why is street photography so hated?
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paulfish4570
Veteran
KM, i know exactly which photo you mentioned: riots aftermath. i see that as pure reportage - and fine reportage at that, deep with news elements ...
f16sunshine
Moderator
back alley
IMAGES
maybe a little...
airfrogusmc
Veteran
I feel your pain. LoL I posted an image in another thread that I received a Mark of Excellence award (finals) and almost won a Leica MM and over 12K and not a singe comment on the image. I did read someone saying there was nothing much interesting in the thread or something like that. LoL.
You have at least one friend Dan...
fireblade
Vincenzo.
Originally Posted by KM-25 Maybe because I have no friends on this Rangefinder Enthusiast website and likely I am on quite a number of blocked lists because I don't candy coat.
lol...is there a block button here on RFF? ahh! now it makes sense 😀
lol...is there a block button here on RFF? ahh! now it makes sense 😀
FrankS
Registered User
I'm watching the TV show Survivor right now. (Sorry, shallow I know!) anyway, everyone that tries to step up and be a leader, gets shot down.
I appreciate the lead that airfrog has taken in this thread.
Ned, I love your photography.
Let's be kind.
I appreciate the lead that airfrog has taken in this thread.
Ned, I love your photography.
Let's be kind.
CMur12
Veteran
I don't like visual clutter.
I like tight, clean compositions, exposure control for proper tones and hues, accurate focusing and control of DOF. I'm interested in graphic effect/impact/IQ.
HCB and Vivian Maier, at least in the work I have seen, made very artful images along these lines. Photojournalists (which I consider closely related at least in approach to street photographers) like Sebastião Salgado and James Nachtwey produce graphically striking images that also report and convey a message. Unfortunately, what I have seen of Winogrand's work leaves me cold.
Most "street photography" that I see on the internet is visually cluttered, with very loose composition and poor IQ. In a recent thread about metering, someone said that it didn't matter to be off by one or two stops(!). The chances of my liking images produced through such an approach are very, very low.
My photography isn't about working fast, so I admire those of you who do so. I'm amazed that some actually do street photography with a TLR! I just rarely see street images with the graphic qualities that I seek in a photograph.
- Murray
I like tight, clean compositions, exposure control for proper tones and hues, accurate focusing and control of DOF. I'm interested in graphic effect/impact/IQ.
HCB and Vivian Maier, at least in the work I have seen, made very artful images along these lines. Photojournalists (which I consider closely related at least in approach to street photographers) like Sebastião Salgado and James Nachtwey produce graphically striking images that also report and convey a message. Unfortunately, what I have seen of Winogrand's work leaves me cold.
Most "street photography" that I see on the internet is visually cluttered, with very loose composition and poor IQ. In a recent thread about metering, someone said that it didn't matter to be off by one or two stops(!). The chances of my liking images produced through such an approach are very, very low.
My photography isn't about working fast, so I admire those of you who do so. I'm amazed that some actually do street photography with a TLR! I just rarely see street images with the graphic qualities that I seek in a photograph.
- Murray
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
I think street photography (or maybe I should say "street photographs") receives so much harsh criticism because its so freeking difficult to get right. Flowers are not too hard, cats are usually pretty straight forward. But making a street photograph that works is tough. There are so many variables out in the public space, and those variables are changing quickly. Its this difficulty that attracts me to the 'sport'.
For me, a great street photograph makes you feel like you really understand something fundamental about the situation photographed. A street photograph is powerful when it can convey, say, the feeling of being on a crowded street, or the feeling of being lonely in the middle of a city, or of the chaotic rush of people headed who knows where. I still don't know how to do this, but I love the pursuit of it. I can't imagine stopping trying to understand my surroundings, my city, my culture deeply. The camera is the tool I choose for this adventure.
For me, a great street photograph makes you feel like you really understand something fundamental about the situation photographed. A street photograph is powerful when it can convey, say, the feeling of being on a crowded street, or the feeling of being lonely in the middle of a city, or of the chaotic rush of people headed who knows where. I still don't know how to do this, but I love the pursuit of it. I can't imagine stopping trying to understand my surroundings, my city, my culture deeply. The camera is the tool I choose for this adventure.
fireblade
Vincenzo.
Here are 50 street photographers all with different vision and style...maybe some inspiration may come from just one...cheers.
http://www.complex.com/style/2012/06/the-50-greatest-street-photographers-right-now/seymour-templar
http://www.complex.com/style/2012/06/the-50-greatest-street-photographers-right-now/seymour-templar
Lss
Well-known
I had to go back and check the photo. It's very small which does not make the content or the story justice.
