I love the challenge of street photography. You go out into the streets and you don’t
know what you are going to get, if anything.
You walk the street; connect with people and you keep your eyes open. You are looking for a shot, always composing,
always thinking. It is a poetic dance one does as they walk the street. You can’t control what you see; you can’t
move that red truck out of the way. You
have to make the picture as it comes to you in a split second. There is a thrill in the moment you make a
picture and it appears that the stars have lined up.
This poetic image of street photography has inspired me and Alex
and Rebecca Norris Webb have affirmed my metaphor in their latest book. Their new book On Street Photography and
the Poetic Images is a book I have been waiting on. I received it in the mail last week and fell
in love with it right away. It isn’t
your usual photography book. This book
is unique in its format, composition and approach to the subject.
The format of the book is one of a picture on each page with
a very short topical reflection. This
isn’t a book composed of how to do what you do but rather it is a book this structured
in such away that inspires you to find your why. That “why” that moves you out
into the street. The book turns the
artist inside; it calls the photographer to look at themselves in the
viewfinder, as they go outside. Alex and
Rebecca make you think about how your worldview influences what you put in your
viewfinder. They don’t approach the
subject of street photography as something that can be taught but rather as
something that has to be lived and experienced.
One of the many things I love about street photography is
that is rooted in the experience. You experience
the streets. Your feet have to hit the
pavement and you have to move, sit, talk, engage, think, act, react and always
be in the moment if you have any hope of recording the moment. It is the experience of the moment(s) that
make what I do so exciting. The work
changes me and I hope as others engage the work it moves them. What moments are you experiencing in your
work? Is your work changing you as much
as you hope your work moves others?
