Interesting piece on street photography

Very interesting, thanks

There's a good video that was made by the Tate for an exhibition of his work earlier this year
 
Just put that long lens away... put a 35 on.... mix it up with the people, stop sniping from a distance. Street photography is about people.

The end.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Just put that long lens away... put a 35 on.... mix it up with the people, stop sniping from a distance. Street photography is about people.

The end.
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Forbiddenbiker said:
Good find thanks, and the vid.

For David. Nope, street photography is about the street and life on the street. the equipment used is irrelevant. ;)
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I think its fair to say what street photography is about differs from person to person. Lots. ;)
 
There are no 'rules'. Experiment, find what suits you, shoot in whatever way you feel comfortable with, using whatever combination of equipment and technique that you fancy. And don't annoy the people you are shooting.
 
You can't argue with opinion, obviously.. including mine. What you can do though, is look at what makes the great street photography from the past century or more so engaging and draw some conclusions from it.
 
Pookeyhead said:
What you can do though, is look at what makes the great street photography from the past century or more so engaging and draw some conclusions from it.
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True, but again its down to opinions, just because I think something is great doesn't mean you will, or vice versa
 
Indeed, hows this one going down...

formkk.jpg


Street photography from Nils Jorgensen.


Long lens, no people. hmmm.
 
Jane Evans said:
Saw some meaningful work of Street Photography recently. Lee Jeffries captures powerful portraits of 'Homeless' people and I'm very impressed with his style and assignments.
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Now, thats a great example of something being great for one, but not another. He's certainly got some great characters in there. And some good portraits. But, for me street photography its not...
 
Jane Evans said:
Saw some meaningful work of Street Photography recently. Lee Jeffries captures powerful portraits of 'Homeless' people and I'm very impressed with his style and assignments.
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Same for me as Hugh above .... Classy portrait set with heavy but lovely complementing processing ...but its not street photography to me either.
 
Well we're just jumping from one definition to another depending on what suits our "opinion".
You can't say that anything in the street is "street" and then go on to say that homeless portraits in the street isn't "street".
Its not about opinions anyway, "street" is defined by the people who created it, you don't just change what it is by opinion, I mean you can call a cat a dog if you want but if the thing is a cat, the opinion you are perfectly entitled to, is flawed right from the off.
Just because Nils plant pot whoever he is posts a pic of a cow and calls it "street", doesn't mean it is "street", the fact that that gallery has a people to cow ratio of 1000 to 1, supports the idea that he does actually know the difference.
Besides the cow, Nils plant pot shoots very street "street" in that gallery...:)
 
Is not my opinion, its the general opinion of intentional street photography photographers about the genre and it goes something like this.

Street photography is an art photography that features the human condition within public places and does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. The subject of the photograph might be absent of people and can be object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic. Framing and timing are key aspects of the craft, with the aim of creating images at a decisive or poignant moment

Those portraits do not tell a story about the street, in as much as a shot of a cat walking down the street is still just a portrait of a cat.
 
I must admit being one those people who get close,and uses wide angle lens,i like to feel connected to the subject i am taking photos of.

But sometimes its not always possible then i will switch to a longer lens :)
 
Why is it that any discussion about street photography always turns to equipment, and inevitably the old school thinking that you have to soot wide and close or not at all. What a load of tosh. Street is about capturing people, the streets, the vibe. However you capture it, it's always about people not equipment
 
I like the images of Thomas Leuthard, but when I read his books and he gets all "you must use this type of camera" and "you must do it this way" I think to myself that he must be having some kind of internal struggle with himself. At the end of the day, anyone who restricts their creativity with rules (and I have done it myself btw in my '52) is going to end up missing opportunities to expand their own artistic repertoire, why would anyone choose to do that?

PS. I won't be doing my '52 in the same way next year due to learning the above.

<Edit> I am not putting myself in the same class as Thomas, sorry if it sounded that way!
 
I don't see how anyone can do "street photography"photographing people now a days. It has always been fraught with the "what do you think you are doing taking a photo of me" brigade. On top of that now there are the "you can't take that photo there are children in it" brigade:dummy:.Then there are the people who have a grip about anything, that will go and find the nearest PCSO and report "the strange man taking photos over there" resulting in questions to be answered :suspect: . Then there is the young chav kid out with his girlfriend who is like 90% of the population who believe you can't take a picture of them without their permission, so he decides to show off and punch your lights out :bat:.
To start talking about "getting in close with wide angles lenses" is asking for trouble. It might be completely legal as far as the law is concerned but if the people that are being photographed don't know that,you could be explaining that to the Dentist! :'(

I have tried little to do this "street photography" of people passing by ect and I know I would not last a day before there would be some sort of complaint by someone :eek: . It's a shame but unfortunately a lot of people don't like having their photo taken.Nor do they understand what good photos can be had by such methods. :bang:

I read somewhere that a lot of Cartier-Bresson photos where staged ,which I find believable.:runaway:
 
Cartier-Bresson shot a lot of his work clandestinely, without the subject knowing. He covered the shiny bits of his Leica*, and sometimes hid it under his coat, or covered it with a handkerchief. But I have never heard that he staged his shots. Source?



