A Street Photography interview to…Alex Coghe
Where are you from and where are you based? I am Italian: I was born in Rome in 1975 and I have lived in Mexico City for 12 years.
What does the “STREET PHOTOGRAPHY“ mean for you? I instinctively reply that it is encountering poetry in everyday life. At a deeper level I say that street photography is a visual documentation tool that allows us to know the world, society with its evolution or involution. From a personal point of view it is absolutely a way of life.
What was the first time that you was attracted by street photography and how you discover it? Subconsciously I met her when I was 10, with a Kodak guide. But I really became aware of it in the early 2000s, through the study of books and the few resources that were on the internet. It has since become a positive obsession. I remember that for two years I studied it without even owning a camera.
What were the first difficulties you meet when you started? When I started I was a disaster: I cropped the images to improve them and mixed the color excessively with heavy post production. And on the street the main issue was “still not having the eye as a viewfinder”…
When a street photo is a keeper in your opinion? To have a good photo we need a perfect balance between form and content. Without these fundamental elements we can’t have a keeper.
Black and white or color? And why? The first part of my path into street photography has been was mainly characterized by black and white photos. The turning point of a 10-year career as a professional photographer coincided with a profound analysis of what I had done and what I was as a photographer and I realized that everything I had to say in black and white had run out. Today I define myself as a photographer who prefers color without hesitation. Color allows me to present reality without abstractions in most cases. Today when I take a photo I think above all to show who will see it which is the reality I live and in which I move. The reflection, however, also derives from the fact that I was born, at the time of film, as a photographer who used only color emulsions. The study of photography in a dedicated and academic way had led me to black and white, influenced by the photo-reporters of the golden era in Italy, by neorealism and later also by some Japanese photography. But it was all a necessary path to get to my true photographic self.
In a street photo is more important the content or the form? Or you believe both are important? Both are important. Many photographers believe that form and therefore aesthetics determine the style of a photographer. But a photographer is also the things he photographs, I mean the subjects and the stories he presents.
What you want to communicate with your street photographs to the viewer? I am perfectly aware my kind of street photos are not immediate and easy. Often they present a level of a level of reading that does not reach you immediately, perhaps in some people it does not arrive at all. And maybe that's why some find me unpleasant. But one thing is certain: I don't chase formulas and cliches. After all these years I can say that I make my own thing. About Street Photography I have a more open and broader idea than other photographers. I have in mind the history and focus of street photography, and today we see a lot of people in instagram and youtube not having a clue what street photography is, and yet they love to call photos made with a bazooka in that way. At the same time I would say to consider that anyone makes their own rules when it comes personal photography and I am perfectly OK with this: look at Stephen Shore and Saul Leiter, they are at the boundaries of the genre, for different reasons. And despite this they are considered masters of street photography.
What do you think about the clichés in street photography? Cliches are inevitable. The important is that your photography does not convert into a cliche.
What are your favorite photographers? Difficult and easy question to answer. Difficult because I consider my photography a product of the influences and study that include also things apparently far from photography, but absolutely important influences to form my visual background. Easy if we talk about Street Photography: I still feel the Japanese photography is an important reference to me and it influences my work in a latent form, certainly less evident than a few years ago. In order to avoid misunderstandings and to limit to color photographers I say: Joel Meyerowitz, Stephen Shore and Luigi Ghirri.
How instinctive is your photography and how planned is it? Do you work a scene? Most of the time I am an instinctive photographer. Even when I am busy with commercial works as a portrait photographer. When it comes to street photography I am very quick and I don’t waste my time excessively. When I bring the viewfinder to my eye it is because I have already recognized a photographic moment. However sometimes I plan and I have to say that I also like to work the scene sometimes and try to find more profit from a certain place, making several shots. If there is one thing I have learned over the years it is that absolutes never go well.
How did social media influences street photography? How is your relationship with social media referred to the way you live the street photography everyday? I experienced the dawn of social media and how they entered our world of photography. I can recall the enthusiasm as much personal as that of the entire community. I don’t think social media is the evil for photography. If we use it in a smart way we can obtain a lot of positive things from social media. Unfortunately, the most popular social network even among photographers is facebook (and instagram) which is actually a killer of photography, starting with how they destroy files with compression. Despite most of people talks about photos all the time I see a lot of ignorants about what photography and a good photograph is.
Did you have sometime any confrontation on the street? And how you react in these cases? Yes, I did have sometime. But the first one has been for another photographer with me in Los Angeles, California. Then in Mexico two girls called the police in downtown. I explained my reasons but I accepted in that case to delete the picture. The policemen were defending more to me than them. One of the policemen said that he also like to make photos on the streets. The worst happened when a man decided to react to my photographing with beating me in the chest. That was the most violent occurred so far, but I keep myself calm, a little worried for my camera, I just said I am a photographer. In any case things went no further.
Can you describe how is a typical day of street shooting for you? I set the alarm to have breakfast, get ready and go out at 8. Batteries charged the day before. I take the bus that will take me to the center. More rarely, I travel by subway. It depends where I decide to go. The bus trip takes a while and that is an opportunity to do a sort of meditation and find the ideal concentration for the work I will do. I walk a lot, but I force myself to walk slower than I am used to. During the walk all my senses are alert, I tend to turn my head everywhere, to find photographic moments. My state is peaceful and absolutely positive. I enjoy the experience, I smile at people. Most of the time I frame by looking through the viewfinder, but I can’t do it with any camera, because I have also cameras without viewfinder. To photograph in Downtown is a different experience respect to shooting in the barrios. Also my approach changes a little. In downtown my style is, maybe, more aggressive (don’t take it bad) and in your face. If I meet another photographer I can go to eat in some restaurant.
Do you join a community of photographers in real life? What about photographing with other guys? I joined in the past. Today I have some friend to go out together to make photographs. But I consider precious the day where I am alone, just me and my cameras. In an case I am an open mind person and always ready to interact with people on the streets. Here in Mexico most of the time people call me GUERO and this concerts the experience into another experience. Street Photography can be a great human experience if made with the positive attitude and spirit.
What about ethics when it comes to Street Photography? The ethics are the one you own. If you are a respectful guy, you will act with a respectful behavior. And this is more important than many photographers believe. It can make a real difference also in the kind of photography you produce.
Do you have any special tip to offer to other Street Photographers and our readers? Street Photography is never - NEVER - a hobby. If you consider like that you will not be a real street photographer. Street Photography is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of living. This include to have a camera always with you: because you a street photographer, you are not like other photographers that carry a camera with them only when they have to work or to make a project. A street photographer is in mission with himself and the everyday life and a great moment deserving to be photographed can happen anytime.
Please note: this interview has been published on the first issue of SHOOTR, the new Street Photography magazine published through this website.
