Street Photography

Street photography aims to capture slices of life in public spaces. It is, for the most part, a very honest form of photography which holds up a mirror to society and shows what the photographer sees at that moment. It reflects the trends of a period, the general lifestyle of a people, and the interactions in an environment. These interactions are primarily the main subject of street photography. It is constantly waiting for that perfect moment, the perfect interaction between elements, an interaction that usually happens only once.

Street photography was popularized around the time Leica had introduced a revolutionary camera system that made away with heavy cameras and film loaders. The compact size of this system meant a photographer could always have a camera and film wherever he was.

An early adopter of this system, was Henri Cartier-Bresson, who is considered to be the father of street photography, The Decisive Moment, and modern photojournalism. This new, honest, yet almost surreal view of the world has inspired many practitioners since then.

"the decisive moment, it is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression."

Street Photography in Episode 1 "The Homecoming"

In our first episode, Paco explores Manila on foot and takes in the sights and reorients himself with Manila. He looks for details in the chaos and makes them stand out. Because of his professional background in travel photography, his street shots are very cleanly composed but remain very honest and they each deliver to the viewer a sense of the place. They say if you can smell the streets by looking at a photo, you’ve done a good job, and the photographs presented at the end of the show truly offer a complete sensory experience.

Techniques:

Zone Focussing 

Because of the unpredictable nature of street photography, many photographers use the zone or scale focus system on lenses with wider focal lengths to get every element in the photograph in focus. A more in-depth discussion of this method can be found on (http://www.markushartel.com/blog/learn-from-markus/zone-focusing).

This method allows photographers to remain unobtrusive, and snappy. When you’re used to your gear, you’ll be able to take photos without even looking through the viewfinder.

Confidence

Because street photography is very personal, the use of telephoto lenses is sometimes considered voyeuristic. The street photographer has to be comfortable with his surroundings, and when the need be, chat up subjects after taking photos.

Popular Names and Figures in Street Photography

• Henri Cartier-Bresson
• Brassai
• Robert Doisneau
• Robert Frank
• Bruce Gilden
• Joel Meyerowitz
• W. Eugene Smith
• Garry Winnogrand

Lesser Known Street Photographers (My Favorites)

• Chris Weeks
• Severin Koller

Local Street Photographer

• Luis Liwanag