Street Photography

Street Photography As An Art Form – Jack Simon

Jeff

Street photography is an interesting art form. Not only does it include one of my favorite hobbies, photography, it often includes a variety of things that can not be anticipated, are unusual and/or hard to believe.

This short video about the street photography of Jack Simon explains it better than any written word can. The photos are generally “strange,” but well-composed and photographically astute. I think you will find the video entertaining in and of itself, but the photographic philosophy and skills are enlightening to those of us interested in this genre.

For more information about Jack Simon, check out his website – Jack Simon Photography

Jack Simon’s Flickr account can be found here

Eric Kim also created a video interview with Mr. Simon and you can watch below (although there is some crossover of content):


Eric Kim’s Photography Website

Photography: Peeping Tom or Rembrandt?

Jeff

There is an interesting issue involved with personal privacy and photography nowadays especially when considering the popularity of street photography and recent attempts in some places to outlaw the art form.

Photographer Arne Svenson has created a project called “The Neighbors.” He has focused his lens on the lives of Manhattanites, apparently his neighbors, by photographing them with a telephoto lens through their open windows.

If this were you in the picture below, would you be offended? Would you feel that your privacy had been violated? If your face was identifiable would that change your opinion?

A picture from Arne Svenson's Neighbor Project

As a fan of Edward Hopper and other artists who depicted day-to-day life in a stylized fashion, I enjoy these photographs and appreciate the artistic vision behind them.

According to this post via PetaPixel, two of Svenson’s neighbors pictured in the project sued him claiming their privacy had been violated. For now, however, the courts have decided that the work did not violate NYC’s right-to-privacy law which prohibits using a person’s likeness for commercial purposes without permission. Svenson’s work was declared “art” and not used for “‘advertising or trade'” purposes.

The ruling may not be final as the door appears to have been left open much like the windows in the pictures. There is no easy answer here. Read some of the comments and you can see that this raises many issues which will only get more complicated as technology increases our ability to reach further into the world undetected.

Shooting in the Streets – Photography

Jeff

Eric Kim is a street photographer from Berkeley, CA. For those who aren’t familiar with the term “street photography,” it refers to those photographers who use the streets and public byways as their inspiration and motivation to create pictures of the people, places and events happening in the natural and real world. It is like finding the poetry in every day life. This is my simplistic definition, but it will do for now.

Mr. Kim has put together an interesting website about his passion and he shares his philosophy and insights with his readers.

Recently, he posted a series of street photography aphorisms, heuristics, and sayings which he has placed in cyberspace to inspire and motivate others. He has generously offered a downloadable version to his readers at the link below.

The sayings are broken down into categories and by way of example, I am including the categories in bold with one quote from each particular section. Many of them are specific to photography, but quite a few can be brought to bring meaning to a number of life’s avenues.

I hope you enjoy the quotes listed below and that you are motivated to visit Erick Kim’s site. There are many more than those that are noted below. Eric Kim’s photography blog

 

Street Photography Aphorisms, Heuristics, and Sayings

From the Blog of Eric Kim

 

Life/Philosophy: It is really complicated to make a photograph simple.

Overcoming your fear of shooting street photography: With physical proximity comes emotional proximity.

Creativity/Inspiration: Having fewer options in photography makes you more creative (think of the benefits of shooting with a prime lens).

Motivation: Going out to shoot is like going to the gym; leaving is always the hardest part. But at the end, you’re always glad that you went.

Aesthetics: “Grain is the brush stroke of photography.”- Constantine Manos

When shooting on the streets: “When in doubt, click.” – Charlie Kirk

Photography books: There is a difference between looking at photo books and reading photo books. One is to just see; the other is to analyze.

Equipment: Don’t judge a photographer on the quality of their camera, but the quality of their images.

Success: To double your success rate in street photography, double your failure rate.

Definitions: Don’t ask if your photo is a “street photograph” or not. Ask if it is a meaningful photograph.

Feedback/critique: It is more useful to ask people what they don’t like about your shots, rather than asking them what they like about your shots.

Editing: Editing tip: When in doubt, ditch.

Fame: Rather than creating photos to please your audience, find an audience that will be pleased by your photos.

Happiness: The only key to happiness and satisfaction as a photographer is to not have your happiness depend on others.


Eric Kim’s photography blog

Street Photographer Tao Liu Captures the Unusual

Jeff

Tao Liu is a photography hobbyist who earns a living as a water meter reader. He takes time whenever he can to capture the “lighter” side of life as shown in the two pictures below. To see more of his work, follow the link at the bottom of this post.

“Husky

She had husky legs. (captions are those of JBRish.com and not the original article or photographer)

“Dog

He started looking a lot like his dog! (captions are those of JBRish.com and not the original article or photographer)

Read the entire story at PetaPixel