WHAT is Street Photography?
“…. in this world nothing can be certain but death and taxes”
—Benjamin Franklin
Ben, there is one more thing. At the conclusion of almost every intensive 6-week course on street photography, at least one arm shoots up followed by the question: “Well, what exactly is street photography?”
I take a deep breath then reply: “As I said at the beginning of this course, there is no definition of street photography that is acceptable to all. Just as there is no single definition of spirituality, poetry, health, happiness – all terms related to humanity. Simply stated, it is photography of the human condition. It is not, I repeat not, photography of the street.” (Alas, this statement too must be qualified. One student loved a photo of people waiting for racing bicyclists to arrive. When asked to describe why, he said he laid asphalt as a career and the surfacing he saw in the picture was great.)
There are, however, many fine descriptions of the genre. While not perfect, they all play a role in shaping my approach.
“Photography is, for me, a spontaneous impulse coming from an ever-attentive eye which captures the moment and its eternity.”
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
“The essence of street photography lies with the street becoming the subject of the photograph. It is characterized by the energy and/or chance juxtapositions found in everyday urban life. Its imagery therefore may be intentional or accidental. Considered a hybrid category of photographic practice, it is sometimes poetic and sometimes not, involving part documentary, part photojournalism and part portraiture. Street photography is a genre that raises more questions than it answers.”
- F. W. Micklethwaite
“I believe street photography is an umbrella term, encompassing things from candid to portraits. It’s a spontaneous response to life as it happens in front of your eyes. For me, it’s everything I do, from taking pictures of my kids to actually, physically, shooting the streets. The world is a canvas.”
- Olivier Duong
“Street photography is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being, rather than something that has to be done exclusively on the streets of cities.”
- Matt Stuart
What’s missing is that street photography is also a passion, a compulsion and perhaps even a happy addiction.
WHY do I do Street Photography?
“I have never taken a picture for any other reason that at that moment it made me happy to do so.”
—Jacques Henri Lartique
That quote says it all. Street photography makes me happy. Many professional photographers will, during breaks from their projects, walk the streets taking street photos just for the joy of it.
Why does street photography have this effect? Personally, every stage of the process makes me happy. The anticipation of going out, the passion, the excitement, the action, the flow, the connection, the sharing, the feedback, the reflection, the meaning, the satisfaction looking back at older pictures.
Intensity of happiness varies from low level satisfaction to feelings of well-being, fun, joy, excitement and rarely ecstasy. The release of dopamine stimulates happiness while the release of serotonin lowers stress.
Walking alone, is a very effective antidepressant. If in addition I’m photographing I see light, bright colors, smiles, nature, beauty. I engage people. I’m in a state of optimism, creativity, and passion mindful and aware of all going on around. Because of my ability to see with focused attention, I see play, acts of love, kindness, and generosity. I see synchronicities, relationships, connections that instill feelings of awe and wonderment. Even when conditions are poor, I am happier because I’m connected to the world in the here and now. usefully preoccupied satisfying a passion.
Now that we are wintering in Florida, you might think I’d be less happy since there is much more street photography when on the road and in major cities up north. It turns out not so. I’m passionate about pickleball which I play at least 5 times a week when down here. These two passions of mine, share many characteristics. Both provide exercise, light, social connection. Both require optimism, agility, quick reflexes, and skill. Would it surprise you to hear that I am now taking street photographs at the courts?
WHY The Gestalt of Street Photography
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
—Carl Jung
The title of this website requires clarification, so please bear with me while I explain.
I was teaching a course on street photography to a class of lifelong learners. They were attentive, involved, and respectful. Finally, in the last five minutes of the last class, a student asked: “Can you explain to us, your brain?” He went on to explain: “You see the world differently.” A good teacher needs to be prepared for almost anything, so I batted this question without answering. “Do you think I’m so simple-minded I can explain my brain in, let me see,....four minutes?”
The question left me thinking, however. Seeing is a brain function not merely a visual one. People are constantly commenting on my ability to see what most people miss. So, what is it about my brain that is different? Incidentally, my vision has been poor all my life. Only recent cataract surgery has fixed that.
The conclusion I have come up with is as follows. Having retired from clinical medicine at age 50, what followed was a quarter of a century of self-directed study which included a lot of art, design, and photography. There was also spirituality, philosophy, mysticism, writing, and poetry. But the single most powerful influence on my brain has been training in Gestalt therapy. It began with three years of study at the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Mariah Fenton Gladys, Dori Middleman, and Mark Putnam. I then continued at the New York City Gestalt Institute, where Dan Bloom greatly deepened my knowledge and understanding of theory. Principles in Gestalt such as figure-ground, contact-awareness, field theory, self as process, holism, resistances became second nature. I could no longer return to the world of medicine in which the body was divided into systems, organs, tissues, cells. Now my world was one of connection, relationship, and unity.
Without Gestalt, I would not be me as I am now, and there would be no BarryBub.com street photography website.
HOW to do Street Photography
An iPhone Pro. Good walking shoes. A hat. Business cards. A strong dose of optimism. A little Teflon for when the going gets tough. A muse.