Do you work to a theme or do you take what comes

I started my love affair with street photography when I realised that

it would be a great way to get exercise walking from my flat to

centres of interest in London like Hoxton, Oxford Street, Soho, Covent

Garden, Bloomsbury, the Tate, etc and a great way to use my camera. I

walk until I find something which interests me (people, objects,

scenes, moods), work on that for a bit, walk further, work a bit, etc.

 

But recently I've begun to feel a kind of "so what" feeling to my

work. I like what I shoot and I'm growing as a photographer.

Occassionally I find the work of a few people at photo.net (currently

ed leveckis, Tim van der Weert's work when I see it) whose shots speak

to me about larger issues than just snaps of people in compromising

moments and interesting urban scenes. But I'm starting to think that I

should be working to a more focused theme or somehow deal with larger

issues (I can't even define this well, its not just about naming, its

about revealing). In looking at my own work, I am starting to learn

something about me and how I see the world. Who was it that said, "I

write to discover what i have to say?"

 

But when I go to any of London's great gallerys or museums and look at

Gursky or Tillmans or other serious artists working in photography,

there seems to be a driving principal behind what they're doing. I

love the greats like winnograd, friedlander, HCB, etc but that's been

done and just to say I've captured something that looks like their

work doesn't excite me.

 

I'm interested in what your philosophy is of what you're trying to do

when you do street photography. Is it just have fun with the camera?

be a wannabe winnograd or HCB or are you working to themes or some

larger vision and if you are can you enlighten us on how your creative

process works?

 

Knowing photo.net there are a few people who will say, just go out and

shoot or some other dismissive comment but I hope those of you

seriously working can shed some light for me.

Mostly I do candid sp. Having done this for a few years now, I find it enriches my view of people on the street. I focus more on, and am more aware of, their interactions with others, and their changing expressions. I love doing it - and I'll admit there is a bit of an aspect of "hunting" - seeing a potential scene unfold some seconds or infrequently minutes beforehand, and getting ready to capture it something that may only be there a split second. And not even knowing exactly what it will be.

 

I've organized some of my shots - I have a set of photos loosely categorized as "Faces On The T" - hardly an original idea, since Walker Evans came up with the idea back in the 30's (and probably others before him, although the 35mm rf contributed to the possibility about that time).

 

And a couple of weeks ago while weekending in Vt I encountered some guys ice fishing and after talking to them about the in's and out's of it, tried doing a brief photo essay on it (I asked to if I could take photos). Nothing compelling came of it - some of the street skills came handy, but there are clearly other issues to master. I've done a lot of reading about sp, and very little about pj. For now, I don't feel a compelling desire to switch, but the exercise was worthwhile, and I realize I'd need to at least do some more thinking about it before coming up with something successful. I'd try it again, though, when the opportunity presents itself.

 

It should be no surprise - most types of photography takes a lot of specialized expertise.

 

But for now, I really enjoy sp, and if a couple of weeks go by without a good shot, I'm unhappy.

Both. I have an on-going project which is photographing the activity around Ebisu Bridge in Osaka. But I don't go there every day or even every week. What I do out there has ramifications in other street photography. Understand the "so what?" problem. It's a lot like writer's block. You have got to realize that "So what?" is the wrong question. The right question is "What?" Every shot you take, however seemingly trivial, has a what in it.

 

I see myself as an archivist, recording street life as I see it in the here and now. Once one of my subjects on Ebisu Bridge, an English busker, asked me why I was photographing the scene there--which was alive with street musicans, hustlers, lost souls, freaks, etc.--and I answered because it will be gone some day. Most of it is; he's gone too.

 

You need to be open for epiphanies whatever you do.

As a preface let me say I don't do much street photography if by

that we mean pictures of people taken in the street. What I do is

take pictures mostly of family and friends that I hope rise above

the level of snapshots. And I do it because it helps me

understand those people better.

