STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
by
RUUD LEEUW
My focus in photography, as well as other interests, shifts and changes..
Around 2012 I became more interested in photography's 'greats' and found myself more frequently visiting photo exhibitions and buying photobooks.
Photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Robert Frank, John Margolies, Arnold Newman, Anton Corbijn, Steve McCurry, Werner Bischof, Annie Leibovitz, Marc Riboud, et cetera, captured my interest. Photobooks were bought and in subsequent years I started actively collecting 'art' photobooks, many of them secondhand.
Gradually I found myself less interested in portraits and landscapes and my interest evolved to documentary, photojournalism and streetphotography.
'Humanist Photography' (wikipedia) offers a wide range of photography.
In the last two years streetphotography began to take up a large portion of my travel photography. In 2016 I bought a Fujifilm X100T camera for dedicated 'streetphotography'. Soon replaced by a Panasonic Lumix G (DMC-GX80) and in 2020 I bought a secondhand Leica Q to compare it with theGX-80.
The images were shared on my travel pages, Blog and Flickr & Facebook accounts. In Sep.2016 I started this page, a gallery of such images I am most pleased with myself. In August 2020 I created a colour page of this work.
And followed by Photographers & musicians (street) in March 2021.
"There is nothing in the world that does not have a decisive moment" -Henri Cartier-Bresson
"Seeing is the paradise of the soul"
-Pietro Spanno, eye doctor, elected Pope in 1276
"The basic belief in art, is the basic belief in the goodness of mankind" -Vladimir Nabokov
"The photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, the flâneur finds the world picturesque." -Susan Sontag, 1977
In Sep.2021 I bought a Leica M-P (Typ 240) to experience Leica rangefinder photography. By 2023 my Leica equipment had grown to a Leica Q2 Reporter and a Leica M10-P (w/ 1958 Summicron 50 & 1968 35). But I kept using my Canon R6 and Panasonic FZ1000.II too.
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FOR MY SUBJECTS IN STREETPHOTOGRAPHY USE THE INDEX PAGE OR BELOW LINKS
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY (B&W) | STREETS IN COLOUR | EARLY YEARS | PHOTOGRAPHERS & MUSICIANS
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DECEMBER
WALKABOUT @ZUTPHEN & RISING TIDE OF RIVER IJSSEL
Staring at the rising tide of the river IJssel in Zutphen
The dog caught his bone, or a bit of driftwood to be exact
Gevaar! (Danger!)
PANASONIC FZ2000.II | ZUTPHEN 28DEC23
CHRISTMAS FAIR & MARKET
LEICA Q2 | DIEREN 16DEC23
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NOVEMBER
THE ARRIVAL OF SINTERKLAAS IN NEDERLAND, 18NOV23
CANON R6 w/RF 24-105L
| See also MyBlog_2023Q4
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OCTOBER
AMSTERDAM
After the match (Ajax-AZ, 1-2) @Arenaplein
(08Oct23)
Blauwbrug | Leica Q2 Reporter (08Oct23)
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SEPTEMBER
BOOKS. While I was consulting my phone to see if the Taschen photobook (at
her hands) was already in my collection
she picked it up and bought it!
Leica Q2 REPORTER | Arnhem, 22Sep2023
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AUGUST
HOT AIR BALLOONS FESTIVAL @GRAVE | 11AUG2023
"Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be." ¬Charles Bukowski
PANASONIC FZ1000 II (ALL OF THE ABOVE)
CANON EOS R6 +CANON 100-500/L
CANON EOS R6 +CANON 100-500/L
DEVENTER BOOKMARKET
The largest secondhand bookmarket of the world is also a fine opportunity for me to engage in street photography
After a few hours the forecasted rain set in and things were harder to enjoy
I came away with a pleasant score in (photo)books as well as street photos.
