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What is Street Photography? Some examples.
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I should probably smack myself in the face for throwing up this very loaded question as the opening discussion thread in this group. First, I am probably not the most qualified person to present a meaningful and comprehensive definition of Street Photography. Secondly, there is a broad spectrum of imagery that could fall under this category depending on who you ask.
So instead of attempting to distill the essence of this type of photography, I would like to use this thread as a medium for sharing the vision and style of some well known street photographers and websites that are dedicated to the exploration of street photography.
Oblivious Dude has linked to the the grand-daddy of them all: Cartier Bresson. I'd like to introduce Joel Meyerowitz. I don't want to spend time regurgitating what is readily available on the Web, so below are some links to the photographer and his body of work.
His official site.
www.joelmeyerowitz.com/
Meyerowitz covered in the iN-PUBLiC site (also a great starting point to see several galleries of different street photographers)
www.in-public.com/JoelMeyerowitz
An excellent video describing his technique and his philosophy of street photography.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dipTqJfiE4
Originally posted at 11:01AM, 14 January 2008 PDT
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Markus Krisetya edited this topic 53 months ago.
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I second Markus' suggestion to look at Joel Meyerowitz' stuff. I particularly second the video recommendation. The video's fun to watch, and conveys both the joy of street photography and practical tips to do it.
Posted 53 months ago.
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Actually, Cartier-Bresson wasn't the grand-daddy of them all. Depending on how you look @ the genre, I'd say Atget, Munkacsi, & Kertesz were all doing it before HCB. Indeed, Munkacsi's photograph of the boys jumping into Lake Tanganyika (see www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.2216209/k.398A/Martin_Mu... was the shot that inspired HCB to take up photography in the 1st place.
Originally posted 53 months ago.
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furcafe edited this topic 53 months ago.
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Thanks Chris. You proved my point!
So who else in the canon of Street Photography would you recommend?
Another favorite of mine is Nil Jorgensen, who has a stream on Flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/nilsjorgensen/
and is also featured iN-PUBLiC:
www.in-public.com/nilsjorgensen
His shots are rich in humor and irony.
Posted 53 months ago.
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Almost everybody who's been a member of Magnum has done some street shooting or documentary work, which overlaps which a lot of street photography IMHO & shares many of the same techniques (I wouldn't limit the "canon" to self-described street photographers):
www.magnumphotos.com
Of the current Magnum shooters, I like Alex Webb, because of the way he's taken the Cartier-Bresson style into the color era, & Elliott Erwitt, because of his sense of humor.
Of the archetypal street photographers, Garry Winogrand, of course:
masters-of-photography.com/W/winogrand/winogrand.html
and The Americans-era Robert Frank. Faurer, even Eggleston. Too many greats to list here.
If you don't have a copy, you should check out Meyerowitz & Westerbeck's Bystander.
Originally posted 53 months ago.
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furcafe edited this topic 53 months ago.
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This looks like a great group and will definitely give me something to focus on when I'm just walking around.
Although, sometimes I feel a bit uncomfortable taking pictures of people.
Posted 53 months ago.
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Like craigs9683, I think I'm too self-conscious and afraid of confrontation to take many street shots of this type. I may have a few shots from protests (or pre-protest milling around) that captured interesting interactions or expressions, though.
Posted 53 months ago.
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It's a cliche, but you just have to do it. John Brownlow has an article that provides some advice:
www.johnbrownlow.com/phb/techniques/shynessone.html
For short videos from some notable photographers, here's another resource:
www.photographychannel.tv/
Posted 53 months ago.
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Thanks Chris.
Here is another street photographer, Jon Anderson, breaking down the technique:
wayneyang.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/jon-anderson-photo-tip...
Posted 53 months ago.
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A few of my favorites are William Klein, Winogrand (already mentioned), Dosineau, and Kertesz. All completely different and brilliant styles in their own respect.
Posted 53 months ago.
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Thanks Aziz. Care to share more?
Speaking of Winogrand:
Here is an essay from a photographer who took a workshop with Winogrand:
www.photogs.com/bwworld/xtol1.html
Two part series on Winogrand where he talks about his view on photography, what pictures mean and what interests him as a photographer:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl4f-QFCUek
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zk1nkZ3-kE
Originally posted 53 months ago.
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Markus Krisetya edited this topic 53 months ago.
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Kclvey,
I used to feel like you regarding self consciousness, shyness, etc. The best way to migrate away from these feelings is to photograph events like protests, festivals, etc. You'll soon gain confidence in what your doing. Get away from using focal lengths above 50mm (28mm on a crop camera) as well. I forced myself to use a 28mm and get in close to my targets :)
Some tips I'd like to add that help me out is:
1) Use a fixed focal length lens because...
a. It's smaller and attracts less attention than large zoom lenses
b. After a while you'll know what's in your field of view before even looking through the viewfinder
2) Pre-focus your lens to where your main subjects will generally be. For me that is around 5-10 feet. Note: With a wide-angle lens like a 28mm, you can get an acceptably large DOF at larger apertures.
3) Smile and show confidence. This is a big deal.
Posted 52 months ago.
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The discussion regarding self-consciousness has been continued over at DC Social, so for our viewers just tuning in, check out this thread: flickr.com/groups/dcsocial/discuss/72157603959017987/
Posted 52 months ago.
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Interesting article in the NY Times about Weegee
www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/arts/design/20expl.html?pagewa...
www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/19/arts/0620-EXPL_index...
Has anyone ever been to the International Center of Photography??
Posted 48 months ago.
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No, but visiting ICP is on my list of pilgrimages.
Posted 48 months ago.
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