What would it be like to shoot candid photos out on the streets of Russia? That was a question that was going through my head for a while and I thought whatever just give it a try. Finally, I decided to go to Saint Petersburg for a couple of days to see what the experience would be like.
Well, the first thing I’ve noticed is that the city is as beautiful as people are telling. With all the old buildings and the canals running through parts of the old town, you can easily tell the builders of the city were inspired by western European architecture. For me personally, the streets of Saint Petersburg would make a nice backdrop for street photography. It was also very convenient that the weather during my time there was almost perfect with sunny days and a temperature just shy over 20°C.
What could possibly go wrong with conditions like that?
I brought along two film cameras with one lens each. My main camera of choice was the Leica M6 with a 35mm lens and also shot with my beloved Hasselblad X-Pan which can take amazing panoramic images but more on that camera in a separate article. I also brought along a bunch of film. Most of the film stocks I was very familiar with and one I wanted to try out for a while.
After shooting there for a bit and especially after my first days in Russia ever I noticed a couple of things that might be interesting to you if you plan to visit Saint Petersburg.
What caught me by surprise was the fact that talking to locals was harder than I anticipated and even the younger generation couldn’t speak much English at all. Since this city is flooded with tourists every year I expected it to be a little easier. In fact, it might be easier to find people that speak German rather than English at least that is what I’ve been told. Nevertheless, it’s not a big deal and somehow you can make it work with putting in a little effort.
Even if the language barrier can cause some issues which wasn’t a problem at all was getting around the city. It is a massive city and in fact, it is the second largest city in Russia but still if you focus rather on the center of Saint Petersburg you can easily get anywhere by walking. Personally, I think as a street photographer it is the best way to explore any new place and in order to get good shots you have to walk a lot and at the same time it is a good work out. 😀
Of course, you can also take the subway or the bus to check out the outskirts of the city. Public transportation is good and rather cheap.
Another topic I wanna address at least briefly and that is safety. During my time in Saint Petersburg, I felt rather save and had no issues whatsoever. However, I didn’t go out shooting during night time so I can’t comment on that. Of course, like in all big cities around the world, you should be careful with your gear and all your belongings and try to avoid circumstances that make you an easy target for theft and other crimes. Using common sense often helps not to get in any trouble.
Now to the most important bit of this article, the thing I was curious about the most and that was how people would react to having their photo taken without asking for permission. Over the years I’ve shot candid street photography in many places around the globe and everywhere it feels a little different. Before my trip to Saint Petersburg I expected that people would show more of a negative reaction which in general is pretty rare but somehow I thought that that might happen more often in Russia. However, to my surprise that wasn’t the case. Actually, it has been super easy and even when I got really close to people, there was not a single instance where somebody got really upset. Even though I saw a lot of people that looked rather grumpy and when I approached one of them most of the time there was no reaction or some people even smiled when they realized that I took their photo.
In conclusion, the trip was a total success and at one point in the future I would love to go back to Russia for a new street photography adventure.