Street photography zines, buying used gear from Japan, YouTube channels for street and the Nikon F2

Street photography can feel like a never-ending hunt for isolated 'keepers' until you put your images next to each other and realise what they are actually saying. That’s where zines come in, and we make a direct, practical case for why every street photographer should be creating them.

We break down what a street photography zine is (from a folded sheet to a beautifully printed booklet) and why it matters more than another Instagram post: a zine is curated, sequenced, and permanent. We talk about how making one forces you to edit properly, build flow and pacing, and shape a narrative arc. Most importantly, it helps you find your voice, because you stop asking “is this a good picture?” and start asking “does this belong in the story I’m telling?” That single change is often the moment street photography turns into a coherent body of work.

From there we pivot to the first pick in a new 'street photography cameras you should try before you die' series: the Nikon F2. We unpack the appeal of a tough, mostly mechanical film camera, why reliability and feel matter, and how great older Nikkor lenses can be without Leica-level pricing. There’s also a no-nonsense guide to buying used cameras from Japan on eBay, including what to watch for and why import duties can still leave you with a great deal. We finish with a listener question on post-processing ethics, keeping street photography authentic, and a simple darkroom-style rule for edits that still respects reality.

If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with a photographer friend, and leave a review. What’s the one zine you wish you had made, and what would you call it?

____________

LINKS FROM TODAY'S SHOW:

Brian's new zine - 'Reality Czech'

StreetSnappers workshops

Klick Magazine: https://www.klickmagazine.com

Brian's email: brian@streetsnappers.com

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Welcome And What’s Coming

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hello, Street Snappers, and welcome to another lively session in the Street Snappers Moms. So, what have we got today? We're going to look at zines, what they are, why they're important. We're going to talk about the cameras you must try before you die. There was going to be a follow-up on the piece on comfort zones in episode 12, but I'll give you a breather from that and we'll revisit that in the next episode. I will briefly look at buying cameras from Japanese retailers, usually on eBay, and of course we'll take some of your questions. And there might even be a short beer review at the end.

Street Photography Meets Prog Rock

SPEAKER_00 0:50

So when I was on holiday in Italy a few weeks ago, I was sitting there gazing into my Negroni, as you do, while Mrs. D was lauding it in the jacuzzi, and I started thinking, as you do, and I started to draw parallels between street photography and prog rock, both of which I love, by the way. Now some people say that street photography is the jazz of photography, and I've always seen the parallels there. It's quite hard to disagree with that really. But I reckon prog rock comes closer. Just as in street photography, prog rock kind of rejects the obvious, and it looks for deeper layers of meaning, more complexity, much like photographers who move beyond simple documentation of what's in front of them, to create images that are rich in concept, in symbolism, humour maybe, or timing. Just as when you're expecting the obvious to happen, something different and unexpected happens. That's prog rock, isn't it? Then you have long and complex compositions, not the usual three-minute quick crowd pleaser, and then you have concept albums, which I can really compare to projects in our world. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that musing with you.

Listener Feedback On Format

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Other thoughts I've been having are about the length of these episodes, and I asked you for your thoughts about this, and lots of you have very kindly written in with the consensus, which seems to be around 30 to 40 minutes is the sweet spot. So I'll try to bear that in mind when I'm planning these. I'm also planning to interview more people like you. So if you have a point of view, do let me know. Always interested in talking to new people on here. And also taking your feedback into account. I've been thinking about whether to do these shows with a co-host or not. And I think I mentioned this previously. Now one day, maybe I will. I guess I just haven't found the right person yet. But somebody suggested, it was a good suggestion, I can't remember who it was, having the occasional guest co-host. And I really like this idea. So watch this space.

