It is somewhat ironic that the vast majority of the image being discussed in this newsletter’s “In Focus” section is actually out of focus. But one of the prerequisites of street photography is creativity and thinking out of the box.
The location of this image is the Feira da Ladra Flea Market in Lisbon, capital of Portugal. It is often said that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and this flea market epitomizes this phrase. The market is held twice weekly and stalls are erected early along multiple cobbled streets in the old part of the city. It takes each vendor an extended period of time to unpack all their boxes to create tables of items that could interest prospective buyers.
I meandered all the stalls and quickly concluded that almost all the items available for sale I would classify as junk and certainly not a treasure. There was one stall of old antique cameras that interested me, but none of them seemed uniquely rare so I just moved along through the market.
In a market environment I normally just carry one camera and attached lens, not wanting to burden myself with a camera bag of alternative lenses that I am unlikely to use. The Canon R5 mark ii is ideal for these types of environments. It has a quick automatic focus and it is possible to select a subject to detect (e.g. people, animal, vehicle etc.) plus activate eye detection, so it is well suited to a situation where quickly reacting to people is important. The attached Canon RF 24-70 mm f2.8 lens is very versatile, allowing images to be captured of an entire market stall at a focal length of 24mm or portraits of individuals at 70mm.
So having not made any purchases it was time to take a few photographs. Some of the market stalls had a little photographic interest with colorful or unique items, but these types of images take little thought and can be quickly taken. Unfortunately, many of the proprietors of these market stalls seemed interesting characters, but they were reluctant to be photographed.
One of the stalls was selling colorful sunglasses and provided a mirror for the potential customer to assess their proposed purchase. This mirror just sat on the table awaiting the next user. I realized this mirror was reflecting the eyes of the stall owner as she was moving along helping different customers.
For this image I wanted the face of the market stall owner to be reflected in the mirror and in focus. The colorful sunglasses should be recognizable colorful shapes but out of focus. It was a challenge to achieve this goal as the saleswoman was in perpetual motion helping multiple customers at any one time. The autofocus of the camera body must detect and focus on the reflected light of the person, not all the items on the table. There were many failed images, with the saleswoman’s face not being reflected in the mirror or out of focus, but finally I captured the desired photo. I then just left the stall, wandered further along in the market, as the saleswoman continued to sell sunglasses, oblivious that she had been the subject of this image.
Words & Image John Nellist