Shootout
Challenge 1
Vidya Rada
aving decided to tackle
Portobello Road Market from
its top end, we walked across
from our rendezvous at
Ladbroke Grove Underground
station. Shooting in the middle of a working
week, hordes of market-goers weren’t going
to pose a problem for us, but there were still
plenty of tourists and casual shoppers
taking in this popular and quirky spot.
Some of them would shortly go on to model
for us, alongside local residents who were
largely unfussed by our participants flitting
around and scoping potential shots.
From the start, Imran and Vidya each
adopted a different approach. Vidya was
happy to trust her 50mm fixed focal length,
while Imran went for a little more versatility
with his 24-105mm zoom. It wasn’t long
before both were capturing some pleasing
street photography. One thing that struck us
was just how polite and accommodating the
general public and the market traders were.
It seemed that they were all friendly and
happy to appear in a photo or two. “This shot
seems to reflect the mood of the market,
where everyone seems so busy with their
activities,” says Vidya. “Maybe I should have
tried this when there were more people.”
Expert opinion
There’s a lot happening in this image, and
nearly all of it falls across a central band:
the flower seller, the motorbike, the man
walking and, finally, the photographer on
the right. They’re all oblivious to each other,
and are part of Portobello Road’s charm.
H
Challenge 1
Capture a typical
Portobello Road
street scene
Camera Nikon D750
Lens Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
Exposure 1/200 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100