I've been in a creative rut for a while. Yes, I've been shooting, and my camera comes with me every where I go. I'm currently working on a long term project around family, we'll see where that goes. But just when I thought I'd given up on street photography, the streets called me back.
To help jump start my creativity and provide some structure to my photography this summer I decided to go back to school. Well, taking a street photography class to be exact. I enrolled in a seven week course at the Photographic Center Northwest. The course is titled "Street Photography History, Concept and Techniques" and is described as:
“This introduction and survey-level course is intended to provide students a foundation in which to develop their appreciation of street photography and their experience as a street photographer. This is not intended to be an advanced or project-type course. We will examine the history, influences and theory of street photography as it relates to the broader photographic world. The course will consist of lecture and field work intended to help students focus on their own interests and experience on the street. Through lectures and demonstrations students will be exposed to a variety of street photographers, styles and social/political agendas that are inherent to this type of photography. We will be looking for concepts that are consistent across photographers as well as aspects that set each individual apart.”
My first day of class was earlier this week, the students seem engaged. We'll see, this could be fun. I'll be blogging about the class and sharing notes and thoughts here.
Class Overview
- Field work
- Critique
- Create body of work
Shooting on location
- 7/10 Waterfront / Market
- 7/24 Ballard (meet in front of Majestic Theatre)
Street photography is
- social and political
- documentary in its approach
- about us as a collective culture and society
- longs for a desire to stay connected
- is the democratization of the work
- allows us to help better understand relationships
Significant versus Non-Significant
- Looking for a moment
- Street photography often compared to jazz
- Powers of observation
- Object
- Sense of time
- Often about place
- Moment of Gesture
Sense of connection between actors, stage, gesture
What Makes Street Photography Interesting
- Light
- Gesture
- Color tone
- Relationships of objects
- Lines, texture, space
- Feeling and emotion
- People (duh)
- Place (needs to be more than just a picture of a place, what’s the relationship?)
- Scout a location / select background: WAIT FOR SOME SHIT TO HAPPEN
Photographers to research
- Jay Maisel
- André Kertész
Spend time with your photographs (good and bad)
Must practice and work on atunement
Why am I interested in street photography?
Handling confrontation
- Be nice
- How you respond is important
- “Photography is already predatory in nature” Susanne Sontage
- Learn to frame a little off center
ASSIGNMENT #1
- Find a single location on the street and don’t move from that spot for at least an hour and photograph.
- Bring 6-10 images of the new work for review from single location project
Life rewards patience
- Find location
- Build composition
- Make photo
