Street photography,more questions than answers?

[La Morte]

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On the lighter side of life, this write-up on street photography,

 

Streamlight Photography: Street photography... more questions than answers?

 

Enjoy!

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[Bobitybob]

Very interesting view, thanks for the link.

[wda]

Thanks. There is a lot of truth in what he says. Or perhaps more accurately, I can relate to a lot of what he says. Particularly regarding intrusive street photography.

[Adam Marelli]

Hey Danni,

 

Interesting post...you might enjoy reading HCB's Decisive Moment Essay or watching his short film produced by ICP also called the Decisive Moment. Many of those questions are answered in the text.

 

Street Photography is a botched term, for all intents and purposes. He explains it in the film. Capa was a War Photographer and Cartier-Bresson considered himself a Surrealist Photographer. Capa told Cartier-Bresson to avoid Surrealist Photographer as a label and just call it photojournalism. After many years, Cartier-Bresson agreed that Capa's advice was sound.

 

As for color, his biggest complaint was unreliable color film. He would have very little against it, but during his shooting years, he was not happy with the results.

 

HCB takes no issue with the subject looking at him. Many of his street portraits have a subject looking dead into the camera.

 

The picture of the boy is good because if his self content expression. The feet are cut off and it is a grab shot. HCB caught it at the last second and it is not a very strong composition. But it is one of the few photos that is so strong emotionally that it barely matters. We might get one or two of those shots in our lifetime, which is why they are not worth trying to emulate. If they happen they happen. Think Eddie Adam's Vietnam.

 

I write about Cartier-Bresson on my site, if you would like to have a look. When you have additional questions let me know. I can recommend some books for you.

 

Best-Adam Marelli

 

Henri Cartier-Bresson | Adam Marelli Photo

 

ps I tried to leave this as a comment on your site and it would not let me. Also you have no contact on the blog. Add this so readers can get in touch with you about site gliches or with private comments.

[jpattison]

Hi Adam,

 

Great insight into how to view an image, in your HC-B article.

And how to take one!

 

Thanks,

John

[colonel]

Street photography is of course not a well defined term

 

Most people take it to be taking pictures of scenes that include people. And those people are going about their normal, or abnormal business (i.e. not just posing).

 

I enjoy street photography myself, both doing and looking at others' pictures.

I believe a good "street photograph" is when the scene and the people compliment each other and transmit the atmosphere of either, or provide the viewer with an inkling of what its like to be there.

 

What makes me feel uncomfortable are pictures which exploit the condition of the subject to attention grab (invoke some spurious feeling in the viewer), e.g. sexual, disgust, etc.

For example, out of context pictures of girls with short skirts, tramps, etc.

 

I totally get documentary photojournalism showing dis-advantaged people for the reason to make people aware. But this is different IMHO from taking a gritty B&W picture of a down-and-out on a London street as you are walking past just because the grizzled face looks detailed and arty, or a lady thats stopped to bend over and pick something up because she dropped it, just to get a pic of more leg.

 

But thats my view.

[Adam Marelli]

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Hey John,

 

Happy to hear you enjoyed the article. I hope it give a little shape to why HCB was a photographic genius.

 

Best-Adam

[gjames9142]

The piece is okay, but terribly out of date. HCB and Frank both had huge shows a couple of years ago -- the big retrospective at MOMA by Peter Galassi, and Sarah Greenough's definitive show about The Americans. For many people, myself included, Frank starts to look like a much more interesting photographer, and a greater influence on the next generation of photographers (Winogrand, Friedlander, Papageorge). HCB became a bit too professional -- he once told Friedlander that his general level of shooting had improved, but he couldn't reach the highs of his early years. When Bill Ewing was doing an HCB show at the ICP, Henri vetoed the idea of presenting the early work at the start of the show, preferring to "salt" the exhibition with those wonderfully fresh images. An interesting book on this subject is ax Kozloff's on NY street photography.

[gjames9142]

AN AFTERTHOUGHT ON THE SUBJECT OF COLOUR STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

 

A friend of mine, now 80, has finally been discovered -- Fred Herzog of Vancouver. Up there with the almost equally unknown Saul Leiter.

 

Equinox Gallery Vancouver - Works by Fred Herzog

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I've used Garry Winnogrand's line more than once when confronted by a subject I was photographing..."You can't take my picture!!", they exclaim..

 

I answer cooly, "it's my picture."

 

It's all how you do things of course.