The Street Photographer’s Guide to the Ancient Citadel of Rye
Rye UK
Rye in the UK, is a great place for street photography. With its cobbled and winding streets, ancient Tudor buildings, its many pubs and eating establishments, there is ample opportunity to photograph tourists and locals wandering around, looking in shops and coming out of pubs, oh so slightly inebriated.
I can highly recommend a visit, whether you are with your camera or not. However, I urge you to bring your camera so that you can photograph some beautiful street photos.
So what settings are the best to use and where are the best places in Rye to get cracking with the art of street photography?
Let's get into it.
HISTORY
Before we begin you may be interested in a bit of back story...
Rye in East Sussex was initially a fishing community almost surrounded by water. However, over the years the sea has retreated and is now two miles away from the town. In 1014, Ethelred the Unready made a promise to give Rye to the Abbey of Fécamp and when Normandy was given back to the French in 1205, the French were also given Rye. It was once again reunited with the English crown in 1247.
Over the next 100 years, Rye’s defences were improved. Gates and fortifications such as Landgate and the castle still exist today, and it was The Charter of the Cinque Ports that consolidated the defence of the realm by making Rye and other nearby towns safe harbour for ships and men.
The French attacked Rye on a regular basis. In 1377 it was almost completely destroyed by a fire and the bells of Saint Mary's church was stolen, but in a revenge raid a year later the church bells were once again retrieved along with other stolen loot.
Throughout the 18th century, smuggling was rife in the town of Rye. Booty and other items were stored in the buildings of Rye’s underground cellars and network of tunnels. It is said that the Mermaid pub and hotel on Mermaid Street was a place where smugglers frequented and used to store their booty.
In 2022 you will notice that Rye still retains much of its old-worldly charm and many of the buildings are still intact, especially on Mermaid Street. It's still the same old citadel, built on a hill, that it was in 1014.
Daytime Street Photography Settings
When I'm hitting the streets in the daytime I am mostly shooting in Manual Mode as I personally like to have as much control as possible over each situation that I encounter. When I'm not using Manual Mode I am using Aperture Priority, which still gives me control over my choice of the aperture that I want to use, but also allows me to shoot faster which means that I can concentrate on the composition rather than the camera settings.
In both cases, I like to start with an aperture of around f /4 which gives me some separation from the background, but is not so shallow that the surroundings behind the subjects are completely blurred out. I must stress that this is just a starting point. If the weather is clear and very sunny I will probably have to stop down the aperture to anything from f /8 - to f /16.
I always use Auto ISO as I can quite simply set a range that I want the ISO to work within. For daytime street photography, I would set an ISO range of 100 - 800, which generally gives me enough leeway depending on the situation, such as entering areas with a great deal of shadow or very sunny shadowless areas.
In Aperture Priority, using Auto ISO, I will also set a minimum shutter speed of 1/250 sec, which is fast enough to capture most of the action on the streets.
If I use an aperture of f /16 and the exposure is too dark, at the minimum shutter speed, then the camera will increase the ISO from its base level of 100. Once it reaches its maximum ISO of 800, if the exposure is still too dark then the camera will sacrifice the minimum shutter speed I set and go slower than 1 /250 sec.
However, if I use Auto ISO in Manual Mode I get to choose the shutter speed and the aperture, whilst the camera simply picks the ISO based on the range that I have set.
I also use Exposure Compensation - subtracting in very bright scenes and adding when I am in a shadowy area.
Most of the time I will use Evaluative / Multi-Segment Metering Mode which works by taking a reading across the entire frame. This generally worked pretty well for most scenarios during the daytime.
However, if there is a subject in the centre of the frame and I want whatever is around the edges of the frame to fall Into darkness I would switch to Centre Weighted Metering Mode. Centre-Weighted Metering Mode works differently from Evaluative Metering Mode. It takes a reading from only the centre portion of the frame, ignoring the corners and the areas around the centre portion.
For tricky situations where I want to expose for a shaft of light, such as this over here I will use spot metering mode as I don't want the camera to expose for shadows as well as the subject and the highlight. I want those shadows to stay dark.
I mostly use a mixture of Continuous Autofocus or Single Shot Wide Area Autofocus depending upon the camera that I use. Check your camera’s autofocus capabilities before making a decision on which autofocus mode to use. On the Ricoh GRIII, I will sometimes use Snap Focus which is basically a manual focusing technique called Zone Focusing where you pre-focus your lens to a specific distance well you know that everything will be in sharp focus within that distance.
