Back in 2014 ...
OPENING STATEMENT & SELECTION CRITERIA
There are many resources and groups for Street Photography even if this kind of photography has been misinterpreted frequently. We are not going to repeat here the same debate. On the contrary we welcome you to the essence of candid photography.
What is Street Core Photography?
A street photographer shoots all the time. Most of the time with no camera. These shots are the most instinctive of all and they are done in milliseconds. We shoot not through the lenses but with our mind, soul and eyes. We must train hard for this, not just by wandering the streets but also by bringing beauty to our lives through good literature, movies, music or any other form of art. Being able to see special situations requires a lot of training, concentration, time, patience, an open mind and always kindness.
How can we achieve the same results but this time with a camera and a real shot in the box? Without ending at an opportunistic attack and bombardment of the defenseless fellow citizens?
Pictures do not exist until they are shot. And even afterwards we do not try to remember what we have shot but we just choose the striking ones. The truth, the real event has no importance anymore. You have to bear in mind that heavy post-processing does not mean photographic interpretation!
Cartier-Bresson, Kertesz, Burri, Weston ... came and taught us how to use geometry and "good- old" divine proportions. Very often, we can notice in their pictures the absence of any spectacular action, nevertheless they have enormous power. Then others like Leonard Freed and Garry Winogrand went even further and preferred a hard (rules-free) approach. They made the best out of their equipment in the most efficient, innovative and creative way. They approached their subjects within the limits of their equipment, time of reaction of their shutters, no autofocus, no continuous shooting, 12-24-36 takes at most per film ... the list is long.
We are now in 2020. Our monster DSLRs shoot like a machine gun, they focus on 100s of points, they react in milliseconds to any of our commands. Our mirrorless small-sized toys compete in quality with professional gear. The smartphones cameras are at 18 MPs and growing. A good friend showed me how he could trigger the shutter of his smartphone through its headphones without being noticed.
We should be able to use modern technology to take a real picture of the image which arrives in our neurons and creates the need and the impulse of raising and triggering our camera! Only, without raising it ... without composing ... with no geometry, golden rules or even correct settings. There is no waiting time, the picture is grabbed, there is no standing still and there is continuous movement and obsessive observation. We are not here for long!
How do we select the pictures? Rules of composition do not have the slightest value for the artist-photographer. Her/his work is the fruit of talent, intelligence and hard work. Through these the artist is led to a number of solutions.
The critics and the teachers are then “studying” these solutions and compare them (in a Procrustic manner) against artificial parameters. The critics are using them to justify their (usually erroneous) choices, and the teachers to impose their views to the students by depriving them of any emerging talent and to trap them into a “mass creativity/creativity for the masses”. “Hey teacher, leave us kids alone!”. ... and try to inspire us instead.
NEVERTHELESS
For the purposes of selecting and critiquing photographs posted in the Group, some basic principles and a couple of criteria specific to the orientation of the Group will be applied, and that is:
Level of surrealism, symbolism, obsession, instinctive (candid) implementation, impact, intent and "composition/lack of".
Surrealism: it features the surprise, the unexpected juxtapositions. The aim is to resolve the contradictions between dream and reality
Symbolism: art should represent absolute truths that can only be described indirectly in a metaphoric and suggestive way
Obsession: the tension and the alert state of mind of the photographer which is the only way to make a capture stand out
Instinctive shooting: degree of preparation (lack of it) as opposed to eagerness to capture the essence of the fleeting magic in a split second.
Emotional impact: Sadness, wonder, anger ... name it. The effects are immediate and transferred to the viewer with no warning. The first impression sets the rules for the rest of the viewing process. Usually we connect if we understand the message or if the picture is appealing to our memories. Pictures of human suffering have an immediate impact because we all have experienced pain.
Photographers that are aware of this are often trying in an aggressive or more subtle way to boost such feelings. However there is much more than this first impression. The artist's intent.
The artist’s intent: In order to convey an idea or a message the artists use their creativity to be original and inventive by the means of photography. Answering the following questions your criticism will be much more on the point. What is the purpose of the picture? Documentation? Provocation? Story telling? This last one is the capacity of a picture to evoke imagination. Of course there might be as many stories as viewers.
The viewer is hence interpreting the factual information of the picture to define the meaning and the mood of the image. This process generates new information as to the initial intent and the final impact of the artwork.
In a dialectic approach, the artist can state if (s)he achieved the result randomly, intuitively or deliberately.
Composition or the lack of it: - The arrangement of spots, lines, shapes, patterns, leading edges; the visual paths, the visual balance or the lack of it.
The symmetry, the influence of extraneous elements, of negative spaces.
A viewer knows by intuition if a picture is balanced but on the other hand a perfect balance and harmony have a boring effect.
Technical quality (only pro memoria): There are various indicators to measure this. Some of them include: presence of all tones (distribution, weight, and balance of tones from black- black to white-white), no totally flat blacks or whites, textures and how they are lit, focussing and/or blurring techniques. Other basic elements are the perspective, depth, exposure, contrast and brightness used.
