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, , , ; . Thames «Hudson ph = ? es STREET 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. WAITE Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren STREET PHOTOGRAPHY NOW ae, 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 294 Soon 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 could ot 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

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