Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/05/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The beauty of language lies in the quality of fluidity. Word meanings evolve through acceptance. Dictionaries describe the definition of a word, they don't dictate it. Dictionaries also tell us how we are currently spelling words. Street Photography is a term like that; it has changed. Another word that now has a different meaning to most of us is "mouse" . . . On Sun, May 3, 2015 at 10:14 AM, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: > Garry Winogrand called street photography a term I think he came up with as > "an attitude" and died with: "2,500 rolls of undeveloped film, 6,500 rolls > of developed but not proofed exposures, and about 3,000 rolls only realized > as far as contact sheets being made." as he was discovered by John > Szarkowski he could quit his day job and call anything anything he wanted. > I > think "street photography" is his term. I was never into his shtick so the > term didn't catch my year in the 60's and 70's. The term we used at my > school was photojournalism. Nobody ever said "street". > Phil, photographers who use "cameras mostly in urban settings to capture > the feel and look of life on the urban streets." are photojournalists. > Documentarians. Threes no reason to come up with trendy meaningless terms > which mainly mean the same thing. > > Try to find Robert Frank using the term "street". Possibly became its > deceptive, meaningless and trite. A huge influence on my a lot of my shots > were direct rip offs of his though I only saw it later. > > " William Klein (born April 19, 1928) is an American-born French > photographer and filmmaker noted for his ironic approach[1][2] to both > media > and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of > photojournalism and fashion photography.[1]" > He was fashion photographer who went out with his camera and roamed the > streets after a job. Notice the terms wiki used to refer to him > " photojournalism and fashion " does not need to use the term "street" on > his page. Except that he lived in Bleeker street. > Klein is called by writers and bloggers "among the fathers of street > photography" but try to find a quote with him talking about it. I can't. > The man was a professional not a crazy dilatant. > > Lee Friedlander shot jazz musicians for record covers but then got a > Guggenheim so he could shoot what he wanted. He'd shot famous black and > white nude photographs of Madonna who got paid 25 bucks to model for him. > " Working primarily with Leica hand-held 35 mm cameras and black-and-white > film, Friedlander's style focused on the "social landscape". His > photographs > used detached images of urban life, store-front reflections, structures > framed by fences, and posters and signs all combining to capture the look > of > modern life." > In the wiki page on him this came from the term "street phototography" is > never used on the whole page in reference to him and certainly not by him. > > John Brownlow was on the original Lug many years under the Johnny Deadman > byline (the only one who got away with that) and is a writer in the film > industry is no slouch by far with stills. He was very fond of the term > "street" and backed it up with great work yet he was getting into > photography at the turn of the millennium when that's the term that was > bantered most about on the internet. > > > > > > > On 5/3/15 1:26 AM, "Phil Swango" <pswango at att.net> wrote: > > > Mark, I'm surprised to hear you say you never heard the term until very > > recently. I've heard it used for years to refer to the school of photogs > > like Winogrand, Frank, Klein, Friedlander, etc., who worked with 35mm > > cameras mostly in urban settings to capture the feel and look of life on > > the urban streets. There's an excellent book on the history of the > genre: > > "Bystander: A History of Street Photography," that's well worth a read. > > < > > > http://www.amazon.com/Bystander-History-Street-Photography-Afterword/dp/082122 > > 7262/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430629487&sr=1-3&keywords=bystander > >> > > > > The authors say that the term originated in the 19th century to describe > > photographers who set up their tripods on urban sidewalks and offered to > > take portraits of passersby for a fee and deliver the prints by mail. It > > evolved through the years to refer to other genres of work shot in street > > settings. > > > > There used to be an online group hosted by John Brownlow that focused on > > the genre but it is no longer up AFAIK. I can't remember the name of the > > group, but others here once belonged. > > > > I like the term myself and would happily use it to describe any work I've > > done in that setting. > > > > Yay! I'm a street photographer! > > > > > > > -- > Mark William Rabiner > Photographer > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > -- Regards, Sonny http://sonc.com/look/ Natchitoches, Louisiana 1714 Oldest Permanent Settlement in the Louisiana Purchase USA