Blog Post #14

Who Sets The Boundaries?

When we decide to go out to take photographs of something, or maybe even visit a studio, we vary rarely think of what genre of photography we are going to tackle? It could be you are just on a day out and looking to see what crops up or you may have a subject and goal in mind beforehand. In some instances your chosen subject may even dictate what equipment you take out with you in your bag.

Many photographers (especially amateurs), have the freedom to pursue any subject they wish, unlike pros who most of the time will probably have a brief and a paymaster or commission to satisfy. It may be that as amateurs we are shooting pictures to support a particular personal project but in the main its open season. When the work is presented to other photographers it may be that they will view them as landscapes, portraits, sport etc images. They will have compartments in their mind as to what fits into what category. Sometimes that can be a bit subjective though and we might not always agree on what genre the shot should fall within. For example, if a model is photographed in a poppy field, is it a portrait or landscape shot? Does it even matter? Some consider the boundaries we set in our minds to be all imaginary lines in the sand and that they are there to be erased and re-drawn whenever it suits us.

If you have been reading my blog regularly, or looked through my portfolio galleries, you will have seen that I predominantly photograph the streets. This genre of photography is not without its issues when it comes to determining what is and what isn’t street photography. Since there are no written rules on this it leaves the definition open to wide interpretation. Britannica defines it as;

“street photography, a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place.”

As a guide it is rather good I think. It doesn’t specify that the image has to be taken on the street and to me “everyday life” excludes set up or contrived images. It should be about communicating reality without manipulation in my opinion

So what happens when someone bends or distorts the definition and presents a street photography image that challenges what we expect to see as street photography. This happened to me recently when looking through the winners of the“lensCulture 2021 Street Photography Awards”. There was an image that earned a judges commendation and it really surprised me. This is the image and the comments from the judge on why it was given the award

Photographer; Alana Colville

United States

Selected by Danielle Scruggs

Photo Editor Getty Images

Danielle comments;

Alana Colville’s series “What Was Lost to 2020” as my juror’s pick might seem a curious choice to some, given that it combines photography and illustration. But that is exactly what made the project stand out to me. I appreciate that it both challenges the viewer to rethink what street photography is and can be, as well as tackles the sense of loss and destabilization that happened around the world as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Colville made a bold choice to combine two different fields of thought to show viewers what has been missing from the streets for the better part of a year and a half.

This image tested my interpretation of street photography and my understanding of it to the limit. I don’t think it is what I would call a traditional street photography image and would have rejected the entry, not award it a commendation, but that is my personal opinion. In my book, its a background image of a public space with a graphic superimposed on to it. The photographer was obviously challenging the traditional approach which is fine, but I think a line has been crossed taking it outside of the street photography genre, and more into the photo/graphic arts arena. As for the judge, it could be that she is just trying to be controversial or maybe she really did like it, but is it street photography? I don’t think so, you may, but I have set my own boundaries in the same way that the person who submitted this image (and the judge), has set theirs.

My basic interpretation on what constitutes a street photography image is in line with what I believe generally passes as the basic guidelines;

• A situation or moment captured by the photographer, probably never to be repeated. It should be spontaneous and not contrived.

• Street portraits either with the subject knowing or in a candid fashion

• Photographs taken of people in a public place creatively highlighting shapes, colours or light

• The image should be “as taken” with only minimal post processing to improve the aesthetic appearance. No image manipulation permitted.

So I have set my boundaries and I am happy to work within them and do the best I can. I have no intentions of creating cross-media types of shots or over processing or manipulating my final images in Photoshop etc. I will work within these boundaries I have set myself and resist the temptation to be radical or controversial in testing the “is it or isn’t it street photography” debate with my photography.

But then again, maybe that is why my entry didn’t catch the eye of the judges?

Thank you for reading this blog post. I’m sorry but I don’t include a comments or “Like/Dislike” button. If you want to contact me you can do so by using the “Contact Me” facility in the website header.

Peter Degnan