Q: "I'm a big admirer of your work. You are an inspiration especially to those of us who adore street photography. I'm giving a talk to my camera club soon on street photography and I'd love to know what is your preferred equipment/camera/lens for shooting on, say, the boulevards of Paris? From the pictures on your website, you don't necessarily appear to 'go compact' or 'rangefinder'?" Richard G from Perth, Western Australia
A:"Hi Richard! Thank you for your kind words and for submitting a question to the blog. I hope my answer comes before you give your presentation. If not, I apologize for the delay! I used to shoot street photography with a DSLR camera, mostly with a 50mm lens, and more recently with the 40mm pancake lens. True, there are a few images on my website that were shot with my 24-70mm lens. That's one of my favorite 'all around' lenses. Now that I've experienced shooting with the Fuji x100s and its fixed 23mm (35mm equiv.) lens for a few months, I can't imagine taking anything else on the streets with me. It's the ideal tool for street photography. In my opinion, street photography needs to be experienced up close and one should not hide behind a long zoom lens. That is not always easy, especially when you start out, as it is often very intimidating to photograph a candid situation when your subject is within arm's reach. The look and feel of the images will be very different and being close is what makes street photography so special and unique.
Why do I favor the Fuji x100s for street photography? It's small, inconspicuous and who can resist it's retro rangefinder look? I also love the fact that is has a fixed lens that is not interchangeable. It's simple without sacrificing on the incredible quality of the glass. It doesn't get in the way between me and my vision. It's more of an extension of me than a DSLR has ever been.
I hope this answers your question and I look forward to your feedback!"
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