Classic Street Photographs: Sydney Summer rain by Trent Parke

AUSTRALIA. Sydney. Summer rain . A man stands huddled under awnings on the corner of George & Market st. His tie thrown over his shoulder after running through a Sydney thunderstorm. From Dream/Life series. 1998 – Trent Parke.

Before our last edition of Classic Street Photographs (Richard Kalvar’s naked man on Brooklyn Bridge), I had never crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. So as I treaded it’s walkways a week later – while visiting form the UK – with my feet hitting those very same wooden planks, I couldn’t help but look out amongst all the cyclists, joggers and tourists passing around me, for Kalvar’s naked man.

He wasn’t there, but it dawned on me, that for me, a classic street photograph is one that has the power to seep into your mind without you commanding it. It surfaces when you see elements from it emerging in front of your eyes.

For me, the above image from Trent Parke’s Dream/Life series follows this path exactly, and living in a city where it rains on average over 130 days a year, as I do (Sheffield, UK), I have to admit that it’s one of the most frequent images in my thoughts.

Every time I’m out in the city, with raindrops bouncing on the tarmac and my shirt beginning to stick to my skin, I feel I’m destined to dream this very scene.

But the image is more than just a familiar scene. We’re presented with a protagonist, and left to ponder his decisions of venturing out without protection for the weather. We follow the lines of the road, to see more characters, but this time with their umbrellas, protecting them from the weather. Does our protagonist lament his decisions upon seeing the pair? Does the fading light represent some sort of diminishing hope of the weather he wanted?

For me the leading man in this scene, isn’t the guy to the left of the image, it’s Parke himself, out there presumably just like the guy, without adequate protection from the weather?

For us all the weather is a variable out of out control, and I’ve recently been considering if we should be letting it have a stronghold over our shooting habits?

From recent conversations I’ve had, it seems far too many photographers (myself included) seem to avoid stepping out when the conditions aren’t ideal, when they don’t quite suit our ideas of the places we shoot, or when we simply don’t want to get wet. And it’s not just the bad weather that people avoid. There are some who only head out when the light is nice (or only show images of this)? I fell into this trap when I was in New York.

For the majority of the time the skies were overcast, and rain was quite a prominent feature! Yet to my friends and family who see my vacation through my viewfinder, it may seem like it was still the middle of a New York City summer.

Was I subconsciously trying to present a more idealised version of our world than actually exists? Is it just propaganda photography in the same way that Martin Parr proposed most family snapshots are?

If street photography is to have the power to be recognised as a form of social and cultural documentation (and I’m not saying that it should, I realise it’s a bit of a blind men and an elephant situation), should we be allowing the weather to dictate our shooting habits?

By: James Dodd

http://twitter.com/jamesdodd James Dodd

The only problem with anything like this is, as soon as you become conscious of it, the effect could be lost.
Suppose it’s a vote for not analysing your work until you feel you’ve completed it… well if these subconscious decisions are something you’re aiming for at least.
http://twitter.com/jamesdodd James Dodd

Sheffield rain -> http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sheffield+floods&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

it does vary, but flash floods are quite regular now. Possibly down to blocked drains from the big one the other year?
http://johngoldsmithphotography.com John Goldsmith / Waxy

I’d imagine that Vancouver weather is the same as in Sheffield. In 2006, I’m told we had 30 straight days of rain which was a new record. Fortunately, I was in sunny Guadalajara, Mexico for the entire month!Now, I don’t know about Sheffield but the kind of rain we get here is usually the spits. It will rain all day but only give a few millimeters. It’s not the massive summer downpours that I grew up with in Detroit or the blizzards that Bryan most certainly got during Minnesota winters. So, while I like and believe in that Bendiksen quote, Vancouver’s rainy weather doesn’t really count in my mind as extreme weather.What Vancouver is known for are blankets of clouds. This is our extreme weather and it’s terrible for photography. Never point your camera at the sky or the ground will be certainly underexposed! it’s the reason why I find myself incorporating a flash so often in the Pacific Northwest winters. The light is terrible and the weather isn’t harsh enough to compensate. And drab colours and umbrellas are mostly not my thing.What I learned this year is that summer at this latitude is fantastic. There are few clouds and even during midday, the sun is at a fairly extreme angle to give long shadows and the contrasty and colourful photos I enjoy making. In fact, I would say that this city has some of the best light I’ve seen — when we get it. I remember hearing how painters like Van Gogh would visit the south of France because of the uniqueness and whiteness of the light. I began wondering if Vancouver gets this, too. The problem is that Summer here yields only 2 or 3 good months for photography — the rest is overcast like a hand over a flashlight.Give me sun or give me flash. Just give me light, dammit! On that note, I’m leaving for Melbourne, Australia at the end of 2010 for six months. I’m told the summer down under is bright and beautiful — and hot. They had a 10+ year drought that ended this year. All I can say is: Rain, rain, go away. Please, do not follow me for I want sunny Oz days!
http://johngoldsmithphotography.com John Goldsmith / Waxy