LEICA M10-P + SUMMICROM35/2 (ASPH) | 06AUG2023
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JULY
BEEKBERGEN PAARDENSPEKTAKEL (HORSE SPORTS & EQUESTRIAN COMPETITION)
SEE ALSO MyBLOG_2023JUL20
SHELTER FROM THE RAIN
ALL THE UMBRELLAS
CANON EOS R6 +24-105/L | 29JUL2023
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JUNE
UK
At a pub, somewhere in the south of England (#_OnReading ) | Panasonic FZ1000II |
MAY
Veluwe Stoom Maatschappij (VSM)
The Trabant was a bonus!
Veluwe Stoom Maatschappij (VSM) @Beekbergen
PANASONIC FZ1000II | BEEKBERGEN, 18MAY2023
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APRIL
FREE MARKET @KING'S DAY (KONINGSMARKT)
Deals are being made (note on the right, money changing hands), e.g. by people trading stuff
specializing in emptying households. But people can spread a blanket or a canvas on the ground and sell their 'vintage' stuff from the attic too.
A Schützenfest (NL: 'Schuttersfeest' or 'Vogelschieten' or 'Koningsschieten', EN: marksmen's festival) is a traditional festival or fair featuring a target shooting competition in the cultures of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
This is not a common tradition at all locations celebrating King's Day, more common in eastern parts of the Netherlands.
At a Schützenfest, contestants compete based on their shooting abilities, for example, by shooting at a wooden representation of an eagle.
The competition is won by shooting the last remnant of wood from the bird. This requires some skill, but above all a portion of luck, to get your turn just in time...
The competition's winner becomes the 'Koning van de Schutterij' (DE: 'Schützenkönig, EN: 'King of Marksmen') until the following year's competition. [¬ en.wikipedia.org:_Schützenfest] |
The tradition of King's Day goes back to the 19th century though the name and dates has seen small changes.
VELP, GELDERLAND | LEICA M10-P +SUMMICRON 50/2 (II)
, 27APR2023
FOR MORE HISTORY DETAILS SEE MYBLOG-2023Q2
LIBERATION DRIVE
A friendly wave
'V' for Victory (twice!)
The Starlight Sisters with periodic songs
The Canadians among the Allied Forces were the ones to liberate this region.
CANON EOS R6 +25-105/L | RHEDEN 15APR23
For more photos and details see MyBlog-2023Q2
KASTEEL ROSENDAAL
'De Bedriegertjes'
ROZENDAAL | PANASONIC FZ1000 II, 09APR23
GRAVE, Noord-Brabant
Leica Q2Mono | 07Apr23
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MARCH
Halfvasten Angerlo - carnival parade
Preparing for the parade, guidebook at hand
ANGERLO (GELDERLAND) | CANON EOS R6, 12MAR2023
See also MyBlog 2023Q1
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FEBRUARY
GERMANY
WETZLAR | Leica Q2M, 22Feb23
WETZLAR | Panasonic FZ1000 II, 22Feb23
Sea Life Aquarium
SPEYER | PANASONIC FZ1000 II, 23Feb23
SPEYER
SPEYER | LEICA Q2M, 23FEB23
THREE DAY TRIP INTO GERMANY
CARNAVAL KICK OFF, GELDERLAND
Carnaval kick off, Rheden 2023
CANON EOS R6 | RHEDEN, 19FEB2023
NIJMEGEN WALKABOUT
Nijmegen, Carnaval kickoff
Street musician (see also my dedicated page for streetmusicians)
Nijmagen urban art / mural
LEICA Q2MONO | NIJMEGEN, 18FEB23
DISTRIBUTING FLYERS @ARNHEM
CANON S120 | ARNHEM, 18FEB2023
| Distributing flyers for 'D66' for the upcoming Provincial Council (Dutch: Provinciale Staten) elections; also known as the States Provincial, it is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. |
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JANUARY
MANNEQUINS IN SHOP WINDOW
CANON S120 | BEEKBERGEN 18JAN23
A GIRL, POLAR BEARS AND A MAN PASSING
CANON S120 | DIEREN 05JAN23
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DECEMBRE
ICE SKATING ON NATURAL ICE
First day of (barely) possible to skate on natural ice at a few places; on this canal it was 4 cm. Dutch tradition.
