Research : Eric Kim

"Street Photography is all about capturing 

the beauty in the mundane"- Eric Kim

I came across Eric Kim on Facebook a couple of months ago and he really is amazing.  He is very here and now and although I would love to go back to the 1950s and shoot in the style of Robert Doisneau or Henri Cartier Brasson unfortunetaly it is not possible.  I do however still love modern day street photography especially when shot in cities and converted to black and white.

Eric Kim is a Los Angeles based street photographer who specialises in black and white street photography.  He has taken photographs all over the world and in some of the worlds most beautiful cities including Paris, London, Korea, Rome, Florence, Venice and Prague.

This image has so much pattern and texture which makes black and white photography really interesting as you have no colour to draw the eye around the image.  A nice use of light and lines with a really nice tonal range throughout.  The lights have caused shadow which adds tone and the lights also have a really nice pattern.  The busy background makes up for the lack of colour in this image.

I like images with shadows and reflections and this one is interesting as you cannot see the mans head but it is captured within the shadow.  The reflection shows that the man is wearing a bowler hat which allows you to imagine the full image of the man.  Really nice use of light taken at an angle with the camera facing downwards.

This is a great photograph of China Town, Los Angeles.  Really nice use of light captures the shadows of the lanterns on the ground.  This is a one of the few colour images of Eric Kim and you can clearly see why he chose to keep the colour.  The composition aspects of reflection, The rule of thirds, pattern texture are used for this image.

I love that the little girl in this image is smiling out at the camera it really shows the sweetness of children. In most street photography the people captured are seldom looking and if they are they are they are rarely smiling.  I like the reflection in this image of the street and the cars showing the world outside.  A nice tonal range throughout with good use of the composition aspect of lines and reflection.

I really love the pattern that has been created in this image. Advertisements can be really useful in street photography for telling a story or using as a reflection. The advertisement has created a really good backdrop.  Really easy to achieve with a little time and your camera already set up.  I also like the pattern and texture of the cobbled street at the forefront of the image.

This is a classic street photography shot.  Bikes always seem to make really interesting images it must be all the lines present.  The two people are looking towards the photography with candid looks on there faces.  The focal point is the bike and the people are in the background.  There is a nice tonal range throughout the image and the eye is easily guided around the image

This image which shows the compostion aspect of reflection, lines and the rule of thirds.  A nice tonal range and I really like the contrast of the black suit and handrails against the white walls in the background.  I like images using the compostion aspect of reflections I think they make really interesting images.

This image has lots of detail in the background which always looks really good if converting to black and white.  A nice tonal range and the composition aspect of the rule of thirds with the main subject on the skateboard.  There are lines, patterns and textures around the whole of the image which guide the eye.