Nighttime Street Photography Settings
Nighttime is my time in Rye. For me, it is the most beautiful time to be taking photos as the ambient lights from shops and street lamps illuminate the surrounding streets, shops, subjects, walls, bringing out detail and texture in those old streets and walls that you wouldn't see during the daytime. Streets become colourful and atmospheric.
Shooting in Manual Mode during the night means that I have to use a very bright aperture of around f /2.8.
1/200 sec is just too dark in most cases at night time. Therefore, I can comfortably use a shutter speed from as slow as 1/80 sec (with the Ricoh GRIII I can still freeze action at this shutter speed). Whether you can use slow shutter speeds like that depends on the camera that you are using, (whether it has IBIS), the lens that you are using, (if you are using a telephoto lens it can be difficult to handhold the camera and get sharp shots at 1/80 sec, whereas using a shorter focal length such as 50mm means that you could potentially use slow shutter speeds of around 1/50sec) and your camera holding, action freezing, abilities.
At night I will change the Auto ISO range from 100 - 800 to 1600 - 6400. You need a lot more light to get a proper exposure when it's dark.
I keep the same principles with the metering modes as I do in the daytime.
Using the Ricoh GRIII, I pretty much always use Auto-area Autofocus. With my Sony A7RIII, I will use Continuous Autofocus.
Mermaid Street
The iconic Mermaid Street in Rye, East Sussex, is the street that you will find on every brochure related to Rye or on any Google search that results in images and there is a reason for that. It really is beautiful. The cobbled street slopes down a hill with picturesque and characterful 16th-century houses dotted on both sides of the street, that look straight out of a period movie. The Mermaid hotel and the house opposite (which is literally called The House Opposite) are extremely photographable, especially with the Mermaid’s sign hanging from the side of the building. It's an iconic photo location. The sunsets, when there are sunsets, are incredible from the top of this street. If you come to Rye, make sure that you're here when the sun is setting as this is the perfect time for street photography at this location.
At that time of the day, there will always be somebody walking up or down the street, couples or tourists that make great subjects which can elevate your street photos of Mermaid Street.
Bonus tip
Head into the Mermaid hotel and make your way to the pub area to see the giant historical fireplace that is so big you could have a party inside.
The Mint
The Mint leads up from the bottom of Mermaid Street up to the High Street. On this street, there are more picturesque houses, The Standard pub, the Old Bell and Marino’s fish and chips restaurant and takeaway which is actually a very good place for nighttime street light photography as the light spill from the takeaway area illuminates loiterers and people who are hungry for their supper. You also get light spillage from the shops on the other side of the road and the burger restaurant that's just slightly up the road called, ‘Hoof’.
The main reason why street photography is so good on The Mint is the curvature of the actual road that winds around down to Mermaid street. It makes a fantastic leading line, pretty much wherever you stand on any area of the street.
Bonus tip
Stand with your camera close to a house, a shop or a wall incorporating the flow of the buildings into your composition which will accentuate the leading line, whilst capturing a subject walking on the street or the pavement.
The Bottom of The Mint
The street lamps hanging off the stone walls are perfect for eerie and mysterious night street photography. Once again, the charm and the curvature of the street works great as a leading line. The huge stone wall at the end of the street with the lamp hanging off it is beautifully detailed and textured.
Bonus tip
The ‘No Entry’ sign, painted on the road at the bottom of the street, works brilliantly as a foreground object to pull the eye into your compositions.
Lion Street
Lion Street is one of the best places for shops in Rye, East Sussex and also a perfect place for urban street photographers who enjoy snapping photos of daytrippers, tourists, workmen and shoppers. Head down there late morning / early afternoon when the light streams up the street, casting shadows on the pavement and a soft glow around your subjects as they gaze at window displays. If you stand at the bottom and are shooting up the street, you can use the symmetrical road and pavements as a leading line, that leads up to the beautiful St Mary’s Church.
Bonus tip
Shoot at nighttime for some subtly coloured glows coming from the shop windows and stand outside ‘Simon The Pieman’ by St Mary’s church to take some interesting shots of people walking past St Marys in the darkness of the night. Don't forget to head to The Kino cinema to catch the latest movies.