Why Zines Matter

SPEAKER_00 3:10

What are zines and why are they important to us street photographers? Now, this is a question I often get asked on workshops, and as I strongly believe that we should all be creating zines, I thought we'd have a bit of a deep dive into them here. And I'm gonna do my best to convince you that this is something you should be doing, if you're not already doing it. If you are, carry on, do more of it. So a zine is short form for magazine or even fanzine, and they started life, I think, in the student world, some decades ago, and they refer to a small self-published publication. Now this can be as casual as a sheet of folded paper, photocopied or printed at home, or it can be as sophisticated as a beautifully printed perfect band book. And for street photographers, zines have become one of the most important ways to present our work and get our images out there to a wider audience. Now I know some of you will be thinking, I don't need to print stuff, everything goes on Instagram, and that's how I get my work out there. But the key difference between a a zine and social media is that a zine is curated and it's permanent. Instead of showing individual pictures in an endless feed, i.e. Instagram, you're creating a sequence of images in the order that you intended. And this starts to perhaps tell a story or explore a theme, which is quite hard to do with one or two images. And also I think the images can be seen together as a cohesive set, just like how we used to listen to music in albums, maybe progrock again, which I still do actually. So why do zines matter so much for street photographers? I think they can help teach you the skill of editing, for one thing, and making a zine forces you to ask difficult questions such as which images belong together? Which are the strongest images? What stays in and what gets culled? How do I create good flow with natural rhythm and pacing? How do I create a good narrative arc? You can learn much more from editing 30 images into a zine than from going out there and taking 3,000 new images. So, secondly, they can help you develop your voice. A good street photography zine isn't just my best photos, it's about a point of view, a message. It shows how you connect with the world. As a street photographer, I think your style becomes clearer when you see your work in context and in sequence. Thirdly, a third good reason for doing this. You'll find that zines create a much slower viewing experience. This is great. Instagram, for example, gives the viewer one second or less, whereas a zine invites someone to spend ten or twenty minutes with your work, making connections between images that couldn't exist if they were viewed individually. Fourthly, they're also affordable, as compared to, say, a photo book. You can make 10 or 20 or 50 or 100 or a thousand copies for a tiny fraction of the cost of making a large photo book. And this means you can play around, you can experiment without any of the risk. And this is the key thing about zines. They should be fun, informal, and they can be experimental as you like. And finally, they become part of your street photography journey. And I find that producing zines can help you find your voice, you will explore ideas, and it'll help you refine your vision. So that's why you should be making zines.

What Makes A Great Zine

SPEAKER_00 6:56

So what are the ingredients then of a good street photography zine? Well, uh no specific advice regarding the number of pictures in a zine. You know, typically they have between 20 and 40 images. I tend to usually go for late 30s to early 40s, but there's no hard and fast rule. I saw a great, great one recently that had only about 12 images in it, and it was fantastic. So, you know, you don't think you've got to go large with all this. So you'll have the your kind of predetermined number of images. There will be thoughtful sequencing, consistent editing, a striking and well-designed cover, emphasize emphasis on well-designed, I'll come back to this. A strong cover image, or some kind of graphics, doesn't have to be a picture, it could be nice graphics. I quite like to include plenty of white space or even black space around the images. You need memorable opening and closing images. In terms of narrative, some people do this, some don't. I often include a few intro introductory paragraphs, or even just a sentence or two, just to set the tone. But this isn't essential by any means. So finally then, Azene is the it's a natural step for many street photographers because it shifts the focus from collecting individual successful pictures, i.e. bangers, as some people call them. It shifts the focus from collecting these one-hit wonders to creating a coherent body of work. And this is really important, isn't it? So instead of asking, is this a good picture? you begin by asking, does this picture belong in the story I'm telling? And that change in mindset often marks the transition from being a photographer who documents random standalone moments to one who creates a distinctive body of work. And here's the killer point. You'll probably find that your first well-edited zine is the point where your street photography becomes less about chasing isolated keepers and more about expressing a personal vision. This is so important. I'm gonna say it again. You'll probably find that your first well-edited zine is that point where your street photography becomes less about chasing isolated keepers and more about expressing a personal vision. So that's the the what and the why of making street photography zines. Over the next month or so, I'll do a follow-up piece about the how of making zines. And I'm also in the process of planning a YouTube video about this, which will go into lots more detail, and I'll be showing you lots of examples. So keep your eyes peeled for that one too. I'll let you know when that comes out.

New Prague Zine Announcement

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Now, just before we leave this topic, I have a short announcement in that I've just published my own latest scene. This is all about Prague, and it's called Reality Czech. As in Czech, as in Czech Republic. I always like a nice title. It's a collection of fairly contrasty black and white pictures shot over several years, and I'm trying to convey the realities of life in Prague in the 21st century. Some of them are funny, some prosaic, some a little provocative. I hope you like it. So, reality check is now available from my website for immediate shipping, and I'll post the link in the show notes for you to order a copy. I know a number of you will have almost certainly ordered copies, thank you for that, and they'll be going out early next week. Unfortunately, at the moment I can only ship to the UK. Shipping overseas has just become a nightmare for us, but hey, there you go.

