I had a chance to attend this insightful talk about Photography and City by Christian Berg. The techniques he used to visualize the vibrancy of a city are cool, my favorite is the “ Multiple Exposure” technique (the image above). His process of pulling out patterns of a city is also inspiring.
So, here are some takeaways that I found interesting for my future project. The steps can be repeated until you see a solid pattern/narrative of what you want to tell – via photos.
1. Collect
Collecting material via walking. Walking is very important for exploring the city/space. It forms the connection between a photographer and physical space.
- During the process of walking, start to collect material by pointing at a camera and taking photos of things that you feel interested in.
- No need to have a purpose or a topic, just take random photos
- The more you re-visit a place the deeper connection you develop with it.
2. Take stock
Selecting and sorting the photos.
- Go through the images and try to make sense of what you have collected.
- Group the photo together by category OR by story/narrative
3. Hunt
Hunting is more directional and more focused. It’s when you revisit those places again, but this time you know what you are interested in and you have a context of what you want to take photos of.