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? esSTREET PHOTOGRAPHY
SOPHIE HOWARTH A STEPHEN MCLAREN
Get up close a with the world’
best street photographers as they capture
the drama of everyday life at ‘Zs of a second,
Rb shoulders with highsollrs atest vendors and dog
ron sidewalks and back alleys, en
cbaurditig small ata of kindness and scones of unexpected
dresed a an ange cman sprinting through the
ro The human eamival isin town and theses ar alive
malars noted for ther candid depictions of everyday life
our streets subway, shopping malls beaches and patks
pchided ate Magnutn masters auch as Bruce Gilden, Martin
Pare and Alex Webb, along with an international as
een tee eee ee ee ele
‘lumi
=
«global conversation between leading street photograph
splote the compelling and often controversial issues inthe
ieee eee eee
behind thee pictures of New Yor,
ere el
ete ent erento
\WTH OVER 300 PHOTOGRAPHS COLOUR AND BLACK. WAITESophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY NOWae, le
ae
f cae
5 4 > Pe tg :Sree mage oy oy
CONTENTS
1 STARE, PRY, LISTEN,
EAVESDROP &
CHRISTOPHE AGOU ac
ARIE ASCL 20
NARELLE AUTIO os
BANG BYOUNG-SANG 2c
POLLY BRADEN 0
MACIEJ DAKOWICZ so
CAROLYN DRAKE sc
MELANIE EINZIG so
GEORGE GEORGIOU «<
DAVID GIBSON so
BRUCE GILDEN =
02 No
THINGS 40
UT IN
THIERRY GIRARD os
ANDREW Z. GLICKMAN 20
SIEBFRIED HANSEN ><
CRISTOBAL HARA 26
MARKUS HARTEL oo
NILS JORGENSEN o«
RICHARD KALVAR oo
OSAMU KANEMURA os
MARTIN KOLLAR 2
JENS OLOF LASTHEIN 2
FREDERIC LEZNI soo
JESSE MARLOW sx2
03 HALF OF THE WO!
}OPULATION NOW LIV
CITIES us
JEFF MERMELSTEIN 2c
JOEL MEYEROWITZ 20
MIME MOLLICA s2<
TRENT PARKE 20
WARTIN PARR 10
US POWELL 1:0
WARK ALOR POWELL se
BRUNO QUINQUET sco
BAGHU RAL aco
PAUL RUSSELL ie=
BORIS SAVELEV 27s
(04 SOME TRUTHS CANNOT BE
TOLD EXCEPT AS FICTION ve
OTTO SNOEK sos
WATT STUART ise
YING TANG 204
ALEXEY TITARENKO 00
LARSTUNBIORK 20
NICKTURPIN 202
(MUNEM WASIF 2:2
ALEX WEBB oie
ANNI WILLETT 222
MICHAEL WOLF 2c
ARTEM ZHITENEY 222
WOLFGANG ZURBORN 220
05 STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
NOW: A GLOBAL
CONVERSATION 294Soon Seber
PREFACE.
‘Whiting thie hook has taken us on remarkable armchair journey across
the globe Leafing the pages of hundtede of books and browsing the
windows of thousands of websites, we have travelled from Mexico to
‘Moseew, Dubai to Dakar, Sydney to Seoul. We have found ourselves
‘wandering through the bee alleys of Hong Kong with Michael Wale,
surfing the etal nirvana af London's Oxford Street with Matt Stuart,
ploughing through Deli’ light azaled thoroughfares with Raghu Ral
sand descending into the bowels ofthe New York subway with Christophe
‘Agou. We ae grateful toll the photographers for guing us through
susete we may never physically hve the opportunity to visit.
‘Street photography atracts an unusually open-minded and generous
‘group of practitioners It i tradition that has been fertilized by an
International conversation going back over seventy years which, thanks
ta the internet, now more vibrant than ever. We have been struck by
the kindness of ll the photographert in this book towards one another's
‘work and by the culture of per critique that exists between them,
‘We ate particulaly grateful forall the lead given tous by better
‘known photographers about newer talent emerging around the globe
‘We would like to thank Johanna Neurath champion of street
photography and a wonderful photographer herself who nurtured this.
book every step ofthe way. We are also grateful tall the staff at Thames
{Hudson for their dedication and diplomacy. Through collaborations
‘over several yeas, the London members of In Public have all particularly
helped open cur eyesta the variety, humour and acuity of great street
photography.
Stephen would like to thank Paul Trevor and Sian Jones for their
Insights and encouragement, Sophie would like to thank Charlotte Cotton,
avid Campany, Susan Bright and Anne Braybon forthei enlightening
conversations about all aspects of photography, Mark Lythgoe for keeping
my feet onthe ground, and Isc, who shared the same gestation as
this book
Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren‘STARE, PRY, LISTEN, EAVESDROP
[No better advie ha ever been given to street,
photographers than tha offered by Walker Evans, one
Of the grstest American photographers ofthe mid
twentieth contury Stare It isthe way to educate your
tye and more Stare, pry listen, eavesdrop Die knowing
something. You are not here long’
ran would never bave decribed himmelf as 8
‘street photographer’ In the decades when he was most
sctive~the 19902 and 15408 the term el described
Someone who solicited strangers often sttourst,
landmarks and holiday destinations, fering t
‘helt portrait fora fe. Arif pose, a pul a
poder and the job was done. Evans would have
egurded the ter far too iting, for he dew
inspiration not only from the street but also from
Underground tain, font porches and parks ~
fnyuthere he eould observe honest people going shout
‘hie daly lives, However, his deliciously provocative
instructions reveal the srsanceof what now know
5 ‘street photography’ the impulse to take candid
pictures inthe eter of everyday ls
Sueet photography is an unbroken tadtion,
stretching back the invention of photography.
Inzevele in the poetic posse that an inquisitive
sind and a camera can conjure out of everyday fe
Like Evan, the photographers festured in this book get
smany oftheir best shate in shopping mall, parks bar,
museums, subways or costal promenades. In their
‘spontaneous and often subconscious reection tothe
fecundity of publi lif, street photographers elevete the
‘commonplace and emis info something mythical and
tren heric. They thrive on the unexpected seeing the
strect sa theatre of endless possiblities, the eas it
sever xed unt the shutter is prooed. They stare, they
oy they listen and they eavesdrop and in doing so they
old up 8 itor othe kind of societies we are making
for ourselves Ata time when fewer and fewer ofthe
Images we ae are honest representations f ral fe,
‘hie work s more vital than ever
‘We are all photographers now
says street photographer re living in a digital society
in which ideas, images and mensy move wth increasing
uldty across national and euural boundaries [tis ae
to travel between farang geographical locations with
lightweight high-quality equipment instantly uploading
and sharing imager with an expanding global community
viathe internet. The inbertanceof past masters andthe
growing archive of street photography can ealy be
redonline, Thess are exhilarating times As Wiliam
‘ABwing curator ofthe New York Photo Fatval puts
“Everything is changing How we take photographs,
‘anipulatethem, share them store them — even how we
for them Ourtons ave mutating quick promising
ver faster, clearer, brighter and cheaper picture.
Meanwhile telephones become cameras, desitop printers
‘morph into mint printing lab, and high-definition screens
teste to dzlodge the venerable photographic prin frm
gallery wall’ Porth soot hardened photographer the
Sheer ubiquiy of cams in public fe cretesanaethetic
‘betas fe hardr and harderto take epctre without
Somebody inthe picture whos also aking a picture aye
Brockiybaced photographer Gus Powell We alltske
plete now that’ jst what we da’Perhaps the most prolife street photographer today is
the Google StreetView ystem, in which aremote
camera fed toa carecords a continual stream of tll
Images a it travers the world cies In Paris, Gersan
photographer Michael Wot has made «provocative and
iluminating body of work by mining the Sret View
atabace for individual frames that show candid human
moments not dissimilar to the scenes captured by
conventional sueet photographers Walf' visual data
mining has even turned up an image reminiscent of
Raber Daspeau' lassie szeet photograph Kis bythe
Hotel de Vile (below lf) At tine when legal cbjections
1 tee photography have become increasingly
prevalent especially n France, Wall's project raise
intriguing questions about the relevance of euch
protestations in the digital age
“Even at atime when OCT already record vast
amounts of our everyday lie street photographers til
wait patiently on dismal street comers while gales of
ie farnes cog their ngs and sting their eyes Again
and agnn the photographers interviewed fr this book
told ue that they tke pictures a away’ of ying te
‘understand the world we liven My cameras lem
fon personal journey though the unexpected nuances
fa explains Tanzanian-born Amani Wile
‘Photography hss become my tel to investiga
issovey confront and ulimatly portray the comple,
faecinatng world around us!
‘What's ina picture?
