{"id":110132,"date":"2017-09-19T11:36:08","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T10:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amateurphotographer.co.uk\/?p=110132"},"modified":"2017-09-19T16:21:47","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T15:21:47","slug":"street-photographer-craig-reilly-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/street-photographer-craig-reilly-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Street photographer Craig Reilly found a change of camera meant a change of direction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within the diverse world of photography we don\u2019t always find our niche straight away. For Craig Reilly it was a change of camera system that also inspired him to try street photography for the first time. Now he teaches workshops in the subject and is part of the prestigious Street Photography International collective (#spicollective) which, with more than 300,000 followers, is one of the most popular street photography channels on Instagram.<\/p>\n\t\t

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Craig Reilly finds how people interact with their surroundings fascinating<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

“When I had my DSLR I was shooting mostly landscapes, and some travel shots because I was working for British Airways,” recalled Craig.<\/p>\n

“But it got to a point where I didn\u2019t enjoy taking my DSLR kit out with me, because it was so big and heavy. When I bought my first mirrorless camera, the Olympus OM-D E-M10, the size and weight difference was astronomical. I could fit the body, with the 17mm lens, into my jacket pocket, and I didn\u2019t notice any appreciable loss in image quality. It was a no-brainer.”<\/p>\n

Street photography<\/h2>\n

Craig started going out in London with it, shooting a few urban landscapes, and found the smaller camera worked to his advantage.<\/p>\n

He said: “It made me inconspicuous, and the technology that it featured \u2013 especially the tilt screen and touch-shutter features (whereby you can focus and shoot a picture simultaneously by touching the subject on the screen) \u2013 which weren\u2019t available on my DSLR, really lent themselves to street photography.<\/p>\n

“I started looking at streetphotography websites, and became inspired by the work of other photographers working in this genre, like Cartier-Bresson, Ren\u00e9 Burri and Alex Webb. Before long I started posting my own images, and was getting really positive feedback and it snowballed from there.”<\/p>\n\t\t

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Craig likes to capture the shapes and edges of urban landscapes<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Streets or landscapes?<\/h2>\n

So what, for Craig, is the appeal of street photography over landscapes?<\/p>\n

“I guess I\u2019m fascinated by human interactions – \u00a0I\u2019m a real people watcher – so capturing these fleeting moments really appeals to me. Trying to find the interesting in the mundane, and create artistic images from everyday life,” he responded.<\/p>\n\t\t

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The capital is Craig’s stomping ground and where he captures a lot of his pictures<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n

Craig lives on the outskirts of London, so the capital is his stomping ground. As he said: “I pretty much take the same routes all the time \u2013 the South Bank, St Pauls, the Barbican, Shoreditch, but I\u2019ll always end up at Tate Modern. It\u2019s such a giving place for photography. I\u2019m interested in the geometry of the urban landscape. The shapes, the leading lines, the sharp edges \u2013 these are things I use a lot in my work.”<\/p>\n\n\t\t

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He finds using a smaller camera helps make him inconspicuous when taking photos<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n

Mark II<\/h2>\n

As Craig became more serious about his work he upgraded to the pro-spec Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II; a bit bigger than the E-M10 but still tiny by DSLR standards. Craig\u2019s kit now comprises the E-M1 Mark II plus three prime lenses.<\/p>\n

He said: “I only work with primes, and the Micro Four Thirds system has some superb ones in the range. The 45mm in particular is such a sharp lens, great for portraits, though as a telephoto it\u2019s my least-used lens of the three. My go-to lens is the Voigtl\u00e4nder 25mm f\/0.95. I shoot almost wide open with it, around f\/1.4. It’s manual focus only but I shoot fully in manual anyway \u2013 focusing and exposure, for which I often tend to use spot metering. I have my camera set up very simply.”<\/p>\n\t\t

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Craig started off shooting landscapes with his DSLR<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n

It is often said that the camera is just a tool but as any DIY enthusiast will know, the choice of tool can have a direct impact on the result. Although the E-M1 Mark II has a smaller sensor than Craig\u2019s DSLR he feels he is getting better pictures, technically as well as aesthetically.<\/p>\n\n

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Craig’s kit\"Craig<\/h2>\n