Category: Featured Photographers
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In Praise of Shadows by Michael Dees
“Compton, 2016†Guest post today is by California based photographer and lover of Philosophy, Micahel Dees.
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The Box is the Message: How Wombat is Pushing the Distribution of Good Photography Forward
Editor’s Note: We’ve seen exhibits, slideshows, and photobooks but Laurent came up with something new with Wombat: “Photoboxes”. Today Eric chats with Laurent about Wombat, his work ethic, and working with Magnum. At the end of the post, Laurent also gives a promo code for Wombat.
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Mixing Prose and Pictures: An Interview with Stephen Leslie on His Latest Photobook, “Sparks”
Editor’s note: Last time Stephen was on the blog was over 5 years ago. So it’s nice to welcome him back! This time he shares with us his latest work,a photobook titled Sparks. He also shares with us a very interesting short story at the end. Give it all a read. All photos by Stephen Leslie. Interview by Eric Kim
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Pushing Belgian Photography Forward: Interview with BSPF 2016 Head, Daniel Oshi (and BSPF contest reminders)
Editor’s Note: Today we have Daniel Oshi of The Brussels Street Photography Festival. It promises to be a great Photography event highlighting the beautiful city of Brussels and a special insight to Belgian Photography.
I talk shop with Daniel and he invites us to join in their contest (more info at the bottom of the post) and festivities starting on October 28, 2016! All photos used with permission from BSPF. Interview by A.g. De Mesa
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How Ola Billmont Spends His Day at the Races: Interview by Eric Kim
(Editor’s Note: Eric interviews Ola Billmont about his process, experiences, and lessons learned in making his new book A Day At The Races. All photos by Ola Billmont)
Eric: Hey Ola, long time no chat. Tell us what is going on for you in terms of your photography, and congratulations on your new book!
Ola: Thanks, Eric. It’s been an interesting ride putting this book together.
Honestly, I’m not sure as I am not shooting with anything particular in mind. Although, I have never been shooting this much before. Over the last year I have slid away from street photography and shoot many other things.
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Traveling Scared to Death and That’s OK: Interview with John Milton
(A.g.’s note: Today’s interview is probably an interesting one. John Milton is a citizen of the world. His travels has brought him to some of the most uncommon places for travel. He answers Eric’s questions and shares some of his experiences on the road and what pushes him to keep going)
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The Most Predictable Path to Quality by Vincent Tam
(A.g.’s Note: Today’s guest post on the blog is by Vincent Tam. He’s an inquisitive and persistent photographer. He’s sharing with us his insights and research on how to produce quality work and how he tested this research with the backstory of getting the photo above. All photos and text are by Vincent Tam.)
Vincent: I had a massive misconception about great photographers. I thought every shot they take must be great. This is not true. Magnum photographer Alex Webb reportedly shot ten rolls of Kodachrome film for his famous Istanbul barbershop photo. He says “street photography is 99 percent about failure.†To improve our odds of making great photos, does it make sense to simply shoot more? As it turns out, in his 2016 book about how non-conformists move the world, Adam Grant tells us the most predictable path to quality is, in fact, quantity.
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Kaushal Parikh About His New Book, Leaving Something for His Son, and Running A Collective
Kausal Parikh is one of the names the pops up when talking about contemporary street photography in India. Being the founder of the Indian Street Photography collective That’s life  and balancing that with the responsibilities of being a father and an active street photographer did not seem to deter KP in pursuing self-publishing his very own photo book. Eric chats with KP regarding the photobook making process, motivations behind the book, and the current status of That’s Life.
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One Week In A One Mile Radius: Some of the Things I Have Learned by Maarten Rots
Words and Photos by Maarten Rots.Maarten: I thrive under restriction; I like it when things are closed off. By (temporarily) taking away many of the variables of everyday life I create room to focus and get a better understanding of what I do and why I do it. That’s why I have set up ‘Sitting’: a personal photography project that consists of a few simple rules:
- Photograph for one week within a one-mile radius only
- At the end of each day choose one photograph as the ‘pick of the day’
- Present the results in an exhibition right after this week of photographing
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Mark Alor Powell Opens Up About His New Photobook: “Open At Noon”
Mark Alor Powell chats with Eric and talk about Mark’s book Open at Noon. They explore making meaning, photobook making, and going through that process of making a photobook. (Photos by Mark Alor Powell, Interview by Eric Kim) -
Observations Vol. 1 No. 1 by the Observe Collective Out Now
(Cover Photo by Oguz Ozkan)
We’ve always love the hard work that Observe Collective puts out. They understand that photography is not just shooting but also showing your work. Presenting your observations if you will.
Which is why we’re happy to know that the Observe collective Magazine aptly named, Observations recently went up online.
This issue isn’t a typical glossy magazine found in the stands with cover stories and feature articles. They had their members write about their personal relationship with photography. Some of them explore their fascination as to where the interest to photography came from like Danielle Houghton’s work or Ilya Shtutsa’s relationship with his mentor and how it is helping him tell visual stories in a deeper manner.
