Beyond the Cars: Photography as a Window into the People and Communities that Surround Car Shows

How Photography Can Tell the Story of Car Shows As A Social Phenomenon

Finally, finally, finally! I have finished my essay on car shows and the people who attend them!

It seems to me that an increasing number of car shows are happening in our country. During summer, there is at least one every weekend in every city and town, and often additional events during weeknights. And this appears to be the same in South Carolina (where I used to live), New York (which I now call home), or any other State, according to the announcements I see on social media.

Initially, I was made aware of these events by my daughter, who, for her final project, "The Soul of the Classic Car," for her BFA in photography from Winthrop University, focused on details of vintage cars.

I also may be particularly aware of them because I owned a Mazda Miata for some time, and looking at other small sports cars on display was fun.

As a result, while I am not a gearhead (I couldn't point out an alternator if my life depended on it), I have visited several car shows over the last three years. In the first instance, I did this partially because I owned that Miata, but the main reason for continuing to go to these shows was because I am intrigued by their social aspect.

A Photographer's Paradise

Car shows provide excellent opportunities for photographers to capture stunning images.

They may focus on photographing individual vehicles and capturing each car's unique design and details (as my daughter did), or they may catch the event's overall atmosphere, including the crowds, vendors, and other attractions.

These events are also excellent for trying various photography techniques, such as close-up shots of car details, panoramic views of the entire event, or capturing the vehicles in motion on the road or track. In post-production, photographers may give their photos a nostalgic feel or use other editing techniques that show the beauty and style of the cars they photographed.

Some photographers, like me, may even specialize in capturing the human element of car shows, focusing on the interactions between enthusiasts, collectors, and other car fans.

The latter group of photogs, and even more specifically, photographers interested in social-documentary, can capture various images that tell the story of the event and its attendees: they may focus on documenting the people who attend the event, including the collectors, enthusiasts, families, and vendors—for example, capturing portraits of attendees and candid shots of them interacting with the vintage cars on display.

In addition to documenting the people directly, a social-documentary photographer may also focus on images of the cars while telling the personal stories behind each vehicle. Or they can record the different activities at the show, such as competitions, demonstrations, or presentations.

Whatever the photographic genre they specialize in, photographers at car shows have a unique opportunity to capture the essence of automotive history and design, share that beauty with the world through their images, and highlight the significance of cars in American culture and history.

I am passionate about capturing stories and experiences of people and events through my camera lens. Therefore as a documentary-style photographer at car shows, I aim to capture the event and its attendees in a way that gives the viewer a sense of the atmosphere and the unique culture and community surrounding the cars.

And while I am often struck by the beauty of the cars on display, I am even more interested in the people who attend the show. So often, I approach attendees, introducing myself and asking about their stories and experiences with classic cars. Everyone has a unique story: about their first car, a restoration project, or the history behind the vintage vehicles on display.

I can spend an entire day taking pictures and talking with attendees, documenting their experiences and stories. I love to capture images of families enjoying the event, collectors admiring classic cars, and enthusiasts discussing the intricacies of vintage car design. Since I am there, I also take close-up shots of the cars, focusing on their unique features and design elements.

The essay AutoFocus with more images can be viewed here!

Some thoughts about the future of this social phenomenon

Visiting these events, I always wonder whether these car shows are part of a dying culture - specifically, those focused on vintage cars.

Not immediately, but how about 10 or 20 years from now? Most cars from the 1970s onwards, which by then will be 'vintage,' don't have the exciting designs that the vehicles from the 1940s through 1960s have. And even further in the future, will people get excited to see a 'vintage' Tesla?

Car enthusiasts will likely find ways to keep the current oldtimers running. I have seen vehicles from the 20s at car shows; keeping a 1950s car running for a few more decades might be doable.

And because the newer models and electric vehicles are less exciting, there will likely be more demand and enthusiasm to keep the oldies on the road and for enthusiasts to come together to enjoy them.

