Renowned documentary photographer Antonio Olmos has a reputation for taking pictures of everyday life around the world, including in Afghanistan, Angola, Palestine and Nicaragua. And recently he has been touring the globe with a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III compact camera to capture images as part of a "Celebrate the Streets" series and his latest stop was London.
Visiting the Winterville Christmas attraction in Hackney's Victoria Park, Olmos took plenty of photos at night to show how a keen eye can capture a story without the need for hideously expensive equipment.
The Sony RX100 III - which won the O2 Pocket-lint Gadget Awards best compact camera award - is only a small camera so is ideal for taking quick and easy shots in busy circumstances and each of the pictures he submitted for our perusal tells its own little tale.
You can check out a healthy selection of the pictures taken on a cold London evening in our gallery above. And you can also rest safe in the knowledge that, even if you only have your smartphone on you rather than a dedicated camera, you could achieve some of the same results.
And you don't have to just figure it out for yourself, Olmos gave us five tips that should help you take great night and festive shots too.
READ: Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III review
1. Make time to focus on your street photography and always carry your camera
Dedicate time to taking photos - if you try to do your Christmas shopping and take pictures at the same time you will not be very successful. Make sure you are always carrying your camera and that it is ready to shoot. There’s nothing worse than seeing something fantastic, but missing it because you weren’t ready.
2. Travel light
You will get tired very quickly if you walk around with tonnes of gear. You need your hands free to take pictures and if you are carrying bags or equipment, it makes it harder to do it. One of the reasons I love the Sony Cybershot RX100 III is because it’s a compact camera that packs a lot of power. It allows me to travel light, go relatively unnoticed and I never get tired carrying it around.
3. Dress warmly and comfortably
It also helps to wear good shoes. If you do street photography properly you will do a lot of walking and be on your feet all day. If you wear good walking shoes you will focus on photography instead of worrying about your achy feet.
4. Pick the right time and place for street photography, ideally somewhere with people
The best street photography is focused on people, which is why it is best to find somewhere with crowds. During the holidays, the streets are decorated festively and filled with shoppers focused on shopping, and people enjoying themselves. That makes it the perfect time for street photography. Try to immerse yourself in the crowds and take photos as people do their Christmas errands. This will stop your images looking staged, and help to capture the spirit of the moment.
5. Pay attention to light and geometry - it's not enough just to photograph people doing interesting things on the street, other conditions are important
Overcast days give you nice soft even light while bright sunny days create lots of shadows and shapes. Pay attention to the background and look for interesting shapes, figures and geometry. Watch out though, it can also be distracting. Personally I hate it when white vans are in the background. It's ruined many a good photo in my career thus far.
You can also check out Atonio Olmos' shots taken with the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III during the Mexican festival of the dead here.