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Anticipate and Go Ahead

L1000578L (Leica D-Lux 5)

This is the last instalment of this week's posts to follow up the video on street photography tactics featured last Friday.

The most exciting moment in street photography is probably when a scene presents itself around the corner. With a bit of practice and a trained photographer's eye, you will have a hunch that a certain scene will make a good photo. Surely, for most of the time, a street photographer should anticipate a scene to come up well before it actually unfolds in front of your eyes.

Here, for today's shot, I was walking at some 7 metres away when the monk of short stature hurried from the left. I spotted that his claret gown stood out against the pale wall. At this moment, a tall man in black (the one walking to the left in the photo) was walking far in front of me. Probably with a photographer's instinct, I paced quickly forward while zooming the lens. As the desired combos were stored in the customisable slot, I could quickly recall them all at once. I hesitated for like half a second and wondered if the man in black would turn to the left. Having made certain that the monk and the man would cross one another to the opposite directions, I got ready and took this shot at the moment when they just did so to maximise the contrast in colours as well as of the subject's height. The monk's suspicious facial expression added an interesting focal point to the image.

So, to anticipate a scene is a common tactic in doing stree photography. Get your camera ready and go happy snapping!

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