 

For whatever reason, quite possibly some deficiency on my part,

I find it much easier to understand the relationships and social

dynamics of those around me when I'm taking pictures. Part of it

is the distance provided by the camera. I know I'm a bit awkward

socially, and the camera provides me something to do that

makes me feel less awkward. But it also gives me a reason to

think about how people interact as I try to understand when a

good photograph is happening.

 

For example, this morning I have been moving between poking

around photo.net and printing some pictures of my sister and

her two sons. Printing the pictures gives me a deeper

understanding of how much she loves those two boys while also

helping me understand my role in their lives.

 

I'm still strugling with how such a personal connection works

with strangers or even friends that I don't know as well. Trying to

get inside heads is an immersive task, but I think it's one that will

make me a better photographer.

 

Have I co-opted your thread with ideas from one I started above?

I am very much a fishman in that sense - always wait for the photo to come and never try to make things up. I don't fish in real life though, get bored very easily. :-)

I am almost always working to a theme.<p>

 

I like what Alex said -- because it will be gone some day. My story: for several years I was doing work for outdoor magazines, cranking out the usual fishing-photo clichés, but then I happened to run across <a href="http://www.imagescanada.ca/r1-116-e.php?trail=trail4" target="_blank">this page</a>, which treats fishing photos as a documentary record of Canadian culture. That changed my whole outlook -- I've always been more interested in "found" photos than in constructed ones -- and sales of my pix promptly dried up. (It ain't "street" photography, but the conflict between single interesting pix vs. a coherent theme is the same.)<p>

 

I do tend to think of themes in all my work, perhaps because I was a writer before I was a photographer. In writing, you can't really take random notes -- everything is constructed around an idea. So I tend to conceive ideas and work to them.

Both. I have a couple of projects I'm always working on. And sometimes I just grab what happens to be in front of me.

 

The projects are of particular interest because over a period of time (months, years?) I'm interested to see how many images I will find and whether or not my POV will have changed. Also, "self assignment" forces me to go out to shoot in a disciplined way. I have to find the picture that's in my head and/or go someplace where it might be. Most professional artists (which I am not), photographers/painters/whatever, give themselves assignments. It might be something abstract and formal like "finding diagonal lines in nature" or more of a social document like "violence in suburbia". This speaks to "intent" as opposed to grabing happenstance. And "intent" along with technical skill, are two of the elements that separate the photograhers you see in galleries and museums from the wannabes.

 

 

As far as "it's all been" done. That's true. You have to find your own vision/voice. In some ways when I look at Gurskey, I just see giant scale versions of Walker Evans' work...formally shot, head on, commercial buildings, etc. But, he presents his POV in a unique way.

 

"Just go out and shoot"...but, try to have a plan. See what happens. And don't expect overnight success. I think people forget how much work and failure goes into capturing great images on a consistant basis.

"just have fun with the camera" in my case. I go for a walk, go hiking, whatever, and take the camera with me. Maybe I see something, maybe I don't. I still had a good walk or hike.

 

As to the photographers having a driving principal or grand theme behind their work.... I doubt any of them ever sat down and said, "I really ought to have a driving principal behind my work...I think I'll start shooting (whatever)". I think rather they had interests, or found interests, and just naturally followed what they were interested in.

 

My point is, if you have some topic that interests you, by all means go for it, but don't feel like you HAVE to do that.

I consider myself to be primarily a documentary photographer. For me street photography technique is a useful tool for creating documentary presentations. I nearly always take pictures with a theme in mind, though I am somewhat more random in my shooting when using digital.<br>    <a href="http://www.zianet.com/connealy/krispykreme/index.html" target="new">Here is an example</a> of what I consider to be my best recent documentary production. This is somewhat atypical for me in that all the pictures were shot in the space of about 15 minutes. Also, this is a photo essay with no words; I usually like to combine words and pictures to explore a topic or tell a story. Some of my documentary projects have run on for more than a year. I tend to be a collector of images, I think, and much of my documentary effort involves post-shoot editorial organization.