Is the current abundance of car shows a flare-up of a dying phenomenon, or will they survive despite, or maybe because, of the boring contemporary models and current EV developments? The future will tell.

For now, I hope my photos will help conserve some of the history and culture of the car-enthusiast community.

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Never Too Old To Play

New York City, NY | Hester St. Playground | February 2019

New York City's China Town area is a treasure trove for street photographers and cultural experiences.

I noticed two gentlemen near the Hester Street playground playing the Chinese game of Xiangqi.

I didn't know if they played for toothpicks, hard dollars, or fun, but they were having a good time, and the bitter cold temperature didn't bother them.

Several onlookers were sitting and standing around their table, undoubtedly providing their advice for the next move.

Unfortunately, I had to move on and never got to know who won.

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Teamwork

Greenville, SC | N Main St | Jan 2022

Walking on Greenville's, SC, Main Street, I saw these two workers repairing a wall.

Working with their backs to the sidewalk, they seemed unaware of the people walking by. Focused on the task at hand, they quietly went about it, working together and getting the job done.

The public also did not notice them, indicated by the woman whose reflection is visible in the window in the background—going on with their daily chores, busy being busy. Not deliberately ignoring the workers, but not interested.

And is that not what generally is the case?

We all go about our busy lives without paying attention to the people around us.

It seems we are more interested in the actions and lives of movie stars, social media authorities, and other so-called 'influencers' than in the real people around us.

This thought inspired me to start working on a new project about real people: manual workers, parents, emergency services personnel, shoppers, office workers, etcetera.

In the upcoming weeks, I will need to flesh out the details: where to focus on possibly, what type of images, medium (film, digital, or both).

More to come.

What Is A Good Photo?

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough - is that it?

If you had only one social media account, you would be bombarded with hundreds of images daily. But, as most people do, if you have multiple, this number will go up into the thousands. Daily!

Assuming that you are interested in looking at photographs, possibly following photographers whose images you like, I recommend that you educate yourself about how to look at a photo and know if it is a 'good' one.

Now, here I am moving into dangerous territory.

Defining a 'good' photo is dependent on a multitude of factors

Robert Capa famously said: "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough."

But proximity to the action and capturing the decisive moment is only one part of the equation: Composition, the use of or absence of color, and the use of light are other and more important criteria to consider.

And then, of course, the most important is the artist's vision: what do they want to communicate with a specific image?

"Are my images good enough" is a question I ask myself when reviewing the images I created and considering whether they are worth putting on the website for viewing by others.

The first indication that an image might be 'good' is the use of technique

How did the photographer use the light? How was the subject chosen and placed, and how is the general composition of the image? Mastering technique is essential to get the basics right and to understand what you are doing as a photographer. There are a lot of rules to follow, and once you know how to follow the rules, better images sometimes can be created by breaking the rules.

The second and more significant indication that a photo might be 'good' is how viewers react to and interact with the image

To start with some quotes from famous photographers: "There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer" (Ansel Adams) and "To me, photography must suggest, not insist or explain" (Brassaï).

The questions to ask are: how did the photographer apply technique to create a story that the viewer can read and interpret? How did she create a mood, a feeling, to entice a reaction from the viewer?

Or, to speak with David duChemin: does the image have a soul?

The latter is, for me, far more important than knowing that I created a technically perfect image. 

Black and white: look for tonality

When looking at black and white images, I not only look for the elements mentioned above. I, in addition, pay specific attention to the picture's tonality.

To understand what 'tonality' means, we first need to understand what 'tonal range' means: the range of grey tones in an image between pure black and pure white. A picture can have a wide tonal range, which means that besides pure black and white, the image has a lot of shades of grey. Conversely, a photo with a small tonal range has only a limited number of greys.

Tonality relates to the balance of blacks, whites, and greys in the photos.

An image that I consider to have 'great tonality' has a full range of well-balanced grey tones and pure black and white.

However, having low tonality does not mean that the image is automatically not good!

Examples of images with low tonality are:

• Images with high contrast.

• High key images.