Try-Before-You-Die Cameras Series

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Here's a new slot in the show, and this is probably as close as we'll get to gear talk today. And it's the cameras you should try before you die. Maybe a bit morbid, but there are some pieces of kit that you really, really should try out at least once. We were talking about these in the pub recently, and somebody said I should do a piece on them, so here it is, and actually many of my best ideas come from conversations in pubs. And you probably won't be surprised to hear that my top ten list contains all film cameras except one. The thing is about digital cameras is that they're all pretty much the same, rather like modern cars. And in terms of character, there's little to distinguish one from another, except Lyker, I guess, which I think does have a quirky character all of its own. Accepting the fact that many modern cameras will produce similar results, notwithstanding the obvious variables such as sensor size or film stock, it now comes down to the experience, the user experience or the journey. I hate that word, it always makes me think of British Rail at its worst. I don't know why, but it does. But it is about the journey, and you know, at the end of the day, a film camera is just a light proof box, and whether you spent four grand on a Leica MP or 200 quid on a 40-year-old Pentax, it's really doing the same job, and it therefore comes down to the lens, which is probably why I wouldn't buy a Leica MP, although I think the journey is probably fantastic. Anyway, back to the point. We've all we've all owned cameras, I think, that have felt a bit special for whatever reason. Maybe we evocatively associate them with a particular time and place. So that's a sense of nostalgia there, I guess, which for me is a really powerful driver. Or perhaps we've we've used them to make work that was particularly memorable for us or that we're really proud of. Or it could be we just love the gadget value and the the sheer joy of using something. I mean, they're all valid reasons. So I'm gonna pick one camera in each episode to talk briefly about in each of the next ten episodes, giving you my top ten list of try before you die cameras.

Nikon F2 Love Letter

SPEAKER_00 13:14

And first on the list, and my choice this week is the venerable Nikon F2, the photojournalist favourite from the 1970s. I've actually got two of my old F2s, a silver one and a black one. And even today, after many, many thousands of clicks, they still don't miss a beat. They are as solid as it gets, completely bulletproof. Literally, in many cases, they've been out on battlefields and they've lived to tell the tale. The only bit of electronics in the F2 is the meter, and you just need one tiny battery for that. But even then, if the battery dies, the camera's still completely usable. So it's m pure mechanical precision and reliability. Just listen, just listen to this. I've got it in my hand now. Just listen to this wind on and shutter sound. What an absolute joy. Oh, that that mirror, it probably comes out louder on here than it does in uh in reality, but that mirror slap is is quite a slap, isn't it? It makes quite a noise. I don't think you can hear that noise in the background. There seems to be a plane looping the loop over the top of my house. It's been going on all afternoon. Anyway, the F2 had interchangeable pentaprisms, so you could have a plane prism or a metered one. The one I the ones I have are called the photomic heads, and that's the one I prefer. You can have different focusing screens, and I think even a waist level finder if that's what you want. And there is a huge manifest of accessories, and these are all readily available online. You know, there's loads of stuff on eBay, you'll find stuff in secondhand shops. The big thing about this camera is that you know with absolute certainty that it won't let you down. There are no fancy gimmicks on these, the it's just the essential stuff, so there's actually very little that can go wrong. You know, I think the only thing that I've ever had to do with these is had have the light seals replaced every 15, 20 years or so. And that's it. They just go on and on and on. And because they're they're all mechanical, there are plenty of specialists who can still service and repair these, and parts availability is better than for many electronic cameras from that era and later, as it happens. So, in terms of price, compared to Leica, for example, these are really affordable, and you should be able to get a perfectly good one in eBay for less than 200 quid. The the lenses, the Nikon, the NICOR lenses are terrific. And the choice is eye watering. And again, you can pick up the older glass, like this one, for a really good price. And my choice for this camera, I love this lens, is the NICOR 50mm 1.4, which is uh what what I've got on both of mine actually. So, Nikon F2, get yourself one. It's one that you probably would never want to sell, but if you did, you'd always get your money back. Even if it's you just use it on the shelf as a bookmark, it's 200 quid well spent.