*Edit to add: Not the shiny glass bit that sticks out at the front. Probably best not to cover that, OK? :)
 
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I mostly do street photographer theses days,a yes sometimes it can be hard out there but I just smile a move on.

Also never heard of HBC work being staged.

:)
 
kestral said:
I don't see how anyone can do "street photography"photographing people now a days. It has always been fraught with the "what do you think you are doing taking a photo of me" brigade. On top of that now there are the "you can't take that photo there are children in it" brigade:dummy:.Then there are the people who have a grip about anything, that will go and find the nearest PCSO and report "the strange man taking photos over there" resulting in questions to be answered :suspect: . Then there is the young chav kid out with his girlfriend who is like 90% of the population who believe you can't take a picture of them without their permission, so he decides to show off and punch your lights out :bat:.
To start talking about "getting in close with wide angles lenses" is asking for trouble. It might be completely legal as far as the law is concerned but if the people that are being photographed don't know that,you could be explaining that to the Dentist! :'(

I have tried little to do this "street photography" of people passing by ect and I know I would not last a day before there would be some sort of complaint by someone :eek: . It's a shame but unfortunately a lot of people don't like having their photo taken.Nor do they understand what good photos can be had by such methods. :bang:

I read somewhere that a lot of Cartier-Bresson photos where staged ,which I find believable.:runaway:
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Seriously, it sounds as if street photography is not for you.

PS. I read somewhere that henri cartier bresson had staged some of his shots but then I also read somewhere that the Apollo moon landings had been faked. I heard of a rumour at my work that was about me the other day, I can't decide if thats true or not either... :)
 
Brian_of_Bozeat said:
Seriously, it sounds as if street photography is not for you.

PS. I read somewhere that henri cartier bresson had staged some of his shots but then I also read somewhere that the Apollo moon landings had been faked. I heard of a rumour at my work that was about me the other day, I can't decide if thats true or not either... :)
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Do you do street photography? If you do could you us about your experiences please. Do you think it's possible any of Cartier-Bresson photos where staged?
 
kestral said:
Do you do street photography? If you do could you us about your experiences please. Do you think it's possible any of Cartier-Bresson photos where staged?
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Well, I enjoy "people watching" and I take pleasure in observing the way people behave.

I just shoot whatever I find interesting and I smile and move on. Sometimes if people look at me after I shoot them I stare over their shoulder as if I was shooting something behind them and then when they look around I walk away... Or not, depends how I feel and the "vibe" I get from them. I'm pretty gregarious and I have a sharp whit (so I'm told) so I tend to crack jokes with strangers anyway... I don't skulk about or hide either, no wonder people get suspicious! if people ask me what I'm photographing I just say "life" and something like "I love that hat you're wearing" whatever it was that caught my eye. Sometimes I even ask people if I can snap them or crack a joke and snap them laughing. I'm always polite, I've never had a problem.

I don't consider myself to be anything other than a hobbyist who is enjoying myself, but I do share my favourite pics on my flickr "street" set, Here they are:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_of_bozeat/sets/72157633122895991/

HCB... who knows? Does it matter?
 
Some great stuff on there, Brian! Love the little boy on the pier, and the Lowry girl.
 
kestral said:
I don't see how anyone can do "street photography"photographing people now a days. It has always been fraught with the "what do you think you are doing taking a photo of me" brigade. On top of that now there are the "you can't take that photo there are children in it" brigade:dummy:.Then there are the people who have a grip about anything, that will go and find the nearest PCSO and report "the strange man taking photos over there" resulting in questions to be answered :suspect: . Then there is the young chav kid out with his girlfriend who is like 90% of the population who believe you can't take a picture of them without their permission, so he decides to show off and punch your lights out :bat:.
To start talking about "getting in close with wide angles lenses" is asking for trouble. It might be completely legal as far as the law is concerned but if the people that are being photographed don't know that,you could be explaining that to the Dentist! :'(

I have tried little to do this "street photography" of people passing by ect and I know I would not last a day before there would be some sort of complaint by someone :eek: . It's a shame but unfortunately a lot of people don't like having their photo taken.Nor do they understand what good photos can be had by such methods. :bang:

I read somewhere that a lot of Cartier-Bresson photos where staged ,which I find believable.:runaway:
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A minority of people are like you describe... believe me, most people are very friendly, highly intelligent and perfectly capable of spotting the same traits within you...don't let the bar stewards get you down. ;)

Believable! ...which ones out of interest?
 
kestral said:
I have tried little to do this "street photography" of people passing by ect and I know I would not last a day before there would be some sort of complaint by someone :eek: . It's a shame but unfortunately a lot of people don't like having their photo taken.Nor do they understand what good photos can be had by such methods. :bang:
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You could try shooting from the hip. The purists will sneer, but sod 'em. It's a technique I quite like, and gives a lower angle which can be useful.

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