PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – He’s captured more than 30,000 street portraits on South Street, and if a picture is worth 1,000 words, photographer Sami Aziz has a lot to say.
Every day for the last four months, Sami Aziz has come to the street where he grew up to take portraits of his neighbors.
He’s known on Instagram as @SouthStreetSam, and his account has more than 60,000 followers.
CBS News Philadelphia
Aziz spends his mornings at the Spread Bagelry on the corner of South and 5th Streets combing through the photographs he took the previous day.
“I’m going through the photos I took yesterday, and what I do is, each day I post a curated selection of ten,” he said.
His method is simple – an introduction and a question: “My name is Sam. I’m a street photographer. Can I take a portrait of you?”
His photographs show the humanity of South Street, he said, with each image telling a story beyond the perceptions of its often rough exterior.
“Maybe [there’s a] reputation or narrative about South Street being an unsafe place or in decline. You have a picture of a group of kids having an authentic joyful moment,” he said.
And it’s those moments that are worth everything, Aziz said.
“I’m a street photographer at heart and I love what I do,” Aziz said. “To spread joy and positivity on South Street and my home city, I feel like it’s my life’s work.”
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
Philadelphia street photographer captures the people of South Street – CBS Philadelphia
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
ROCKINGHAM — Professional and amateur photographers gathered together once again a few weeks ago to meet after a long break that lasted most of 2023.
Photographer Jimmy McDonald started and led the Richmond County Photography Group more than 10 years ago in coordination with Arts Richmond in downtown Rockingham.
Like much of the nation, the group stopped meeting during the COVID pandemic in 2020 and started back up last year but for only a few months due to unforeseen circumstances. Group members were excited last month about gathering again to discuss photography topics, share photos, plan events which include a few photo shoots, and to share knowledge with one another.
(Disclosure: This writer is a member of the group.)
Throughout the year, the group may attend community events which include photography opportunities as well as participating in a photo scavenger hunt. All attendees are welcome to give input and/or constructive criticism in helping fellow photographers capture the “perfect” shot as well as encouraging one another.
Anyone who is 16 years old or older and has an interest in photography is welcome. There are monthly topics which also include printing that topic on an 8×10 to share with the group. The photos are saved in a binder and kept on display at Arts Richmond for the community to view.
Advertisements
The group’s planned meetings are on the third Thursday of each month at the Arts Richmond building in downtown Rockingham at 125 E. Washington St., beginning at 6 p.m. and lasting until around 7:30 p.m.
The next event that the group will participate in, other than the regular monthly meetings, will be on March 10 which will be coordinated with the Richmond Community Theater’s “Cinderella” closing reception. There will be snacks and drinks served, and the photography group will have photos on display during the event. The photos will stay on display for a period of time afterwards to give the community time to stop by and view.
For more information on the Richmond County Photography Group, view their Facebook page: Richmond County Photography Group.
For more information on Arts Richmond, go to their website artsrichmond.org or you can view their Facebook page, Arts Richmond.
Finnish photographer Petri Damstén crafted a digital clock within a flash unit using a Raspberry Pi Pico, and it looks like a delightful accessory that many photographers would pay good money for.
The digital display fits into where the diffuser panel once was. It mimics the simple aesthetics seen when on camera lenses to perfection. At the top, in large, easy-to-see numbers is the time. Below that a graphic reminiscence of depth of field markings seen on lenses. This part is just for aesthetics, but it’s a nice touch.
In the last row is further information, starting with the temperature at the far right. The simple number is meant to look like the focal length markings in orange also seen on lenses. To the right is a dot, which, when orange, indicates that the temperature displayed is above freezing (all in Celsius), or below freezing, if blue. In the middle of this row, users have the option of displaying the date.
“The idea of a camera-themed clock originated from my interest in photography. Another concept I had in mind was a Back to the Future DeLorean time machine-themed clock, but that might be a project for another day,” Damstén says in a blog post detailing the project
This DIY project looks incredibly impressive, but the process putting it all together is even more fascinating. Initially, Damstén thought of 3D printing a flash unit to house the clock display and electronics. But the photographer realized it was easy to find a used one for little money and determined it was worth it for the more authentic look. Damstén even tried to find a broken flash unit which would have avoided taking apart working gear, but wasn’t able to find one.
With the body ready to go, Damstén still had to figure out how to get the actual clock part working the way he wanted. Accuracy was of the utmost importance, and the photographer’s first go was off by a month.
“The absolute requirement for this clock was that the time is automatically set. You just plug it into the power source, and it shows the correct time,” Damstén said.
“I selected the Pico W with Wi-Fi since I was planning to use the internet for accurate time and temperature,” he later added.
Another key feature for Damstén was truly capturing the lens look.
“I wanted a font that resembles engravings in old lenses. I could not find one that I was happy with, so I decided to create my own font for this project (SVG, TTF on GitHub). The CircuitPython fonts are 1-bit fonts and appeared jagged, so I coded my own simple font system too,” Damstén says.
There were other obstacles, including a too-bright display and an overly blue palette, but Damstén was able to sort out the details with some coding behind the scenes.
“All in all, it was a nice little project,” Damstén says. “MicroPython is suitable for these types of projects, especially for beginners.”
He removed the existing electronics and modified the battery compartment in the flash unit, but the display and Raspberry Pi Pico fit perfectly inside. A USB cable stretches out the back, which is nicely hidden in the final display mounted atop a camera. Even better? The camera holding up the tricked out flash clock: It’s called a Petri, the same as Damstén’s first name.
Image credits: Photographs by Petri Damstén