Buying Used Gear From Japan

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Now, going off at a slight tangent, as we sometimes do in the Street Snappers Arms, somebody recently asked me about buying gear like this from Japan, particularly on eBay. Well, I can only tell you about my experiences, and so far they've been 100% positive. I've bought maybe half a dozen used cameras or lenses from dealers in Japan on eBay, probably more actually. And the first thing to note is the the prices are usually quite a bit cheaper than they are here in the UK, sometimes significantly less. When I bought this stuff from dealers in Japan, obviously with eBay or one of those platforms, you'd always look at the reviews and you know, go go somebody with a high review, high rating, feedback rating, you're probably gonna be okay. I've always found the descriptions on eBay to be 100% honest and accurate. Mint has always meant mint. And okay, delivery often takes a little longer, sometimes a week or ten days, but that's fine. I accept that. That's how it is. The only slight sting in the tail, potentially, is the additional duties you have to pay at the point of delivery. And I'm talking specifically about the UK here. Duties will different b will be different where wherever you are in the world. But you you know, you get a bill at the point of delivery, and these are not listed in the price of the item. Now, to be fair, I've never found these to be excessive, and the significantly lower pricing usually reflects this, and it's well worth paying the duty, although it goes against the grain, doesn't it? I don't like doing this. So even taking the duties into account, I've always come out of this thinking I've got a very good deal. So maybe give this a try. I've always looked at these listings previously, you know, these Japanese camera listings, and thought they look a bit too good to be true, and I've always avoided them until recently, and I've started buying stuff, and I would say give it a try. Don't be scared of it.

How Far To Edit Photos

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Let's have a question, and this one is from Jonathan in Gloucestershire.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Great podcast, Brian. Thank you. I have a question with two parts. Both about processing images. The first part relates to cropping. Those of us that grew up with film and paper, we'll have dimensions in our heads like E10 by 8 and 20 by 15. For the features that I take, you tend to crop according to the composition of the image. The second thing relates to the wider issue of closed processing images. It's possible now with computers to do extraordinary things with photographs. The raw output from sensors allows a lot of detail to be recovered that wouldn't have been possible with films. Distractions can be edited out. And highlighting the main part of a composition is quite easy now. Of course, we all know what artificial intelligence is doing to the integrity of photography. I wondered if you had views on how far from a purist view of not changing anything you would go.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

What a super voice, Jonathan. You should be on the radio. Well, I think I I've answered the first part in episode 10 in a response to in response to a question from Robin about aspect race shows. So maybe you could refer back to that one, Jonathan, rather than me repeating it all. But regarding the second part, this is a question that comes up a lot, and my view is quite straightforward in that I wouldn't go far at all in post-production. My my own take on street photography is an authentic one, and it pains me to see it when so-called street photography has morphed into digital art because of excessive post-production. There really should be no place in street photography for wacky filters, excessive cloning, changing backgrounds, putting thunderstorms in the sky, and so on and so on and so on. Ad nauseum. I just prefer the reality of the the world around me. And I have my own rule of thumb, which I always try to follow when I'm editing photos, and that is that I will only do on the computer what I could have done in the darkroom. Okay, it doesn't always work, and there'll always be exceptions, but I think this is a pretty good discipline actually to adopt. So what does that mean? In reality, I will maybe straighten or crop a little, and I try to keep cropping within about 10% of the overall image size. I can adjust stuff like exposure, contrast, colour balance, maybe a little dodging and burning here and there, but not much else.

Click Magazine Break And Picks

SPEAKER_00 21:18

We're now going to have a very quick commercial break with a short message from our good friend Derek, the editor of Click magazine. Take it away, Derek.

SPEAKER_02 21:26

I thought you might like to know that issue nine of Click's been published. And I think we've got a really nice issue, thanks to all the articles and images that were sent in. In your last podcast, you have used the new book, The Art of Street Photography by Sean Tucker and Josh Jackson. Well, we have an interview with Sean, courtesy of Wayne Richards, where he discusses how the book was conceived and put together. A great insight into the thought process behind street production. We also traveled back in time by looking at the project about photographing issue in the nineteen nineties. And what the project led to. A real lesson in why we should hang on to our images and the power of looking back at them. Also, our regular contributor, Arnold Plotnick, has written a fascinating look at why, when, and how to name our images. I think he knows the reasoning and the do's and don'ts of captioning. He certainly changed my view on it. I know you know Paul Murray, the co-founder of Dublin Street Photography Festival. And I bumped into some of his work in the Brussels Street Photography Festival the other week. And he agreed that I could include it. A really nice set of images. So what were they using? The usual collection of articles and images from the readership. I think we have another worthy addition to the collection. I hope you enjoy it. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Actually, I'm I'm looking through the magazine now, and I reckon it's one of it's one of the best editions so far, in my view. There's a nice piece piece from Streetmax, who is uh I think he's part of Nick Turpin's collective. His work is very similar. He's got uh it's all about creating order and chaos and placement people where he wants them to be placed. It's interesting. It's a different take on street photography. And there are contributions for a few of my workshop alumni, notably Robin and Shema and Graham. Shema's also made the front cover. Well done, Shema. Great image. And Robert Stevenson with a really intriguing take on Russia in the 90s. So it's well worth getting your hands on a copy. Pop the link, as usual, in the show notes for you.

