Tips needed, how do I take natural picture of people in the train.

[pizzahut88]

By that I mean the MTR Train in Hong Kong.
Without being noticed, natural natural pictures.

[Atom]

Hide the camera in your clothes. Cut a lenshole in your shirt. Run a cable release down your sleeve.

[Avotius]

I have a huge number of photos I have taken of people on the monorail, I need to dig them up and resize a few then I post some. Your best bet is to stand out, I mean really stand out let people know you are there and what you are doing, then when they stop looking at you after a few seconds take some photos, worked for me and I stick out a lot when I want to.

[Mazurka]

Just use a digicam. The LCD's much handier than a viewfinder. Turn off the focus-assist light and the beep. Pretend you're playing with it.

[angeloks]

Use old cameras (Barnacks)... People won't believe it can take pictures... Use a wide angle lens and high iso film (small apertures) so you can easily focus without looking through the rangefinder.

[maitrestanley]

Zone focus then wait for when the train is really loud (usually when it's stopping.. there's all sorts of squeals and people shuffling around) so it muffles the sound of the shutter. Meter with a handheld meter (or use an AE camera).

Umm.. a trick I tried yesterday when photographing this man on the train was to look him in the eye, then direct his eyes to another location while capturing the shot. It worked.

I usually have my camera visible. I found that it looks silly to have my finger on the shutter release so I'll often trip it with the palm of my hand. I'll also pretend to adjust my position while tripping off the shutter.

There are many ways to be discrete. These are just a few that I practice.

[rogue_designer]

fwiw - the train is one of the few places where I try to get some sort of permission *before* I shoot - even if it's just a nod of the head when I make eye contact and tip the camera.

It's an enclosed place. You don't want to be trapped with an unhappy beast.

If you want to try totally candid, then I'd have to go with zone focussing, and shooting from the hip without raising the camera to frame.

[tominabox1]

Say, I'm goign to be on a train for nearly 10 hours on Saturday myself on the way to Chicago from Indianapolis. Thanks for the tips I hope there are more to come!

EDIT: I will have 2 slrs with me (one film one digital) so SLR techniques would be handy

[Bobfrance]

For SLR get a powerful zoom lens and shoot people who are not onboard the train. They might not hear the shutter.

[payasam]

It's generally good to get to know the other people and do things openly.

[Tarzak]

I was doing the train photo thing just this evening with a, Shock - Horror! Digital SLR. Nikon D100 with an old manual 50mm lens (that disables all auto anything functions including the light meter). So with the crop factor it is an 80mm or so lens(you know what I mean). Tricky for off the hip shots, I have a little series of a girl an her boyfriend from the neck down. Not what I was aiming for. Anyway the Nikon is pretty quiet for an SLR but still I would suggest using the technique described earlier; waiting for a lot of noise.
I didn't and was doing another sneaky shot with the camera on my lap (me sitting) and as a woman walked past (where I thought I had aimed) I pressed the shutter. Slap bang! Too loud!
She, of course, heard it and gave me a bit of an earful. I quietly told her that I was doing nothing illegal. She said that she did not want me to take her photo. I said OK I will delete it. She left. I looked at the screen and I had taken a magnificent shot of the ceiling. No woman at all. She's probaby still fuming at the nerve of 'that strange man'. Pity I didnt have the chance to show her the shot, she may have found it funny. I did.

Later I was taking a photo of the stairs in the station and took a shot with the feet of a couple of people walking down them. They too confronted me, wthout hesitation (that's a little surprising for me, in itself, as I have been recently described as a little bit scary looking).
This time I was just standing there obviously taking a photo (with a stupid big camera admitedly - why are they so BIG?). Their confrontation with me was much more pleasant as I had made all effort to be obvious. I also offered to show them the photo which was when they realised they didn't really care if I took their photo or not.

If I was using a wide I believe it would all have been easier as you can look like you're not taking someone's photo when they are nicely placed in the side of the frame.

I'm 180cm (6 foot) tall and it is not possible for me to blend in. A lesson learned in one evening.

[migtex]

hmm a small P&S like the Fuji F30, No Noise at High ISO, no sound, no Lamp Assist needed and with the lens only coming out between the fingers.... and continous shooting until de card is full.
Otherwise.. better ask for permission, a nod will do.

