The first lines of our 2016 blog said it all:
“It is easy to pat yourself on the back in this serene atmosphere. You worked hard, produced great visuals, got many ‘beautifuls’ and you reached a place that is comfortable and cosy, so why disrupt this calm?”
Well, somehow it feels cramped here; it’s static, colourless and sterile. Something inside pushes you to stretch yourself and you move toward the edge of the cliff. Whatever it is, it wants you to rip open Pandora’s box, unleash the demons and create chaos. It wants you to go back to the beginning and rehearse your trials and errors. Strangely enough, you want to comply. You want to destroy your present complacency of seeing. But why? What for? There is no answer, not just yet.
There are no resolutions or plans – just chaos to start the year. It’s so comforting, so desirable and so necessary.”
In short it is the year to “break down the walls,” explore new ideas and question our path. This is exactly what we have been doing in the first months of this year. But this chaos is not over yet and we are not sure if we want it to end. Quite the opposite!
Kasia and I are working on several projects that require a slight adjustment to our course. In fact, two of them are so important that they will have dedicated websites. More details to come.
One of the side effects of this ‘rebellion’ is our recent street photography work, which to our liking has so many elements of road photography: fascinating subjects, playful light, thoughtful composition – among many common features – and allows us to transplant our insubordinate seeing to our local streets.
It’s not that we have abandoned our road photography. Some amazing road trips are on the horizon. So please buckle up, hold tight and stay with us on this journey of seeing. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Here are some of our most recent images from the streets of Vancouver. All shot with the Fuji X-Pro2 and XF 35mm F1.4. (Acros and Classic Chrome film simulations).
and some in B&W…
2016 © Kasia & Olaf Sztaba Photography. All rights reserved.
Good stuff
I frequent this blog and kevin mullins blog for inspiration. I was wondering if you can provide an update with your in camera settings and post processing techniques. Your photos are always a pleasure to see and make me feel immersed in your travels~
Really enjoying the street photography and use of light and dark spaces. I was going to say “Keep it up
but I think it would be more apt to say” Keep trying out new things”; we all need to get out of our comfort zones.
These street images demonstrate the breadth of your skill and the capabilities of Fuji gear. Your opening comment resonates with many landscape photographers I’ve talked with, and probably why many of us also shoot street subjects. Thanks for sharing your skill and insight.
Mike,
Thank you for your kind comment and for visiting our blog. I guess my seeing needs total chaos to function properly.
All the best,
Olaf