(Leica X1)As of late there have been on the Internet heaps going on about picking the best street photographers, must-see websites of street photography, so on and so forth. While street photography is the vogue of the day, what remains to be discovered are definitive, probably scholarly based answers to questions like: What actually is street photography? Its elements and purposes? What makes up a top-notch street photographer? Until then, such recommendations may make this genre go farther but fare worse. This is not to say that those photographers are not good. On the contrary, they are creative, observant and technically savvy. It is just that some works may be closer to be called eye candies than recommendable shots, and not necessarily to be subsumed under street photography. And some personal picks can be as good as a restricted taste, connection or understanding gets.
Now this is starting to sound like some manly relish of making a conversation covering the sour grapes. Well, interpretation is free.
Honestly, comparable and even better street shots are seen on the websites of some unsung street photographers who upload shots more indiscriminately. This doesn’t refute the list of suggested top players but puts up the foregoing questions for some definitive judgments. With personal favouritism instead of a solid objective footing as it is now, street photography can remain on the sideline of photography. That said, it is a genre still in its infancy.
On the mention of uploading photos indiscriminately, I am recently in the process of narrowing down the styles and themes for my street shots. Or at least I am trying to stick to a narrow selection for posting here. At the moment, using the chance of joining the WYNG photo contest, a specific theme is poverty of which details cannot be given for now. As for my fav shots done since making my first sortie into digital photography, I will need time to dig them out and post on flickr. Shamefully, I haven’t had the time to really dabble in flickr so far.
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