Thoughts change - Street photography

Hello and welcome to another musing from this strange landscape that is my thinking. I’m intending this to be part of my proposed learning space called NathanPhotoLearning where I share a sort of education space with my thoughts, feelings and discussion point around photographies. 

 I’m tackling a subject that can be quite controversial and protected by its champions so I am expecting some push back on it but as this is my thinking I’m quite confident in my discussion points. 

 You may be asking what the subject is then for this? Well I’m discussing one that pops up every now and again 

It is street photography.

I‘ve been thinking about this for a while, I’ve written previously on this but not sure what’s been published so I’m recapping/rewriting this over for a whole piece. 

The main points are a combination of the fact that I’ve done street photography for a long time but with more reflection on it, I have realised that I’ve really started to dislike the images and the approaches I’m seeing. The other trigger point for this is in getting a street shot that I feel the street cognisors may well like. 

Therein lies a dilemma in photography with the duality of trying to please people and trends as well as making work you like and are comfortable with. I felt like I was being railroaded into making what others thought was ‘better’ this involves trying to please the various stakeholders/gatekeepers with more invasive/exploitive work than what I was doing. 

But I kept returning to it, it’s telling that it was usually abroad that I got what many would regard as good street work. 

 I think it a genre that many start out doing, as it is one of the easiest approaches to access, it is one you can do almost anywhere. I think most people recognise it but I think we should start with a definition, this from the Britannia Encyclopaedia

I’m not sure how I got into street, I guess when I started to learn about photography, a lot of photographers that were held up as being greats, did street work so you naturally started to explore the same constructs. Thinking back to my student days, street was accessible, being a student with a camera exploring was great, gave me time to look and travel about, especially if others were at the party, and if anyone said 

‘oi did you take me picture???’

Back then you could say no ! As you had the added safety net of the film so you couldn’t see the images. Thinking about that I’m not sure if that was what made me feel uncomfortable? Now I have chance to analyse it, I think one of the main problems was that people were not aware of what my intentions were. I will share a story from a couple of years ago that may help to illuminate that point.  

I once saw a picture, as I was waiting to cross Deansgate, Manchester. It was summer and there was a woman who was coming from the gym waiting to cross in the other direction. This was when the street was two way, so that is a number of years ago. 

While at the lights a white van pulled up, typically way over the line, as I looked at the driver I could see he was visibly letching at the woman. I started to raise my camera to make a picture but the woman caught my eye and immediately looked irritated, I really wanted to capture the letchie old man in the van but there was no way to capture it without the woman, who thought I was letching at her by taking the picture…

I didn’t take the picture. 

That sort of indecision is not regarded very well in street photography. From what I have read that sort of compassion is not seen in a positive light. The overarching mentality is to grab the picture at any cost and bugger the consequences. The main argument for this seems to be the fact that it’s legal after all so you’re not doing anything ‘wrong’. The majority seem to have this macho gung-ho approach where you get the picture, no matter what. I do wonder how these people view themselves and with recent events, start to wonder which way they vote. 

For me I feel the story is much better at explaining where I am now, as I reflect on the work and where photography is. I think the story is better than the picture would have been, but who knows. Believe this is the first time I’ve shared it online so I will wait to see how it is viewed. 

And this brings me to the crux of my thinking; I don’t like street anymore but continue to do it as it’s a part of my practice. I feel a lot of street photography to be exploitive. 

I see a lot of people wandering round with cameras especially in the Northern Quarter looking quite predatory taking pictures, sometimes stopping people asking to take their picture. I know it’s not every time but why do the majority of interactions I witness are men stopping women? 

I think looking back on the history and the approaches that got kudos, I see a patriarchal theme of ‘taking’ pictures, and in my mind doesn’t really add anything to the artistry of photography. as an example I recall that NYC guy who did that extreme close up flash work, Bruce Gilden1. If I remember correctly, Gilden came over to the West Midlands to do his signature style but the people caught on with what he was up to and I think he got punched. Later he said he thought that it was the first time he’d ever had that reaction? Not sure of the veracity of that story or if it’s just an urban myth. I also found a Gilden quote, again not sure of its authenticity as the search engines aren’t throwing anything up to confirm, but I will share anyway as I can definitely see him saying it:

And therein lies another problem with that judgemental aspect to the medium. The judgment of what makes a freak or an individual or those who don’t belong. 

I know many people that identify as such, many of them don’t particularly enjoy being ‘othered’ by men with cameras. Especially when it seems it is from an increasingly patriarchal eye in using the male gaze. 

Added into that, seemingly to me is the fact most of the work is left unjustified, suspiciously dishonest in its approach. Not many say yes, I like photographing people who I think are freaks they usually use the old ‘get-out-of-jail’ card, the tired excuse of letting the work ‘speak for itself…’ How about you give us some honesty about why you are doing this? 

As I looked into this the main justification is this idea of ‘this love for people and life’ and that they want to capture it. Not get involved or document it but capture it2.

Again that’s another problem with the language, to take, to capture to shoot. It’s all very macho, patriarchal language that I’m hoping is starting to get outdated in these modern times. 

