I needed a project. One that involved actually taking photos as opposed to just sitting in front of my computer going through my archives*.

*More on that in a future post

I wanted to explore a different form of photography, one which - most importantly - would get me out of my comfort zone. I’ve always been a huge admirer of the “father of street photography”, Henry Cartier-Bresson, and other masters like Robert Doisneau. Their work made me fall in love with black-and-white photography. When you remove that seductive colour from an image, the photograph gets stripped down, exposing its basic elements: light and shadow, line and shape. To quote the photographer Ted Grant:

“When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. When you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.”

I bought a little 23mm fixed lens Fujifilm camera, the X100F, for my street photography. It is small, inconspicuous, and cost me half the price of the very much praised newer version: The X100V.

Street photography forces you to be present and really see your surroundings. When I step out onto the sidewalk I see so many interesting stories taking place. It is exciting, but frustrating at the same time, as it is so hard to be able to capture one of those little stories or situations without getting in closer. At the beginning I felt anxious taking photos of people without them knowing. I felt like a spy. If I asked someone to take their photo they would either decline, or the situation would be gone and therefore the "magic" of the photograph gone with it.

Therefore I chose to stop asking my subjects for permission. I decided to walk around with a more open and relaxed attitude. The few times someone has seen me taking their photograph I would give them a smile and show them that I mean no harm. It has lead to interesting conversations with people I would never have met. Maybe I haven't been doing this long enough, but no-one has asked me to delete a photo yet. And if they do I would gladly comply.

In any genre of photography you, the photographer, have a responsibility: To have empathy for your subjects, to not exploit or take advantage of them. Street photography is a very important form of photography- documenting life as it really is: Unfiltered. Not like the over-manipulated selfie-world society is obsessed with today.

Below I’ve added a few photos from my recent wanderings with my camera. I’m posting them on my personal Instagram profile too, if you are interested in following my experimentation with photography there: @admill_explores