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Street Photography
are same or differnt from human beings as photographic subjects ;-) ]. As Elli Wallach said in the movie
'The Good Bad and the Ugly' - "When you shoot, you shoot, dont talk"...it was shooting of a different
kind though but its principle applies to street photography as well.
But it is also true that the photographer can introduce himself to his subjects and win their trust and take
pictures over weeks and months...this improves the chances of better framing, lighting and yet capturing
the candid mood and the moment since the photographer is not viewed as an alien any more and can
work at close range without worried about being spotted.Often I visit a place where I am familiar face
now, at least to quite a few, and returning with gift prints helps to build a friendship. I can take pictures
with the candid mood working at close range...sometimes point blank with a wide lens But that is
fundamentally different from the pictures you take as you walk down the street while trying to keep
yourself inconspicous.
Many beginner photographers think that people dont like to be photographed and this may be true in
many places but from my experience in taking people shots in streets of Tokyo, New York and Calcutta,
I can say that it is not generally true...many do like to be photographed, many dont even know if they are
being photographed and most apparently dont care even if they know. There are a few who are paranoid
about being photographed and certainly I am not going to let the moment pass by making such an
assumption. If someone finds out - as sometime someone always does since not everybody can blend in
like a fly on the wall - and expresses dissent, I shall respect that. Although, in some situations I have also
asked permission before shooting.
The street is a public place and the photographer has as much right as the artist with a sketch book
making sketches of people. The problem is that the barrel of the lens pointing at someone could have a
different psychological effect than the brief glances of the sketch artist.
Street photography is not about photographing poverty, squalor or misery, it is not about photographing
homeless people on the streets, it can show humorous, funny, sad, joyful etc moments.
If the street photographer is a "mugger" as is suggested in one of the previous comments then HCB is
the greatest "mugger" known so far and I would dream about being a "mugger" like him and of course
never be able to achieve that dream. A true street photographer's natural instinct is to shoot first and to
worry later.
-- Ananda Chaudhuri, June 27, 2001
> FWIW, the reason Henri Cartier-Bresson doesn't want his image widely
> published is because he wants to be able to photograph people
> anonymously. If everyone knew what he looked like it would give new
> meaning to the phrase "celebrity photographer."
Cartier Bresson is 92 years old. AFAIK, he hasn't been taking pictures for quite a few years, dedicated
http://www.photo.net/photo/street-photography (15 of 31)7/3/2005 2:18:44 AM