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | LAAG-SOERENSE BRUG / APELDOORNS KANAAL 14DEC22
DICKENS FESTIVITY DEVENTER
Information on this yearly street event see MyBlogQ4 for 12DEC22.
CANON EOS R6 + 24-105/l | DEVENTER 11DEC2022 |
OCTOBRE
ROME 10-2022
More of this on my Travelogue ROME 2022
KASTEEL ROSENDAEL (GROUNDS)
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | 18OCT22
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SEPTEMBER
CASTLE DOORWERTH (report on MyBlog 2022Q3)
CANON R6 + RF 24-105 L | 25SEP2022
-+|+-
LICHTENVOORDE DAHLIA PARADE
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | 11SEP2022
For more on this event see MyBlog 2022Q3
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AUGUST
MAASTRICHT
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | 23AUG2022
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JULY
AMSTERDAM
This kind man allowed me to take a photo of him, reading. He looks like Ernest Hemingway, doesn't he?
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | 26JUL2022
HOORN
'De Boekenkist', one of two excellent secondhand bookshops in Hoorn.
PANASONIC FZ1000II | 14JUL22
AMSTERDAM
This is Oudemanhuispoort, located between Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Kloveniersburgwal, next to Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen (University of Amsterdam). Highly recommended, bookstalls open at noon.
Waiting for the rain to stop
iPHONE 11 | 01JUL2022
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JUNE
WATERLOOPBOS (nature preserved, NATUURMONUMENTEN)
For more details on this overgrown ex/
watercourse experimantel area see MyBlog2022Q2.
(03JUN22).
ELBURG, HISTORIC TOWN IN GELDERLAND PROVINCE
CANON EOS R6 +EF24-105L | 03JUN22
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MAY
NEGOTIATING THE ERASMUS BRIDGE IN ROTTERDAM
LEICA M10 | ROTTERDAM, 20MAY22
'ROTTERDAM PHOTO 2021 + 2022'
LEICA M10 | ROTTERDAM, 20MAY22 |
APRIL
ON THE BEACH
#OnREADING
LEICA Q2M | EGMOND AAN ZEE, 18APR22
KEUKENHOF
PANASONIC FZ1000 II |
12APR22
CANON S120 | BICYCLES OF ALL SORTS, AMSTERDAM
13APR22
GRONINGEN
06APR22 | LEICA M10 (1ST PHOTO WITH NEW SUMMICRON 35/2 LENS)
GRONINGEN | LEICA M10 (+SUMMICRON 35/2)
CANON S120 | 05APR2022
CANON S120 | 05APR2022
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CARNEVALE @VENICE, ITALY
PANASONIC FZ1000 MK.II
CANON EOS R6 w/ CANON 24-105/f4 L II
PANASONIC FZ1000 MK.II
FOR MORE SEE IL CARNEVALE FEB.2022
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CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2022
CANON EOS R6 | HAARLEMMERMEER, 12MAR22
THE INTERVIEW
PANASONIC GX80 | HILVERSUM, 11MAR22
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ALKMAAR - FIRST WALKABOUT W/ LEICA M10
LEICA M10 (+ULTRON 28/2) | ALKMAAR, 05FEB22
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SLAVA UKRAINI!
Protest @The Dam (Amsterdam memorial for the fallen) in support of Ukraine, in protest against Russian's invasion
Other protests joined in, in support of the Uyghurs and others repressed.
CANON EOS R6 | AMSTERDAM, 27FEB22
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MORE OF JANUARY
COUNTRY ESTATE LEEUWENHORST W/ WW2 FORTIFICATIONS (see MyBlog2022Q1)
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | 27JAN22
ON THE BEACH
PANASONIC FZ1000 II | NOORDWIJK 27JAN22
GATES TO 'BINNENHOF' & 'BUITENHOF'
These inner courtyards are the access to Dutch government quarters.