I’m not saying all street photographers are like that. The Vivian Meyer story is an interesting take on street. I believe that she genuinely seemed to do it for the love of making images. Most of her work lay undiscovered till after her death. Where it was picked up and exploited by a man. Is this starting to sound familiar? Anyway I like to think that she made images just for the hell of it, her legacy included many undeveloped rolls of film so the viewing of the image was not as important to her. The work was discovered after her death where it was discovered in a saleroom, if my memory serves me correctly. 

A last quick trawl of the internet reveals that this argument pops up every few years as modern society grapples with the ideas of privacy, morals, ethics and legality. We know that street photography in the uk is legal but ethically where does it sit, photographing people without their consent. 

Of course the accompanying once you start an interest in this then you get the wave of people advertising courses for it. Which feels a little like selling snake oil to me. I think my advice would be to go out, discover what it is you want to do analyse its validity and then practice that.  

Obviously, I contradict that, I have done similar on my evening class photowalks where I remember quite a few women saying that they enjoyed it more as they felt more secure making pictures in a group setting as opposed to when they made pictures on their own. I was told that they attracted too much malice, suspicion or dangerous men. Not sure whether they were fellow photographers or just the general male populace. The sad state of the street photography that you have to be slightly imposing to be able to do it. 

Believe that just reinforces my views on it. 

In conclusion I’m not sure what street brings anymore in these modern times apart from highlighting this divisive world we live in. This approach to street seems like a patriarchal pursuit (vaguely colonial in it seeking out an exoticism approach too?) The making of images that seem reliant on ‘othering’ people into nominal categories that seem increasingly judgmental, just doesn’t sit right with me at this current time where the politics of division are on the rise. On the flip side, it also seems more than a little creepy? But I don’t want to see it banned and I will fight, up to a certain point, for the freedoms of people to make images in public spaces but I would suggest that not all things legal are ethical, so dependent on the intentions and the approach of the individual then. 

I would also like to add in for the benefit of ‘street’ photography work becoming more diverse and accommodating differing approaches. That we try to make this a world where all women feel safer in making pictures. 

In making the world safer for women, surely that would give us a more balanced view of it. 

If you are not sure which side of the fence you sit on then ask yourself how you feel about having your picture made while you don’t know. Or of those you love having their picture ‘taken’? 

Now for the pictures. 

One thing that my reading threw up was the argument that apparently, you can’t critique street photography unless you are a street photographer. Which seems a little strange as in the fox guarding the hen house approach but whatever. 

Included are three pieces of my recent street work; all made in the last few weeks. Comprising of the rangefinder, the airfryer and the phone. 

First up we have the picture that triggered this thinking, maybe you can ask/answer whether I was right in making this or not? 

A woman stands while an orange sportscar is parked up and to the left next to a lamppost a dead pigeon lays there.

I guess you can’t make that judgement unless you have my side of the story of how it was made. This is the story that I’m not quite sure of:

It started as I was making this picture of the pigeon and the car thinking that would be interesting juxtaposition, I do seem to be seeing a lot of dead pigeons recently, anything in that? Anyway I set this shot up and a couple walked towards me, they stopped on the corner and the man went down the alley either to pee or take a picture of the car, left his partner (presumably as they were holding hands) she moved slightly out of the way but not completely and hence this is the picture. 

I’m not sure I did the right thing in making it but there were no objections and in a defence of the image, I was quite clearly making pictures of that area. I presumed a level of acceptance that I made it. 

I think the street enthusiasts may like this, maybe not after they read this though.

i will leave it here for consideration if it is any good or not.  

Next up is the airfryer (mirrorless) camera which I use with a rather large lens, I saw some light on the opposite side of the road while I was waiting outside Greggs so started to make a picture of it. It’s a kind of nothing shot that you make occasionally but I was struck by the reactions of the passersby who craned their necks to see what I was making pictures of.

A street scene is show in 3 consecutive images where people are looking to what picture is being made.

Reminds me of old when people would see you on the street with a camera and immediately think someone famous was about, automatically thinking you were a pap. Interestingly I see a correlation between street and Paparazzi as I think a lot of people would say they don’t like the work. Seemingly though they can’t help themselves to be (nosy?) interested about what the subject is. Then it was by buying magazines now it is by clicking on a ‘clickbait’ link. 

And last up is the phone shot, knowing I was going to be writing this id decided to try and make a phone shot, was out in town with my family and after having a couple of glasses of wine at lunch, getting the tram home. I saw this reflection and decide to make it. I wondered if anyone would say anything but they didn’t I did get a few disapproving looks but by and large they ignored the slightly large man taking pictures on the platform.

A reflection in a tram window in Manchester which depicts people inside and outside the tram.

As said, this is a phone shot, I was interested in the reflection and thought to make one that would illustrate my thinking. I have cropped out the woman who was in the middle of eating a sandwich as what is the point of that, embarrassment, humiliation? 

Is that what street is after? 

Food for thought. 

Thank you for your time in reading this, opinions, thought or comment welcome on the usual channels. 

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1 who for some reason I always mix up with Bruce Davidson who did the subway book. 

2 The leads to a wider concern on the language of photography that I may cover in another blog.