Undoubtedly, while doing street photography, I feel more like a poet, not a reporter.
A poet, in this context, is someone who seeks to capture the essence and emotion of a moment, while a reporter is more concerned with factual accuracy and objectivity. I wrote this text on the 4th of January, 2025. It was a day when I was doing street photography, rucking, and exposing my body to cold by wearing summer clothes (it was -1 degrees Celsius [30 degrees Fahrenheit]) in Warsaw’s Ursynów district. While walking in a snowy area, I was thinking about my way of taking photographs. I asked myself whether I was a reporter, documentalist, or maybe a street poet? I believe I am the poet of street photography. My process involves a deep contemplation of the scenes I encounter, seeking to capture the beauty and poetry in the mundane.
By ‘beauty and poetry in the mundane’, I mean the ordinary moments and scenes that we often overlook in our daily lives, but when captured through the lens of a camera, they reveal a profound beauty and a poetic narrative.
Even though I noticed, throughout the years, that some of my pictures can be considered documentary photography, I do not consider myself a documentalist. Documenting is not the main aim of my photographic activity. Also, I do not aim to report anything. For example, if there are some significant manifestations in Warsaw, I do not go there. My approach to street photography is poetic and contemplative. I walk and contemplate. Somehow, I am resetting my mind while doing this tremendous activity. Even though rucking is a hectic activity, I still find a space to contemplate, like I did today in the Ursynów district.
Also, freezing temperatures do not prevent me from being a one-of-a-kind street poet.
On the contrary, I believe they strengthen my creative powers. The truth is that I do not want to reflect the world with documental precision, but I want to do it by transforming it via my inner eye. The older I am, the more I feel and see that the mundane reality is one of the most inspiring things we, the people, could have. Even though I could not do street photography for the last two days due to my job responsibilities (remember, my Dear Friend, that I work in a broadly defined finance area), I know I will be doing it until the end of my life or my health lets me do it. I plan to do it in a contemplative, artistic, and poetic way.
