hi everyone. i've enjoyed reading the discussion, feels like a throwback to the old streetphoto mailing list and forum days. it's increasingly rare to find lengthy and considered conversation online and i appreciate the attention focussed on my work and the digressions it seems to have spawned. thanks to everyone who has taken the time to write something.
i don't disagree with much of the negative criticism about the photos; i've expressed simliar doubts to myself about the work at times. ultimately i've come to understand that i don't care to make photos in that critical context but i still believe it can serve to improve the work if i listen to it.
i'd be remiss to not address a few things i took issue with:
i don't hang out in front of a location and wait for people to come through a frame. i've tried doing that and the result is even more boring than some already find the photos to be. i'm always on the move and many of these photos are shot while i'm walking, in mid stride myself. it adds some necessary kinetic energy to the frame. i understand that not everyone sees that or cares about it, but i do.
these kinds of photos are not easy to make, or at least it's not easy to do well. i too was dismissive of these kinds of photographs when i first saw them, and then i tried to make them. to be able to quickly make a reasonable facsimilie of this style is not sufficient to dismiss it. at the same time nothing is 'good' just because it's hard to do, i'm not saying that. if a photo doesn't pass the "who cares" test then it doesn't, but saying it's because the photo was 'too easy' is the actual thing that is too easy in that situation.
hopefully my tone is not too defensive, as i especially appreciate negative feedback because it's the most instructive and takes the most effort to write well. again my thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to the photos.