Signs of Summer on the Streets of Dublin
As spring gives way to summer here in Ireland, and the cold dark rainy days give way to bright rainy days, I’ve been slowly getting back into street photography. I have only really dabbled since the pandemic began and for most of 2020 I didn’t really shoot much at all. I’ve been getting back into it bit by bit, and recently, I headed out with my trusty Sony A6000 to get some street shots, and to shoot an episode of Street Photo Diary.
It was a nice and warm sunny day (today, it’s around 12 degrees and showery) and one of the things I love about shooting street photography during the summer months here is that, on a bright day, it really brings out the colour. Also, the sun can form interesting patterns of light which can be part of the subject itself. Tourists are now back in full force in Dublin, and this makes for a much more interesting photography experience, as the streets are much busier. There were times over the past year or so when it felt almost abandoned, and that was after the lockdowns.
I was kind of aiming for colour and light with this shoot. Of course there were some interesting people and scenes too. One thing that happened, which was pretty funny, was that I saw, what I presume was a stag party - dressed up as storm troopers, with a very hairy Princess Leia in tow, crossing the road by the Liffey, heading towards Temple Bar, so I ran back through an alley way to head them off and get the shot. The resulting photo wasn’t brilliant, because I messed up the timing (and there is a statue right behind the person’s head which ruins the composition) but it was still kind of funny.
I saw them crossing the road (yes, this shot is out of focus)
I cut through an alley way and managed to come out infant of them! (Composition isn’t great though)
I was also on the look out for interesting graffiti and street art, of which there is more and more of late in Dublin. The bright sunshine really brings it out. I’m slowly getting my confidence back for street photography, and I really enjoyed shooting an episode of Street Photo Diary too. Hopefully the cobwebs are slowly being blown out and I will find it easier and easier going forward.
These were all shot with the Sony A6000. I still find myself falling back to the little Sony even though it’s 8 years old now. There’s just something about it that’s really easy and fun to shoot with. I guess part of it is just familiarity. I was hoping the X-E4 would replace it, but I’m finding that I get better results with the Sony still - nothing to do with the camera - it’s just my style of shooting - although I do think that the Sony has slightly better dynamic range. I find the Fuji a little fiddly and temperamental, where as the Sony is a rock solid performer. Again though, much of this is just down to familiarity.
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