Reflecting on street photography
By Clifford Oto
Street photography is a branch of photography that has similar roots to documentary photography, photojournalism and even travel photography.
But whereas photojournalism seeks to capture photos with news value, documentary records history, and travel photography transports the viewer to other places, the aim of street photography is to capture the mundane and elevate it to the level of art. The lines can be a bit blurred at times, and often the greatest practitioners can easily go from one genre to the next.
In general, street photographs are unplanned and unposed and are a sophisticated form of people watching. Often one can "see" a composition and then wait for the right moment for someone to walk into it to complete it. Many are "spur of the moment" and "shot from the hip" type pictures. It's an art in itself to be able to be ready to capture a scene at a moment's notice.
The patron saint of street shooters is the late, famed photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. His philosophy of "the decisive moment" is a mantra for generations of street and documentary photographers and photojournalists everywhere. He captured the spontaneous nature of everyday life with impeccable timing, grace and composition.
Many street photographers eschew the use of telephoto lenses and prefer using a wide-angle lens and get in relatively close their subjects. That's how Cartier-Bresson did it...
