Street photographer and Alpha Collective member Steve Irby (@stevesweatpants) is the co-founder and director of @streetdreamsmag. To capture the quick-moving moments in New York City, he has to constantly be on his toes with his gear. “I like to have a really quick setup, especially when it comes to all my street photography.” Watch and read below as he shares what you’ll find in his simple and fast setup for street photography.
Camera
Alpha 7R III: I’m one of these guys of, if it’s not broke – don’t fix it. And I really love this setup with my Alpha 7R III.
Photo by Steve Irby. Alpha 7R III.
Lenses
25mm f/2: One of the things that I love about my 25mm is the fact that it’s not intrusive. When it comes to taking street photos, you don’t want to have crazy setups sometimes. And it’s easier to have a conversation with a lens that is not as intrusive.
Photo by Steve Irby. Alpha 7R III. 25mm f/2.
50mm f/1.4 G Master (Buy Now): The 50mm actually is a really, really, really fun lens to use. It’s intimate and I think that taking photos with intimacy is a really strong point of photography.
Photo by Steve Irby. Alpha 7R III. 50mm f/1.4 G Master.
70-200mm f/2.8 G Master (Buy Now): This is like the big boy, you know what I mean? I like to use this when I can just be the fly on the wall.
Photo by Steve Irby. Alpha 7R III.
Accessories
Street Dreams Magazine: This is my baby. The fact that I’m able to make a validation platform for Street Dreams for the past 10 years is one of the biggest honors of my life. It’s just kind of special that I’m able to do this.
Headphones: Music is like the essential part of everything that I do. So these bad boys are one of the most essential things for me when it comes to taking photos.
Pouch: I was able to get this in Tokyo. This is one of those quick little things, where if I need to put an SD card or some gum. This is the most important little thing to me because it kind of keeps all the essentials close to me.
Camera Strap: This camera strap is like the extension of my life. This camera strap I got from one of my favorite people in New Jersey. He goes by Tone Customs. He’s one of the most important people in the art space and the fact that he was able to give me this bungee cord for a camera strap is like this weird irony of everything that is important to me. Because I like to be grounded. I like things to be relevant and resonate, and this is literally the thing that keeps me grounded.
Bag: I can’t take anything anywhere without this big old bag. I put all of these random things in my bag every single time. It has my whole lifeline over here. From when my dad used to drive me in his Jeep Cherokee. I used to play the cello, I was in the orchestra. Plot twist is crazy. It’s always like a love letter toward not only my life but my family and to New York.
See more of Steve Irby’s work on Instagram @stevesweatpants.