‘Amid the deluge of images now circulating n ber
space this book sts ou to identify the strongest work
bythe most commited practitioners. A grea treet
photograph may only show us a hundredth ofa second
fre life indeed all the images in this book probably
nly account fortwo or three seconde aogethe but in
‘single ame tean date remaskable amount of tuth,
Showing the everyday with auch wit or honesty that wil
me and again amaza, delight or move us, "This is forme,
the matt facinating apect of et photography! says
Bish photographer Nick Turpin, the fact that thes raz
unreal images weve all made nthe most everyday and re
Teeitions Friend who Imet for hineh would just be bse.
from the wat in Bosna anal would declare prowl that
[ea jue back fom the sales on Oxford Street’
'A great street photograph must elicit more than a
quick glance and moment of recognition from the viewer.
[sense of mjstery and invigue should remain, and whet
is withheld is often as important as whats revealed The
group Hardcore Street Photography, known for its
ruthles rejection of much of the work submited tot
demands the folowing of photographers: ‘Give usa
reaion to remember the photograph’ I'sthe ight
question oaskbut almost impossible to answer. As
the great French street photographer Robert Doisneau
commer Te ow ae geod phon
‘Technical virtuosity, original composition and
spelling content are all eset even f they do not
realy guarantee a gret street photograph Ofthe
three, the qutstion of what makes eomplling content is
probably the most contentious, Steet photography s«
form of documentary but it is decidedly not reportage
snd ately simply tlle story. Sometinis a test
photographer capes somthing trly unrvl ~an
ftracrdinary fae, an accident or extn in the making,
But more often a good street photograph s remarkable
use it makes something very ordinary sem
‘neacrdinaty Garry Winogrand raevlld that his
predocestor Rober Fanlecoud ind gold in subjects
4s potentially ninspiing as an empty gas station set
‘guinea faturelers deve landscape. The shot, taken
for Franks landmark photcbock The Americans st
Winogrand as being a‘photograph of nothing’ with ‘no
deamatic ability oft on whatsoever. What amazed
Winogrand wea that Frank could even ‘conceive ofthat
being photograph in the rt place-When he took hat
photograph, he couldnt possibly know ~hejust couldot now that it would woe Frank bility to sense a
potentially great photograph from apparently meagre
‘val posites inepized Winogrand, who would
famously explain that photograph thing oaee what
thy look ke photographed’
‘Stret photography can seem deceptively sim
very occasionally a great photograph is casually shot or
‘chanced-upon by an amateur As British photographer
David Gibson abservex: The avalanche of imagery,
‘specially on the internet is wonderfully democratic
snd eatfuly sifted ina source of unexpected
ingpitation. lam both unsettled and beguiled by a
website euch as Flick, for example. have often seen
Ftnages thereby amateurs which sival anything by
some soralled master photographers. There is beauty,
spontaneity, warmth and untrammeled imagination ~
‘nth nt curator in sight
However, the photographers who consistently
produce intrerting wallcomposed stest pictures
do not do so by chance For every outstanding image
(ribbed in ara inetant when the photographic gode
suniled and all the necessary compositional ements
‘cohered, there are thousandk of failures, images that
‘missed the decisive morment by a split second failed
technically or simply serned to ofa ite that was
surprising on sustained viewing What the strongest
photographers possess, in addition to patience and
persistence, the ability to edt
‘Consider a delightfully eccentricimage taken by Matt
Stuartin 2 London par (p 289). Fiten fale shutter
‘lik yielded nothing fom the elusive combination
of child balloon and dog Then suddenly serendipity
prevailed and fora spit second the members ofthe cast
all ected their parts. Stuar may not even have known he
hada good picture atthe time, and certainly be did not
now exactly what it was he hoped the characters might
do torn the composition work, but ater, looking
‘hough the contact seat, ele how to recognize the
fame in which all came together.
