What is ‘Street Photography’ to ‘Street Photographers’

For more of my work follow me on Twitter @adlstreettog and Instagram @goingeast365

Good evening fellow photographers,

Today I want to write about a topic that I’ve been hearing a lot of lately. Some people may or may not agree with this but as always this is just my opinion and my views on what I will be talking about today.

The last few months I have read a lot about street photography and what people’s perceptions of the thoughts on this genre. I’ve listened to podcasts that discuss the matter and articles that talk about it also and almost always seem to come to the same conclusions, ‘as long as your having fun then it doesn’t matter’ and that “there are no rules in street photography’.

Now I love all the content online available at our disposal because ‘I’ like most others in this genre love street photography and everything about it. There is one thing though that really gets to me and that is the contradictions of what ‘street photography is’.

So in general the discussion goes along the lines of street photography can be anything that you want it to be whether its close up candid shots, street portraits, busy layered scenes or minimalistic scenes with silhouettes as long as your having fun, and if you love what you do then what does it matter what you are shooting. I agree whole heartedly with all of that but what i do have a problem with is that in the next breath they will talk about how street photography is a massive thing now and on the up with the amount of people posting on social media and any Tom, Dick or Harry can call themselves a street photographer (one of the draws of street photography for me), whilst the amount of good viewing content is actually going down. Again I agree with this 100%, but if these ‘mediocre’ photographs are being taken with good intentions and the photographers are truly enjoying what they are capturing then who cares (this is exactly what they were saying a few minutes prior). In my opinion it doesn’t matter how much bad content is, the cream will always rise to the top.

I hear thing said like ‘random snap shots of non interesting people’ and ‘anybody can take photos of strangers in the street’ but isn’t that what we are all doing regardless of our abilities as street photographers and who’s to say that these so-called random snap shots didn’t strike an interest in those who were taking the photograph, and as mentioned earlier; as long as they are having a fun time doing it then why does anybody need to judge and discuss wrongs or rights.

I agree with most things that are said but this attitude is something that I don’t. Yes the content of some may not be as great as others but if they love what they are doing like you and I then who really cares. We all do this for the happiness that it brings us and if somebody else happens to like what you do aswell then all the better. First and foremost we go out into the streets to capture what interest us, hopefully having fun in the process and loving every minute that we are out there in this crazy and fascinating world that we live in.

Be happy and keep snapping.

Ashley

 

 

Interview with Stephen Curry

First of all I would just like to thank Stephen for taking part and answering my questions. I first came across Stephens work through Twitter and loved the images he was producing and naturally wanted to find out more about him and his photography. So here goes… an interview with Stephen Curry.

Tell us a little about yourself Stephen. Your age, where you’re from, your occupation and what you enjoy?

I’m age 43 and originally from the North East of England – though I now live in the Midlands. I currently work in retail Management, full-time – sadly, fitting as much photography around this as possible.

How and when did you get into photography?

Photography began for me at school. I was shown the basics of developing and printing in a free period by a physics teacher, which sowed the seed. In 1991, while at art college I found myself more interested in photography than graphic design – my original choice. Moving on to a degree course, I was studying photography and graphics combined, which quickly became just photography. Photography overtook me, having more natural ability and far more general interest.

When and why did you decide to shoot street photography?

I never made a conscious decision – particularly early on. My main interest was – and still is – documentary…which included people. Looking back at older work, some is street, but it wasn’t a specific focus at the time, more part of what I happened to be doing, what I was documenting. I simply enjoyed taking that style and it stuck. It’s more recent years that I’ve focussed more consciously on street photography, it was originally more of a by-product of other projects and ideas.

I see from your photos that you enjoy taking photos of silhouettes and shadows, what draws you to these?

Both elements are a strong focus for a photo, and powerful when used well – shapes, form and function, balance, graphic, juxtaposition between light and shade…  They’re part of the structure of photography. I’d love to say that I think all of these things through, and there’s deep meaning, but very simply, I like them.

I do like images to have a narrative though, or extra elements combined. I’d rather it didn’t just say, oh, nice shadow. I like there to be some feeling within it. What else is going on? What’s the story? Bring together more elements and you have a far more interesting image that holds interest other than just the shadow.

Do you have any ongoing projects that we can look forward to seeing?

I’m continuing a long-term documentary project on the annual Shrove Tuesday ball game in my home town, which i’d love to turn into a book. I go back to the project each year and one day – hopefully soon – I may complete it.

