RE: Europe’s Living Rooms
https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/europes-living-room/

I constantly have this sense of inadequacy, that a better photographer could go into any situation and make amazing work.

Whenever I do a newspaper or magazine assignment, I’m disappointed that I don’t like the photos as much as I do for my personal work (for my own work, if I don’t like something I just move on, it doesn’t get published).

Anyway, I love it when brands ask a bunch of Magnum photographers to do a project. I always get to see photographers I revere share work that isn’t that strong, like this one for Heineken.

Photo: Emin Özmen

I am currently in South Korea and saw a father encouraging his son to feed the seagulls. The child was having no luck so the father picked his son up and I captured this photo.

I absolutely love it but I'm struggling to edit in a way that doesn't make them look fake and too separated from the background.
I'm using photomator on a Max (not Adobe) because I'm very amateur and just started out in Street Photography this year. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Well…

This seems to be the place to introduce oneself, so let me hop right in. I’m new to photography and cameras. Sure, I’ve had a phone in my pocket since forever, but I always forget that there is a camera on there.

I’m a biker. The whole thing, the Harley, the leather vest, the club patches…the whole thing. Recently I was in Sturgis South Dakota (not for the rally) riding some classic American roads, and I realized I had no way to capture pictures or video. Kind of hard to snap a pic when you’re hitting some super curvy roads. Fortunately, I was there with a bunch of friends and their wives, so I was able to get their pics, but it’s just not the same.

Now, one of the unfortunate realities of riding motorcycles is the loss of brothers. People just don’t see us, and we tend to ride outside of our capabilities. Bad mix. I recently lost a great Brother and I have no pictures of us together. I was able to get one from another brother, but again…not the same.

So, I swore this was going to stop. I broke out my wife’s old Pentax K20D, picked up a 360 camera, and a drone. When I do something, I don’t half ass it. So, for the last couple of months, I’ve been out collecting pictures.

I travel for work, so I’m all over the US. That gives me ample opportunity to get out there, and I’ve been taking advantage. I’ve been using AI to give me ‘assignments’ because, well….i didn’t know this place was a thing and that I wasn’t doing anything special.

So, yeah, I found Frame Lines and did a little digging, and here I am. I prefer to be on the street. It gets me out of my hotel room and out and about. I recently updated my kit, because again, I don’t half ass anything. Picked up a used Nikon Z5ii, their 50mm prime, and their 24-120mm. I kept the 40mm prime for the Pentax in my kit as well. I’m actually on a plane as I write this, heading to Spokane Washington. This will be my first trip with the new kit.

Anyway, that’s me. You see why my name is 2Cents, I like the sound of my own voice. Please forgive any dumb questions I ask, bad pictures, and any other time I put my foot in my mouth. I’m just a new guy learning.

Hey everyone, I’m Brian and I’m based in Seattle.

I got into photography in a slightly unusual way. I raced bikes pretty seriously for years, then had a bad crash that left me with a brain injury and a long recovery. I picked up a camera during that time to work on memory, attention, and just noticing the world around me. Somewhere along the way, it became something I really loved.

I’ve only been shooting for about two-ish years, so I still feel very much like I’m learning. These days I’m mostly drawn to street, travel, and everyday life, often with a camera in hand or on a bike.

I’m already blown away by the work here and really looking forward to learning from everyone and taking part in the community. Here are a few favorites from along the way.

I've been a life long photographer. I started at a young age when one of my uncles gave me a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, and I've been shooting ever since. I recently took a break from photography starting around 2018-2019 as I struggled with photography as a profession vs as a hobby/passion. In the middle of COVID, we moved from California to Virginia to help my elderly in-laws. Having left behind my photography workshop community, and mentor passing away, I have been looking for an inclusive, supportive, like minded group that provides positive, constructive feedback. I wish I found this a month earlier for the monochrome assignment (I love monochrome), Familiar will be a pleasant challenge.

I've found inspiration in the Framelines magazine since the first issue, but I'm new here to the community. I am originally from California but now live in Sweden... and lived in London for a few years in between. Graphic design is my day job but photography has always been an interest, but taken it more seriously the last few years. It's just a lot of fun!

Street photography is a genre I particularly appreciate, but since I live in a more rural location, I don't have the opportunity so often to practice in an urban setting. However, I am realizing more and more that I need to document where I live, wherever that may be. Either way, curiosity and my camera are always with me.