954
Leica iiif and a Canon 85mm Serenar lens, but these were just a fun shot. When
I developed the film, I was amazed that two of the ducks seemed to “hold hand”
while plunged upside down in the water while the third one had been “kicked
away”! What argument did they have underwater?
B. Santa Cruz, California.
This would be a perfect setting for my
friend to experiment with B&W photos of the waves and rocks at sunset. But
for me, it was what I first thought to be seals in the water. It was only when
I looked through the viewfinder of my 1982 Minolta X-700 and its 250 mm Kiron
lens that I realize these were surfers catching the waves. I took a few shots
(the external film auto winder still works…) and this one had captured one surfer up
on its board. In that sense, it is a “street photo” in a context of rocks and
waves!
… Here you
go, my friend. In our conversation I described my work as cherishing the
perfect imperfection of street photography and vintage fashion B&W film.
But perhaps it is also the Japanese Wabi-Sabi philosophy where the search for aesthetics and harmony is to celebrate authenticity more than perfection. As such, it is
partaking in the transient nature of moments, and hope to freeze that or those
moments on silver embedded film pellicule.
Of course my comments are about B&W street
photography where you capture whatever is presented without the perfect
staging.
Landscape and water photography in B&W are true
creative interaction between the setting and the photographer as Ansel Adams
said:
“You do not take a photograph; you make it”
April 24, 2026
©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2026
