What is Street Photography??

A common question that people who are into photography is, "what kind of pictures / photos do you take?" or something along those lines.  There's Landscape, Portrait, Wildlife, Sports, Wedding / Event, etc...

The one for me is Street Photography / Photojournalism.

"Street" is a form of photography made famous by many people but most notably, Henri Cartier-Bresson.  He captured life around the world but mainly around France in the early 20th Century.

Some called "Street" the hardest form of photography because you are given only a fraction of a second to capture "the decisive moment" when something eventful or mundane will occur around you.  The goal of the "Street" photographer is to capture that moment.

Something happens that will never happen 100% exactly ever again.  It's here and in a fraction of a second.... it's gone.  Lost forever.

In that brief moment, you have to not only be technically ready but also be able to compose and communicate what has occurred with your camera.

"Street" photography IS NOT just snapping pictures of strangers.  Taking shots of people from great distances (super zoom telephoto lenses).  Taking stalking photos - that's for the Paparazzi.

You are NOT taking pictures.  You are capturing moments and trying to communicate with that image a message, theme, feelings, etc....

The essence of this art form is to document human activity around you that the "Street" photographer experienced.

"There's a million stories in the naked city"  That famous tag line is true.  For me, "Street" photography is that.  With a camera in hand, capture a story visually is what I am after.

The ideal "Street" photographer would be either a ghost or having the ability to become invisible.

A "Street" photographer is there to capture life with the lens.  Not to be part of the story or stage the event.  That's where photojournalism and "Street" share the goals.

Images in Life Magazine or National Geographic are prime examples of this art form.

The photo below contained many elements of "Street" photography.

I would normally spend time editing the images.

But to help explain let's look at the photo....

The woman to the left talking on her cellphone.
She was talking to someone about what happened at work and was giving her opinion on what to do.
(you couldn't get that info from shooting with a super telephoto lens).

The man and woman crossing the street and having a conversation.
They were talking about a restaurant.

The woman in white pants looking at her smartphone.
Reading either a text message or email.

The cab driver having to stop for the pedestrians.
Getting angry about having to stop.

Nothing really interesting here....just another moment in time.

Just that consider this....
25, 50 or 100 years from now.... should this image survive, someone is going to look at this and see and hopefully get a taste of what life was like when it was taken.

That person would be amazed by the clothes we wore, the cars of the day, the gadgets we used, etc...

Should this image make it and someone spends more than a second looking at it, it would have served the purpose that yours truly did that day.

To me, that's the essence of "Street Photography" and the genre I've chosen.