Thursday, April 9, 2009

If there are no people is it still street photography?

Yes. At least in my opinion it is.

Eugène Atget—one of my favorite photographers of the 19th century—took plenty of "street scenes" that did not depict people. His photos of storefronts come to mind. If you were to get argumentative on me you could say that those photos fall under the category of "architectural photography." But I'm in no mood to argue. I've got a paper to present at a pop culture conference in New Orleans tomorrow (on the representation of telephones and fear of nostalgia in horror films. odd. I know.) and I have yet to write it.

But I did manage to get outside for a couple of hours and take some photos. I will post some people photos tomorrow. Today, I wanted to do a share a few nostalgic images from my wanderings in the French Quarter. The photo at the head of this post was just begging me to give it some soft vignetting to complete its postcard look.

A straightforward toned shot of a café. This photo belongs in a kitchen somewhere.

I put in this last one for the amusement of my family (big fans of Little Debbie).

Even though I would rather see you venture out and take some photos of people for the monthly special, street photography without people might be the solution for the the super shy.

3 comments:

Paper Writer said...

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It's simple to take ordinary, unremarkable street photos. However, really excellent street photography is incredibly tough to achieve. I sometimes come across scenarios that would make a great photograph. The picture below, titled "Wrong Shadow," took me around three years to complete. I spotted the picture and walked by it for three years, waiting for the right moment. I ultimately figured it out. Would I call it a fantastic street photo? No, since it isn't one that the spectator can immediately recognize. The title must entice them to look.
But it's much more interesting and memorable than a random photograph of a random individual strolling along a random street.

aaronnock said...

It's a fantastic piece of writing, and I'm in total agreement with your idea. In street photography, the presence of a human body is not always necessary. Your explanation of how the human aspect is incorporated is very well-written and, in my opinion, superb do my dissertation cheap uk. It is common for people to name things in an effort to better understand and manage them. In photography, this phenomenon is at its most pronounced. The best street photography, on the other hand, in my opinion, nearly always features people in some way or another.

Daniellephillips said...

As you demonstrate, an environment can tell a story all by itself. I've always heard that street photography has to tell a story. The environment still contains signs of human presence athe assignment help online, such as shoes on wires, etc.