This photographer reacts to the Italian Street Photography Festival and I have something to say
A premise: since I started a new virtual life with this new blog I decided to focus on my work, thus avoiding getting involved in controversy. The blog focuses on my business, especially as a street photographer and wants to make a contribution to like-minded people who have an interest in street photography. With that said yesterday I commented on Youtube after seeing the video of Tim Huynh. This is the video:
Tim Huynh is a Hawaii Based Street Photographer and this would suffice to describe it. Do you have any idea how many street photographers there can be in Hawaii? You are right: Tim and…Tim. But as it wasn't enough Tim is the director of the street photography documentary FILL THE FRAME.
So, yesterday, I was watching some videos on YouTube. I am watching a lot of videos, not only about photography: I am learning a lot about editing for my YouTube channel. And when I have seen Tim released a new video on his channel about the Italian Street Photography Festival I understood that I had to watch it immediately. And my reaction to the video has been a comment, this:
It seems nothing has changed. Festivals making their thing that means:
- Self-celebration
- Approval fever
- Cliché and repeating again and again the same aesthetics
- Judges making the impossible and sweating a lot to pick decent photos and sometimes they fail
- An italian festival gives priority to italians despite they say to be...an international festival
With that said I agree with you. The winning photo at least this year is a great photo. The back photo is 1/10
As many of my followers know, I have stopped participating in any award or contest. I don’ need it sincerely and my photography (but especially me as a person who is uncomfortable) doesn’t combine very much with the dynamics of photographic competitions and certain organizations.
In the past I have been a judge of various photographic competitions, both at festivals and curating exhibitions and editorial projects. This means that I know from the inside the dynamics of choosing the winning photos. Heavy work, often frustrating, the judges are asked to view thousands of photos, most of these mediocre, it is not easy. It is not easy at all. Add to this that in the dynamics of these festivals the organizations usually reward some photos that are not really deserving but they do it because and they know the author, they have some interest in ensuring that certain photographers are at least in the final list of selected.
The results are almost always lower than expected, often responding to a common aesthetic, flattened on the ideas of the judges.
I just want to ask: how long do we still have to see people shot from behind among the winning photos? How many times will the judges still award people who jump into the water? How many times should we see so many characters inside the frame who are each immersed in an action and make the composition varied and dynamic? How many Alex Webb we need to celebrate? How many Bruce Gilden? Can street photography detach itself from itself, looking for someone else? Why are the masters still the same? Why do photographers from the festival host country have an advantage?
Too many questions? Maybe. Everything will probably be liquidated with the umpteenth idea that a photographer did not like to be excluded from the winning photos. And if I know the members of that organization Tim can say goodbye to be considered in future for simply making some criticisms, exactly as I made in the past.
I am perfectly aware that is not easy to organize a festival. My respct to all the ones making this possible, but again I think a criticism can serve to improve. When I pointed out that there were no women among the guests of honor of the first Italian Street Photography Festival after 2 days they changed by inviting several women. In the end they put me on the blacklist but who cares.
I am so lucky that my career is not depending to be part of certain elites or by being an ambassador for a photographic brand. I think I have shown myself and others how strong I am even without any of this by going straight my way.
When I make a criticism it is, I think, for the sake of the growth of street photography, which goes on, for heaven's sake, even without me, but critic voices are useful in my opinion. If I express, to make an example, that many YouTubers are pretty good with making videos but are not good street photographers, am I wrong? I know that is not easy to combine both things, but…YouTube in my opinion needs more street photographers there and this is what I am trying to do with my channel.
So thanks to Tim to make that video, we need more food for thought about Street Photography, even when it is not something that the whole community can digest.
