Periodically I take a look at several photography sites I have bookmarked to see if there’s anything new of interest. The ones I like the most are those that include written entries along with photographs (usually black and white). One I like very much is Leicaphilia, which can be found at http://leicaphilia.com.

Here’s a quote from an entry that appeared on April 7, 2021, entitled Significant Fact…or Insignificant Flicker?

“Having had looked at lots of it over the years, I’ve concluded there are three types of ‘Street Photography’: 1) photos of people on the street (go to any popular photo forum – and a lot of street specific websites – and you’ll see endless variations of this); 2) gimmicky photos of people in public spaces e.g. people caught in awkward poses or fallen in the street etc.; or 3) photos that attempt to say something about a person in the street, or something about the person’s relationship with someone else in the street, or something about the person’s relationship with the built environment. (It helps as well if it also has a pleasing or interesting aesthetic i.e. it’s not completely dependent on its subject matter to generate interest). It’s only this latter type that holds any real interest…for me.”

I do a lot of candid myself and I love the work of Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Myer and many, many others that have worked in the genre. I also see a lot of it by others, especially on the Internet, so when I read this I really identified with the message!

Let’s face it; there’s a lot of junk that’s put out, especially related to street.  Aim and shoot … or don’t even aim and shoot. Use a wide enough lens and fire away from the hip … literally!  These images simply will not stand the test of time (a very short time to sure!), let alone have any value other than being visual records of people that happened to be on particular streets at particular moments in time.

But why focus only on street?  There’s plenty of other junk out there to be seen containing dubious subject matter of questionable taste or just boring stuff. Perhaps the lamest pictures are the technically perfect snoozers. All of this can be viewed at galleries in supersize, which I believe is a means to somehow mask mediocrity. I know I have made that point before … sorry … but it remains the truth … at least for me!

So three things are of critical importance, especially with respect to your precious time: (1) don’t waste it looking at this stuff; (2) don’t waste it by creating it yourself; and (3) give your best shot (no pun intended) to your keepers in the darkroom, so you don’t have to print them over again!

Oh, and something else. Study the true masters. Go see their work whenever possible and buy books containing their images.  Then, when you grasp the essence of their vision and what makes their images so special, apply the lessons learned to your work.

Stay safe,

Michael