Is this street photography? If so my first conscious effort! CC welcome

[Tronhard]

These were taken by chance during an evening stroll in Victoria's inner harbour area. Normally I avoid taking photos of people as I hate to be intrusive, but today my inhibitions slipped a bit and I reacted to a few quirky moments...


Here's looking at you... This was initially set to fit into my 1920x1080 display but could be cropped much closer:




The lonely busker... What initially drew me was the reflection in the water and the curve of the quay, but then I realized he was playing to a non-audience.


Mobile Monks: even their phone covers matched their outfits! I really liked the reflections I must admit...

[IzzieK]

Good ones. I like the composition of #1 and #2 -- it looks like they were having fun. There is a lot to look at in #2, not just the reflections -- good one too. That little yellow thingie at the bottom right hand side is a little bit out of place. The monks one is good to me because I like red. And yes, to me these are street photography.

[dubaiphil]

Hi Trev

1 & 2 - I would classify as street.
3 - Maybe street, but it's more of an urban image with strong composition, which incidentally has a human element at an intersection of the rule of thirds. Strong leading lines, only upset a little by the long shadows leading the eyes out of the image to the left.
4 - I would not classify as street - heavily cropped?

Just my opinion

[Shadowman]

Definitely fits the profile of SP, I prefer the original composition of the first as there is more information within the scene. I like the sign upper left and then the image of the ship on the right, this somewhat helps identify the location and adds to the spirit of the subjects. Nice composition of the park and the reflections and subject matter of the third.

[Mike Buckley]

Though it would be my style to capture the second one instead of the first one, I prefer the first one because the information about the subjects' environment is helpful.

I can't think of any reason in your situation that it would matter whether any of these photos should be labeled as street photography; they're photos and no other label is necessary or helpful.

[Adzman808]

As a recent convert to "street" PERSONALLY I've stopped worrying about the label!

There's so much cross over between street/documentary/reportage that you can debate all day long if something is "street" or not

Then there's the endless discussions around how to process your street shots. The super purists will tell you, that if you so much as kick a bit of litter out of the scene (before you shoot) then you have influenced the shot and it's not pure street (you can imagine the views these people have on cropping, dodging/burning etc ) at the other end of the scale you have those that critique street as if it were a fine art studio scene, this is wrong, that is wrong, that's not sharp enough etc etc

For me?

Street as a genre exists to offer a visual, and ideally, an emotive impact to the viewer (as of course does most photography) but the difference is, your viewer won't necessarily have any intrinsic connection to the scene. It's not a landscape that they'd love to visit or the happiness that reminds them of their own wedding (by way of examples)

Street is an intertwining of human and humanistic. It documents and demonstrates.

The photographer's own personal interpretation of human and humanistic is their street voice.

Is your first shot street (according to my own views as detailed above?)

Yes.

The statue/sculpture (I don't think it's a street performer, but what I'm about to write will still apply) is art, art imitating life. The people are life, they are interacting with the art, they are imitating it (that it in turn is imitating life)

So yes, human and humanistic, combined really rather nicely in my opinion. Good shot.

Shots two and three I would PERSONALLY file under documentary (no harm in that, it's not a criticism) but they -to me- more tell a story of humanity, rather than what it means to be human.

Obviously others will completely disagree with me! But FWIW that's my answer to the question you posed!

[tao2]

AAH, Adam (ADZMAN),

Had ye stopped here...

As a recent convert to "street" PERSONALLY I've stopped worrying about the label!

It wouldh've been the perfect riposte. But ye had tae go off on one, a meandering soliloquy, on humanism, humanity, imitation of life, the eternal struggle of man faced with adversity and should he use digital or film.

Should he use Ilford (HP5 Plus) tae reflect the dichotomy of billionaires and their tax havens and the sadness of this Tory government's total incomprehension of life lived without privilege (and Daddy's millions) or gentrify the inner city and sweep aside the underclass with Fuji Velvia, for twee prettiness.

Is this street photography thing "real and gritty" enough, tae transcend DSLRs, tae exceed the mundane and the boorish and be art... Or can it be soft and pliable enough, tae reflect a post -modern dialectic on a classless society?

But, ah digress.... of course it's no' street...it's no' black 'n' white...

[Adzman808]

@tao2

Lol!

It can't be street unless it's shot with a M6 and a 'cron

[rpcrowe]

Yes, definitely the first two images, at least, IMO, fit my idea of "street photography" which concerns recording people doing something interesting, funny, out of the ordinary or just doing the ordinary.

