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Table of Contents

Zoom Lenses for Street Photography?

Street Shooters of October 2022

On Assignment

A Street Photographer at the U.S. Open of Surfing

Interview with Priyanca Rao

Along African Roads

The Istanbul Example: When Does Color Help in Street Photography?

A Street Photographer at the U.S. Open of Surfing

Karl Dedolph

Here’s a link to Karl’s recent podcast interview about how he created the project in this article. You can also find it on the Street Photography Magazine podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and most other popular podcast directories.

https://media.blubrry.com/streetphotographymagazine/content.blubrry.com/streetphotographymagazine/131-karl-dedolph-final.mp3

At the end of July and beginning of August I took my camera and two prime lenses, a 35mm and 28mm, to Southern California to capture candid street photography-type portraits of participants at a major surfing event. Usually at these kinds of events photographers use tripods and 400mm or 600mm lenses. I wanted to shoot close-up and be different in my approach by not positioning myself on the beach and taking photos of surfers riding a wave. I witnessed 100+ photographers doing that. Instead, I stationed myself behind the scenes.

Running to Enter Heat at the US Surfing Championships
ISO 100 / 35mm / F5.6 / 1/250th sec
Surfboard Reflection
ISO 100 / 35mm / f 16 / 1/125th sec

The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach. Held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the World Surf League. It is the largest surfing competition in the world, open to both amateurs and professionals. Typically, 200+ surfers compete in the event every year. It has been owned by International Management Group (IMG) since 2000 and attended by nearly 500,000 people annually.

Properly Chill
ISO 100 / 35mm / F8 / 1/350th sec
Added Security Guards
ISO 200 / 28mm / F8 / 1/350th sec

The U.S. Open, originally called the West Coast Surfing Championship, was first held in 1959. In 1964 it became known as the United States Surfing Championships. In 1982 it became known as the Ocean Pacific (OP) Pro and then renamed the U.S. Open of Surfing in 1994. As part of the event, notable people in the world of surfing are added to the Surfing Walk of Fame and to the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, both directly across from the pier.

Street Photography Student from San Diego
ISO 200 / 28mm / F6.8 / 1/350th sec
Out of the Gates
ISO 200 / 28mm / F13 / 1/125th sec

My initial intent was to obtain a media pass for access to the VIP area, participants holding area, backstage, the podium stage, the interview areas, etc. It seemed straightforward enough to get a pass, but alas it wasn’t. The reality was that the World Surf League (WSL) who is responsible and produces for over 20 worldwide events a year, has a process to apply for credentials. I was on-line 4 months in advance applying on the WSL website and started calling as a follow-up, but never heard back from them. Eventually they forwarded me to Make Waves Media and I started the application process again.

It turns out that the Huntington Beach US Surfing Championship event is run by a number of other entities such as Endeavor, IMG, Trans-World International, Vans, Getty Images, and Make Waves Media. The WSL is not involved with the production, security, filming, media passes, interviews, organization or logistics. WSL is just a sponsor and contestants gain points to join the WSL tour.

High Five
ISO 200 / 28mm / F9.5 / 1/350th sec
Shooting from the Fence
ISO 200 / 28mm / F8 / 1/250th sec

It wasn’t till I got to the event that I learned how it all actually works. I did get a media pass for the media tent which was set up for web sites, bloggers, and special access between the chain link fences and the orange cones. Basically, an emergency road separating the surfers from the public when they are not in the water. Last year the event had an incident, so this year there was increased security, including plain clothes policemen. And, of course, more rules.

My media access to skateboarding was denied, BMX denied, surfing participants backstage and VIP area also denied. All needed special requests in advance to different entities. I did get granted an editorial photography assignment waiver for Street Photography Magazine. However, if I want to use my photos commercially in the future, I’d need to get a sign-off from Getty Images. I noticed there were a total of five different media passes and I only had the one. I witnessed maybe five others photographers near the fences with the same wrist band.

Security Guard
ISO 200 / 28mm / F5.6 / 1/90th sec
Sprained Ankle Surfer
ISO 200 / 28mm / F11 / 1/250th sec

Shooting during peak sun hours with sand as a dominating background made finding exposures a little more difficult. Even though the sun was directly overhead, different exposure compensations were needed if facing North vs. South or East vs. West. Exposure for the primary subject’s face and skin was always paramount. I tried spot metering but settled with center-weighted.

British Entourage
ISO 200 / 28mm / F5.6 / 1/125th sec
Female Long Board Champion
ISO 200 /28mm / F9.5 / 1/180th sec

My advance staging for a shot was always test metering by taking samples at my envisioned focal distance, considered zone or manual focus. Then I’d review the background where the subject would stand out and hopefully, with a secondary subject in the scene, anticipate what motion will occur. Other factors include shutter and aperture selection, auto white balance, ISO set at 200. Nevertheless, when spontaneity presents itself, just shoot and break the rules. This event required a different kind of street photography, closer to sports photography. All in all, I enjoyed the challenge of working through all the restrictions, and loved the results.

Two is Better Than One
ISO 200 / 28mm / F9.5 / 1/90th sec

Karl Dedolph

Visual Artist /Street Documentarian / My story isn’t very special but to this day it’s still pretty memorable. As a youth I started with a Kodak Brownie. Loved taking photographs of everyone and everything. Moved onto a Kodak Instamatic. By the time I was in college I had owned a variety of 35mm cameras and was pretty good with hand held meters. Saw a few independent studies done by some students using slides to make their presentations. Figured I probably had the skill set and proposed an American Studies project on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. I asked this girl if she wanted to be my partner and travel with me to study architecture and present our findings. We borrowed her fathers’ awesome Leica M3 and set off on our adventure. We visited some Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Chicago, IL, Oak Park, IL, Minnetonka, MN, Deephaven, MN, Independence, IA, Spring Green, WI, and an office building in Racine, WI. Everything was perfect; the project, the girl, the exposure settings, and a full roll of slide film. Well, not exactly…. It seems I forgot to take the lens cap off at every location. All the slides came out deep black. However, we did have our written report and presented the black slides anyway to the class with the corresponding descriptions. “Notice the balance between the lightness and airiness of the glass in the upper right corner”, “this next slide shows simple geometric shapes”, “cantilevered roofs”, “coordinated design elements with plant forms”, etc. All the while acting impervious to what was on the screen. The rest is history. We got the grade, and I purchased a new Leica M4 a few weeks later. Upgraded cameras over time, and now I have a couple of M10s. I have stayed traditionally in B&W. Had numerous dark rooms, but eventually embraced the digital side. I am all about chance encounters and random incidents with no boundaries.

Back to top

Articles
October 2022

Zoom Lenses for Street Photography?

Mirko Karsch offers a few good reasons to consider longer lenses for street photography.

Street Shooters of October 2022

Top submissions from members of our community

On Assignment

Carey Winfrey recounts some of his many exploits shooting for Time magazine.

A Street Photographer at the U.S. Open of Surfing

A behind the scenes look as seen by Karl Dedolph.

Interview with Priyanca Rao

Meet a fearless street photographer with an eye for a story.

Along African Roads

Holger Hoffman has been documenting African roadsides for forty years.

The Istanbul Example: When Does Color Help in Street Photography?

André Vallejo explores when color adds meaning and insight into street photography images.

Street Photography Magazine is the journal of street and documentary photography

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