Learning the rules of composition then applying them to capture the drama and power of a scene just as Rembrandt painted his masterpieces or Henri Cartier-Bresson captured his images with excellent composition to create powerful and meaning full images. It is now just about popping the shutter and hyping that something will appear.
I find street photography to be a deceptively difficult area of picture making, and I mean in both excution and definition, as well as criteria for judging it. It is a subjective thing in many ways - but lets not use that as an easy way out (no here has, so far).
It (street shooting) is dotted with traps and pitfalls - from actual, present danger to ones person, through those threatening the artistic integrity. The line between documentation and exploitation. The often seen lack of that all important compassion. Hell, the pictures that are not meant to be compassionate - is a condemning image a bad street photo? There are things out there, everywhere, deserving nothing but contempt, too!
On the other hand, I have seen so many takes on street photography, so far ranging in their unique apporach, that I believe the lack of exploitation and ability to contain meaning into the image which is technically competent are the only two absolute must-have's.
...I believe the lack of exploitation and ability to contain meaning into the image which is technically competent are the only two absolute must-have's.
Out-of-focus, probably underexposed, cloyingly exploitative and cute.
There are no must-haves, their continual reinvention is crucial to the nature of SP
Out-of-focus, probably underexposed, cloyingly exploitative and cute.
There are no must-haves, their continual reinvention is crucial to the nature of SP
Thank you for posting this, Kevin... one of the all time great street photographs ever made... and an extraodinary record of the way people (and children) lived.
I mean... you just don't see kids these days carrying two bottles of wine home from the store, anymore... at least not around here!!
I agree, it leaves something to be desired in terms of sharpness - but I still think it fits my description: it was as good as it could have been for the great master to manage to capture it just exactly like that. And I do NOT see the exploitation of the subject by the photographer at all. Sure, there are not musts - let me rephrase it then: I do not enjoy images that cross those boundries. For me then, its a must have. And I would say that it is my personal stance on it that photographers should NEVER exploit.
Your post forcefully reminded me of my own hang-ups and inabilities as a street photographer. Some months ago I was on a documentary shoot in Memphis, TN, in an extremely poor neighborhood, your typical American inner city. While walking through the neglect and destruction, I felt I was in India or Bangladesh. Some areas looked exactly like what you would see in a city like Bombay or Calcutta.
Shooting was extremely difficult and close to impossible. Any attempt to take pictures would inevitably lead to unwanted attention from the neighborhood drug dealers who populated the street corners and alleys. I personally do not believe in "assaulting" people with a camera. Unfortunately, most of the subjects we approached were not willing to be photographed. I don't blame them.
The purpose of the trip and shoot was to collect images and video for a research/documentary project on sites of racial violence in TN and neighboring state Mississippi. It took a VERY long time to establish trust and to get people to pose and share their stories and memories.
Unfortunately, we did not have the time to establish that same level of rapport in Memphis. However, sometimes luck does shine a ray on you: a not too well put together guy approached us as we were packing up our gear, ready to leave. We struck up a conversation, he asked us about our resarch and project. He then gesticulated towards a house across the street, informing us that this was the house of a famous Memphis personality, and would we be interested in meeting the family? We were definitely interested. Politely we knocked on the door, expecting to meet some crack head and his three girlfriends, but were invited to an extremely tidy and clean apartment. The living room was full of memorabilia of the family and the musical legacy they had established in Memphis.
I wanted to take home an image that would summarize succinctly that legacy, so I asked the young man who was living in the house to go outside with me and have me shoot a picture of him holding up a framed photograph of his famous grandfather.
The image I shot, without any great artistic flair, does convey the strong, positive family ties that continue to thrive and survive despite the murder and mayhem.
So, again, rapport is what makes it possible to shoot complete strangers.
ricardo
wonderful story Ricardo, thanks for posting it, I enjoyed reading it. Rapport is very very important I agree!
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