What do we photograph on the streets?

[Ken Abrahams]

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[serdor]

In Milano, Italia, Quarter CityLife

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Edited February 2, 2020 by serdor

[AndreasG]

Lampions and reflections, Shinbashi/Tokyo

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[mikozia]

Man at work

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[Guest]

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[mechanicalportraitist]

Does it even qualify as street photography if I ask permission before taking a picture? 

Regardless, I photograph strangers on film with my Leica M4 and Rolleiflex. Many of my works are on Instagram as @mechanicalportraitist, having over a thousand followers does boost my confidence and adds some credibility to my purely artistic motives.

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[colint544]

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9 hours ago, mechanicalportraitist said:

Does it even qualify as street photography if I ask permission before taking a picture? 

Regardless, I photograph strangers on film with my Leica M4 and Rolleiflex. Many of my works are on Instagram as @mechanicalportraitist, having over a thousand followers does boost my confidence and adds some credibility to my purely artistic motives.

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Lovely shot! And welcome to the forum.

[Ken Abrahams]

 Street Shot - Candid         M10M 160 iso 90M apo

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[Jake]

I have a few questions for the group, if I may. And please be aware I am in no way criticizing or minimizing the work here or elsewhere. 

Is street photography required to contain humans? Almost all photos categorized as "street" usually have the human element. Is Atget a street photographer? He actually walked the paris streets early in the morning to avoid people. He thought of himself a documentary photographer. Not an artist. He is not considered a street photographer, but at the time, no process would allow the type of imagery we have today - faster films and compact cameras. Much like the advent of paint in a tube vs having to mix it in the studio. Thus. . . en plein air painting.  Is Michael Shore street photography? William Eggleston?

What about the Japanese photographer Tatsuo Suzuki? He's been wildly criticized for his creepy style. He just jumps in front of you and snaps your portrait. His portraits. . .err. . "street photographs" are wildly considered very good, but offends many people. He lost his status as a Fujifilm ambassador and a promotional video featuring him using the new X100V street photography camera got taken down

Also, darkness and contrast. It seems today most of what I see has been relegated to B&W, sometimes color. It's a "genre?" Is that what defines street photography? May as well add odd angles since many of us shoot without looking, preferring to capture the moment instead of composing a picture because it takes time. Bresson was a master at this, but his volume of images weren't nearly what they are today. Is the speed of the image, or the "decisive momeny" what defines this genre? Although catching the light at the precise moment doesn't mean a human has to be interacting with either the street or other humans, yes?

Finally, do we need the passage of time to validate the work? Photographs on the street in the 40's and 50's were documenting an era. They hold special meaning today, but I wonder about all the pictures of NYC. Today. I live here. I see that every day. It doesn't hold special meaning to me because it's all around me. Strange characters and juxtapositions are a dime a dozen. In 50 years will be different? Does that make atget a street photographer?

I find it curious that if I started doing drip paintings like Jackson Pollack, I'd be called a copy artist. But those emulating Robert Frank or Garry Winogrand are considered artists in their own right. I dunno. Just askin' Trying to work through some of this. Sorry for the ramble.  . . 

[Jake]

As an edit : There are a lot of smart and talented people here, so I was just trying to ask process questions about creating your work in order to learn. 

[erl]

Jake, your question can be answered many ways, probably all legitimate.

I'll stir the pot a bit and declare that I think we should not have 'categories' at all. Just post pictures! I say that because I am lazy and and can mostly not decide where my pictures 'belong'. Consequently, I post a lot in 'Other', saves thinking about what my image fits into. There will be howls of disagreement with this view.

 

OTOH, to address your query regarding 'Street' as a genre, it is generally understood to be candidly shot ina street or similar, and I see no real requirement for the inclusion of people, but others will argue otherwise. It is probably easier to define what is NOT Street. eg. Architectural, Family, Portraits, but even they can be done and found on the street. If you have set up a scenario in a street environment, I don't think you could call that Street easily.

The question of Colour Versus B&W should not come inti it. Both are admissible. The other aspect you raise is the "jump in front of your victim and surprise them" style. It can produce good or interesting images, but IMO not frequently. Personally I believe if you have offended someone by your style, you are failing and a bad ambassador for photography. Specifically, I disapprove of the Bruce Gilden 'in your face' approach. If he blasted my face with his flash at close quarters, I doubt his equipment would continue to function afterwards!

 

You will get, I suspect, a range of opinions, so just make up your own mind and style that you can be comfortable with.

[otto.f]

10 hours ago, Jake said:

required to contain humans?

Yes, otherwise we call it cityscape or architecture. Bresson is a reference point for it, so ‘decisive moment’ and people in it are quite crucial elements. The tradition is mostly B&W indeed. I don’t know but for instance the color work of Martin Parr is not so much called street photography? As with anything there are borderline cases and you mention them. And why would we need strict boundaries. Thus far, nobody in this thread has asked to move a photo to another thread or section. But is classification important? And when then?  ‘Jake’s photography’ will also do, isn’t it?

Edited February 13, 2020 by otto.f

[Ken Abrahams]

Groovin Along 

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[Keith (M)]

Waiting for the bus.  M10 Monochrom, 75mm Summarit f2.5.

 

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[Guest]

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[pattyfrank]

Chatting on Beale Street, Memphis, TN

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Edited February 13, 2020 by pattyfrank

[Likaleica]

Playing the Guzheng along Pingjiang Road, Suzhou

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[Ken Abrahams]

From the age of Nineteen I followed the likes of Elliot Erwitt, Max Dupain, Ugene Atget, Paul Strand, War Photographers such as Robert Capa and may more.  I followed their work through magazines and photography books sometimes travelling across Australia to purchase books that weren't available where I lived. Of course I subscribed to Life Magazine, the life blood publication for documentary photography. These and other Photographers  (above) were my heroes and in my view were were all Documentary Photographers. A Street Photographer is a documentary photographer in my opinion  however depending on what kind of scenes found in ones nearest streets and if there are any prevalent themes reflected by a particular community,  which can be captured as themes. Documentary Photography often reflects human beings and the condition of their environment. 

Capturing candid images of people on the streets is a fascinating pastime and over time these images might be included in collections and archived as documentary photography by Arts and other bodies. Street Portraits are another classification to Street Photography and then there are Urban Abstracts. Perhaps these, with the test of time would also be considered Documentary work. 

In my view War Photographers were and are the epitome of true documentary photographers. Gritty black and white contrasty and blurry images with exaggerated grain were often the trademark of Street photography mainly due to the technology of film and film cameras. Now with our modern high ISO full dynamic range digital sensors we still attempt to emulate the old street and documentary photographers. 

One builds their "photographic character" a style of work and identity over the years. Simulating other styles isn't such a bad thing, all artists do that to a degree because they might identify with those works and feel motivated creatively to go in that direction, until their own style emerges strong and consistent.  That's enough rambling for now.       

  

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Hallo,

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[Ken Abrahams]

Lakemba NSW Australia - MM1 21 SEM 

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[Keith (M)]

At the weekly street market.  M10 Monochrom, 35mm Elmarit-R, yellow filter.  (click to view in LightBox).

 

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