I have no problems about "changing the image" in PP After-all, you have changed life the instant you froze it for all-time. You have cropped the image using the camera, and have changed it by the angle and focal length or f/stop you have used to record it. IMO, there is nothing wrong with cropping further in PP or with doing just about anything else short of adding additional figures or other additions or major subtractions....

I wouldn't worry about the term, "street photography". IMO, much street photography is simply pure out-of-focus, fuzzy, and badly exposed crap that is given legitimacy by labeling it as "street photography".

IMO, street photography doesn't necessarily need to be B&W simply because early practitioners of this style of shooting, like Henri Cartier Bresson did not have the technological advantages of color photography that we have today...

IMO, this is street photography...


and this is not - it is photography of a street...


If I was shooting from directly behind the photographer (image right wearing a blue jacket) and my subject was the young lady standing still for the photographer with the crowd milling around her, that might come closer to my idea of "street photography".

[Tronhard]

AAH, Adam (ADZMAN),

But, ah digress.... of course it's no' street...it's no' black 'n' white...

LOL! Well, in THAT case it would be rude not to make it so!

I think a title change to: "Getting a Rating for his photo" (it helps if you know your naval ranks...)

[rpcrowe]

The bronze sailor looks pretty old to be a rating... We call them "white hats" in our Navy... Our sailors "graduate" from the typical "sailor suit" to the suit jacket, straight trousers and billed hat when they are promoted from petty-officer to chief petty officer... Of course, there are some sailors who spend twenty-or-so years in the Navy and are never promoted to Chief!

[Mike Buckley]

petty-officer to chief petty officer

I've never understood why anyone would want to be officially called petty.

[Tronhard]

The bronze sailor looks pretty old to be a rating... We call them "white hats" in our Navy... Our sailors "graduate" from the typical "sailor suit" to the suit jacket, straight trousers and billed hat when they are promoted from petty-officer to chief petty officer... Of course, there are some sailors who spend twenty-or-so years in the Navy and are never promoted to Chief!

I had a look and he doesn't have any rank insignia on him. Normally petty officers and above will have a peaked cap, and since this one doesn't I suspect he is of lower ranks. His specialist badge indicates he is a stoker. His medals are of WWII vintage. He is part of a memorial on the waterfront for the Canadian Navy's Centennial in 2010, along with a statue of a sailor's homecoming.

[Saorsa]

I've never understood why anyone would want to be officially called petty.

The word comes from petite but the ones I've met aren't.

[RBSinTo]

As a recent convert to "street" PERSONALLY I've stopped worrying about the label!

There's so much cross over between street/documentary/reportage that you can debate all day long if something is "street" or not

Then there's the endless discussions around how to process your street shots. The super purists will tell you, that if you so much as kick a bit of litter out of the scene (before you shoot) then you have influenced the shot and it's not pure street (you can imagine the views these people have on cropping, dodging/burning etc ) at the other end of the scale you have those that critique street as if it were a fine art studio scene, this is wrong, that is wrong, that's not sharp enough etc etc

For me?

Street as a genre exists to offer a visual, and ideally, an emotive impact to the viewer (as of course does most photography) but the difference is, your viewer won't necessarily have any intrinsic connection to the scene. It's not a landscape that they'd love to visit or the happiness that reminds them of their own wedding (by way of examples)

Street is an intertwining of human and humanistic. It documents and demonstrates.

The photographer's own personal interpretation of human and humanistic is their street voice.

Is your first shot street (according to my own views as detailed above?)

Yes.

The statue/sculpture (I don't think it's a street performer, but what I'm about to write will still apply) is art, art imitating life. The people are life, they are interacting with the art, they are imitating it (that it in turn is imitating life)

So yes, human and humanistic, combined really rather nicely in my opinion. Good shot.

Shots two and three I would PERSONALLY file under documentary (no harm in that, it's not a criticism) but they -to me- more tell a story of humanity, rather than what it means to be human.

Obviously others will completely disagree with me! But FWIW that's my answer to the question you posed!

Phew!
Far too complicated for me.
Street is essentially all I shoot and for me it's just about telling stories with pictures. Nothing more.
Worrying about all that other stuff would just give me a nosebleed.
Robert

[rpcrowe]

This guy greeting his child is wearing shoulder boards which places him in the commissioned officer class...

[Rebel]

Definitely street photography in my eyes, nice shots too.

[mknittle]

I like #2 and # 3 best Trevor.