All The Small Things

Street photography is typically defined as a genre that captures candid, unposed images of people and scenes in public places, focusing on spontaneous moments and interactions in everyday life. The focus is typically on individuals and their interactions within their respective environments. What if you remove the people? Is street photography valid in documenting the remains of people's interactions with each other, the environment, and everyday things?

Street photography should include candid images of texture, color, graphics, light and shadow, empty spaces, and the way space is occupied- all the little things people often ignore daily.  The world is filled with ordinary artifacts of human existence that can take on new meanings if photographed correctly. Street photography can be anthropological.

There is a rich history of still life in paintings, which photographers such as Edward Weston, Man Ray, Joel Meyerowitz, Ansel Adams, and others have adopted. Landscapes, food, products, and simple, ordinary objects were elevated to the highest artistic form as photographs. Things found in everyday life on the streets can also be elevated artistically through photography.

So, what does one look for? I look for human artifacts, those small things that speak to something more significant in life. I have always contemplated those small roadside memorials, for example, that are the artifacts of some tragic event resulting in loss of life. As a former racer and car lover, I am viscerally moved by the sight of abandoned automobiles and their systematic dissection as they are stripped of components over time. 

People can be essential in street photography, but learning to see all the small things can increase one's depth and expand one's awareness of life.