It’s quite a long read at 148 pages but it is interesting and thoughtful. Thankfully, you can download a pdf version on their website.
Once again, congratulations to Observe collective on their first issue and we are looking forward to what they have next!
Follow Observe
- View on issuu
- Download the PDF version of ObservationsÂ
- Visit their website
- And if you want more, have a look at some of the interviews Eric did with some of the members of Observe Collective
Enjoy
-A.g.
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Intensely Proud: Checking Back with Dayv Mattt and his Latest Book
Interview by A.g. De Mesa. All photos by Dayv Matt.
Last time we talked with Dayv, he just finished his first book, High Street Low Street: Seoul and was in the process of making his follow up, High street Low Street: Colombo. He’s finally done with the book and is currently running a kickstarter campaign to be able to self-publish. I check back on him to see what he has learned with self-publishing, motivating yourself, and photography personal life balance.
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Staying True: Interview with Jonathan Higbee
Interview by A.g. De Mesa, Photos by Jonathan Higbee
A.G.: Any creative pursuit, especially photography comes with anxiety and a whole lot of uncertainty. We all have our ways of dealing with them but for Jonathan Higbee, it is the impetus that is driving his work forward. Together with his keen eye on color and creative juxtapositions, he positions his work to counteract this anxiety by putting it front and center in his work. Check out our conversation and his visually arresting photos in this interview.
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Poetry and Photography: How Rainer Maria Rilke Is Relevant To Being A Photographer
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Maarten Rots / Turnhout, 2015
“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.†– Rainer Maria Rilke
A.G. DeMesa: We have another guest post from photographer and self publisher, Maarten Rots. He previously wrote about Printing Your Work. Here is at again with how poetry can affect your photography:
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The Edginess of Harvey Stein
Interview by A.g. De Mesa, photos by Harvey Stein
The thing about any creative pursuit, specifically photography, is that it is easy to pick up but only a few can stay with it let alone be good at the same time.
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The Top 10 Things I Learned in the New Orleans Workshop by Simon Jacobs
Simon: I recently took part in Eric’s workshop in New Orleans and during one of our daily critique sessions Eric asked if I’d like to write a post about the top 5 things I learnt.  After taking the time to reflect on the week I really struggled to cut it down to 5 and decided to share the top 10 – sorry Eric!
Before I get into what I learnt about photography I want to share a couple of other things I learned from this trip:
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The Street Project by Steve Simon
(Editor’s Note: Words and Photographs by Steve Simon. Steve is a very passionate photographer, author, and an educator that has traveled the world shooting for various brands, companies, and organizations. His work focuses on street and documentary photography. He shares with us today how simple it is to start a street project and how it will develop your photography further. All words and photographs are by Steve Simon.)
We all have a unique vision of the world and photography is such a great way to express your vision. The more you shoot, the more focused and recognizable that vision becomes, a style if you will. But you don’t set out to create a style, your style reveals itself when you get through a volume of work. It’s unconscious and not contrived. Others might see it before you do… you’re too close to your work to always recognize it.
I have been a street photographer since I first picked up a camera as a young kid, wandering the streets of Montreal.
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The benefits of printing your work by Maarten Rots
(Words and photos unless otherwise stated is by Maarten Rots.  Maarten is an artist working with photography based out of Amsterdam. In his photographs you can see a sense of abstraction and surrealism found in everyday situations, captured by the camera. He loves printed photography and one of the ways he shares his work is through his self-published quarterly photography magazine March & Rock. Maarten will also give away a copy of of March & Rock. See the end of the article for details)
Digital photography is definitely one of the most important developments in photography of the last decades. One of its few downsides though is the fact that your work often remains virtual, it lives on electricity powered devices only. I have made it a habit to regularly print my photographs and have benefitted from it in several ways. Next to having a hardcopy backup it can be of great help to your process, becoming more aware of your own choices and interests, but also gives you new ways of sharing and presenting your work.
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A Real and Unique Pleasure by Pierre Belhassen
(Words and Photos by Pierre Belhassen)
I’m Pierre Belhassen. I started photography 10 years ago. After studying cinema, I was given a camera. I wanted to discover New York City. It became a revelation in my life. I realized that there are endless possibilities and different ways to reinvent reality. For me, there was no doubt. I felt this inner calling which gave sense to everything.
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Of Raising Dogs And Pursuing Reflections: An Interview With Siri Thompson
(Interview by A.g. De Mesa. All photos by Siri Thompson)
Siri Thompson is a photographer based in Toronto, Canada. She constantly photographs her city in a manner inspired by her photographic heroes while putting her own unique twist. Siri also has a soft place in her heart for animals. Her photos feature a lot of imagination as seen by the layers of content in her frame but they can be easily understood. It is a mixture of mundane daily life and deceptively complex scenes.
Find out more about how she photographs and what keeps her fascinated with our interview below:
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Creative Constraints are Freedom: Abstract Street Photography by Maarten Rots
Restricting to open up. How less can be more when going out to shoot.