Watchbell Street
Watchbell Street is just off Church Square. As beautiful as this street is, it is unfortunately very difficult to photograph as there are always cars lined up on one side of the road. However, it is possible to angle the camera so that you eliminate the cars in the composition if you are shooting in portrait orientation. The best time to photograph Watchbell Street is at sunset when the clouds look magical.
Bonus tip
Head to the end of Watchbell Street and gaze out, over the low brick wall. (Get your telephoto lens out). In the distance, to your left on the marsh, lies Camber Castle, a 16th-century Device Fort, built by King Henry VIII to protect the Sussex coast of England against French attack. Bring your wellies and take a long stroll over the marsh to the castle, if you have time. And, if you look straight ahead, in the distance on a broad hill, is another ancient Cinque Ports town, Winchelsea, which boasts another ancient church, the Church of Saint Thomas, where the English comedian Spike Milligan is buried.
High Street
The High Street is similar to any other world street photography city, with a multitude of shops on either side of the road. During the daytime when the light is nice you can certainly catch some interesting subjects walking through shafts of light, sitting on benches, gazing in shop windows and entering and exiting shops. However, it is at night time when you can shoot some really beautiful photos as not only do you have the glow from the street lamps you also have coloured illumination coming out of shop windows. Locals and tourists are much fewer at this time of day, therefore you can capture couples or a lone walker strolling past illuminated windows and under soft street lamp glows.
Bonus tip
Head to the far end of the High Street, late at night, to capture some people-less urban landscapes that include beautiful old shop fronts highlighted by atmospheric street lights. Alternatively, stand at the end of Lion Street, which resides in the middle of the High Street, and take photos of subjects walking by the beautifully lit ‘W.J. Bennett’, men's suits shop.
West Street
West Street is adjacent to the top of Mermaid Street and leads down to the High Street. At the top, the street winds around to Church Square, giving you a lovely view of St Marys' church from behind the graveyard. As you head down from the corner of Mermaid Street, you will come across a sign of a swan situated outside The Crab & Lobster Art Dealers & Art Gallery. This sign can look great in street photography compositions, especially when the sun sets and you get a glorious sky, which you can see over the hills of Rye, in the distance. Use the fishing technique, and wait for somebody to walk up from the other side of the street to balance out the composition.
Bonus tip
Towards the top of the street, just before the road winds around to Church Square and St Mary's church, on the right-hand side is Lamb House, which is a National Trust building. Home to the author's Henry James and E.F Benson. King George I stayed there in 1726. Hang around until dusk because West Street looks eerie and mysterious at night and can make for some great night street photography.
Church Square
The best street for street photography on Church Square is the street that leads down from Watchbell Street. On the corner is the beautiful Tudor house named ‘St Anthony’s’ with a sign hanging from its black and white wall. Use a wide angle lens to accentuate the proportions of this lovely house and shoot from a low angle to include the cobblestones and use the graveyard's boundary wall as a leading line.
Bonus tip
During nightfall, use the same low angle, wide angle lens technique on the opposite side of the street whilst various house lights are on and illuminating the cobblestones, for an unusual looking urban landscape shot
The Rye Castle (The Ypres Tower)
Rye castle was used as a prison and in 1430 and became the property of John de Iprys; which lead to the name Ypres Tower. You can get some startling sunsets behind The Ypres Castle. If you shoot from a low angle in portrait orientation you can get some fantastic leading line shots with the cobblestones as the foreground interest and the ancient castle as the main subject. Shoot when the sun sets or after dusk for some spooky shots that are only illuminated by an outside light and street lamps.
Bonus tip
It’s haunted.
Wish Ward
The bottom of this street leads onto an open area where Mermaid Street and The Mint begin. However, Wish Ward has two things going in its favour. On the left side of the street, close to the end, there is a lamp hanging off the wall that illuminates the texture of the wall and the pavement at nighttime. And on the opposite side is a pottery shop which has beautiful glows from the windows. When people walk past this window it can look very atmospheric.
Bonus tip
The open area at the end of the street leads to all of the best areas in Rye.
Conclusion
I have picked these areas to be the best spots in Rye for night street photography and daytime street photography. However, that's not stopping you from finding your own areas of the ancient citadel, that make unique photos.
Go forth and create.
