Featured Street Photographer – Susan Brunialti

Shot In The Heart of Melbourne is an annual street photography exhibition featuring local artists. It is an absolute must see if you love candid street images.

SITHOM Exhibition details

Where:  Victorian Artists Society
430 Albert Street, East Melbourne VIC 3002When: Thursday, 11th – Monday, 22nd May, 2017
Weekdays:  10am – 4pm   Weekends:  1pm – 4pm

MSP is going to feature a few of the photographers to get you interested in getting along!

First up, is Susan Brunialti.

Why Street Photography?:

Street Photography provides me with an opportunity to see interesting moments in everyday life. I love heading into the city, chasing light and long shadows, reflections and quirky moments that may exist for only a moment and then the moment is gone. I enjoy using the urban landscape as my blank canvas to create art.

What Got You “Into” Street Photography?:

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the work of the master, Henri Cartier Bresson. I was looking for a different genre to explore and at the time I wasn’t interested going into the studio, so I was immediately drawn to the idea of using the urban landscape as a canvas and exploring what the decisive moment meant for me.

Your Best Tip?:

Be patient, look where the light falls, explore different perspectives of a location and wait at the one spot for as long as the light remains good…also make a choice on a photographic style for a good 12 months, ie:. landscape or portrait, colour or black and white and commit to a fixed lens length. I recently received this piece of advice and it has helped me to visualise my images when out shooting.

Your Favourite “Go To” Spot?:

My favourite spots vary depending on the time of day and time of year, especially as the sun reflects differently throughout Melbourne. My favourite spot would have to be little Bourke street, in the afternoon when the warm afternoon sun is streaming down the street creating interesting shadows on the street and the light falls onto the faces of people. It was this location where last year I won BEST IMAGE in a National photography competition last year. http://www.melbournephoto.org.au/content/susan-brunialti-wins-top-award-aipc

What Gear Do You Like and Why?:

My Canon 6D is great at coping with all the elements that street photography can throw at you.

Susan’s image above demonstrates a deep understanding of how photography is all about being able to “see” light. By simply changing her perspective on a scene – looking down from what looks like a bridge – she is able to create a wonderful image using high contrasting light and shadows. I love the way the street pylon comes out of the dark shadows.

Her timing on shooting as the human subjects come out of the shadows is perfect.

Her award winning shot above, again reminds me of how important light is to composition for street photography. She combines it here with the sharp, triangular lines of the pattern on the wall, and the shadows. I particularly like the way the light drops off to the right. She has also waited for the right moment to add the human subject entering the frame from the left.

Thanks for spending some time with MSP, Susan!

You can see more of Susan’s images at her Instagram feed :

https://www.instagram.com/susanbrunialti/