Photography - Ultra Realism

To be a good photographer, all you have to do is closely observe your surroundings.  There is beauty to be found in every city, there's nothing more beautiful than reality.  Sometimes capturing a mundane moment can be extremely romantic.  What was this person thinking?  What is their story?  Isn't it amazing that there are six billion people on this beautiful planet and that each has a unique story?  Sometimes intentionally capturing something that is not beautiful can be extremely compelling.  Some of my favorite things to photograph are detritus, urban decay, guerrilla art and grit.  And don't worry about getting something perfectly centered.  An image is far more interesting if you place the focus of your picture to the side.

Flickr is a great place to discover raw talent and to learn more about photography in a supportive environment.  One of my favorite photojournalists, James Watkins, goes by the handle phototravel1 on flickr.  He documents interesting city scenes that seem more real to me than reality itself.  Each one tells a story.  I find his flickr set extremely compelling and can spend hours on it.  Here's a peak at just a few of my favorites.

If you look at reality, you will notice that it forms orderly patterns, like this shot of people reading in the park.  I particularly love the shot of people waiting for the bus, it looks like it could be in a romantic foreign film.  Perhaps each person is thinking about their most recent tryst.  In my own photography, I tend to prefer black and white for shots of people. Here's a secret:  If you like the deep blue of the shot of the bus above, boost is a feature in Picnik that will accomplish that nicely.  If you are interested in buying a print from James, his Red Bubble shop is here.