Hare Krisha Dance, Venice Beach

Picture: Hare Krishna Drum Circle Dancing, Venice Beach, California

Venice Beach is a street photographer's dream. There are a lot of different things to photograph here on the weekends. Some are more mainstream activities such as playing basketball, tennis, surfing, etc... but there is also a lot of counterculture and street performers. I've also been to Venice during a weekday but the vibe wasn't the same so I wouldn't recommend going there on the weekday just to shoot photos.

This photo was taken at the Hare Krisha drum circle that played out along the Venice Boardwalk. Playing a tribal drum beat, the group kept chanting, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." Followers were also handing out promotional materials for the Hare Krisha Cultural Center and several local restaurants. I spoke to someone briefly about what they were doing, but it was over my head. Though I did read on Wikipedia that their practices are based off of the Hindu religion.

Shooting action scenes is not easy particularly when it is very crowded. I took about 325 images of the Hare Krishna, the Venice Drum Circle, Muscle Beach and skaters just to get a few publishable pictures.

My main strategy for these types of photos is to pre-visualize the corners of the frame before I put the camera to my eye. By the time I look through the viewfinder, my finger is practically tripping the shutter already. When there are many moving elements, there is no time to compose in camera. It has to be seen in your mind first. I'm always looking at the corners of the frame and seeing the center through my peripheral vision because the edges often make or break a photo. Even as is, this image isn't perfect. The guy on the right corner crept into the frame.

I find taking people pictures to be very challenging because it requires you to interact with the subject. I'm shy sometimes around people I don't know that well so it would be easier to hide in the corner somewhere with a telephoto or to avoid taking photos altogether but that doesn't make for good photography. To quote National Geographic photographer, Bill Allard, "What does a telephoto lens do for you that you couldn't do yourself by moving in physically? Robert Capa said if your pictures aren't strong enough, you're not close enough. What would have happened to this picture if instead of staying in your safe and secure spot and cranking the lens, you'd moved in? It's hard to establish rapport from twenty-five feet away. I'm not going to find out something about that person from fifty yards behind a tree."

17-35mm lens @ 17mm, f8, 1/400 sec., ISO 100, handheld