PANA FZ1000 II | THE HAGUE 28JAN22
JOURNALISTS @BINNENHOF
Interview of minister Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink by Jair Verwerda (journalist)
Thomas van Groningen (journalist), on the right
PANA FZ1000 II | BINNENHOF 28JAN22
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"Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and candid photography, it is usually subtle with most street photography being candid in nature and some candid photography being classifiable as street photography.
Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. Though people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic.
The photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, the flâneur finds the world "picturesque. -Susan Sontag, 1977
The street photographer can be seen as an extension of the flâneur, an observer of the streets (who was often a writer or artist).
Framing and timing can be key aspects of the craft with the aim of some street photography being to create images at a decisive or poignant moment." ¬Source: Wikipedia. |
COOL KIDS ON A BENCH
SONY DSC-W830 | 17JAN22 |
MIST
Lockdown due Covid pandemic
CANON S120 | 12JAN22
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Contrast in hair styles
First result with my new Panasonic FZ1000 II | 18Dec21
Foggy streets
Canon EOS R6 | 16Nov2021
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HEUSDEN, NOORD-BRABANT
A summer's day in Heusden (NL)
iPhone 11 | 28Jul21
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Hard work to serve the thirsty and hungry out there
Canon EOS R | Naarden-Vesting, 24Jul21 |
Hot town, summer in the city..
"Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity?
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city
All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head.."
'Summer In The City' ¬ The Lovin' Spoonful |
Directions
Happy
Sony RX10IV | Rotterdam (NL), 20Jul21
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Hot day in the city: sunblock applied
Panasonic Lumix G (GX-80 / US:GX-85) | Amsterdam, 17Jul21
Panasonic Lumix G (GX-80 / US:GX-85) | Amsterdam, 17Jul21
Amsterdam Museum / Gouden Koets
Panasonic Lumix G (GX-80 / US:GX-85)
| Amsterdam, 17Jul21
'What's up?'
Samsung Galaxy S8
| Amsterdam Zuidoost, 03Jul21
"The best camera in the world is the one that's with you."
Waiting to be seated @Oma Ietje (Amsterdam)
Sony RX10M4 | @Oma Ietje (Amsterdam-Zuidoost), june 2021
The boys showing their interest in the UEFA EURO 2020 (European Championship Football), the girl not so much.
Sony RX10M4 | Heemstede, june 2021
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Caught the moment: center of attention
Leica Q2 | Zandvoort, may 2021
Came across Marjorie in Amsterdam Zuidoost, practising on her fine saxophone in the Nelson Mandela park.
Sony RX10M4 |
13May2021
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SANTPOORT-NOORD
07MAY201 | NIKON P950
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SPRING IS AROUND THE CORNER! FLOWER BULBS IN BLOOM (30MAR21)
LEICA Q2
SUMMER COUNTRY ESTATE VELSERBEEK (24MAR21)
KOP VAN DE HAVEN, IJmuiden (Netherlands) - (24MAR21; P950)
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SUMMER COUNTRY ESTATE BEECKESTIJN (01MAR21)
P950
Leica Q2
Nikon P950
These summer country estates are a good place to loose the crowds and go for a walk in these Covid-19 lockdown days.
Well preserved and an oasis of peace and quiet in the busy Randstad area.
At the lunchroom ('brasserie') we rounded the walk off with coffees and sweets. Nice! |
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WALK IN THE PARK (26FEB21)
Nikon P950 Coolpix
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WINTER IN HOLLAND, FEB.2021
After the heavy snowfall we had a week of severe frost, creating 3-4 perfect days for iceskating.
It all ended 15Feb21, when people started falling through the ice. The snow went soon after.
It was great fun as long as it lasted. We may have to wait many years for a similar situation.