[the_jim]

1. Use a TLR, as suggested above. The waist level finder is far less conspicuous.
2. Just do it. With confidence. If you act like you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, people will be less suspicious of you. Make sure to smile and nod at the end.
3. Have a stiff drink before hand. Take a deep breath. Relax.

[steamer]

Take a woman with you, then people on the train are less likely to think you are a big pervert.

[BillBingham2]

Living in NYC for nine years I had a lot of opportunity to do this taking the subway every day to and from work. The biggest thing that made life easier for me was to prefocus and let DOF help me. From my seat, I knew how far away specific seats were and preset my lens to that distance. I knew this by focusing and testing on days when I was not shooting. With most wide angles you do not need to refocus so you can shoot from the hip, but above 75mm, it’s more hit or miss. When I was using a longer lens this cut down the length of time it took me to lock in the subject.

Another option is to look into a waist level finder for your RF. Leica and Kodak made ones that went on the hotshoe and did not require you to put your eye up against it. I was looking for one years ago when I did a lot of shooting above my head over crowds. A Nikon F, F2 or F3 with a waist level finder works great. Focus, compose, lock the mirror up and shoot. Locking the mirror up on an SLR makes it a lot quieter.

While I never did it (I used my thumb to trip the shutter), use a cable release. Aim with one hand and trigger the shutter with the other.

Good luck and share your results.

B2 (;->

[rogue_designer]

It *is* fun too. Please share your results.

[sienarot]

Originally Posted by BillBingham2

The biggest thing that made life easier for me was to prefocus and let DOF help me.

Ditto.

It also helps if you sort of teach your self how to guess-tiimate the lighting situation too. Meter when you're not ready to shoot and as the lighting changes, adjust your exposure/aperture to suit it -- but make your adjustments without holding the camera to your eyes so it just looks like you're fiddling with your camera (assuming you not using a handheld meter). When you see something you want to shoot, quickly compose and fire before anyone knows the wiser.

Like others said, if you have a camera with a WLF, that really helps too. I find people tend not to notice you if you're not looking at them (ie: holding a camera up to your face and pointing into their direction).

[the_jim]

In Japan it's too easy, because people are generally shy and non-confrontational. Foreigners, like myself, tend to abuse that. Not a good thing, but who cares?


Taken with 100 iso film with a 35/1.4 at f/1.4 and 1/8 of second. It was only embarrassing when he got off at the same stop as me and I continued to see him around town.


Not the sharpest picture, but with velvia 50 indoors, what can you expect? Anyway, he is looking at the topless lady in the newspaper. Of course he noticed me taking pictures, but he a had a typical Japanese reaction - if I ignore it, maybe it will go away.


This was taken by my girlfriend with her Mamiya 6.


Also taken by my girlfriend with a Yashicamat 124G and tungsten balanced film.

I wish that I had taken the last two shots.

[BillBingham2]

If the train is above ground, it's kind of fun to expose for the outside and shot inside with windows in the shot. IMHO the quality of light and shadows are a couple of major things in photography.

B2 (;->

[breathstealer]

I've tried shooting on the MTR, but failed for want of interesting subjects. Us Hongkongers never seem to look interesting on the train

[the_jim]

Originally Posted by BillBingham2

If the train is above ground, it's kind of fun to expose for the outside and shot inside with windows in the shot. IMHO the quality of light and shadows are a couple of major things in photography.

B2 (;->

I totally agree.

Here is another one from my girlfriend.

[the_jim]

An easy thing to do, is take a picture of the driver. I mean, what are they gonna do - stop the train and tell you no?



Anyone else, have some train examples? It seems like quite a few people have weighed in on this with their advice, gear recommendations, and what-not. Let's see your shots.

[mackigator]

Olympus XA. Small, quiet as a church mouse, 35mm lens, aperture priority. Can be scale focused when necessary.

[haagen_dazs]

Originally Posted by the_jim

Also taken by my girlfriend with a Yashicamat 124G and tungsten balanced film.
.

i like that shot alot

[pizzahut88]

Here in Hong Kong, I think people are confrontational.
But you guys are just amazing!

Those natural, un-noticed look.
I can't wait to try.

Thanks for sharing those photos.