Recently I’ve started a series of beach shots which also have a human element. They could be interpreted in a street like way, but I guess you could say it’s more art based, with textures and selective focus. (Lighthouse photo).

I have a few other bits and pieces I keep going back to – I’ve started portraits of mechanics and manual workers ,and looking at small businesses.

Often much debated. What is street photography to you?

I’m not faithful to street and i’m not precious over it’s principles. As a genre, street, can be however you interpret it. I see it as evidence of, or documenting life. My street work is growing and changing all of the time. I’m trying to bring more irony or stories into my work and throw in a mix of ideas; it’s ever adaptable and there’s plenty of room for interpretation. I find the endless debates about pure street photos a little tiresome – just get out with your camera and enjoy yourself, if they mean something to you, that’ll do.

Is there anything in particular that inspires you to pick up the camera and start shooting? 

Many things: More than anything, simply a love of photography. The work of others, and simply seeing a subject that inspires me. I had a walk out today (unplanned) simply due to picking up the book Street Photography Now, while having a morning coffee. It could easily have been another book – The Bikeriders by Danny Lyon, or Walker Evans, The Hungry Eye (both huge inspirations) or Jimmy Forsyth, John Gay… it’s this work that inspires me. I love photography books and have a growing collection.

I’ve been traveling the world for over 1 year now and have seen so many great places, where is your favourite place in the world to take photos?

I’ve not travelled anywhere near as extensively as I would like. I enjoyed Turkey due to the cultural differences and historical mixes, and Eastern Europe is interesting – Czech Republic and Poland, but I’ve not really had the opportunity to spend much time abroad.

The UK, though, is rich in diversity and history, there’s always something different going on if you’re willing to look.

Do you shoot in digital or film?

These days, digital. I avoided it though, until the quality improved. I love film and adore black and white printing – I still have all of the kit, but everything is so quick these days and I simply don’t have the time.

Whats in your bag?

At this moment a Canon 6D SLR with a 50mm F1.8 and a 17-40mm F4.

What settings do you generally use when shooting street photography?

I’m not too precious over settings and tend to vary. Today I was using the 50mm set at F2.8 on aperture priority. I ended up wanting subjects to stand out in the image. Depends what I have in mind, really. A wide aperture prime slows me down, too. You have to be pretty accurate.

Is there a particular theme that you like to stick to?

Not really. I can be my own worst enemy and get distracted by many subjects, styles and ideas. At times I jump around all over the place. I always come back to documentary and black and white, but via a winding route.

Do you go out knowing what subjects you’re looking for (as in for a project) or whatever catches your eye on that day?

A bit of both. If working on something specific, that’s my focus. But, If something catches my eye – as long as i’m not compromising the project, and I have the time, then it’s fair game – I’ll often come back to it in the future.

Do you shoot candid or with permission, or both?

Usually both, but mostly candid.

Many projects lend themselves well to a variation. If it’s a documentary project, it’s often determined by the theme and people involved.

Do you feel comfortable getting close to subjects, any tips on building up that much needed confidence?

Mainly yes, though it’s not always easy, particularly if it’s not natural for you. As far as confidence goes, if you want candid and close, then you need to just get on and throw yourself in there… but please, do it correctly and with respect. It’s not about making people look awful in your photos for kicks, or capitalizing on a persons misfortunes. Street photography is in a boom period, with more photographers than ever and not all of them treat their subjects well.

Learn to talk to people. Often just holding a camera makes people notice you, so talk to them,start from there and don’t run away, turn your back or ignore people. I didn’t always have the confidence, it’s grown with time.

Anything you wish you could have known before you started photography that may have really helped you that could help others now?

Probably how to approach people and talking to them more, as I’ve said above. At first I avoided conversation and confrontation of any kind, at all cost. As I’ve grown more experienced I’ve realised interaction is part of the experience, builds your confidence and ultimately improves images.

What are your hopes and plans for the future, lets say the next 5 years? What can we expect to see from you?

Tying a lot of these threads together that I’ve been working on, in some cases for a number of years, and getting them shown. I’ve produced projects that I’ve exhibited years ago and not touched since, and some bodies of work I’ve not shown at all. Add these to the ongoing projects and there’s a fair bit going on.

Finally, where can we view more of your work?

