Street Photography in Adelaide

Rundle Mall is the city's main pedestrian street and the easiest place to find a crowd on a weekday. The Mall's Balls, two stacked steel spheres in the middle of the mall, reflect the whole street, so you can frame a shopper and a warped double of the crowd in one picture. Stand close with a wide lens and wait for someone to walk into the curve. The mall runs east to west, so early and late sun comes straight down it and stretches the shadows of commuters. The shopping centres off the mall are private, and security may stop you inside them.

Rundle Street carries on from the mall into the East End. Devine calls it the heart of Adelaide, where people dine and celebrate, and it is best in the evening. On the corner with Pulteney Street, the Rundle Lantern is a wall of 748 programmable light panels that washes passers-by in changing colour after dark. Put a figure in front of it for a silhouette, or use its colour on faces at the crossing. During the Fringe in February and March this is the busiest street scene the city gets all year. Late at night, stay aware around the bars.

Devine calls the Central Market the perfect place to people watch, and its dim light under the roof gives you moody frames. Stallholders call out prices and shoppers push through the aisles with bags of produce. Work the ends of the aisles and use the pools of overhead light to isolate faces. Come in the morning, before the lunch crowd. One caution: the market is private, and its own website asks anyone who wants to film or photograph to apply for approval. Apply through that page before a serious shoot, and ask stallholders before close portraits.

Moonta Street is the pedestrian spine of Adelaide's Chinatown, right beside the Central Market, with a gateway arch and red lanterns overhead. It is short and tight, which is good for layers: the arch in front, diners and shoppers behind. Restaurants along Moonta and Gouger Street fill up at lunch and again in the evening, when the signs come on. At dusk, try a slower shutter to blur walkers under the lanterns. People at outside tables are in public, but a tight shot of someone eating rarely goes down well, so work wider or ask.

Leigh Street and Peel Street are narrow laneways off Hindley Street, lined with small bars. By day they are shaded and quiet. After dark, bar light spills onto the paving and groups gather outside, which is the look Devine chased with a mist filter to imitate Cinestill film. He also likes Eliza Street for its Melbourne feel. Stand at the Hindley Street end and let people walk into the lit patches, or shoot through bar windows for reflections. Weeknights are easier to work than Saturday. If a group waves you off, move on.

North Terrace is the city's cultural boulevard, lined with sandstone buildings and the university. Adelaide Railway Station sits at its western end, and weekday commuter rushes give you steady streams of people on the steps and concourse. Use the station's columns as a frame, and shoot along the terrace early when the sun is low in the east. Behind the station, the Riverbank footbridge leads to Adelaide Oval, and crowds pour across it before football and cricket matches. The station is operator property, so keep a low profile inside and step out if staff object.

Glenelg is Adelaide's beach suburb, at the end of the tram line from the city. Jetty Road runs down to Moseley Square and the jetty. The beach faces west, so the sun sets over the water behind anyone walking out along the jetty. That makes it the place for silhouettes. Arrive an hour before sunset, stand on the sand beside the jetty and wait for walkers and fishermen to break the skyline one at a time. In summer the foreshore is packed with families. Swimwear and children call for extra care: keep it wide and don't single anyone out.

Port Adelaide is the old harbour town north-west of the centre, and it is Adelaide's street art capital. The Wonderwalls festivals brought big murals here from 2015, and Exploring South Australia counts over fifty large pieces. Many sit near the lighthouse, and some hide down back lanes. A mural makes a strong backdrop if you wait for a person to cross in front of it. Weekends bring more life to the wharf, while weekday afternoons can be very quiet. Pick up a street art map at the visitor centre.