Street Photography for the Purist

Practice.
Conservatively, I’d say that you may get to the “within a half-stop” consistency that one needs to be able to make exposures “on the fly.”
Fuck batteries.
Photographer.
Camera.
Film.
That’s all one needs.
That’s all the masters of this genre ever had.
Why should you be any different?
Why should I?
When you’re making your exposure calculations with your rangefinder with centre-weighted metering hold your hand out as far as it will extend
making sure that you’re looking at your palm. It’s like a poor man’s incident meter. Once you see what it’s reading turn your hand so that it’s now
shaded and note the difference in the reading. Usually about two stops.
With the last photograph at the Getty museum café as an example take meter readings from different locations (e.g., shaded, half-shaded, light,
bright, etc.) and try and come up with an average. Sure, some of the darks will be too dark and some of the bright may be too bright but you will get
a pleasing photo.
Honestly, don’t do this for anyone else but yourself.
Perhaps others will enjoy what you’ve seen and recorded but that really isn’t the point.
This is for you. I do this for me.
I want to document the changing world around me. Where I live. Where I travel. But it’s the world at large.
And I’m part of that world. So are you.