Hybrid Street Photography
What is Hybrid Street Photography?
Hybrid street photography is a relatively new term. It refers to a street photographer who captures both video and still images. This is not limited to behind-the-scenes footage for social media, although that can be an aspect of it. Instead, hybrid street photography involves creating video content that matches or exceeds the quality of the still photographs.
This does not mean to disparage those shooting “BTS” for social media or to look down on anyone or any gear used. On the contrary, without that, there would be no hybrid shooting at all. The goal of this post is to describe hybrid street photography and the challenges faced by those who are increasingly being defined as hybrid street photographers.
There are several excellent documentaries on the giants of street photography, and countless YouTube videos cover the subject of street photography. Everything, from how-to videos and interviews to behind-the-scenes footage and ubiquitous action camera videos, covers the topic with incredible detail. From these creative endeavours, a new type of story is being told —a hybrid one that shares both the still photograph and the video of the scene. Edited together, a powerful narrative can be revealed.
It is true that sometimes things are better, left to the imagination. With a rich and beautiful imagination, it can be well worth exploring. The same is true for any work of art. It can be great to marvel at it, but if you could understand it at a deeper level, perhaps deeper than the artist, wouldn’t you?
When I see a great street photograph, I am taken aback by its beauty. I don’t think of its camera settings, lens or body used or even who took it. I appreciate it, over and over again. Being able to see the where and when of its creation without the how and why of it is about as pure an experience as it gets. Being able to see and hear New York, Paris, or Tokyo while viewing the great work that comes from such places is as good as it gets for me.
Why Not Just Shoot Still Photos?
I do. I do that nine out of ten times, but my life experiences suggest there's more to capture in those moments. A greater story can be told. A story I want to hear from other street photographers, just as much as I want to share with them. If a scene is good enough to stop and shoot a picture of, if it inspires pre-visualization in the creation of an image, is it not good enough to film as well?
The answer for me is yes. It has been a yes for many years. I have tried every iteration of still and video there is. I have so many cold shoe add-ons, clamps, cameras, and software, all designed to help capture video. None of it worked, despite most of it being excellent gear. It all got in my way and overcomplicated the one thing I was in Tokyo to do: street photography.
The simple answer was right in front of me: use one camera for everything. I couldn’t do that, could I? I should have two cameras, right? This idea had me moments away from purchasing a Sony FX3. As a lifelong Nikon user, I decided to give them one last shot. I am so happy that I did. An older Nikon rep was at the store and knew the Z9 camera inside and out. We talked for two hours. I shared my vision for street photography with him. He suggested using my existing Nikkor glass or buying used lenses to complete the look. He was so happy that I loved Tokyo so much, and I was thrilled to have found what I was looking for, that I left the store without buying the camera.
The Big Problem With Hybrid Shooting:
The biggest problem is mental. I find that still photography and video capture require two different modes of creative thought. Compositionally, there are many similarities, but the issue is that the thought required to freeze a moment and expand it, or to create a similar moment, is quite different. It comes down to the decisive moment. For a still photo, you have one or two chances at it, and then it’s gone. With video, the recording happens before the moment and continues after the moment has passed. The last part is the most difficult. Muscle memory tells you to move on to the next moment, stopping the video before it has had a chance to tell the whole story. Making it challenging to edit smoothly.
It comes down to previsualization. I can see the moment clearly, but the moments before and after are still out of focus. Training my brain to know when to start and stop a video recording is the most challenging. Watching the footage back, it is clear that the still images are more visually captivating than the video. How do you bring the level of the video clip to the same standard as the still image?
Practice and editing can help strike a balance between the two, just like creating a great street photograph requires a great deal of repetition, so too does filmmaking. In truth, a single clip will often not carry the same weight as its still image counterpart. It is only when several clips are edited in succession that their full worth comes to fruition. A narrative, even better, a story is born.
The Beauty of Hybrid Shooting:
The story of our shared experience can be told. The still image is the story of the subject, with a subcontext of a location. In other words, it is about the image, not the photographer. The film, even one without dialogue or voice-over, can convey the experience of creating that image, of all the photos made that day. A larger story of an entire borough or city, a period in the photographer’s development, could be told.
Creatively, I find shooting both still and video drives me to be better. It is difficult and provides greater opportunity for failure. Failure is the best friend of any artist. Its constant presence gives the contrast needed to see beauty in new ways, and the knowledge of how to express that in a manner palatable beyond its creator.
Still photography led me to study film, and capturing both on the streets of Tokyo has given me an appreciation of the sound of the city. Listening to the city informs my creative process, but I can not yet put my finger on how it does, nor can I deny its influence. That ambient city sound, a taxi or train, the hum of machinery and people in harmony are like a heartbeat. It is not an echo, but a rhythm.
I decided to begin field recording using a 4-capsule Ambisonic microphone. That evolved into a comprehensive kit, comprising headphones, a recorder, a shotgun microphone, and a blimp. Overkill? Sure, it is, but I love doing it. Walking around with that kit gets some pretty odd looks and a bunch of smiles. Strangers always ask about it, which is excellent; nothing beats human interaction, especially with a new person. The audio works in tandem with the video and the still images.
Conclusion:
I love what I am creating; it feels right. I could shoot more street photography if I choose not to shoot video or record audio in the field, but it wouldn’t be creating anything new; it would be merely forgeries of what was already made. I know this because I shoot the stills first. I shoot all day if needed. I shoot simultaneously at times, but the vast majority of video comes after the fact. The same goes for audio recording. Sometimes all three converge at the same time, as shown in the picture below. I am packing up the camera and preparing the audio gear in a Ueno alley when this man squats down just in front of me. A still, followed by video, audio and even a phone picture.
Iphone Still: Serendipitous moment, Ueno Market
As always, I would love to hear your story in the comments below. If you feel so inclined, share a coffee with me. I am a flat white kind of guy. Happy shooting, everyone.
