Strong stuff, Russ. This is the type of emotional, human element that almost all of today’s so-called street never gives. Perhaps it's because you have an eye towards photojournalism, which is something much more profound than just happy snapping of scenes and random people doing and expressing not very much. Even if I had the nerve to shoot confrontational pictures, I’m afraid they would still be lacking.
I suspect that what might often be happening today is this: the photographer feels something in the air when he makes the shot, carries that forward to when he sees the image on the screen, and imagines that the viewer shares that same emotional memory the photographer experienced in the moment. Unfortunately, any representation of that memory might just as easily be entirely absent in the actual photograph, meaning that the viewer sees nothing beyond the cold, stark reality of what’s in the photo. Not only does this apply to street, but also to commercial shoots, where the photographer might have far too much emotional baggage tied up in the model or the location. In a nutshell, the absolute opposite to not seeing the wood for the trees, but hallucinating about the trees even being there. I guess that's where good, external editors can help. Life, she is a tough cookie.