Nikon Coolpix P950
ANNA PAULOWNA - 11FEB21
EOS 6D2, 24-105/F4 MK.2
ZAANSE SCHANS - 09Feb21
Sony RX10M4
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10Feb21 the Dutch Lowlands were treated on arctic conditions!
Leica Q2
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CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS 2020 IN CORONA LOCKDOWN
Stores closed but visit us for orders online
Bookshop closed but online orders wrapped for home delivery
No people on the street, no trash on the street. This convoy continues its march.
Winterwonderland with the bakery.
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Rouen, France - June 2014. Proud to stand out.
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Scotland 2016
(travel page)
Scotland 2016
'It is not where it is or what it is that matters, but how you see it.' ¬Saul Leiter
"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them" - Elliott Erwitt
"It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter"- Alfred Eisenstaedt
"Seeing is not enough; you have to feel what you photograph" - Andre Kertesz
"Be yourself. I much prefer seeing something, even it is clumsy, that doesn't look like somebody else's work" - William Klein |
England 2016
Street fair
"Often, the best pictures are caught in a moment." ¬Mary Ellen Mark
Street fair
Amsterdam Westergasfabriek
'A photographer's gift to the viewer is sometimes beauty in the overlooked ordinary.'
¬Saul Leiter
Photo exhibition, 'Stephen Shore Retrospective', @Huis Marseille (2016, MyBlog)
Cleaning sewage & drainage pipes
Paris 9-2016 (travel page)
Paris 9-2016
Paris 9-2016
Paris 9-2016
"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris 9-2016
Lunch in Amsterdam's Warmoesstraat during record heat in Sep.2016
Clingendael parkland, The Hague - Oct.2016
Fabulous exposition of work by Josef
Koudelka (Rotterdam, 10-2016)
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Street in fog
(Panasonic FZ200, colour converted to B&W - Jan.2017)
Haarlem, april 2017
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Having started my photography in the 1970s with military aircraft photography, this could have been me here...
At this air show I came for -and enjoyed- the airplanes ('warbirds'), but this may be my finest photo that day!
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'I like it when one is not certain of what one sees. When we do not know why we are look at it, all of a sudden
we discover something that we start seeing. I like this confusion.' ¬Saul Leiter
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'Tricks'.
Rotterdam ¬Feb.2018
Amsterdam,
Sint Antoniesbreestraat ¬March 2018
Amsterdam, Oude Doelenstraat ¬March 2018
Amsterdam, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal
¬July 2018
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Streetartists at the Deventer Book Fair,
2018Aug05
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Osaka 2018 (my travel report)
Osaka 10-2018
"Life is in colour, but black and white is more realistic", from a Wim Wenders movie.
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The famous 'Keukenhof' also makes for (sort of) streetphotography (22Mar2019).
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Haarlem, 14Apr2019 |
DEVENTER - june 2020
Old normal (groceries being raised in a basket for ease of use) or new
normal (social distancing/quarantine for Covid-19) ?
Welcome cooling by some rain after days of almost tropical heat.
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Vijzelstraat, Amsterdam (07Aug20) - Leica Q (Typ116)
'Hot town, summer in the city
back of my neck getting dark and pretty..'
Vijzelstraat, Amsterdam (07Aug20) - Leica Q (Typ116)
#OnReading
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VENICE, ITALY - AUG.2020
(Sony RX10M4)
(Leica Q - Typ116)
@Bepi's House, Burano (Leica Q - Typ116)
Piazza San Marco, Venice (2020; Leica Q)
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Amsterdam, Javaplein -23Oct20 (Nikon P950)
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THE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, DURING CORONA LOCKDOWN (29NOV20)
I grew up with Chow Chow's, so I couldn't resist making this portrait; one rarely come across them.
Leica Q
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Alternative streetphotography, during the Corona lockdown (Jan.2021)
Camera: Sony RX10M4 (converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2)
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Created: 16-Sep-2016
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