The composition works, and the triangle of the gun men and the man with the dog creates an interesting scene. But it's small, and that makes it both easy to pass it and difficult to tell what is really going on. Are they perhaps protecting the site (which your description, of course, gives away) or just some neighborhood tough guys trying to act cool with the weapons? Either way it may be a scene you are either comfortable to be hanging out at and photographing, or a place you probably should get out of. The man in the middle does not look dangerous, and may not even be part of the posse. It is mostly him standing in the open, perhaps in the middle of the street, which gives an idea that he is looking out for something.
It's a good photo alright.
thegman
Veteran
It's a popular saying, but I'm not sure how true it is. I don't understand Quantum Mechanics, but I certainly don't hate it, I just accept I don't get it.
As for street photography, it's like other forms of art where merit is less obvious or more subtle.
Some people might feel strongly that certain street photography has great value and merit. Some people will feel the exact opposite, neither is right or wrong, it's different things to different people.
To dismiss those who think almost all street photography is rubbish is as naive to dismiss those who see real value in it.
I was at MONA in Tasmania just recently, I'll admit that I did not see any value in the works that I saw, but clearly others see great value in it. It's not for me to say that they are mistaken to find value in it, or for them to say I'm wrong not to.
I'd genuinely enjoy for someone to educate me so that I might see what they see in it, but it may well be that even once I understand what the artist was trying to achieve, I still could not find value.
I think it's easy to use the intellectual argument of 'you don't get it', and it's quite possible I don't, I accept that. But at the same time, it's an embarrassing excuse to say 'this is great art, if you don't understand it, you're wrong', like labeling something as 'art' forbids disagreement.
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
it's with every hype (religion, cultural revolution etc).
There are leaders, there are followers and...there are opposers. Call it haters if you wish.
RFF definitely doesnt hate street photography. Opening the page at any random moment, at least one of the 4 random shown shots are street shots.
So many of us do it, there cannot be many of us who hate it...
The fact you get no reaction has many different reasons as pointed out above by our rff friends. Hate is not one of them.
There are leaders, there are followers and...there are opposers. Call it haters if you wish.
RFF definitely doesnt hate street photography. Opening the page at any random moment, at least one of the 4 random shown shots are street shots.
So many of us do it, there cannot be many of us who hate it...
The fact you get no reaction has many different reasons as pointed out above by our rff friends. Hate is not one of them.
DominikDUK
Well-known
Hate I actually see more hate from "street photographers" towards other genres than I see towards street photography. Cat photography ugh in reality a good cat photograph is probably harder to do than a good street photograph, same applies to pretty much every genre or subject mentioned in this thread. Sure people photographing their pets isn't interesting too others especially photographers but to make an image of a cat that is interesting to many inlcuding photographers is very very hard.
One problem with street photography is that it has become stale (as have other genres) instead of evolution we have emulation of the greats from the past but very little that is new or revolutionary. HCB was great because he brought something new to the genre, same applies to Frank and other greats.
As for hate nobody hates street photography some people just don't find it interesting.
One problem with street photography is that it has become stale (as have other genres) instead of evolution we have emulation of the greats from the past but very little that is new or revolutionary. HCB was great because he brought something new to the genre, same applies to Frank and other greats.
As for hate nobody hates street photography some people just don't find it interesting.
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
why are you saying this? I thought it was you who dropped at some points that you think street photography is hated because your uploaded shots get zero comments... you might have used other words tho
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
-see? noone else before this post of yours was talking about you 🙂 and paulfish had the only comment few posts before this that actually mentioned rff gallery at all (and still not you or your shots specifically)
seriously, there's nothing wrong with asking folks what they think of you or your shots- that's part of the reason we are here - just go for it
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
Here. A rare (or not so rare?) occasion when i do agree with KM-25 😀
i told you!
PS KM-25 you got crickets for your extraordinary-LA riots shot because you don't ask and definitely don't need any critics, comments on that shot. It was also not the purpose of that thread- i think- to start commenting/critiquing (though it went that way a bit).
It's one of the few shots that i think do have their place in that "extraordinary" thread.
airfrogusmc
Veteran
People tend to hate all kinds of things they don't understand. They hate other people because they don't understand them. They hate some types of literature because they don't understand it. They hate some types of music because they don't understand it and they hate some types of art because they don't understand. Not every one but there certainly are those that do and I think I have history on my side.
And I wasn't saying anyone was wrong for not understanding anything. Just there are those that hate things they don't understand.
OurManInTangier
An Undesirable
Another possible reason may be the manner in which you link/post your images. I usually read RFF without being logged in ( a fail safe system on my part to help stop me being a reactionary tool, doesn't always work 🙂 ) which means that some images don't show up and you have to log in to see them, the majority can be viewed without logging in and I imagine those are the ones linked from places such as Flickr or Photobucket. Laziness? Of course, but that is the curse of humanity.
The other reason is, as has been discussed here and we ALL know, just like you can't please everyone, or you'll always have people who loathe you, some people simply don't see how you see.
Glad I logged in and saw it no matter how late it was.
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