The People of Cambridge

I took these photos with a Canon Powershot G12 that I borrowed from the Clark Univ. photo department. The photos were taken on a walk from MIT to Harvard Square on Mass Ave. in Cambridge. I struggled with the camera a bit because it does not work 100%. The photos came out simultaneously a bit blurry and noisy as well. I did what I could with what I had in photoshop to create these images.

 I felt this photo had something to say about couples. The man with the bike and woman in purple out together and the woman with the flowers checking her phone suggest something about the relationships between people.

 This woman is often around Harvard Square. This photo was originally under-exposed so I tried to lighten it and especially brighten the shadows of her sweathershirt, milk crate and cart wheel. The end result was very flat looking and the photo is not very clear but I captured some of the essence of this woman. She is the only one of my subjects who was looking at the camera.

 This man snuck up on me, or rather I snuck up on him as I came around the corner and saw him there. I shot the photo from waist level without him noticing as I passed by. In post-processing I eliminated some distracting elements on the ground. Unfortunately, the photo is not the best quality.

 I like this image of the men talking on the street. It is probably the clearest one I shot that day.

I liked the idea of this photo. With the seemingly homeless many preparing for the rain with another man walking by without seeing him. I think it is related to the invisibility of homeless people in big cities. It is also rather flat and a bit unclear.




Overall, I enjoyed taking these photos but was not so pleased with how they came out. I am usually too shy to take photos on the street but by taking photos inconspicuously I was able to branch out into my first street photography. I also spend a lot of time walking from place to place so it is a good opportunity for me to take photographs at the same time. I'm hoping to dabble in this a bit more over the course of the semester.