What is a Stealth Photographer?

Before I give a detailed explanation of what I believe qualifies as the definition of a Stealth Photographer, I broke down the three main types of Stealth Photography, and will go into detail on each of these three categories in future posts:

~ Skyline Sniper Photography
~ Drive-by Shooter Photography
~ Urban Assault Photography

I live what I consider to be a Stealth Photographer's lifestyle when it comes to the time I can devote to my passion of traveling to previously unknown-to-me places and coming away with decent quality images that I can share on Facebook (feeding my ego); post on my website (in hopes of getting that occasional digital or print sale); add to my ever-growing collection of locations I've conquered.

Some people collect stamps, some collect coins, comic books, etc. I collect images of locations I've been able to visit and photograph (proof that I was there). I'm thrilled every time I can add a new flag on my website's google map of cities I've shot.

The self-imposed Stealth Photographer definition applies to the way I achieve capturing my photos. While I have experimented quite successfully with many forms of photography, including portrait, modeling, real estate, food, and more,

Skyline Sniper Photography over Nashville Tennessee - The Stealth Photographer

~ Skyline Sniper Photographer

Skyline Sniper Photography is finding a pre-determined location of any large city you happen to be passing through to get a photograph of the city's skyline. Most cities have at least one iconic skyline photo location that you can find on google (or on blog entries here) and even if it's a spot used by millions before you, there's nothing wrong with checking off that one iconic shot to add to your geographic gallery.

With a little research its usually pretty easy to find good views of about any cities' skyline. While some cities are more photogenic than others, offering rivers, shorelines, or some other nice foreground to build some great shots. Add in a sunrise, sunset or even late night light trails and you can come up with some iconic shots.

Drive-by Shooter Photography in Indianapolis Indiana - The Stealth Photographer

~ Drive by Shooter Photographer

The same research you use to find Skyline Sniper photo locations can be used to find Drive-by Shooter photo locations. This is a process to use when you are passing through a major metro area that has some sort of landmark or location that needs to be photographed closer to the object, and not something that can be either picked up or featured in a skyline shot. It's also the go-to process in towns that have nice architecture, but aren't big enough to have a skyline.

Full Urban Assault Photography in New Orleans Louisiana - The Stealth Photographer

~ Urban Assault Photographer

It's not often, but every now and then I'm fortunate enough to have a few days in the same location with no schedule to confine me, and the ability to shoot morning, noon or night. There's no better get-away for me than to immerse myself into an area over a period of a few days to experience all the different lighting, weather, and geographic opportunities available. The pre-planning process that goes into this sort of Urban Assault photography is a large part of the fun.

I've been fortunate enough to have three to four days in a few iconic locations with nothing to do but photography; Washington DC, Savannah, Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans, among a few of the classic locations! I'll be posting more about these locations soon!