Technical aspect is the first thing to suffer in instinctive photography. It will not be taken into account here!
There are many resources and groups for Street Photography even if this kind of photography has been misinterpreted frequently. We are not going to repeat here the same debate. On the contrary we welcome you to the essence of candid photography.
What is Street Core Photography?
A street photographer shoots all the time. Most of the time with no camera. These shots are the most instinctive of all and they are done in milliseconds. We shoot not through the lenses but with our mind, soul and eyes. We must train hard for this, not just by wandering the streets but also by bringing beauty to our lives through good literature, movies, music or any other form of art. Being able to see special situations requires a lot of training, concentration, time, patience, an open mind and always kindness.
How can we achieve the same results but this time with a camera and a real shot in the box? Without ending at an opportunistic attack and bombardment of the defenseless fellow citizens?
Pictures do not exist until they are shot. And even afterwards we do not try to remember what we have shot but we just choose the striking ones. The truth, the real event has no importance anymore. You have to bear in mind that heavy post-processing does not mean photographic interpretation!
Cartier-Bresson, Kertesz, Burri, Weston ... came and taught us how to use geometry and "good- old" divine proportions. Very often, we can notice in their pictures the absence of any spectacular action, nevertheless they have enormous power. Then others like Leonard Freed and Garry Winogrand went even further and preferred a hard (rules-free) approach. They made the best out of their equipment in the most efficient, innovative and creative way. They approached their subjects within the limits of their equipment, time of reaction of their shutters, no autofocus, no continuous shooting, 12-24-36 takes at most per film ... the list is long.
We are now in 2020. Our monster DSLRs shoot like a machine gun, they focus on 100s of points, they react in milliseconds to any of our commands. Our mirrorless small-sized toys compete in quality with professional gear. The smartphones cameras are at 18 MPs and growing. A good friend showed me how he could trigger the shutter of his smartphone through its headphones without being noticed.
We should be able to use modern technology to take a real picture of the image which arrives in our neurons and creates the need and the impulse of raising and triggering our camera! Only, without raising it ... without composing ... with no geometry, golden rules or even correct settings. There is no waiting time, the picture is grabbed, there is no standing still and there is continuous movement and obsessive observation. We are not here for long!
How do we select the pictures? Rules of composition do not have the slightest value for the artist-photographer. Her/his work is the fruit of talent, intelligence and hard work. Through these the artist is led to a number of solutions.
The critics and the teachers are then “studying” these solutions and compare them (in a Procrustic manner) against artificial parameters. The critics are using them to justify their (usually erroneous) choices, and the teachers to impose their views to the students by depriving them of any emerging talent and to trap them into a “mass creativity/creativity for the masses”. “Hey teacher, leave us kids alone!”. ... and try to inspire us instead.
NEVERTHELESS
For the purposes of selecting and critiquing photographs posted in the Group, some basic principles and a couple of criteria specific to the orientation of the Group will be applied, and that is:
Level of surrealism, symbolism, obsession, instinctive (candid) implementation, impact, intent and "composition/lack of".
Surrealism: it features the surprise, the unexpected juxtapositions. The aim is to resolve the contradictions between dream and reality
Symbolism: art should represent absolute truths that can only be described indirectly in a metaphoric and suggestive way
Obsession: the tension and the alert state of mind of the photographer which is the only way to make a capture stand out
Instinctive shooting: degree of preparation (lack of it) as opposed to eagerness to capture the essence of the fleeting magic in a split second.
Emotional impact: Sadness, wonder, anger ... name it. The effects are immediate and transferred to the viewer with no warning. The first impression sets the rules for the rest of the viewing process. Usually we connect if we understand the message or if the picture is appealing to our memories. Pictures of human suffering have an immediate impact because we all have experienced pain.
Photographers that are aware of this are often trying in an aggressive or more subtle way to boost such feelings. However there is much more than this first impression. The artist's intent.
The artist’s intent: In order to convey an idea or a message the artists use their creativity to be original and inventive by the means of photography. Answering the following questions your criticism will be much more on the point. What is the purpose of the picture? Documentation? Provocation? Story telling? This last one is the capacity of a picture to evoke imagination. Of course there might be as many stories as viewers.
The viewer is hence interpreting the factual information of the picture to define the meaning and the mood of the image. This process generates new information as to the initial intent and the final impact of the artwork.
In a dialectic approach, the artist can state if (s)he achieved the result randomly, intuitively or deliberately.
Composition or the lack of it: - The arrangement of spots, lines, shapes, patterns, leading edges; the visual paths, the visual balance or the lack of it.
The symmetry, the influence of extraneous elements, of negative spaces.
A viewer knows by intuition if a picture is balanced but on the other hand a perfect balance and harmony have a boring effect.
Technical quality (only pro memoria): There are various indicators to measure this. Some of them include: presence of all tones (distribution, weight, and balance of tones from black- black to white-white), no totally flat blacks or whites, textures and how they are lit, focussing and/or blurring techniques. Other basic elements are the perspective, depth, exposure, contrast and brightness used.
Technical aspect is the first thing to suffer in instinctive photography. It will not be taken into account here!