When every photographer starts getting serious about the art form, the first thing they usually do is take a selfie...what used to be called a self-portrait. Then, what they always rush to do next is take pictures of people on the street. So, street photography is like Photography 101 for most of us.
The genre started with my friend Homer Page and I write about that on the Street Photography drop down window here. What followed him was a flood of photographers who took to the streets to record life in the raw. The most famous of these people, Winogrand, Friedlander, Doisneau, Cartier-Bresson, and Riboud (who died this past week), made it look easy. Their photos show people who know they are being photographed as well as those surreptitious shots of people who are oblivious to it all.
It may look easy...but it's far from it. I have always had trepidation when photographing people on the street. I dread the day when someone comes at me because I took their photo and demand I throw the camera away and threaten to sue me (or worse) if I ever use it. Of course, most people don't care. But, then again, most people have private lives even when in public and they work hard to protect that. So, it has never been easy for me.
The photos I made today at the MN State Fair are acceptable...at least about three of them are. I think they say something beyond just the image itself. But, I will need to press this work to get anything really good...as good as Page's work. The new Leica helps...the now famous "M Monochrom" (spelled correctly) is a magnificent tool. It records the finest detail with the best resolution with ease and speed. And, it's just about as unobtrusive as you can get.
So, I'm hoping for more good work.
RPW
The genre started with my friend Homer Page and I write about that on the Street Photography drop down window here. What followed him was a flood of photographers who took to the streets to record life in the raw. The most famous of these people, Winogrand, Friedlander, Doisneau, Cartier-Bresson, and Riboud (who died this past week), made it look easy. Their photos show people who know they are being photographed as well as those surreptitious shots of people who are oblivious to it all.
It may look easy...but it's far from it. I have always had trepidation when photographing people on the street. I dread the day when someone comes at me because I took their photo and demand I throw the camera away and threaten to sue me (or worse) if I ever use it. Of course, most people don't care. But, then again, most people have private lives even when in public and they work hard to protect that. So, it has never been easy for me.
The photos I made today at the MN State Fair are acceptable...at least about three of them are. I think they say something beyond just the image itself. But, I will need to press this work to get anything really good...as good as Page's work. The new Leica helps...the now famous "M Monochrom" (spelled correctly) is a magnificent tool. It records the finest detail with the best resolution with ease and speed. And, it's just about as unobtrusive as you can get.
So, I'm hoping for more good work.
RPW