I am strongly convinced that creating restrictions leads to more freedom and development when it comes to creativity. This may sound very counterintuitive but I have experiences to back up my claims. I just finished an intense week of photographing which led to an exhibition opening last night. It was a great experience and I would like to share some of the things I came across and learned during this week.
I think we all know how it sometimes can be hard to go out and shoot. We’re all very good at coming up with excuses and it can be tough to break the cycle of non-activity. Next to that it may sometimes feel like we’ve gotten used to a certain way of working which slows down our development so much that it feels like we got stuck and keep coming home with different but the same photographs time after time.
Work within a frame
What I like to do to work around this is to set up some rules and make agreements that involve others to push myself a step further. This past week I did exactly that, really enjoyed it and think this can be of help to others as well.
My project
I came up with the plan to shoot within a 1000 meter radius only, then pick one photograph each day to be printed and finish up the project by showing the outcome in an exhibition. I pitched the plan – Siting: Qlick Editions – to the nice people of photo gallery Qlick Editions in Amsterdam who were very enthusiastic about the idea and we set a date for the project to happen. As the moment to start came closer I made sure I had nothing else going on during this week and dropped all of my other routines so I could fully focus on this one-week project.
Each day of the past week I walked through the area, accompanied by my camera, for about 8 to 9 hours and would come back into the space to make my selection. Not always an easy task, but very rewarding as the photo would be printed and delivered to the gallery the next day. As you may know from your own experience it can be very tough to choose that one photo on the day you took it. That’s why I worked together with Eric: every day I would send him my final selection of around 8 images and he would get back to me with constructive criticism; very helpful in order to get to the pick of the day.
I also devoted a blog to this project on my website so anyone interested could be really involved in the process. I attempted to keep it as open as I could by sharing a lot of the images that did not make the cut, to give some insight into my way of working. Also I used geotagged images to place on a google map to make it possible to see where each image was taken.
I developed this project with the intention to explore different areas in different cities all over Europe and hopefully on other continents as well.
My experiences
Restriction leads to digging deeper into the possibilities that are at hand which may lead to some exciting new discoveries. I truly believe you can find beauty and interesting subject matter anywhere as long as you force yourself to look for it. By limiting the area to work in I did just that and it really gave me a clearer idea of what I’m looking for when I go out searching for interesting photographs. I had to look harder, but also learned to faster recognise the situations that trigger my attention. I had to pull myself through moments when I felt nothing was good enough and exterminate the fear of ending up with a shit picture getting printed. I had to go on when the weather was not as I prefer it when I go take pictures and learned to shoot when it’s a rainy day. I narrowed my scope but didn’t become closed minded, this project actually opened my view and made me see (and capture) things I wouldn’t have seen a month ago.
Make decisions
Dealing with the time constraint is a challenge but it keeps you from procrastinating to make decisions that have to be made regardless. Most of the time it really doesn’t help to postpone a decision. Do it now and you are relieved of one more thing that’s in the back of your head messing with your focus and concentration.
Develop your own project
I don’t think the boundaries I set myself are necessarily the right ones for you. Restriction can come in many forms and it’s only a matter of applying one or more simple rules to your workflow. For example shoot only between 6 and 7 am, use only one camera and one lens (less really is more and healthy for your back and wallet as well), shoot only in portrait orientation, shoot only one photograph of each scene (edit before shooting) etcetera.
Also think about restricting yourself in the process that follows a shoot: choose the one best image within an hour after coming home, don’t crop any of your images, make a print of your favourite image once a week and hang it someplace where others can see it (or give it away, people love getting a printed image). Involving others is a very good way to keep things going and stay sharp anyway!
Change it up
I believe setting up rules is a very effective way to boost your creative qualities, but it only works when you change it up. Don’t stick with the same rules and restrictions forever, in the end the most important things is to enjoy it and shed a new light on your photography.
Conclusion
By restricting you have less to worry about and more energy to focus on what you really want and love to do: make better pictures. It makes you look for other ways to achieve the result you have in mind. It also forces you to get better at working with the smaller amount of tools and possibilities you have left. You will learn to exploit what you have at hand and become better at what you do.
Go for it, I’m sure you will get something out of it!
About Maarten
Maarten Rots is an artist working with photography based out of Amsterdam. In his photographs you can see a sense of abstraction and surrealism found in everyday situations, captured by the camera. He loves printed photography and one of the ways he shares his work is through his self-published quarterly photography magazine March & Rock.
The exhibition with the results of his one-week project Siting: Qlick Editions will still be on show during the coming week atQlick Editions in Amsterdam.
Follow Maarten on Instagram: @maartenrots
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Interview with bigheadtaco on Instagram, Street Photography, and Life
Inspired by Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” I interviewed bigheadtaco, a local Vancouver-based street photographer driving around. Take (his real name) gives great practical advice on Instagram, branding, street photography, life, and following your own voice and vision.
Enjoy this interview, and make sure to follow him on his channels below:
Follow bigheadtaco:
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“Be True to Yourself; Great Things Will Come”: Interview with Daniel Arnold
I’m very excited to share this recent interview I did with Daniel Arnold. You might have heard about Daniel and his work through the controversy of him getting kicked off Instagram for showing nudity on Gawker, his Forbes feature on how he made $15,000 in one day selling 4×6 prints for $150, or his profile on Wired (titled: “On the Prowl with Instagram’s Ultimate Street Photographer”).
Upon reading all these headlines, I knew that there was more to Daniel, both as a photographer and as a human being. I checked out more of his work on his website (where he now posts mostly film shots), and was blown away by the humanity, humor, but also the complex emotional images he captures in NYC.
In this hour and a half interview we delve deep. We talk about the process of shooting film (versus shooting digitally on an iPhone), his favorite photography books, how he overcame his fear of shooting street photography, thinking about life and death, and what ultimately brings him happiness in life (clue: it isn’t about the followers).
You can watch the video interview above, or listen to the podcast below (you can see all the episodes on my iTunes podcast channel):
Podcast links
- Direct download (mp3 file)
- Podcast episode
- All podcast episodes
Read more to see all the show notes, links, book recommendations, and quotes from the interview.
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“Photography is Photography, a Photo is a Photo”: Interview with Neil Ta
I just had a recent chat with my manager and good friend Neil Ta. Neil is a professional photographer based in Toronto (shoots wedding and commercial work), and his passion is photography. He has dabbled in many different genres of photography, including “urbex” (urban exploration), “rooftopping” (getting to really high places), documentary photography (he is working on a long-term project on “Alexandra Park“, a public-housing complex for low-income families which is being gentrified for expensive condos), and street photography.
In this video interview, we delve deep into lots of different topics. Neil shares how he first got into photography, why he decided to quit his job and travel the world for 6 months+, how we met, not being pigeon-holed in photography, his love (and hate) relationship with film, and why he is currently shooting on a Hasselblad Xpan.
Podcast:
You can listen to the audio podcast below:
Read more to see the topics we covered in the interview, and lots of inspirational links:
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Interview with Karl Edwards on Starting StreetShootr, Street Photography as a Harmonica, and How to Shoot with a Leica
I just did a fun interview with my good friend Karl Edwards (he runs StreetShootr) and has a blast chatting about his start in street photography, his tension between shooting film and digital, practical tips on how to shoot with a Leica, his favorite photography books, and why he likens shooting street photography to playing a harmonica. The format is similar to when I “ambush” interviewed him in Provincetown as a part of the Magnum workshop.
You can see Karl’s work on Flickr and his Website. Make sure to check out StreetShootr and to follow on Twitter.
Read more to see his photos and the street photographers he recommends to check out!
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Lost in the Theatre of Life: Interview with Ximena Echagüe
Eric’s Note: I am excited to feature the work of Ximena Echagüe, a street photographer based in Brussels, Belgium. I’ve been doing online 1:1 lessons with her the last year, and have been amazed with her progress. Below is an interview I did with her, check it out and her projects!
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Jared Krause: Inspired by Light and Colour
(Editor’s Note: Words and Photographs by Jared Krause)
I started shooting in June of 2009. I had causally been thinking about photography and decided to buy a camera. I started posting to a photo blog because I felt like photography was a good way to share my experiences with other people. Shooting street photos gave my photography purpose, a goal and a style to pursue rather than just taking random shots of anything. It was a edgy and new to me. I decided to start posting photos to my blog every day, and did so for over a year. In that period, I got very comfortable using my camera, and quite familiar with light, contrast, colour and the other elements involved in photography. Even though I wasn’t shooting street, I was learning.
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Dissecting the Layers of Portland: An Interview with Nick Gervin
(Editor’s Note: Interview by Eric Kim. Photographs by Nick Gervin.)
Eric: Hey Nick great to have you. Can you start off by telling us a (brief) life story and how you first picked up a camera?
Nick:Â Thanks for having me, Eric. I first picked up a camera in 1992 at the age of twelve. I wanted to document the graffiti art I was discovering in and around Portland, Maine. At that time, the city was in poor shape and it had a lot of derelict buildings that I would skip school to explore.
I really had no clue what I was doing when it came to photography; I was more of a point-and-shooter then. Still, I felt that the documentation was important and, later on, it would prove to be. Like all things in life, the graffiti didn’t last forever and the photographs I had made then helped document a subculture. I continued to point-and-shoot over the years, mostly with disposable cameras.
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Video Interview with Blake Andrews from In-Public (#2)
In 2011 I did a video interview with Blake Andrews, and a lot has changed since then. I recently did an interview on Blake’s blog (Q&A with Eric Kim) and wanted to see what he has been up to since the last time we chatted.
In this hour-long interview, we talk about his trip to LA, how it is to shoot in Eugene and Portland, the philosophy and psychology behind blogging, shooting in color vs black and white, as well as his advice for street photographers.
Also as a note, there are some parts of the video where the audio is scratchy, and the video isn’t the highest quality. But I hope you enjoy this feature as much as I did! You can follow Blake below:
Follow Blake on Social Media:
Photography:
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Monkeying around with Tavepong Pratoomwong. Interview by Clifton Barker
(A.g.’s Note: Today we have Clifton Barker chatting down with his friend and award winning photographer, Tavepong Pratoomwong from Thailand. Have a laugh and enjoy this one! Interview by Clifton Barker. All photos are by Tavepong Pratoomwong.)
Over the last year, the Thai street photography scene has been dominated by one man; Tavepong Pratoomwong. Besides being really clever with his compositions and somehow seemingly invisible—he has the cutest daughter you’ve ever seen. Certified. Recently TP received the high honor of the EyeEM award for Street Photographer of the Year 2014 and won 1st place at the Miami Street Festival. Besides all that, he’s just a cool dude that I really wanted to ask some absurd questions. Being mannerly, he obliged.
CB: How long did you have to wait by the Indian guy for the monkeys to start screwing?
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Video Interview with Joe Aguirre in San Francisco (Volume #2)
Recently I had time to meet up with my good friend Joe Aguirre in SF. He was able to show me his new place, projects he is working on, and we talk about some of my personal “mid-life” street photography questions towards the end.
You can see my past video interview with Joe here.
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Interview with Ola Billmont in Stockholm #2
Check out this fun little interview I did with Ola Billmont in Stockholm. We talk about where he is with his street photography, his projects, and a little tour of his sweet apartment!
Related Links
Follow Ola
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Streettogs Academy Interview: Arnold Despi
(A.g.’s notes: Out of the 4 Assignments we have finished over at Streettogs Academy group, Arnold Despi got into the Honorable Mentions list 3 times. He is a very active photographer always shooting and always looking for suggestions on how to improve from other folks. I decided to talk to him to get some feedback on how he keep things consistent, his style, and the things he enjoys most with street photography. I hope you all enjoy! Photos by Arnold Despi)
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Damien Vignol Street Photography Video Interview in Stockholm
In Stockholm I had the chance to catch up with Damien Vignol, a street photographer who has traveled through Europe, Asia, and now is in Stockholm. See my past interview with Damien here, and read more to see his new photos from Japan:
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“Who Do You Take Pictures For?” by Sven Kraeuter
Berlin, Germany, 2014 A.g.’s Note: Here we have another guest post from Sven Kraeuter. He previously shared to us a story of his interesting encounter while shooting medium format film. He’s back sharing his experience during a workshop with Alex Webb and Rebecca Webb. Enjoy! Words and Photographs by Sven Kraeuter.
Sven: Stockholm, Sweden, early summer 2014. I’m in a meeting room named “Daido Moriyama” and getting a little tense. I’m about to present some prints on a table to somebody who’s name could be on the door plate as well. Perhaps there’s another room here named after Alex Webb, too?
When I read the e-mail that confirmed I would be going to participate in one of Fotografiska’s “Masters Of Photography” workshops with the legendary Magnum photographer I couldn’t quite believe it. Now I’m here with about fifteen other photographers who prepared thirty prints to present in order to get n overview of their bodies of work. Quite amazing sets so far, a talented group presenting a broad variety of different styles ranging from personal documentary over street photography to still life.
I’m next, having different sets ready: my portfolio as well as experiments that are spreading over the table side by side. When four prints get picked that are actually part of my portfolio edit I’m quite relieved already. When Alex and his creative partner and wife Rebecca have some kind words for my playfull approach in general and two prints in particular, I am stoked. I know that kindness and hospitality play a role – probably a major one – in these sweet sentences, but I decide: I am going to produce at least one more good image during this workshop.
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Video Interview with Kile Brewer, Photojournalist and Street Photographer from Missouri
I met Kile Brewer at the Magnum workshop here in Provincetown. He is a 24-year old working photo-journalist, who attended the University of Missouri’s Journalism program. He was one of the under-30 scholarship winners, attending a workshop with Costa Manos, and also my roommate for the week here in Provincetown (we go on romantic walks in the morning). Check out my casual interview him (shot on the iPad) with him above, and follow him below:
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Video Interview with Karl Edwards on Leica M-E & Street Shootr
Today I went for a lovely 6am walk with Karl Edwards in Provincetown. Karl Edwards is a street photographer based in Toronto, and is also doing the Magnum workshop with Constantine Manos. We have a lively chat about street photography, shooting on the Leica M-E, and his new venture: “Street Shootr” — which is the Petapixel for street photography (breaking news on street photography).
Follow Karl
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The World of GlassWeegee (NSFW)
(A.g.’s note:Â Some of the photographs in the article are for mature audiences only. Viewer discretion is advised. Words by A.g. De Mesa. Interview and questions by Eric Kim. All photographs are the respected copyright of Dougie Wallace)
Through the years of photography, the question weather the photographer is but a mere passive participant in the scene and subjects has been debated through in through. For a person like Dougie Wallace who actively documented Blackpool, witnessing how England’s generation is growing up in a place where Lads go to get hammered and ladies let go of their inhibitions, can we argue that the photographer itself is merely an observer? Or perhaps the mere presence of the photographer brings about a certain personality or performance in the subject since they know they are going to end up in a photograph somewhere?
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Change film, meet people, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the pause
A.g.’s note: Here’s a guest post for Sven Kraeuter that was originally posted in his blog. He shares to us an encounter he had while shooting around his neighborhood with a medium format camera that lead to an interesting encounter. Text and photographs belong to Sven Kraeuter.
Sven: Resurrecting my old east German medium format camera is a great experience so far. Coming from a rangefinder where you don’t look through the lens, hence have no visible indication of the depth of field, the first astonishing difference was to see this huge 6 by 6 centimeter view through the open aperture lens. This is a problem since everything looks gorgeous with that massive three dimensional pop and you could snap pretty much everything you frame right away ;-).
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Experimental Color Street Darkroom Prints by Sean Lotman in Japan
Sean Lotman is a street photographer based in Kyoto. I recently met up with him in Kyoto and he showed me his beautiful 8×10 color darkroom prints. I was amazed by the colors, poetry, and beauty of the images– and wanted to share some of his work on the blog. You can see my past feature with him here.
Sean is a storyteller, critic, and occasional haiku mechanic.
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The Vibrant Street Light of Sydney by Greg Marsden (Ho Hum)
Greg Mardsen (Ho Hum) is a street photographer based in Sydney, Australia.
I’m Greg, an LA-born, Sydney-based photographer. I’ve had a number of life experiences that have shaped how I see the world and take pictures. From playing bass in a pre-Guns N’ Roses band with Slash and Steve Adler to working in combat zones in Central America and the Middle East to busting bad guys as an undercover cop in Germany. I’ve traveled significantly throughout America, Asia, and Europe; was in Berlin for the fall of the wall and at the flash point in South Central Los Angeles during the LA riots.
I’m a trained psychologist and more recently was a senior executive in a large corporation. A few years ago I decided to ditch the tie, follow a passion, and take pictures full-time.
I’ve never been poorer. Or happier.
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The Loose Documentary of Andy Kochanowski
(A.g.’s note: Eric interviewed Andy Kochanowski. Check out his origin story, Life as a Burn My Eye Member, and his interesting advice to photographers. All photographs are the respected copyright of Andy Kochanowski.)
Eric: Great to have you Andy. Let’s start from your beginnings in photography. When did you first pick up a camera and “discover” street photography?
Andy: Let’s get the terms right, Eric, I like to think of it as loose documentary. What I do is watch and wait until something interesting happens.
But the beginning, that must have been back in the ‘90’s when I was traveling a lot to London after I got done with school. I had learned how to develop film and built a small darkroom in my basement, and began to travel with a Canon AE-1 that I had bought a couple years earlier and shooting Tri-X at night when I wasn’t working. I had never picked up a photo book, though I did have a subscription to Photo & Darkroom magazine that (I think) was then edited by Mike Johnston, The Online Photographer. I shot quite a few rolls in SoHo, Leicester Square, which were close to where my firm had a flat. That was my first introduction into just being there and looking. The results were predictable and boring of course, but since I’d never seen anything else I thought my photos were pretty good.
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Interview with Bellamy Hunt (Japan Camera Hunter) and Tour of His Office in Tokyo
I recently had the chance to catch up with Bellamy Hunt (Japan Camera Hunter) in Tokyo. In this video he gives us a tour of his office, shares why he does what he does, and advice regarding photography, film, and life.
See my video interview with him from 2 years ago and a video of us camera shopping.
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Stories Behind The Photos: Dimitris Makrygiannakis and Kaushal Parikh
Photo by Dimitris Makrygiannakis A.g.’s note: We previously had the chance to feature That’s life street photography collective members Dimitris Makrygiannakis and Kaushal Parikh. Dimitris treated us with his Transformative Experience of shooting street photography abroad and an interview Eric had with him about  Surrealism and Symbolism while Kaushal shared his thoughts on how he is Conquering the streets of Mumbai. They are back this time telling us stories behind some of their favorite the street shots. They also have a series of upcoming workshops. Details of it are at the bottom of the post.
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The Quick Straight Right of Sye Williams: Interview by Chris Stoltz
A.g.’s Note: Chris Stoltz shares to us one of his favorite photographers he got the privilege of shooting with, the L.A. based Sye Williams. Sye shares some of his inspirations, personal work, Photography Origins, and nuggets of wisdom. All of the photos are the respected copyright of Sye Williams. Here’s Chris with the interview:
Chris: Sye might be my new favorite photographer. I met him recently on a video shoot while working as a grip. He showed up because he was friends with the rest of the crew, arriving via skateboard. I hit it off with him immediately because he had a Leica M8 dangling over his shoulder. I asked him about his recent purchase and, in-between grabbing lights and helping with the video, he told me how his career in photography started.
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Producing or Evoking Myths: Street Photography by Peter McCollough
Peter McCollough is a photographer based in Oakland, California.Â
Peter: The inspiration for these images is manifold but films would be at the root of it all. While going to school for photojournalism my idealistic intentions of doing something positive for the world through documentary work faded away for various reasons. I was naive. I knew I could excel in the industry, but at personal and artistic costs that made me realize I wasn’t a good fit for it.
I’m a person driven by dream logic and imagination, so it’s more comfortable to try and bend reality towards fiction. When I began using documentary images in edits that felt like fictional stories, I started having fun again. Street photography became a natural segway because it’s so much easier to project onto what you’re photographing. It’s a really free, non-committal genre, less complicated. Editing is a big deal. I’m way more attached to edits than individual images. It’s rare that an individual image moves me the way that a string of well placed images do.
My friend pointed me to a quote that sums up how I’ve always felt about it all:
“The only photojournalistic images that remain interesting are the ones that produce or evoke myths.”
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Be Cool: The Photography of DAYV MATTT
(A.g.’s note: I’ve been a long time fan and follower of DAYV MATTT on tumblr. He is such a great person to interview and is the type of person who tells it like it is! He Straightforward in his answers and in his photography. This was a really fun interview and I hope all of you enjoy. Cheers! All Photos are owned by Dayv Mattt.)
A.G.:You started out in Toronto Photographing the Jungle/DnB Rave scene right? How did you end up in the streets of Seoul, then in Colombo?
DAYV: Shooting DnB raves was a lot of fun because I didn’t really dance, and it was fun documenting the scene. It was a pretty close knit group back then but as the parties got bigger I attended less and less shows. I never thought those pictures would go anywhere…and for the most part, they haven’t. In 2002 a buddy of mine who was living in Seoul called me up and asked me if I wanted to work with him in Seoul. I said yes, and seven days later I was in Korea. Seoul didn’t really have a music scene I gave a rat’s ass about at the time so I started shooting street photography. It just sort of grew on me. In 2012 I moved to Sri Lanka for reasons I don’t really want to get into, but I will be returning to Seoul, then Gwang-ju, this coming July. I’m pretty stoked to shoot in Gwang-ju, which is around three hours south of Seoul.
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Video Interview with Brian Soko in Chicago
This is a video interview I did with Brian Soko in Chicago about a year ago. Enjoy his images and a transcript of the interview below!
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Video Interview with Steve Simon, “The Passionate Photographer” in Dubai
When I was in Dubai, I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Simon who wrote an incredible book titled: “The Passionate Photographer“. We talk about working on projects, finding passion, and advice for aspiring street photographers. Read more to see his incredible photos:
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Interview with Ibarionex Perello from “The Candid Frame”
Ibarionex Perello is a photographer, writer, educator as well as the host and producer of The Candid Frame photography podcast. He is the author of 5 books including “Chasing the Light Improving Your Photography Using Available Light“. His latest book is “Portraits of Strangers.”
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Reflections on Tijuana by Eric Labastida
(Editor’s note: The following are words and photographs of Eric Labastida. These are his thoughts and reflections during his time photographing Tijuana from 1992 to 2002)
When I started this project and photographing in general, I found inspiration in the library. Â This was before the internet, before we had the ability of riding the flood of information as we do now. Â I checked out photo books. Â My first visual and poetic guides were Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, Mary Ellen Mark, and of course, Gene Smith. Â I was on a diet of strong composition, strong content and a feeling of pure joy in trying to catch that moment in the blink of an eye. Â It all had to be there: geometry, Â timing and magic. Â A very elusive beast indeed, Â but the hunt was pure living, and I got hooked.
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Street Photography Interview with John Goldsmith in Vancouver
Funny story– Take Kayo was interviewing me in the streets of Vancouver when John Goldsmith (in my opinion the best street photographer in Vancouver) pops out of some bushes and starts photographing us. We then turned the lens onto John, and I do a brief interview with him on the streets– asking him about his techniques, his “keeper” rates, and his passion for street photography.
You can check a longer interview I’ve done with John on the blog here.
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Video Interview with Take Kayo in the Streets of Vancouver
I recently had the pleasure bumping into Take Kayo (aka Bigheadtaco), a prolific street photographer and blogger based in Vancouver. Funny story: I was having an espresso and blogging at Revolver, and out of nowhere– Take and the owner Tarry recognized me and started photographing me (really close, at 1 meter). We started laughing, chatting– and got to know each other a bit more.
Take was born in Okinawa, and used to work at Kodak for around 10 years. Since then he has made the leap to digital, and has been passionate about shooting in the streets of Vancouver and testing & reviewing cameras. Seriously one of the most passionate guys I’ve met! To find out more about his infectious enthusiasm for photography, watch the interview above!
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Art Need Not Be Confined to a Gallery Wall: Interview with Andrew Quilty, Curator of The Elizabeth Street Gallery in Sydney
THE ELIZABETH STREET GALLERY
Philanthropy need not be the domain of the rich. Art need not be confined to a gallery wall. Permission need not be begged for nor granted. This is a gift.
This is an interview with Andrew Quilty, one of the curators of the Elizabeth Street Gallery in Sydney– a public and outdoor gallery. See how he helping build democracy in art and exposing new talent in the feature below!