• Low key images.

• Middle key images (typically only grey tones and no pure black and pure white).

Get educated about photography.

As we have seen above, there is a lot to consider when contemplating whether a photo is a 'good' one. Therefore, before being able to discern a 'good' image, you have to educate yourself about photography.

And for me, the only way to do this - to learn how to 'read' an image, understand what to look for in a picture, and understand what type of images you like - is to look at many photos.

You could do this on your phone's/tablet's/computer's screen or by looking at photography books.

I, however, recommend going to a museum or a gallery and looking at actual prints of images. A photo looks much better printed.

Furthermore, a gallery owner can talk to you about the pictures, explain the photographer's vision, the techniques used, the background of the images, and much more.

Most larger cities have at least one photo gallery and probably more. And don't forget to check the smaller galleries outside the cities. There is a photographic world to explore out there!

Go an do it. Check it out.

Pro tip: when in Greenville, SC, check out the SE Center for Photography and the Artists Guild Gallery of Greenville

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Forever Young

Washington, DC | 11th Street NW | July 2014

Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Alphaville, and probably many others sang about it. Movies have been made about it.

Staying forever young: a wish that many people need to have.

If we must believe the music and film industries. 

And cosmetics and clothing firms are playing well too.

Helping people to stay forever young.

Or at least: helping people feel they can stay forever young.

Or at least: making people feel they need to stay forever young.

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Madrileñas

Madrid, Spain | Plaza Platería de Martinez | August 2019

Something that always strikes me in Spain is the strong and articulated women.

Irrespective of social status or age, they are Present, with a capital P.

After a stroll through Madrid's famous National Botanical Garden, my wife and I decided we earned some tapas and a refreshing drink. Since it was summer, most bars and restaurants had tables outside on the street, and we quickly found one near the botanical garden and the Prado museum.

While getting seated, I could not ignore these three ladies sitting at a table next to ours.

They were involved in deep conversation. One of the ladies passionately articulated her thoughts on a particular topic, while the other two listened with great attention.

I would have loved to eavesdrop to hear what they were so animated talking about, but that is not something one does. Also, my Spanish is not so good that I could fully understand what she said.

HOWEVER, what I could do was take my trustworthy Leica M4 and seize an image of this beautiful trio.

This photo might not capture a 'decisive moment', but, as I explained previously, street photography is not always about the decisive moment and is far more.

This image, for me, represents a typical situation that someone easily can encounter in Madrid. Or in any town and city of Spain.

Three ladies are having a great afternoon, enjoying some food and drinks and discussing current events, maybe talking about global wars and inflation, or gossiping about the new girlfriend of one of their sons.

Not The Decisive Moment

Image courtesy and copyright Amei Manten

Street Photography Is Social Documentary Photography

Writing last week's blog posts about the book Lost London: 1870-1945 made me realize that there is an easily overlooked aspect of street photography.

Every street photographer wants to capture a specific moment and create that 'one' image that will enthuse the world. With Olympians like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Mayer, Elliot Erwitt, and so many others as examples, we street photographers try to emulate their vision, their images, and their success.

But street photography is so much more, and street images can mean much more to our audience.

Street photography is not and does not always have to be about the decisive moment.

The images in Lost London: 1970-1945 made me realize that there is so much more to these pictures than the decisive moment. These images capture a particular place during a specific time that has a special meaning for contemporary viewers.

Allow me to explain this with an example of an image not related to the book.

Image courtesy and copyright Amei Manten

Recently I posted an image from the small village my wife and I grew up in on Facebook. My then-girlfriend, now wife, created the picture in the mid-1980s as part of a photography assignment while studying at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands).

It is quite an ordinary image: a village street with a woman.

However, posting this image on Facebook had a surprising result. Numerous people commented on the street and the buildings, with many trying to figure out who the woman in the picture was.

This result and the images from the book Lost London: 1870-1945 made me realize that street photography always is a form of social documentary photography. With or without a decisive moment captured, street images provide contemporary viewers and later generations insights into our environment's current state; it captures the Zeitgeist.