For personal work, I generally shoot whatever suits my mood rather than making a conscious effort to explore certain themes. However, my moods aren't random, so themes evolve over time even with a relatively undisciplined manner of subject selection. A larger, coherent vision or theme is typically built through the editing process.

Because I�m coming back to photography after a 13 yr lay off I decided to have no other objective for one year except to explore and enjoy. Although I had been around photography for quite a while I�d never gone through a period where I basically shot anything and everything. I had narrowed things down to casual portraiture very early in my so called career. Now, I leave the house with my camera, a destination in mind, but no idea as to how or what I will shoot. Whatever happens, happens. I have been influenced by work that I�ve seen in the Leica forum, inspired really. I have to admit the one year thing is beginning to see a bit arbitrary so perhaps I�ll make some decisions about where things are going sooner. At that point I expect to start working on projects and to begin taking stylistic concerns a little more seriously.

...admit the one year thing is beginning to *seem* a bit arbitrary so perhaps I�ll make...

Hi Eric-- I think your "so what" comment is felt by a lot of people in many creative persuits. It's normal for things to go a bit stale from time to time, and I'd take that as a hint of a coming change in direction.

 

To break through the doldrums, you might find it useful to go back over your contact sheets and re-examine what you've done in the past. You probably will have a different opinion now about some of it. Make some new enlargements of images you find more interesting now than before. Dig through your old prints and find the ones that interest you the most.

 

Reading these as clues should help you discover what's most important to you now, and help point you in the new direction.

 

I recently did this almost by accident. I decided to transfer my old photo notes to a database on the computer. Years ago I'd started by making a 4x6 file card for each roll of film with subject information, dates, and all the tech data of gear/film/developer etc. Later I made these notes on the PrintFile negative sleeves, and sometimes other comments on the back of the contact sheet. All the rolls were sequentially numbered, but I decided to transition to a date-based system.

 

Well, in the process of gathering all the old data from various sources, looking at contact sheets, etc, I noticed a common element in what I now found most interesting. So I concentrate my photo efforts now on that theme. Of course there are the old themes that I still like when they pop up in front of me. Maybe just habit? :-)

I shoot SP mainly for fun and usually at the local events held downtown.

Whatever catches my attention I shoot. Most of the work will eventually be

offered to the local parks dept that put's alot of events on. They have a paper

that comes out once in awhile for which they need images. I've also been

considering offering the snaps from a tent / display at the events as well; More

to meet people and give them my card then to sell cheap photo's that were

taken unawares. As far as themes are concerned, my special interest lie more

into subject oriented themes that do not include people. Overall I believe that

alot of what street shooters take now will be the tomorrows photo show in the

magazines and books highlighting days gone by. Some of my favorites are

the photo's taken in New York during the early 20th century, the ones of the

plains people during the dust bowl, and most anything up thru the 2nd world

war. I think mostly becasue of how they speak to the history of the moment

and how people were dealing with so many things, on so many levels; The

depression as an example. I often wonder what there is today that even

compares to such times, and that is accesible to us here in the states and not

some event on the other wide of the world. The last example has to be 9-11 I

guess and look at the pictures that produced.

 

I guess if anything the best intent would be to highlight something that tugs at

ones heart strings.

Well, thanks everyone for your input, it was very useful. A few key points.

 

Stephen, your point is well taken. Driving principle was a bad choice of words. I made it sound so mechanistic instead of mystic.

 

Mike, I take your point about the editing process being crucial.

 

Alex, you were right. The question What was far more helpful in understanding my own work than the reaction So What. There was something in those images and I was missing it.

 

Jake, as soon as I read the word "intent" in your post, everything fell into place. The key which opened the magic door

 

The process of writing my post and reading the answers you gave was really helpful and I thank all of you. I got new insight into my own work, values and uniqueness. Cheers.

If you haven't already, check out the work of Narelle Autio, a fellow Australian, though she's in Sydney. Fantastic stuff. Google will bring her right up.