Beer Review Elvis Juice

SPEAKER_00 23:45

Well, the sun is well and truly over the yard arm, as we say at sea, and I'm actually it's a scorcher today, and I'm actually in my loft sweltering. So I'm gonna have a well-deserved sharpener and we'll do a quick beer review. So let me open this up. Ooh, what a nice sound that is. So hot today. My loft, you know, they say heat rises. My loft on a day like this, it's like sitting in a sauna. Although I haven't got Brit Eklund next to me. Right, so what have we got here? This is it's another from my brewdog selection box, actually. I do like brew dog beers. I heard they've gone bust, but you can still get the beer. Anyway, another brewdog one, and this is called Elvis Juice. What a brilliant name for a beer. So uh bear with me while I was gonna have a slurp. Hmm. Well, that's very different. Well, it says on the tin citrus ale, and citrusy it certainly is. I'm getting a kind of citrusy sharpness to it, which I really like, and a some sweetness. And I'm getting strong hints of grapefruit, I think. This is really refreshing, and I say it's definitely worth a try, especially in this weather. And I suspect it needs to be icy cold to get the best out of the refreshing qualities. Stifling a burp now, sorry. So Elvis Juice from Brew Dog gets my seal of approval. Bottoms up.

YouTube Channels Worth Watching

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Well, let's have another question before we call time in the Street Snappers Arms, and this is an emailed one this time from June in Philadelphia. If anything sounds like a jazz the tithe of a jazz track, it's that. June in Philadelphia by Miles Davis. Anyway, June asks, are there any YouTube channels you recommend for street photography? What a big question. Well, there's mine, obviously. Stephen Leslie's channel I think is quite entertaining and he knows his stuff, so I just strongly recommend Stephen Leslie. Alan Schaller's channel, I think, is entertaining and it can be very informative, but I think he's maybe a bit of an acquired taste. I know Sean Tucker sometimes talks about street photography, although it's not really a street photographer, well, it's not a street photography channel, so we probably wouldn't include it in this. I think many of them are just kids talking about stuff they don't know very much about. And I was looking at one earlier today b when I was thinking about this question, and he was going on and on about the best lenses for street photography, and on honestly, he had it all wrong. And he had his hat on back to front, as you'd expect. And I looked at him and I thought, I've got shoes older than you, son. Anyway, back to the point. It's a great question, June, and I think to do it justice, I'll I'll revisit it in uh maybe the next episode or the one after that, and I'll do a bit more research, and I'll try and pull out some YouTube channels that I can actually recommend.

Send Us Your Questions

SPEAKER_00 26:59

Well, doesn't time fly? You can probably tell by the music that that's it for today's episode episode episode. That's the brewdog talking. Uh I hope you enjoyed it, and please do contact me if you have a question for the show. As you know, I always prefer the spoken questions. The personal touches are really nice, isn't it? But uh, you know, it's just a quick recording on your mobile phone and email it to me, and I'll put my email address in the show notes. But if you prefer to email me a written question, that's fine too. So stay cool, make use of this great sunshine, get yourself a brewdog elvis juice, and I'll see you again in a few weeks. Bye for now.

Post-Credits Message Button

SPEAKER_00 28:26

I'm always interesting to interested to know if people stick around this long listening to the music. Uh, and if you tell me that you do stick around, I might put a joke or something in these last bits for people who want to hear them. And I'm very conscious that not everybody does want to hear my jokes. Uh so if you like if you like the sound of this, let me know. Uh, there is a button in the show notes where you can send me a quick message. Uh so if you want to do that, feel free. Bye again.