I’d imagine that Vancouver weather is the same as in Sheffield. In 2006, I’m told we had 30 straight days of rain which was a new record. Fortunately, I was in sunny Guadalajara, Mexico for the entire month!

Now, I don’t know about Sheffield but the kind of rain we get here is usually the spits. It will rain all day but only give a few millimeters. It’s not the massive summer downpours that I grew up with in Detroit or the blizzards that Bryan most certainly got during Minnesota winters. So, while I like and believe in that Bendiksen quote, Vancouver’s rainy weather doesn’t really count in my mind as extreme weather.

What Vancouver is known for are blankets of clouds. This is our extreme weather and it’s terrible for photography. Never point your camera at the sky or the ground will be certainly underexposed! it’s the reason why I find myself incorporating a flash so often in the Pacific Northwest winters. The light is terrible and the weather isn’t harsh enough to compensate. And drab colours and umbrellas are mostly not my thing.

What I learned this year is that summer at this latitude is fantastic. There are few clouds and even during midday, the sun is at a fairly extreme angle to give long shadows and the contrasty and colourful photos I enjoy making. In fact, I would say that this city has some of the best light I’ve seen — when we get it. I remember hearing how painters like Van Gogh would visit the south of France because of the uniqueness and whiteness of the light. I began wondering if Vancouver gets this, too. The problem is that Summer here yields only 2 or 3 good months for photography — the rest is overcast like a hand over a flashlight.

Give me sun or give me flash. Just give me light, dammit!

On that note, I’m leaving for Melbourne, Australia at the end of 2010 for six months. I’m told the summer down under is bright and beautiful — and hot. They had a 10+ year drought that ended this year. All I can say is: Rain, rain, go away. Please, do not follow me for I want sunny Oz days!
http://www.jarediorio.com jarediorio

I picked up the camera again 3 years ago — in LA. I often wonder if I can even make images in another type of light. This is probably going to be my last year here and I’m really looking forward to the change, for the different weather as much as anything else. Sunlight has begun to feel too… sterile, everyday, just plain boring.
Bryan Formhals

I started photographing while I live in Los Angeles. It’s sort of the opposite of Sheffield I gather, always sunny. So I became addicted to shooting under idyllic lighting conditions.

I did shoot a fair amount at night and enjoy it because you have far less control of the variables.

You can also apply this to perhaps shooting at high noon in the middle of the summer. Who would do that unless you’re using a fill flash?
http://twitter.com/jamesdodd James Dodd

fantastic quote! and I think it’s true to some extent. It’s the same as anything. it’s like a pinnacle of a moment, the climax! and weather definitely helps to add atmosphere to images.

Only thing is – and this is something that Ben Anderson mentioned in a discussion – during poor weather conditions, people generally avoid the streets.

So even if you weren’t bothered about getting wet or whatever, there may still be other knock on effects which cause you to not head out (and I’m not even talking about expensive digital equipment housed in plastic bodies)!
http://johngoldsmithphotography.com John Goldsmith / Waxy

“One of the best rules-of-thumb I ever learned as a photographer is – The worse the weather, the better the picture.”

–Jonas Bendiksen (Magnum Photos)

http://blog.magnumphotos.com/2008/01/sharing_bad_weather_and_good_photography.html
http://www.mscottbrauer.com/ M. Scott Brauer

“Was I subconsciously trying to present a more idealised version of our world than actually exists?”

Really like this idea. I see so much photography that’s created with a certain emotion or story already in the mind of the photographer and the pictures are forced to shape into that narrative.

Street Reverb Magazine

Classic Street Photographs: Sydney Summer rain by Trent Parke

By: James Dodd

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