Image courtesy and copyright Amei Manten

The look of the streets, the buildings that may change or totally disappear in the future, the people, the clothes they wear, their occupation, and other details of daily life we at this moment take for granted but will be of interest later.

This realization gave me a feeling of calmness.

I no longer have that unsatisfied urge to hunt or fish for the decisive moment when creating street images. Instead, I am more aware of my surroundings and what my image might mean to future viewers. Maybe they lived in this specific area I am capturing; perhaps I captured one of their family members in my frame.

Street photography, for me, now is more about capturing the current state, and it's not only about the decisive moment.

I still will look out for it, and if and when I capture such a moment: outstanding, excellent! But, if not, I move on with the knowledge that at least I captured something from which future viewers can learn how the world looked today.

Book Review: Lost London 1870-1945 by Philip Davies

How A Photo Book With Old Images Impacted My Photography

Introduction

I was lucky enough to stumble upon this book while browsing the bargains area of Barnes & Noble.

It is a photo book with old images from London, United Kingdom, taken between 1870 and 1945, providing a unique insight into how the city and its inhabitants looked during those years.

Philip Davies has curated the images in the book, an architectural historian who - from 2005 to 2011 was the Planning and Development Director for London and South-East England at English Heritage.

From the dust jacket: "Lost London 1870-1945 is a spectacular collection of more than 500 of the best images from the formor London County Council archive of photographs... Most have been never published before. Taken to rovide a unique recored of whole districts of London as they were vanisching, each of the photographs is a full-plate image, a stunning work of art in its own right."

• Published: 2009

• Publisher: Transatlantic Press

• ISBN: 978-0-9557949-8-8

• Size: 11 6/8" x 9 7/8" x 1 1/2"

• Available on Amazon and eBay

Review

The book has 14 sections, with the photo sections arranged according to period and city areas:

• Foreword by HRH The Duke of Gloucester

• Author's Note

• Introduction - The Lost City - Images of London 1870-1945

• Chapter One - Urban Penumbra - The City fringe

• Chapter Two - Engine of Commerce - The City of London

• Chapter Three - Between Two Cities - Holborn and Strand

• Chapter Four - Imperial Capital - Westminster and the West End

• Chapter Five - City Of Dreadful Night - The East End

• Chapter Six - London-Over-The-Water - South London

• Chapter Seven - Urban Villages - Villas and leafy gardens

• Chapter Eight - Zenith 1918-39 - Sovereign of cities

• Chapter Nine - Catastrophe 1940-1945 - A city in ruins

• Index

• Acknowledgements

The first thing that struck me was that the quality of the images is remarkable. They have great detail and excellent tonality. We only wish future generations can view our currently mainly electronically created images with the same quality after one or two hundred years.

Lost London 1870-1945, page 71

The book also provides a great history of photography in London in its Introduction. Not only its 'why' but also its 'how.'

"Photography was not easy in London. Henry Dixon recorded how he had to obtain a photograph in a crowded street by removing a wheel from a wagon, and while his assistant pretended to mend it, he photographed his subject from under the canvas." [pp. 24-25]

The images also show how the photographers had to work the light to create their photos: look at how buildings in the background are over-exposed due to the exposure time needed for foreground objects.

Lost London 1870-1945, page 23

The book's main objective is to create a sense of urgency with the viewers of the importance of preserving architectural gems. To paraphrase from the Foreword: This kind of photography emphasizes the task of English Heritage (and similar organizations in other countries!) to preserve the best of historic buildings, help the general public understand why they should be kept, and increase the understanding of the significance of these buildings for our history.

