I think Liverpool is one of the best places in the UK for street photography. The city centre is big , very varied architecturally and it was absolutely packed on the day I was there. Weather was beautiful. I had a few hours of quality time and decided to head for Bold Street . This little area is up and coming and attracts a wide cross section of both natives and tourists. It’s a must visit destination for street photographers – so much life and variety. It can appear a bit down at heel but the street is ever changing with new businesses starting up all the time.
I used my trusty Fuji X-T10 with a f/2 23 mm lens (35mm equivalent) – possibly the best (and most traditional) focal length for street photography which lets you grab both the subject and the environment. I also love that this lens has a marked aperture ring which means using this camera is a very retro experience with fast and direct access to shutter speed and aperture. I normally set up at f/8 1/250-1/320s and auto ISO and prefocus to around 3.5m which is about the hyperfocal distance for this lens. That means I can just point and shoot with a high degree of certainty of getting a sharp shot.
I thought today I would try out some street portraiture. I’ve never attempted this before , preferring the candid approach, but once you find a good backdrop and get over the natural tendency to avoid complete strangers, it worked very well. Liverpool helps. In a way - you select the right people – they will look distinctive, have an outgoing manner and they will generally be very willing to participate. I had a lot of fun.
I had a bit of time to kill so headed off to a brief visit to the Baltic triangle. Not as much footfall here but some very interesting street art and the people on the streets looked quite interesting. So next time I’ll revisit this area and try to spend a bit more time there.
Lastly in the evening, a trip to Mathew street – the epicentre of nightlife and origin of the Beatles. I didn’t take a camera but will certainly be revisiting with one. It’s essentially one street which was overflowing with humanity. Large police vans and about half a dozen police were strategically positioned at both ends of the street. However there was no trouble and somehow they entered into the spirit and became part of the evening. I don’t think you’d see this in many other countries or even parts of the UK! I was seeing scenes which would pass as a contemporary take on a renaissance painting – I have to go back there!
