Whether I am reading the forums here or on photo.net, I see many discussions about street photography. Indeed, it seems the general consenus is that Leica's and rangefinders in general are the preferred tools for this type of work. When I look at this work, however, I just don't get it. I am not intrigued by photos of people walking down the street trying to avoid looking at the photogrpher, the back of some guys head on a subway, or some little old lady eating at a cafe. It's not that these subjects couldn't be interesting, it's just that the photos I see are mostly badly composed, poorly exposed, out of focus or blurry (the last two aren't ALWAYS bad). I also know many "street photographers" pride themselves on shooting from the hip or hiding their camera in a coat pocket to get the shot and thus the poor composition. I still can't get into these photographs, I just don't understand what the appeal is. I know some of this is subjective and deals with my own artistic views, but I keep thinking maybe I am missing some piece of the puzzle, some key idea or component of this "bad" art that keeps me from enjoying it. I do not post this in an attempt to offend anyone who is a hardcore "street shooter" but rather to ask for such people to enlighten me as to the finer points of the art so that I might enjoy it with the rest of you.