For me, however, the value and importance of the book and the photographs go far further than this. The images of the streets, buildings, and people provide us with a unique insight into how people lived during the period covered by the book. It is a true social documentary trove and "Spanning a period of 75 years from the mid 1870s to 1945, [the photographs] depict a world in transition." [p. 9]

"Some of the physical impacts of these profound changes can be seen in these photographs - the arrival of tramlines, the progressive replacement of horse-drawn vehicles by motor cars,..." [p. 27]

Lost London 1870-1945, pages 202-203

While Davies, in his Introduction, does a great job to explain the importance of the images from an architectural history perspective and while he provides us with a socio-economic reference frame for the period covered, it is the images themselves that tell that story best.

"As primary sources of historical evidence, [the photographs] are by their very nature impartial, and bear witness to past places or events, undistorted by the interpretation of their creator." [p. 9]

One of my first reactions was Eugene Atget coming to mind when first browsing through the images: the streets, sometimes with and sometimes without people. Important in that context is that "[The images] have been selected to show the commonplace rather than the great-set pieces,....which conveys so vividly the actual feel of London as it then was..." [p. 9] and they are "important documents of social and topographical history,..." [p. 9]

Lost London 1870-1945, page 69

Consequently, I dare say that Davies did for the multiple photographers whose images he used in the book what Berenice Abbott did for Eugène Atget.

Other images reminded me of Lewis Hine with their harsh directness and focus.

Lost London 1870-1945, page 14

Conclusion and Recommendation

This book is a monumental document about one of the world's great cities and about the photographers who documented the changes in London over 75 years.

It provides a unique, intimate insight into the status of London's buildings and streets and the lives of its inhabitants.

In conclusion, this is a remarkable document, and it has very much influenced my view about street and social documentary photography. Creating images of the places I visit, I also try as much as possible to have my photographs as impartial and undistorted by my interpretation of the scenes I observe as possible.

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Hello Mrs. Cartier-Bresson

Greenville, SC | S Main St - W McBee Ave | January 2022

When I saw this lady walking towards me, I almost froze.

Where have I seen those sunglasses before?

Could it be?

Is it her?

If only HCB was here, he would be able to tell

61 years... impossible, it can't be her...

Maybe her daughter?

Paying Attention

Washington, DC | Lincoln Memorial | August 2014

One of the joys of street photography, actually the reason I think most street photographers do what they do, is observing people.

People on their own, in small groups, or, as in this image, in large groups of individuals who are not in any way related to each other than for the fact that they are coincidentally in the same place at the same time.

When visiting the Lincoln Memorial in 2014 (obviously very much during pre-pandemic times) I noticed that most visitors are not really paying attention to the statue of the great man. Several were walking around in circles like lost in the vast space of the Memorial building, some were talking in groups, and quite a few were busy taking selfies with their omnipresent phones.

Except…

Except for this one woman, who stood still in the middle of the moving, chattering and self-focused crowd.

She was looking at the image of President Lincoln. Paying attention. As if to say: “What can you tell me. What can you teach me.”

And isn’t that what we all should do more often? Paying attention. Putting the phone away. Stop talking. Stop being focused on ourselves. And just pay attention.

Passersby

Greenville, SC | S Main St | September 2021

This black and white image of two people in silhouette in downtown Greenville, SC probably depicts one of the most interesting parts of street photography.

We take pictures of strangers without knowing anything from them. Are they are happy or sad, rich or poor, on vacation or walking to work. We don’t know…

We take their pictures, but they are like silhouettes to us: we don't see the details of their lives.

Conversation

Greenville, SC | S Main St - N Court St | September 2021

As a street photographer, I always wonder about the background of the people in my photographs: who are they, where do they come from, what are they thinking?

When looking at the man and woman sitting together here and both looking straight ahead, I could create two different stories: one of them being annoyed with each other and not wanting to talk, and one of them being so comfortable with each other that no words are needed to communicate.

I prefer the latter.

Why Subjects Need Space

To Crop Or Not To Crop, The Question Is

I need to think more about when to crop my images and when not. Reducing what the viewer can see of the subject of an image to the bare minimum can take away from the message that I want to share.

Why I Sometimes Crop Images

While I challenge myself to get my composition right when taking a picture for my social documentary-type images, I sometimes still feel the need to crop the image for a better (very subjective indeed) result.

