5 Reasons Why I Do Street Photography
Street photography is amazing. It’s my primary passion. It pairs multiple things that I’m a big fan of: photography, art, walking, sun, fresh air, and it’s a challenge.
When I learned about street photography, I was quickly hooked. More than ten years later, I still am.
Here’s why I do street photography and what keeps me going. It’ll keep me going until the day I die.
1) To Create Art
Art is a beautiful thing, and street photography is art.
It’s a unique art form that is created out on the streets in real life. There are a lot of variables. You don’t have control over everything. Like the light, for instance. Or where people walk in and out of your frame.
What has always been impressive to me and what drew me to street photography initially is that the photographer found a way to make sense of the chaos around them on the street to create a picture. This is why street photography is notoriously difficult. Even the best street photographers come home empty-handed. Alex Webb has said that “street photography is 99 percent about failure.”
The photographers who excel and create truly remarkable photographs are the dedicated ones who push through despite the difficulty. In order to create art with street photography, the photographer must have consistency and discipline. Pounding the pavement and getting steps in isn’t an option.
The result is art that goes beyond just the photographer. Great street photographs are something that everyone can enjoy.
2) To Document the Human Condition, People, and History
It’s fascinating to be able to look back at previous time periods. To see life as it really was. Looking back on the works of early street photographers, I notice how different things were in some ways, but I notice ways in which people are still fundamentally the same.
Street photography is a gift to us all that allows us to do that, to be transported back in time in our minds. Other art forms do this on some level, but street photography lets you really see it.
Seeing the human condition as it was in a certain time period is valuable. I think it can help us learn from the past and not repeat the mistakes of history. Or at least, I’d really like to believe that.
I hope someday, if the world doesn’t crumble, people can look back on my pictures and learn about the time period I lived in. Or at least get some enjoyment out of them.
3) Street Photography Is a Fun Challenge
Street photography is so damn fun. I love it. Trying to make a scene or situation interesting to look at is really difficult, but so rewarding when it works.
There are so many factors outside of your control, which sets street photography apart from a lot of other art forms.
Hard things, challenging things, are fun. That’s why sports are fun, video games are fun. It’s partly what keeps me coming back for more and more street photography. It sounds kind of like a drug when I put it like that - but it’s a good drug, a healthy one.
4) To Get Outside and Be Active
Street photography makes you get your ass outside. Being outside is good! I’d go so far as to say it’s underrated. Especially in today’s age.
In my last several jobs, I’ve been surrounded by sedentary people who sit for such long periods, it blows my mind. On any given day, I need to walk, to move around. So I would go on walks on my lunch break, and these people would sit at their desks not moving ALL day. It’s so unhealthy for you. Humans were not meant to live like this!
To tie this into street photography, walking is part of the fabric of doing it. You need to walk and be somewhat active to do street photography. You can’t do it from your couch.
With street photography, you get to go outside, feel the sun on your skin, breathe in the fresh air, and move your legs. And you get to create photographs while doing it! It’s a great deal; all you have to do is negotiate with yourself to take the first step to leave the house.
5) Adventure
I’ve always loved adventure and discovering new places. When Columbus and his men sailed the ocean blue (who was an evil bastard, but that’s beside the point here), they must have been driven by a sense of adventure. Street photography gives me the opportunity to go on adventures to discover new places and document them (no genocide involved).
The adventure that comes with street photography is not even just for discovering new far-flung places. So many of us have not truly discovered the places we live in. Street photography is the best excuse to go out and explore your own city. It also gives you insight into where people congregate and when and where there is good light.
Adventure - it’s good.
That’s Why
So that’s why I do street photography, and I’m sure these will be the same things that will keep me doing street photography well into the future.
Street photography, man. It’s the best.