Liberty or libility
‘These are not easy times for street photographers for
‘whom acting suspiciously is an occupational hazard
Sand loitering with intent a modus operand Tightening
eivacy laws and fears about terrorism have crested an
environment in which to stare, pry listen or eavesdrop is
Jncreasingly to invite suspicion A poster campaign run
by the London Metropolitan Police in 2008 summed up
the changein attitude Thousands of people take photos
‘evry day: What if one ofthem seems od? tasked,
encouraging the public to report anjone with a camera
‘sho seemed a dsplay unusual levels feurosty. thas
become much mote common for treet photographers to
be reprimanded informally tohave their fm or memory
card confiscated, o even tobe stopped and searched
‘Some have responded by setting up or supporting
‘campaigning websites sch s8'Trn A Photographer Not
A Terrorist andPhotography Is Not A Crime’ One crest
Sere ates teeter ere
text ofthe advertisements to reed Millions of people take
photos everyday. Some of them are brown, Plesse donot
shoot them’ Moet photographers have simply voted with
‘heir feet by continuing o get out and male pictures,
Steet photographers wil always face treat oF
lence from thos who expressly donot want thee
picture taken, but most accept tis as an intrinsic ris
(fhe profession In an inereasingly litigious era where
Janets wil take up thet cudgels on behalf of anyone who
feels they may been offended violated or harassed by a
photographer, we can expect further legal battles over the
Fight to take photographs of strangers in public Street
photographers argue that if they are foreed to lyon
‘model release contracts and posed portraits, they will
cnlybe contributing tothe manufacture of stage
‘managed, airbrushed future Steet photography isan
‘important part ofthe documentation of ox ime’ argues
[New York photographer Jeff Mermelstein Some af the
‘att significant images in any art medium inthe ast
years have been made inthe street by people ike Hen
"You need obsession,
dedication and balls
Get out there while
you still can’
Martin Parr
[an ier
TERRA‘The street has a thousand voices, a thousand moods, a thousand rhythms.
The full range of human emotion is on display, from joy to anguish to diffidence
to despair, if we only slow down long enough to look for them?
aie Bresson and Diane Arbus and Robert Frank
Tithat's discouraged, in the longterm it will bea
substantial loss
However, photographer donot exist ina moral
bubbleandthove who behave aif an unfettered i
polnta camera at stranger is somehow enshrined inthe
‘Magna Carta or the Blof Rights donathelp the deliate
contemporary situation. The ruth that photography a
‘elatively recent vention, has abays had to negotiate
its place alongside complex socil mores Such was the
concern in Victorian England, for instance, that women’s
‘modesty could beat ris fom a sureptitios lens that,
photographers requited oficial permits to shoot in paths,
‘Although we may regret that so few of today’s set
‘photographers will document the spontaneity and
fealestness of children playing in public places,
contersporary concern about photographing minons
eer unavoidable
‘Street character
Publi lifes unpredictable, and while there are more and
‘ore discussed and daputed-tacties for working on
the street, there remain no hard sn fart rules The beet
practitioners mut sometimes move tthe speed of ight
te capture split-second collision of line a farm, a other
times have the patience to wit all day on the eame comer
before the ight compositional elements come together
‘They have to find ways of working that st thei
personals but also be wiling to push themselves othe
‘edge of what might feel comfortable, Richard Kalvar pte
itsueciney: Tm kind of shy and sneaky and aggressive
st the same time, Somtimes [have the nerve, omstimes
dont
‘The stereotype ofthe street photographer asa steltay
character able to slip defy in and out of eowds without
any direct engagement is very much a portrait of Hene
(Cartier-Bresson, certainly one ofthe greatest and
probably el dhe moat influential street photographer to
ate'A velvet band, a hae’ ey; these areal one needs?
he famously pronounced He once compared hiself
toa cab ceiver an anonymous someone to whom
‘people reveal their inner eevee’ Cartier Bresson
Als had very firm views on photographie protocol
all his pictures were unposed, he never wsed flash
(Ge considered it ‘impolite - ike coming ta concert
‘with pistol in your hand) and he rarely cropped his
images in the darkroom. In many ways his very pure
rethods have come tobe regarded asthe gold standard
of street photography. But not all great street
photographers wate the way Cartier-Bresson did
tnd the diversity of approaches featured inthis book
testifies tothe wide range of role models available to
contemporary photographers, alang with their
readiness to keep breaking the rles and reinventing
the genre.
‘Wilita Klein the enfan ter
photography, provides an abviows counterpoint to
CanierBreseon in hie methods Kein thrived on
‘confrontation nd was oly unconcemed at offending
people whether out in the tee or withthe grit loo
(this prints," didt telat to European photography?
hehas explained ‘twas too poetic and anecdotal forme,
‘Thelkineie quay of New York, the kids dit madness—
Ted to find a photographie sjlethat would come close
tit Sol would be grainy and contrasted and black. I
‘op, blu pay with the negatives did see clean
technique being right for New York [could imagine my
pictures ying inthe gutter like the Mew York Day News!
Contemporary New York photographer Bruce Gildn's
‘ostensibly ‘smash and grab’ approach owes aclar debt
to Klsin. ark on negative energy. fou get me mad in
the street, 'm inging a camerain anyone’ fae! he says
‘with pride. Fas, ui intuitive and fearless, Gilden has