The reason to crop images, for me, can be one of two:

1. I want to change the aspect ratio of the image, or

2. I want the viewer to see something special.

The first reason is basically for esthetics: I really love images in the 4:5 aspect ratio and an added perk is that 4:5 images print great on letter-sized paper.

The main reason I would crop an image in post-production, however, is to ensure that the viewer sees what I want them to see. When reviewing some Street Candid images, I feel that the viewer would benefit from some guidance for what to look at to fully understand why I took the picture.

Why Cropping Doesn’t Always Result In A Better Picture

It is the second reason I want to talk a bit more about today. After reading the feedback I got on my initial publication of the image “Alley Leg”, I realized that cropping with the intent to show the viewer something special that I saw when creating the image, can actually work adversely

• Because I 'zoom' too far into the subject I want to show, the viewer does not see, can not see why I want to show it.

• If I want to show something important, the viewer doesn't grasp the importance.

• If I want to show something funny, the viewer doesn't grasp the joke.

The reason for this is that I eradicated the context from what I wanted to show.

I saw that something was important because I saw it in its context. I saw that something was funny because I saw it in a specific context. By cropping, I removed the context. And as a consequence, the viewer has no clue about what I actually want to show!

This, of course, is not always the case. Sometimes cropping can help to remove distracting elements from the image. And limited cropping might help to just improve the composition sufficiently to make the image more interesting.

And Sometimes Cropping Is Just “Not Done”

As I mentioned above, for my social documentary-type images I challenge myself to get my composition right in-camera. The main reason for this, as I explained in a previous article, is that I want to be as unbiased as possible when showing the viewer what happened during the events I documented. And although there always will be some subjectivity (whenever you take a picture you always have to decide what to show in the frame and what not), this challenge helps me to provide an as objective as possible record of what happened.

Good examples are the two images at the top of this article that are from the same event: one cropped, and one uncropped. Do you ‘read’ each image differently?

In Focus: Bargain Found

The Joy Of Finding A Bargain At A Madrid Market

Background Story

This image was created during a stroll in sunny Madrid, Spain, in August 2019.

I used my home leave from my assignment to South Africa to spend a week in Madrid with my wife, prior to traveling on to The Hague, the Netherlands, for some time with my youngest daughter.

Madrid has an abundance of squares (plazas), shopping streets, small back alleys, and parks to explore. The weather was great that week and we enjoyed a couple of days strolling through the beautiful capital of Spain.

That particular day we visited several open-air street markets, where a large diversity of goods was being sold. Fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, musical instruments, potter, leatherware, shoes, t-shirts, artisan bread, cheese, handheld fans, bags, tools; you name it, they sold it. And fabrics of course.

A fabrics stall at a market is always interesting to observe. Often the merchandise is just laying on a table or on the ground, and prospective buyers are picking it up, holding it to the light, and showing it to each other to determine if it is the right quality, size, and color for whatever they are creating at home.

And always there is this hope to find a real bargain.

As you can imagine, this creates numerous situations to make a photo. And this was just the right one for me.

How It Was Made

Only a couple of weeks earlier I was fortunate to purchase a just CLA’d Leica M4 and a Summaron 35mm f/2.8 lens for a very reasonable price. And since my wife brought my Voigtländer VCII lightmeter from home, I was experimenting with the camera, lens, lightmeter combination.

As you will know by now, I love black and white images and I had my favorite film, Ilford Delta 400, loaded.

Why It Works

The subject matter of this image is right up my alley: the busyness of the market, people interacting with each other, and the play of light and shadows.

The main subject is formed by the two hugging women in the center of the frame.

The pile of fabric and the piece held up by the lady to the left create a nice diagonal, leading the viewer’s eye through the composition.

The small tree and its support to the right and the larger tree to the left frame the main subjects of the image, while at the same time creating sub-frames for other points of interest: see the walking man perfectly framed by the small tree and the wooden support? This was a nice bonus that I only discovered after getting the film back from the lab.

