Street

[RSL]

Just so people don't get too confused about the genre: this is street photography. Notice that there's no street involved.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Truly excellent, Russ!
Good for you for finding such a perfect subject at last.

[RSL]

Hi Eric. I haven't been able to do street photography since Covid hit. This one's from 2005 in Colorado Springs. I grabbed it more or less at random Makes me wonder whether or not I should do a street collection the way I did the Vietnam collection, to get the point across that street photography really hasn't anything to do with streets.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I think Russ's Street Collection would be an excellent idea, and instructive.

[RSL]

It's a pretty extensive collection, Eric, that goes all the way back to Korea, which I've already posted. On the other hand, I'd hate to dispel the illusions I see on here. No point upsetting people.

[RSL]

Well, this may be upsetting to some. One thing this shot illustrates is that you don't need an elaborate camera to do street. I shot this in 2000 with a 3.3mpx Casio QV-3000EX. A good street camera has to be quick to frame, focus, and click, and that's about it. As HCB said, "Looking is everything." Being able to frame and get off the shot is what makes street work. Notice that though there's a sidewalk in this picture, there's no street.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

You had good reflexes back then. I hope you still do.
Many (but not all) of your river-side shots allow a much slower planning and shooting.

[RSL]

Here's a street shot from 1968. Can you believe it? Not only is there no street, we're not even outside. How can you do street photography in a museum? It's a mystery.

And, Eric, I hope I'm still able to catch stuff like this before it disappears -- and I'm talking about expressions and body language disappearing, not the people themselves. Unfortunately, until we have Covid under control I'm not going to have a chance to find out.

And I need to add a point to this post. I just re-read an email I sent back to Magnum after going through their "street photography" course. One of the points Richard Kalvar made in that "course": street photography is more like poetry than like photojournalism because it attacks on the emotional level. Yes. Todd Papageorge made the same point in his book, Core Curriculum. If you're into street photography you know who Todd Papageorge is. The relationship between street photography and poetry is something I've written about before. I've been writing poetry most of my life, and the relationship between poetry and street is strong.

[KLaban]

Here's a street shot from 1968. Can you believe it? Not only is there no street, we're not even outside. How can you do street photography in a museum? It's a mystery...

Russ, this flow of sarcasm really isn't doing you or your beloved 'street' any favours.

[RSL]

You're probably right, Keith, but I'm really tired of people posting what they think is street without ever having checked the literature to find out what that unfortunate and misleading genre name really means. It's not that hard to do. There's still plenty of stuff out there by the people who defined the genre: HCB, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank, just to name three people who can teach them.

[petermfiore]

You're probably right, Keith, but I'm really tired of people posting what they think is street without ever having checked the literature to find out what that unfortunate and misleading genre name really means. It's not that hard to do. There's still plenty of stuff out there by the people who defined the genre: HCB, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank, to name three people who can teach them.

In the world today, nothing existed before one's birth. Not always a bad thought. Creatives have been and are always ready to redefine a genre—no need to get upset. It is the DNA of art.

Peter

[RSL]

I’m sure you’re right, Peter, but to me, making the meaning of a genre unintelligible by ignoring the past is a vicious kind of vandalism. It reduces our language and makes it difficult, sometimes even impossible, to communicate thoughts. The idea that nothing existed before one’s birth is gaining currency in our Western civilization, and that’s a precursor to catastrophe.

The problem goes way beyond art genres, and it’s no more difficult to learn the meaning of a genre than it is to learn the meaning of a word like “unique.” Yet nowadays you’ll often see the expression: “it was somewhat unique.” Now it’s easy to translate that into “it was somewhat unusual,” but in losing the real meaning of “unique” we’ve lost a concise way to communicate the idea that something is the only one of its kind in creation. If someone had said or written “it was somewhat unique” in my high school English classes, the kid would have been in trouble with the teacher. (Yeah, I’m an old guy.)

At bottom, the problem is laziness: an unwillingness to make the effort involved in teaching or learning. Our civilization is becoming more and more passive as we stretch out in front of the TV with a drink and absorb what we’ve been taught to believe is “entertainment.” In the meantime the lessons of history that we should be learning are passing us by. I’ll go one up on Churchill: The hard lessons of history before your birth that you fail to learn are ones you’ll have to experience in person.

See, Eric. I was right. I'm upsetting people.

[RSL]

Here's one from 2010. It actually has a street in it.

[KLaban]

I believe Russ himself has said he wished he'd never touted the creation of this Showcase. An inclusive Showcase for various genre including 'Portraiture and People', 'Environmental Portraiture', 'Street'... would stop the incessant bickering. It would also provide a natural home on LuLa for images that have remained homeless for far too long, though no doubt there would be those who would object to their favourite genre being diluted by the upstarts.

Here's one, I've no idea what it is and care less.

       

[RSL]

You're absolutely right, Keith. We could call it something like "The Poetry of Life," and it could embrace a range of genres, including street photography. It would end the arguments. There's little associated with human life that wouldn't fit within a descriptor like that.

[RSL]

One of my favorites. I've posted it before. It's one of those shots where you don't set up a tripod and wait for the scene to develop. It's just there in front of you. You have maybe as much as three seconds to frame, focus, and shoot. If you wait, it's gone. It's about people: their expressions and attitudes and the surrounding environment. That's what street photography is all about. It's what cameras really were invented for.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Nice, of course.

[RSL]

Thanks, Eric. Here's another scene that existed for somewhere around three seconds. I'd probably call it "The Alternative" You miss a massive number of these, but the hits are worth the effort.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Good timing.
It's good that you didn't sneeze while putting the camera to your eye.

[RSL]

Another one I've posted before: "Waiting for Mom." Another one of my favorites.