Flash on the Street: Ethics vs Creativity, with Damon Tildesley

What are your thoughts on the use of flash on the street? In this video, we interview Damon Tildesley: a Melbourne-based photographer who is a proponent of this method.

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#streetphotography #flashphotography

[AlexOnStreets]

Flash is something that can be non-abrasive and confrontational if you're really selective and best of all can talk to the person after about why you took the photo in a coherent thoughtful way. Not every situation or subject(s) need to be shot with flash to be inherently interesting. It's just another tool. So here's just my way of going about this..
Think if the photo is worth being taken in the first place without flash, not "oh let's flash to make this photo good". When I do this I come away with more keepers, less confrontation or negative reactions and I can sleep at night. I love using flash and I really recommend it to everyone looking to make the next step visually. Good work Damon and Hash!

[AntonyZWu]

Well done Hashem! It's always interesting to get another artist's perspective. Damon Tildesley, your photos are solid and very much needed, as few are brave enough to do what you do. The ones at night are my favourite.

[RaulDiFondi]

I love that vintage flash. I have a National PE-357S and love to experiment with my digital camera, a Canon M50 MII

[ArchiesLens]

I've been experimenting with taking more flash street photos with my digital point-and-shoot (olympus xz-1) and it's been so fun. I love the unique look. This is an awesome video! 🌸✨

[spangancayco]

Really enjoyed this interview and format. More please!!

[webcatcher]

love those flash set-up thanks for sharing

[Kitsaplorax]

Use an IR flash. Weegee did this for some of his most famous night photos in NYC. I would never ever use flash in downtown Seattle due to the traffic and pedestrian endangerment, putting aside the ethics of taking photos of people living on the streets.

[bobdots]

Another great video Hashem, the interview with Damon Tildesley was interesting and relevant to anyone involved in street photography. As Damon so rightly commented, there's no value in being 'sneaky' with street photography - it only tends to annoy and p#ss people off. He certainly can't be accused of that with his potato masher and camera in plain sight and I can see his technique works well for him, looking at the photos he shared on your video. Well done guys.

[socksonfeet]

Once you learn both you have more ways to capture a scene, more tools is never bad.

[dvdaltizer]

great docu-series format! loved this! great work!

[jdstrobist]

Awesome video Hashem and Damon Tildesley your pictures look great😎 I enjoyed looking at your work and what you had to say! 😎Flash is just light, nothing wrong with using a flash, it fires for only a millisecond or two, no big deal, if that’s your style so be it! I personally love using flash as well👍

[therealsirrobin]

Fully agree to what he said. Good interview. 👍 Funny though, just a week ago I filmed a video with my friend Max who almost exclusively uses flash for street and we were talking about the exact same topic.

[luciengraetz]

Bald head with the clocks and the shadow 🤌🏼

[ciconiidaePoi]

(from Google Translate)I don't think this is a question that leads directly to a unified conclusion. Street photography is viewed differently in different countries. I am a Chinese student studying photography in Japan. When I was working in my hometown, Chongqing, China, the people I photographed had little dissatisfaction with me, even if I held the camera very close to them, they would even ask me to take a few more shots. But I'm in Tokyo, Japan, and people are very resistant to being photographed by strangers, and I've been asked to delete their photos a few times, which is actually kind of frustrating. (I've even heard that it's illegal in Japan to take pictures of someone's full face without their consent) So using a flash is even more out of the question. (Just describing the facts, not making any judgments about their behavior.)

[h.walker]

The only thing that could be a real problem is if someone with photo sensitive epilepsy has a fir because of the flash.

[c.f.]

Being a German, these things would really considered as an assault here, and would also be illegal. I could imagine he would get some hard reactions, maybe even physical, if he was at the wrong place. So I wonder, if this ever happended to him, where he typically shoots?

[sandymactraher]

Не знал, что Поперечный фотографирует со вспышкой

[lukeportelli]

"If you're doing something just to emulate someone else, then you are always going to come short" Wow i find this hilarious, there wasn't one mention of where he adopted this style from.

He has Jacked Bruce Gilden's style. HIs statement is 100% correct and is why photographs dont even come close to what Bruce Gilden's looks like.

[furiouzzzz]

oh no I wouldn't find myself using flash in the street it actually makes me uneasy to think about it it is intrusive it takes people by surprise nothing good comes from this

[thomaspopple]

I thought street photography was about taking photos of naturally occurring moments. Being in people's faces and using flash is just plain rude and ruins any naturalness that may have existed. Now all that is being photographed is people's reactions to having someone unexpectedly in their face with a camera or reacting to the flash. Not natural, not cool. As for photographing the homeless and those less fortunate, that is just pure exploitation. Someone jumps in my face with a camera, a flash, or anything and they are going to get an expensive ride to the hospital.