Sometimes You Just Shoot Through the Windows

It's very simple to understand, if my buddy Mark Toal didn't have a camera with him at all times, he simply would cease to be Mark Toal. It's a key part of his persona, especially when he's traveling.

What's a kick with this particular post is really simple - we all love people-watching, whether it's planned or waiting at an airport for your flight to start boarding. As photographers you're all storytellers and this is where I love street photography. One image can speak volumes and if a picture really is worth a thousand words, then Mark Toal is approaching the works of Shakespeare. LOL

Interested in finding more of Mark's work along with a stellar team of writers/artists? Check out Mirrorless Photo Tips  with regular posts by Mark, Joe Farace and Mary Farace.  Then, swing by the LUMIX Lounge. You'll never be disappointed with what you find!

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by Mark Toal

When I’m traveling for work I love to walk around whatever city I’m in before and after work. The camera gives me a good excuse to head for parts of cities that I haven’t seen before.

I’ve written before about carrying one camera and one lens to keep my life simple. This time of year in Seattle it doesn’t get light until about 8AM so I decided to take the Panasonic G7 and 42.5mm f/1.7 lens so I could shoot in low light. I specifically choose the G7 for its light weight. I want to enjoy the walk and hopefully get a few good images. I don’t want the weight of the camera to limit or affect how long or far I might walk.

In the early morning some of the most interesting things I see are through store windows as the lights come on. My camera is never in a case and the lens cap is always in my pocket so I’m ready to shoot. I set the camera to Program mode and the ISO to Auto so I don’t have to think about anything; just raise the camera and press the shutter. If I see something like this man opening up a repair shop I shoot a couple of images very quickly so they don’t notice me. I try to get as close to the glass without touching it so I don’t make any noise. If I see any adjustments I want to make I know that I have the shot in case he moves before I can change the aperture or shutter speed. I can always adjust and crop the image later.