Karen Sharpe
March 2026 - I ❤️ Hong Kong
About the Image(s)
Title: I ❤️ Hong Kong
This photo was taken in HK recently as part of a street photography course I was taking and I thought at the time that it would make a good travel photography entry. Street photos are usually taken at the spur of the moment without a lot of prep or forethought. I might have changed the settings a bit (faster shutter, smaller aperture) if I’d had more time to think about it but I’m not unhappy with the result.
Camera: OM1 MarkII 17mm lens (34mm equivalent)
Settings: ISO(auto)125, f1.8, 1/160
Post: brought up shadows and brightened the storekeeper, dropped highlights. I don’t have access to my laptop for improving sharpness but ideally I would if I were able.
4 comments posted
Karen,
I like the concept of your image showing a small market with the proprietor. Certainly, a travel photo!
I get that street photography makes it more difficult to adjust settings on the fly. I am not familiar with the OM1 camera, but on my Canon R5 and R6 cameras when on a walkabout try to shoot either in Aperture priority or Shutter priority. Usually I use aperture priority. For me it is pretty easy to change the ISO or us the EV wheel to make quick adjustments to capture the scene.
I find the blurry portions of the image on the bottom and left side to be distracting from the main subject. I do not think that they could be adequately corrected in sharpening software without causing other artifacts in the rest of the image.
I have cropped your image as shown in the attached file to remove those areas. Perhaps the is still the image you intended to capture. One of my photo mentors used to say to me "crop until it hurts" to improve your images. I still struggle with that mantra because I think adding the rest of the scene is what I intended, but... I have become more intent on the image and cropping usually improve it!
As an aside, I have never been to Hong Kong, but have made friends there through photography. Posted: 03/06/2026 07:35:35
I like the concept of your image showing a small market with the proprietor. Certainly, a travel photo!
I get that street photography makes it more difficult to adjust settings on the fly. I am not familiar with the OM1 camera, but on my Canon R5 and R6 cameras when on a walkabout try to shoot either in Aperture priority or Shutter priority. Usually I use aperture priority. For me it is pretty easy to change the ISO or us the EV wheel to make quick adjustments to capture the scene.
I find the blurry portions of the image on the bottom and left side to be distracting from the main subject. I do not think that they could be adequately corrected in sharpening software without causing other artifacts in the rest of the image.
I have cropped your image as shown in the attached file to remove those areas. Perhaps the is still the image you intended to capture. One of my photo mentors used to say to me "crop until it hurts" to improve your images. I still struggle with that mantra because I think adding the rest of the scene is what I intended, but... I have become more intent on the image and cropping usually improve it!
As an aside, I have never been to Hong Kong, but have made friends there through photography. Posted: 03/06/2026 07:35:35
Karen,
I thought some more about the camera settings for street photography.
Here is one idea:
For effective street photography, use Aperture Priority mode (A or Av) with an aperture of f/5.6-f/8 for depth of field, and set Auto ISO (range 100-3200) to maintain a minimum shutter speed of at least 1/250s to freeze motion. Use continuous autofocus for moving subjects, or switch to zone focusing (manual focus) for instant, stealthy captures.
And from the online Digital Photography School website:
If you're in a hurry to get out and shoot, here's a quick list of the best street settings:
Camera mode: Aperture Priority or Manual
Aperture: f/8 and narrower
Shutter speed: Above 1/125s
ISO: 200 and higher
Focus mode: Manual (zone focusing)
White balance: Auto
Of course, your settings choices should depend on the specific situation, as I explain throughout the rest of the article. (see link below)
https://digital-photography-school.com/best-street-photography-settings/ Posted: 03/06/2026 07:45:57
I thought some more about the camera settings for street photography.
Here is one idea:
For effective street photography, use Aperture Priority mode (A or Av) with an aperture of f/5.6-f/8 for depth of field, and set Auto ISO (range 100-3200) to maintain a minimum shutter speed of at least 1/250s to freeze motion. Use continuous autofocus for moving subjects, or switch to zone focusing (manual focus) for instant, stealthy captures.
And from the online Digital Photography School website:
If you're in a hurry to get out and shoot, here's a quick list of the best street settings:
Camera mode: Aperture Priority or Manual
Aperture: f/8 and narrower
Shutter speed: Above 1/125s
ISO: 200 and higher
Focus mode: Manual (zone focusing)
White balance: Auto
Of course, your settings choices should depend on the specific situation, as I explain throughout the rest of the article. (see link below)
https://digital-photography-school.com/best-street-photography-settings/ Posted: 03/06/2026 07:45:57
Thank you for the detailed feedback and link. Very much appreciated. I actually liked the blur in the front of the photo although I can see that it might be distracting. My street photo instructor dinged me because the subject was out of focus as the zone was slightly in front of him. I think I could have brought him into focus with software. I tend to shoot manual but I will try A and see if it speeds me up. Thanks again. Posted: 03/06/2026 08:05:24
Suggested tailoring, agreed, but I think it's not level enough. I suggest rotating it a bit counterclockwise, maybe it will be better.
I think it's amazing that this camera can achieve such a close-up blur effect with such a combination of parameters! Posted: 03/15/2026 02:22:18
I think it's amazing that this camera can achieve such a close-up blur effect with such a combination of parameters! Posted: 03/15/2026 02:22:18