May 1, 2018
Street photography
Street photographer in San Antonio Texas. This street photography project started in the late summer of 2015 and ongoing through 2018. Choice of a camera is a Leica M10 and M3, a 35mm Summilux and a 24mm Elmar lens. I should write to say that I dislike the term ‘street photography’ as it’s quite a clunky definition, much as I dislike calling myself a wedding photographer. I would rather, if defining my work, say simply I’m a photographer or a documentary photographer shooting weddings. Both terms provide cliche images in a readers head, and I’d much instead call it photography or documentary photographer. Street photography is only one part of what it is. Candid photography, or shooting with purpose, is photographing life and human nature. I’m filtering what I see, finding moments that interest me and sharing them through the click of the shutter. Anyone can do it. You do not need an expensive camera. Any point and shoot will do. Your iPhone, Android too. Spontaneity or waiting for the moment are both equally celebrated. And the camera and technical knowledge are always important, it’s not so paramount in this genre vs. capturing ‘life’.
My objective is to capture form and content, geometry, shadow, lines and the life of San Antonio’s workers. The city is a huge tourist magnet, and the beauty of capturing images on the street is you never know what you may find or discover, which makes it very challenging. My focus, however, is on the locals who shop, work and the bustle of city workers. The freedom to shoot for myself is the reward, and as I gain confidence, I’m hoping I can widen the goal posts. Street photography focuses on people and their behavior, and records history at the same time, much as a social documentary photographer works in a public place. Much of what made street photography famous was produced spanning the 19th century through to the late 1970s when portable cameras made it incredibly easy to carry cameras in public.
There are many street photographers I gain inspiration from, but none more than Henri Cartier-Bresson and you can read my article about him here. A very insightful essay by Eric Kim’s can be read here and is a very insightful essay.
HCB is the photographer where I gain much inspiration from as his use of poetic framing and composition emphasizing geometry and dynamic symmetry. His work spawned successive generations of photographers in the aesthetics of postmodernism.
Thanks for looking. I’m a documentary photographer specializing in wedding and street photographer based out of San Antonio, Texas.
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