As always, the light plays a major factor in making this image work for me. The harsh sunlight to the left and right of the group of women, with the shadows on the street in the foreground and the dark leaves of the trees, provides an additional frame for the main subject.

All parts work together to create several frames around the center of the image, focusing the view towards the two women in the center.

How Can This Image Be Used

There are several ways to use an image like this in a commercial setting.

There might be a hotel nearby that can use this image to show their guests the area they are located at, and how close they are to classical Madrid markets.

And the City of Madrid could use it to show prospective visitors its relaxed but lively street life and market culture, ideally for tourists who want to experience the real Spanish.

Although countries and cities are opening up after what hopefully was the worst of the Covid-19 / Coronavirus impact it might be a while until we can strolling the markets of Madrid again. Until then, images like this one will remind us of the better times to come.

In Focus: Food Envy

Pre-Pandemic Diners In The Hague

Background Story

We all remember those carefree pre-pandemic afternoons and evenings when we could stroll the streets without face masks and go to restaurants to enjoy a good meal without being restricted in how many friends to meet. Don’t we?

This image was created during a warm summer evening stroll in The Haag (Den Haag), The Netherlands, in August 2019.

I had spent a week in Madrid, Spain, with my wife and now enjoyed the additional time off with my youngest daughter who just moved for her studies to this lovely city in the Netherlands.

I stayed in the Park Centraal Hotel which is in a beautiful 160-year-old building. And in the Molenstraat and neighboring streets immediately outside the hotel are several small shops, restaurants, and eateries.

Tourists and locals alike enjoyed dining inside and on the terraces outside. The relaxed atmosphere, the darkening sky, and the light inside the restaurants created a tableau that depicted the typical Dutch “gezelligheid”. While this can be translated with “cosiness”, the Dutch word encompasses more: a general feeling of wellbeing and safety.

I find it always amusing to see how passersby look at people eating outside. In fact, they might not be as much interested in the diners as well as in the food on their plates. Are they deciding what they want to order themselves? Or are they going to an eatery which they anticipate has a less enjoyable menu; are they a bit envious maybe? Is food envy a concept?

Anyhow. The environment was right, the people were at the right place. And I made the photo.

How It Was Made

It was only in January of that year that I purchased the Fujifilm X100F, and I was still experimenting with its settings and discovering its capabilities.

I love black and white images (did you notice that all images on this website are monochrome?) and in this instance, I used the Acros standard camera preset.

Although I actually like that preset very much, when editing the image I selected the ON1 preset for Ilford Delta 400. I just love that film and I also wanted to check how the built-in preset would compare to scans from actual film images.

Why It Works

First of all, I like the subject matter.

A small city street with restaurants and outside diners. People passing by; what are they thinking?

Are the passers-by envious of the diners? Are the diners disturbed by the people walking in the street?

Then there are the leading lines that lead the viewer’s eye through the image.

The curb and the awnings are perfect examples of converging lines, anchored in the bottom right corner by the blackboard with snack offerings.

And, finally, the light. Ah, the light!

The combination of pre-sunset light and the soft incandescent light from the restaurants, creating that special atmospheric mood that is so typical of lazy summer evenings.

I can just not get enough of it.

How Can This Image Be Used

Images like this can well be used in a commercial setting.

Humphrey’s Restaurant might use it to connect their customers to the location (unfortunately their restaurant in the Molenstraat has been closed, but at the time of writing of this article they still operate a restaurant in Scheveningen, near The Hague), or to show them the great ambiance they have.

The Park Centraal Hotel can use this image to show their guests the nice area they are located at, and how close they are to restaurants and nightlife.

And the City of The Hague could use it to show prospective visitors how a big city can offer coziness and a safe environment to spend the evening.

With the current Covid-19 / Coronavirus-related restrictions in place, it might be a while until we can enjoy dining out in the Molenstraat again. But the time will come that we are allowed again! Until then, images like this will remind us how great having dinner outside with friends is.