Street photography is an amazing photography genre because it shows the world from the unique perspective of the photographer. It is the art of seeing common people, place and things from a different perspective.  Much like a novelist describing a character or scene, as a photographer I want viewers to witness the world through my lens where my photographs are my descriptions of the world I see.  Like pages of a novel, as the viewer sees more of my work, they form their own view of my artistic style. I rarely provide any information about my photos.  I want the viewer to bring their experience, consciousness and questions to form their own thoughts without any pollution of my motivations for the picture. In the end it doesn’t matter why I took the picture. It only matters the viewer’s relationship to it.

One of the things I love about street photography is how it flows through me.  I cannot tell you where or how my inspiration for a given photograph works.  Typically, I wander for hours, covering miles trying to be as present as possible. Then suddenly I see a subject and in moment,  I am in the zone, created out of unconscious impulse, Click! I squeeze off a picture!  It is as instantaneous as that.  Occasionally, if I am lucky that zone will continue while as I squeeze off a series of photographs before it dissipates.  I continue my walk waiting for the next impulse.

I don’t know where the inspiration comes from.  However, it is a very strong almost undeniable impulse to take the picture.  My photography is very instinctual, there is no time to contemplate composition, lighting etc. or the moment is gone forever. Once I take the picture I never look at or “chimp” the picture.  Often, I wait over 24 hours to download and look at a day’s photographs. I have found waiting changes my emotional state which effects how I react to my photographs.

Occasionally, I hesitate which results in a missed opportunity for a picture.  When this happens, I feel like I let my artistic self-down.  The game is catching as Henri Cartier-Bresson coined, “the decisive moment.” Usually, I feel more critical of missing an opportunity then if I take a picture and it is not usable due to some technical issue.

Another reason I am drawn to street photography is it is difficult. I typically take hundreds of pictures during an outing walking around for hours and not have one “keeper.” The nature of street photography is as Alex Webb states, “99% failure.” Often you simply raise the camera and fire, trying to catch a “decisive moment” of action, such as an expression on a face or some action between people. You shoot now and live with the results. It’s exciting.

I strongly recommend Rick Rubin’s book: The Creative Act: A way of being.  It changed how I approach my photography and to some extent my life. Before the read, I focused on how to be a successful street photographer, by producing likable work. My emotions often ebbed and flowed depending on the like button. I now live to be an artist first. Every time I pick up my camera, I go out and play, with no expectation. I am not taking pictures for likes or acceptance, but simply to play and to allow my inspiration to work through me unrestricted.  I accept that every frame I shoot is an experiment, where I gain valuable knowledge that will affect my future efforts.

My artistic endeavors with photography melds with my core beliefs that all human beings have inherent value and dignity. My camera is my chosen tool to help others consider the human condition, places and things from a different perception from their own. We are all wonderfully unique. I have keen desire to reveal and understand the complexities of individuals by finding unscripted moments I can capture. If I have a desire, I hope others by seeing aspects of other people’s lives through photographs, their perceptions of the world will enlarge even a little bit, making the world a bigger and more tolerant place for all.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt