10 things + 1 that cooking has taught me which have proved useful for Street Photography
Street Photography and cooking are my passions and part of me. And they are more similar than you can think. For this reason I decided to write this post about the great lessons of cooking that may be useful to us street photographers.
1. Less is more
IN THE KITCHEN
I am Italian and one of the main features of Italian cuisine is is certainly not to do dishes with too many ingredients. This is certainly the philosophy that I carry in the kitchen: good fresh ingredients and not overly processed. An excess of flavors on the same plate generates a flattening or reset of taste perception.
IN THE STREET
As a street photographer I apply the concept less is more for the compositional aspect, pretty sure readability and the immediate impact of an image should reach the observer without difficulty. The approach straight to the point works better than overly complex compositions that are often tediously academic but without feeling.
But the “less is more” is applied also for my equipment in the street. I generally use a camera, a lens.
2. You don’t need to cook with expensive products
IN THE KITCHEN
The important thing is that you need fresh and tasteful products but this doesn’t mean you need by force of Himalayan Pink Salt to make a great dish. And many times “foods of poor cuisine” can give a lot of satisfaction.
IN THE STREET
Pretty the same. Don’t need expensive camera or lenses when it comes to Street Photography. But if you think the opposite I would like to invite you to study more this genre.
3. Curiosity is anything
IN THE KITCHEN
The better chefs but also just a man who cooks like me must have curiosity and will to learn. Cooking is a matter to know the raw materials with which you work and you need to know how to recognize when a product is good and fresh, or you need to know about knives suitable for every job.
IN THE STREET
A photographer without curiosity never will be a good photographer. Curiosity should be a natural need for a photographer. Curiosity for the people and the urban environment when we are working in the streets, but also curiosity for the history of photography, about the masters and the contemporaries and how is evolving the genre and curiosity also for new techniques to learn and trying.
4. Smaller detail can make the difference
IN THE KITCHEN
It can be a pinch of sugar in the sauce or an anchovy in chickpea soup but that little secret can make the different from a dish and a great dish.
IN THE STREET
Many times the question of whether it is a good street photograph is given by a detail. That detail makes the photograph.
5. You can’t control anything
IN THE KITCHEN
As far you can be organized and meticulous cooking has its variables and you must be ready to take advantage by this. Sometimes the intuitive solution can lead you to new formulas, so an open mind and ability of problem solving can be really beneficial in your kitchen.
IN THE STREET
C’mon, Street Photography is most unpredictable genre of photography. You must be always ready to document what is happening before your eyes because nothing is set up and you need just to be fast with your camera.
6. There will be always another chance
IN THE KITCHEN
Expecially if you love to experiment new dishes you need to be ready with failures. The kitchen is also err but you must avoid to live to experience a culinary failure as a disaster. Nest time will be better.
IN THE STREET
You lost the moment! Dude, this is part of the game…and please stop to think still to that shot going bad. Think to the next picture!
7. Get out of the comfort zone: explore the world!
IN THE KITCHEN
The Italian cuisine is renowned worldwide and many Italians have a tendency to think that it is always the best in the world. I am pride of my roots and of the great Italian culinary tradition. I have learned to know and appreciate other cuisines (Mexican, Vietnamese, Japanese) and sometimes I try to make dishes from other countries.
IN THE STREET
I am a firm believer to always have the approach of the beginner, trying any technique and not dwell in a comfort zone. Try flash, shoot from the hip, shoot film, digital, get closer, build a pinhole camera, use your mobile phone…have an open mind. Foreclosures are for the stupid. Put yourself always in discussion and start again from a new approach and technique: you will find new new ideas and creativity.
8. Substance beats aesthetics, always
IN THE KITCHEN
Knowing how to place on the plate is important at certain levels but also if you want to present your dishes at the best. It is not a matter to be underestimated if you love to cook, but in the end the success of a dish will always be given only by the flavor. A dish can not be presented perfectly, but for sure must be good.
IN THE STREET
A good street photograph is given by the content, the message that the photographer wants to communicate. The aesthetic part, for example high contrasted images in black and white or color & shade must be always supported by the content, otherwise is just a picture “in the style of” but empty of meaning, the worst thing that can happen to a street photographer, something absolutely to be allocated to trash…
9. Know your strengths and weaknesses
IN THE KITCHEN
Cooking is a vast territory: it is impossible to think to be able to make any dish. And every person in the kitchen has its limits. Yes, also the senior chefs. As a man who cooks I am good and bad at when it comes to cooking. It is absolutely normal and something you need to know to give the best in the things you can.
IN THE STREET
I am a street photographer just as many and I don’t feel bad saying it out loud. I have my years of experience doing this kind of photography on a daily basis, but I am pretty aware of my limits and what I can make with a camera. It is a consciousness that is not pompous or self-deprecating in any way.The fact I am giving workshops or publishing guides about does not make me a master and my photography can be appreciated or no. I make mistakes like everyone and I have still a lot to learn.
10. Setbacks make you a better player
IN THE KITCHEN
One thing I’ve learned is that it is better not to cook every day. I enjoy breaks from cooking because are generally rooms for regeneration of my creativity. OK, there is my mother, a great woman, coooking everyday for fifty years, but it works to me the rest from the kitchen, maybe knowing dishes cooked by others.
IN THE STREET
Sometimes you need to stop yourself to make street photography. Setbacks are important in order to make you a better photographer. In days off you are regenerating your creativity.
+ 1. A last thing to remember…
IN THE KITCHEN, IN THE STREET, IN YOUR LIFE
Always smile and saying “thank you” to your friends, mentors, competitors is something we should all practice every day. Remember that the right attitude and positive thoughts makes the difference. Surround yourself with people who are better than you but who want to help you. The criticism is OK just when coming with constructive intent, so it is important to have relationships with positive people.
To conclude this post I would share with a pinch of irony MY SPECIALITIES:
IN THE KITCHEN
Lasagna;
Pork rolls with bacon;
Stuffed Chicken;
Parmigiana;
Supplì, Calzoni;
Fish (various dishes);
Cantonese rice;
IN THE STREET
Getting closer;
Being invisible;
Coffee shops windows;
Lips;
Ehm…girls;
Remember the last thing: competition in cooking and street photography is just with yourself. You need to have a challenging mind but just to improve yourself, without bashing the others. Because to the end of the game it is just you and your cooking. It is just you and your photography.
I hope this post can be taken with sense of humour too. Rememeber to smile also when things are getting serious: it is the best way to stay sane.
