Henri Cartier Bresson

The Opportunity to Shoot the Past is Today

Recently from the recommendation of Daniel SchaeferĀ I watched a film called “Midnight in Paris” which stars Owen Wilson and is directed by Woody Allen. The premise of the movie is that Owen Wilson (a writer) is hopelessly in love with the ideal of Paris in the 1920’s and is convinced that his present is not nearly as romantic or great enough. However through a strange series of events he finds himself in the 1920’s Paris where he finds out all the people living during that time-period wished that they were also in an earlier and more romantic time-period.

Highly recommend everyone to watch this film

Therefore it had me thinking about street photography and the romanticism we can often attribute to the past. We think of all the great photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, and Robert Frank and think that we can never capture as stunning images because the present is boring. However what we need to realize that today is going to be the past one day, and the opportunity to shoot is now. Don’t let all these excuses about the present not being interesting enough get in your way of shooting.

Henri Cartier Bresson
Henri Cartier Bresson – I am sure we can still find opportunities to shoot images like this today

Also I am excited to announce that for my July 30-31st street photography workshop in LA I am going to have a Leica representative bring Leica M9’s, lenses, and compact cameras for you to shoot with. If you have ever wanted to learn more about street photography (and shoot with a Leica M9) sign up soon! I only have 3 spots available, so please shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more information or to sign-up.

So have you ever been guilty of romanticizing the past and dismissing the present? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment below!