Street Photography has no boundaries
A few days ago on this blog I wrote that street photography is not a genre but rather it is the essence of an experience and a preference for what we do and who we are.
If it was the definition of a genre then Garry Winogrand would have been right saying it was no sense:
I hate the term, I think it’s a stupid term, street photography. I don’t think it tells you anything about the photographer or work. On the subject, I have a book out called the animals. Call me the same I’m a zoo photographer. I mean it all really doesn’t make any sense to me, you know?
We cannot limit within the boundaries of a genre because it has always been fueled by the diversity of each photographer and its evolution. Rather, for me it stands out as a very specific choice, a mental approach even more than aesthetic.
The street photographer usually has different peculiarities than the geek photographer:
Not focused on gear all the time
Technique is only important in the service of (subordinate to the) the shot
Anti-composition and outside orthodoxy, thinking out of the box
By choosing the street, he/she is a completely different animal
The acceptance of dealing with taking photos of strangers
Let's be real: there's a big difference between Garry Winogrand and Steve McCurry. And in my opinion is the same between a street photographer and a geek photographer.
The geek photographer you will see him walking around with the big backpack where he/she will hold tripod, lenses and filters and half of the house. He acts like a photographer because he/she needs to be seen as a photographer.
The Street Photographer doesn’t really care about any of that. And if he/she doesn't look like a photographer, that's better. He/she shoots with a small camera, maybe a compact one, maybe a smartphone. And the result is the only thing to count. His/her choices are all related to being on the spot and being ready to photograph the event in moments.
Watch the video above where Garry Winogrand pretends not to know what to do with the camera. Let's talk about one famous for his crocked horizon lines, another thing that the geek photographer hates. And this is exactly the point.
