Exercise 20: Busy traffic

This exercise called for a busy location with a flow of people so I headed into Edinburgh to see what I could find around the Waverley railway station and Princes Street. I chose a 17-40 wide angle zoom for this set and so by necessity needed to get close to the people I was photographing.

There are several exits from the station, here I have used an elevated position to show this exit that brings people out near all the tour buses:

From OCA People and Place Photos

The tourist information centre is capped with this distinctive pointed stonework and the Edinburgh old-town can be seen in the background. I have used the people to break up what would otherwise be a somewhat static composition:

From OCA People and Place Photos

I placed myself on a boundary here, with the busy pavement on the left and then the plaza area on the right as a woman uses her camcorder:

From OCA People and Place Photos

This piper drew a lot of attention from the passing crowds, positioned on a busy corner. I had to be careful to ensure that I had a clear view of the piper in my shots as people tended to block my view when I stood back like this:

From OCA People and Place Photos

And the same piper from a different view as someone throws a few coins in his open case:

From OCA People and Place Photos

A "Road Closed" sign is typical of Edinburgh at the moment as seemingly endless road works inhibit normal access so that the tram scheme can be progressed. This is a view of Princes Street, the main shopping area, with pedestrians being channelled through these little walkway areas between the roadworks. Note the Dim-Sum sign on the far left:

From OCA People and Place Photos

St Andrew's Square with a string of people using the paths to cut across it:

From OCA People and Place Photos

Tourists towing their luggage as they go to find their hotel:

From OCA People and Place Photos

The main problem I found with doing this set was timing, as people walk by there may only be a split second when they happen to be in a good position for the photo and sometimes you simply don't get a good composition. Also vehicular traffic proved a problem sometimes, with a car or bus getting in the way of a shot. At some junctions this can be seemingly continuous.

I also wanted to consider some alternative approaches to this exercise. For example what if I considered 'traffic' more literally and thought about use of roads. This shot of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was taken at a parade and so it really belongs more to the event genre rather than true street photography but opens up the ideas around movement, military roads (we had General Wade in Scotland) etc:

From OCA People and Place Photos