I am interested in photographing the life of the street, its spirit, not the life on the street.
That’s why people rarely appear in my photographs. Classic street photography, in most cases, includes humans in pictures. It is not the case that I want to do the opposite for the sake of doing it. Still, I prefer to shoot images without humans. One of the most classic advice for street photographers is to find a proper frame to photograph and wait for a human to appear in this frame. Once a man appears, it is a perfect moment (the so-called “decisive moment”) to photograph him. Usually, I do the opposite. When I find an ideal frame to shoot, and I see people there or know that someone will appear in my camera’s frame within the next few seconds, I wait for this person to disappear from the frame.
Once it happens, I take a shot.
This unique approach is my way of doing street photography for most of the time. Of course, sometimes humans appear in my pictures. I photograph them when I have a chance and when I feel this picture will be better. The truth is that I had already written a text named “The Still Life is Often the Most Moving Thing.” In general, I agree with my text from the past, even today. I wrote “The Life of the Street” on the 3rd of August, 2024, and I wrote “The Still Life is Often the Most Moving Thing” on the 9th of June, 2023. Speaking shortly, I am less interested in life on the streets than most other street photographers.
Even when I watch other people’s works submitted to Lensculture’s street photography contest, I see most pictures include humans.
Perhaps I will change my attitude in the future. Still, I do not see any reason to force myself to do it because my way of doing street photography, for today, is okay for me, and I am content with it. This contentment is not a sign of complacency but a reflection of my confidence in my unique style.
