Street Photography

I think of myself as primarily a street photographer, maintaining a rather strict notion of what that means. I was first inspired by the work of Vivian Maier and later by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz, Matt Stuart, Nick Turpin, David Gibson, and other photographers in the tradition of such sites as https://www.burnmyeye.org/.

When I go out, I’m looking for whatever catches my eye in that vein, but good street images are hard to find.  Street photography has a long history, but over time it has come to be interpreted to include many diverse genres, often described as based on the very broad criterion of candid images taken on public streets.

Some street photographers, including those mentioned above, fill those empty spaces with traditional portraiture (when people may be asked for permission to be photographed and/or be positioned), street portraits (candid photos taken in public places without direction or permission), and categories such as photojournalism, documentary, architectural, nature, and urban landscape photography.  While those are valid pursuits, they are not what I’m drawn to.

Rather, with my eyes open to whatever may happen to light them up, I’m also attracted to several other photo genres including those with strong graphic or abstract elements including something about shapes, patterns, colors, textures, or the unexpected.  Often, I find such inspiration in everyday objects such as scissors on the wall of a physical therapy office, chewing gum on a palm tree, or a light switch in a gallery, and they have become the themes of my Shapes, Abstract - Non-Representational, or Overlooked galleries.

What I look for in street photography (what I refer to informally as “Street”) and what I consider pure Street merges with the above-mentioned elements but also involves candid images of spontaneous moments (what Henri Cartier-Bresson called “decisive moments”) that occur in public.  Naturally, composition is always a pivotal component in a strong Street photo.

Beyond that, some of the more defining elements include the interplay between the various people, scenes, and/or objects, including that between shadows, light, colors, and other aesthetic elements. I love when something appears to be staged but isn’t, unexpected angles direct our attention in interesting ways, there are complimentary/contradictory and/or congruous/incongruous/disparate scenes within a larger scene that has greater impact via the sum of its parts.

Other aspects may be when there are multiple tableaus (often presenting a point/counterpoint of scenes) in the same image, something appears to be out of place but nevertheless is an integral part of the scene, a single scene challenges our perception of what is real within one exposure, or for one reason or another stirs compassion within us, alternatively registers as ironic, humorous, sarcastic, or witty, or catches us by surprise and makes us laugh.

In all of these instances, I photograph these images not to document the event or to engage in social commentary but to capture the spontaneous moments and their aesthetic qualities as fine art, not the vernacular snapshots of social media.  These elements and aesthetics may also be used in any other of the genres mentioned, and they always makes them better, in my opinion.

All are candid images. No Photoshop compositing.

It is for all these reasons that I have included my Modeling gallery within the larger Street Photography gallery.