Street Photography Encourages You to Live in The Moment
When I go through periods of being inactive or less active than I should be, I get preoccupied. I tend to overthink, worry, and get anxious about responsibilities. When I have too many responsibilities on my plate, I can get overwhelmed, and then nothing gets done.
But when I practice street photography, I’m able to put all of that on the back burner, and then when I’m done, I feel refreshed and able to take on whatever I need to do, one task at a time.
In general, with the way we live our lives today, I think it’s all too easy to not live in the present moment.
I Appreciate This About Street Photography
I really appreciate how when I get on the street with my camera in hand, I just focus on what’s in front of me and make photos. I also feel like sometimes when I get in the zone, I don’t even have to think about creating the photos, I just do what comes instinctively, and the photos come.
It’s a really freeing feeling. It feels good and healthy for the mind and soul.
This isn’t unique to street photography, I feel this when doing cityscapes and other types of photography. I’m sure painters, musicians, and other artists get this type of fulfillment from their craft too.
With street photography, I like that I can basically not think, tune everything out, and create photos fluidly. It’s one of the reasons why I do street photography.
It’s Easy to Get Preoccupied
We’re overloaded with stimulation today with all the apps, social media, and being overworked. The jobs I’ve worked in recent years often require non-stop busywork, and then leave me with no energy. As a result, instead of getting out of the house, I’ve had the bad habit of lying around and consuming social media, which I think I do to try and soothe my anxieties. But I feel like when I’m not active, I’m pretty frequently up in my head and thinking about this or that thing at work, bills that need to be paid, and so on.
I’m not thinking about all that nonsense when I’m out doing street photography.
Street Photography Requires You to Be Present
Street photography basically demands that you be present in the moment, and that’s such a great thing. I think we should all have an outlet like this that allows us to live in the moment. I think it’s a shame that so many of us are forced to live in this work-to-survive mode, where we’re forced to work ourselves to the bone and then have no energy left over to do the things we love. This is definitely one of the things that have held me back from doing street photography.
It’s a catch-22 because in my jobs that have sapped all of my energy, I would have been better off if I had still made the effort to go out and do street photography, even when I was exhausted. Being out on the street, being active, and having an outlet like street photography is energizing. It gives me purpose and meaning.
I think there are a lot of things that force you to be in the moment - street photography is just one of them. I think we’d all be better off if we spent more time doing them.
