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Street Photography (almost) Anywhere

30 min • 23 september 2022

We call ourselves street photographers, but let’s face it most of us don’t practice just one form of photography.

If this applies to you, then you have the opportunity to add interest to some of your other work by incorporating your street photography style in other genres. Of course this doesn’t apply to everything but it can add an interesting twist areas where you least expect it.

In this episode of I’m joined by guest co-host Debby Cole, a street photographer, speaker, author and visual storyteller from Austin, Texas. Together we discuss how we and others have applied a street-like, spontaneous style to other forms of photography like events, travel, weddings and even urban landscape.

So have a listen and please share your experiences and examples by sending them to [email protected]. We’ll post some of your responses in our newsletter.

Some examples of “street photography moments” found in other places

Events

As photographers we are often asked to record the people and activities at various events, or we’re just here as participants (like weddings). These can be parties, parades, concerts…you name it. Just because you’re not on “the street” with your camera doesn’t mean that you can’t still pay attention to a moment that captures your attention and interest. These are often the photos that stand out.

©Robert Virga. Robert is a very prolific street photography in the New York City area. He made this photo while shooting behind the scenes of a county fair in upstate New York. Robert says he applies the same style no matter what he shoots. See our interview with him in the October 2021 issue of Street Photography Magazine.

©Robert Patterson 2022. This is one of mine that I made while photographing the events around a local steeple chase race in Charlottesville, Virginia. The humor of the guy holding his date’s purse while waiting for her in a restroom line made me stop.

@Robert Patterson 2019. My job this evening was to photograph the awards ceremony for a long-time corporate client. When you listen to the podcast, you’ll hear me tell Debby about the details behind the event and why I did this. When I saw this guy walk in with his cool hat and distinctive beard I switched into street photography mode and made several frames. This isn’t what the client paid me to do, but they loved it. I didn’t think much of it that day, because I do this all the time. I shot a similar event for them in DC a few weeks later they asked me to do the same thing.

Travel

This one is probably not a stretch for street photographers, but it’s worth a discussion. Most people when traveling to new places travelers are caught up trying to capture the perfect postcard shot of famous landmarks or landscapes. But a street photographer with an eye for “the moment” can spot them in the interactions and reactions to the sights by their fellow travelers

©Bob Patterson 2022 While visiting Jerónimos Monastery in Belem, Portugal recently, this humorous scene pulled my attention away from the amazing architecture. Like everyone else with a camera that day I made many photographs of the building. But it’s this single image of human reactions that bubbled to the top (for me anyway). Street-like moments are everywhere…even in church.

Without People

Even with no people present a photo can still be about them. Sometimes it’s a gesture made by a plant or inanimate a humanlike expression on an animal’s face or something that results from human presence. These can capture the street photographer’s attention inspiring them to capture the moment.

©Robert Patterson 2018. I was in Miami to cover the Miami Street Photography festival when I spotted these chairs in the courtyard of the history museum. I have a thing for empty chars because they make me thing of loved ones who are no longer with us. I tried to make an image of the chairs all week, but there was alway someone sitting in them. Finally, on the last day I had my chance.

This is just a small example of where you can apply your street photography style in places other than “the street.” Wherever you are, keep your street photography antennae up to capture moments that are meaningful to you.

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