For specifically street photography, there’s a section on my website with a variation of images. I’m working on putting them together and posting more in themes.

http://www.futureproofphotography.co.uk/on-the-streets.html

My website in general has a mix of my work and in truth is a little untidy  http://www.futureproofphotography.co.uk/

…and there’s twitter, where I like to post mainly street images as @scurrymann https://twitter.com/scurrymann

Any closing statement before you leave us?

For everyone, just get out there and shoot photos – enjoy yourself. Don’t get bogged down in must have kit or negative opinions – shoot for you. The great photographers are a wonderful inspiration – check them out, but there’s so many people who have produced amazing work – Vivian Maier being a stunning, recent example, and another favourite of mine, and a less well known photographer, Jimmy Forsyth – check them out.

To you, Ashley, thank you for the opportunity and for listening.

Thanks again Stephen for taking the time out to answer these questions and I’ll be sure to be keeping an eye out for any new or ongoing projects of yours. I truly enjoy looking at your work. Keep it up and keep on snapping.

Below you can find some more of Stephens images.

Ashley Linford

Welcome to the World of Film

Morning

The last few months I’ve been pondering the idea of getting myself analogue film camera, well that day came yesterday. I’ve taken the first steps into film photography and I couldn’t be more excited to get started.

I was out walking in Sydney and I happened to stumble across a vintage camera shop so naturally I wanted to see what was on offer. I didn’t intend to buy anything but kind of got sucked in by looking at all the nice retro style cameras they had on offer. And the cheap prices as well. So I thought ‘what the hell why not, there is no better time like the present’. After speaking to the salesman about what would best suit me and my needs, I came to the conclusion that the Canon AE-1 along with 50mm prime was the camera for me. A lovely looking camera with a solid feel to it and a crystal clear lens.

The reason I wanted a film camera was to shoot a project I’ve been thinking about making a start on, shooting with 1 type of film only so I get the same feel and look with all photographs. Not only that but I saw this as an opportunity to take my photography to the next level (learning wise) so i will be shooting fully manual with this camera. I will not be shooting solely with the Canon AE-1 though, as I will still be shooting mainly with my digital camera.

What film camera do you use, what style do you shoot. I’d love to know so feel free to leave a comment below.

Happy Shooting!!

Ashley Linford

My very own ‘365 Project’

First of all apologies for being so inactive for a long time. Travelling around Australia in a van with no WiFi or sometimes no electricity for days hasn’t been the easiest or best way  for updating my website and blog frequently. For the first time in a while though I can now start to write again and hopefully post some wonderful street photographs for you.

So since the last time I have recently started my very own 365 project. If anybody is not aware of what this is, it is a project where you take 1 photo everyday for 365 days. Sounds challenging, and I’m sure it will be somewhere further down the line.

My reasons for starting this 365 project is to first and foremost improve my photography. It gets me shooting every single day and I’d always like to keep the pictures to a certain high standard. That means always trying to get a worthwhile picture everyday and not just uploading any old rubbish or something from a different day. The other reason I’ve started this project is to try to find my own style, my own signature images that everybody knows are mine. Is this not what every photographer wants, to be recognised that your photos are in actual fact your photos. Anybody who follows my journey through the 365 project will see many different styles of street photography but i thought that this would be a great way of finding out just who i am as a photographer.

There is a quote from Walt Disney that really stuck a chord with me, it goes…

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because were curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths”

I take a lot from that quote. Not only to never stand still in life but the only way to learn new things and do new things is to actually try new things. What harm can it do especially in photography to try new things. Whether it’s the way you take photographs, the gear you use or the way you post process. So anyway that’s how I’m looking at this 365 project and the attitude I’m taking towards it.

The last few weeks I’ve been taking inspiration from various photographers, almost copying their styles to get an idea of how they get their photographs and then finally developing that into something of my own. I am going to carry on this way, trying different techniques of taking photos and hopefully at some stage stumble across my very own signature style I say stumble because i feel that very few photographers know straight off what their style is going to be from day one.

I’ve seen improvement already I think in certain areas like correct settings for the type of photograph I’m looking for, camera handling, I feel more focused and also feel like the quality of photos are better which is always a good feeling to have.

If you guys would like to follow me on my very own 365 project to see how i develop, I would love nothing more than that. I will be posting on Instagram only.

The link is www.instagram.com/goingeast365 or you can search for me yourself…. goingeast365