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Capturing the History, Culture, and Light of Istanbul: Video Interview with Elif Suyabatmaz from the Tiny Collective
Elif Suyabatmaz is a street photographer part of the Tiny Collective and currently based in Istanbul. My friend Oguz Ozkan introduced me to her beautiful black and white work — which is all shot on her iPhone on hipstamatic. She has a keen eye for composition, design, and emotion in her shot. Hear about her inspirations, technique, and love of black and white in the video interview above. Read more to see her beautiful images.
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Video Interview with Joe Aguirre in San Francisco
Warning: Some of the photos in this video are NSFW
Today I had the chance to interview a good friend of mine, Joe Aguirre — a street photographer based in San Francisco. I just found out that he is moving to LA soon, so we had a “farewell” interview at his apartment. He is one of the most down-to-earth and prolific photographers I know. He has a huge heart, and a lot of passion for his photographic art.
In the video apartment, we talk about his passion for shooting film, his self-publication, and passion for street and other forms of photography.
Photos by Joe
Below are some of my favorite photos by Joe:
 
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Self-Expression Comes From Within: Interview with Street Photographer, Artist, Musician, and Skater Tim Kerr
Painting by Tim Kerr of Garry Winogrand, Vivian Maier, and Lee Friedlander Tim Kerr is a street photographer, artist, musician, and skater from Austin, Texas. He is a prolific artist, and doesn’t put on restrictions on his creativity and forms of self-expression. Read about how he combines all his artistic forms in the interview below (and his fun stories taking a photography course with Garry Winogrand!
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Video Interview with Hector Isaac from the Strata Collective
Earlier this year I met up with Hector Isaac, a street photographer originally from Cuba who moved and started shooting street photography in Miami, and now is based in LA. He is a part of the Strata collective.
In the video Interview I talk with him about his start in street photography, about the Miami Street Photography Festival, and his thoughts about working in color!
Hector recommends street photographers to check out the Observe Collective, and especially the work of Ilya Shtutsa (krysolove).
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Capturing the Emotional Connection to People, Places, and Objects: Interview with Christophe Agou from In-Public
Christophe Agou is a street photographer from France, currently based in New York. He is a part of In-Public, and his published works include “Life Below: The New York Subway” and his newest book: “LES FAITS SECONDAIRESâ€Â ( SECONDARY FACTS).
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Interview with Jesse Marlow from In-Public on His New Street Photography Book: “Don’t Just Tell Them, Show Them”
Jesse Marlow is a street photographer based in Melbourne, and a member of In-Public. He recently published his book: “Don’t Just Tell Them, Show Them.” The images were shot over a 9 year period on the streets of Australia and Europe and features 50 color photographs. I interview him on his start in street photography, the book-making process, and his interest in color film.
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Street Photography Interview with Justin Vogel from HCSP & Burn My Eye in NYC
I recently had a chance to catch up and grab a coffee with Justin Vogel and Matt Stuart while I was in NYC. I did a quick video interview with Justin about his feelings on moderating the HCSP group on Flickr, what he thinks makes a memorable image, shooting color film, and his other thoughts on street photography.
You can also see a past interview with him on my blog here.
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Moving Quietly Along the Flock, Invisibly: Interview with Igor Rudenko from Kiev, Ukraine
Igor Rudenko is a street photographer who captures poetic and timeless monochromatic images from Kiev, Ukraine. This interview is by Mehdi Bouqua, a street photographer from Downtown LA.
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Observe Collective Interview #5: Fadi Boukaram
OBSERVE is an international photography collective focused primarily on the practice of candid street photography. This week’s feature is Fadi Boukaram, a street photographer currently based in Broumana, Lebanon.
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Capturing Space, Color, and Light in Sao Paulo: Street Photography by Gustavo Minas
Gustavo Minas is a street photographer based in Sao Paulo, Brazil and part of the Street-Photographers and the SelvaSP collective.
Gustavo: Hi there, I’m a 32 years old guy born in Cassia, a small town in Brazilian countryside, now living in Sao Paulo. I first got interested in photography during my journalism course at uni, around 2001. Maybe a bit earlier, as I drew a lot as a child, roughly, and photographed school parties with a point and shoot.
After university, I lived in London for 1 year, working as a waiter and just spending time. I bought a handycam with miniDV tapes and started filming everything around, later editing with Windows Movie Maker. I was inspired by those late boring Godard movies, which are mostly about apparently random images. These were the origins of my street photography, as the process was about the same – wandering alone and watching people.
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“The Culture”: Documenting the Life of a Korean Tattoo Artist by Josh White
“The Culture” © JT White This guest blog post is by JT White, a street photographer currently based in Seoul, Korea.
JT: Eric and I often talk about projects as we work on them. We often help each other edit, sequence. He usually does the editing, me the sequencing. I suppose that is just what we’re good at. While editing my project, The Culture, Eric asked if I would write a short post about the project and how it came about.
As a bit of background, Eric and I have been friends for a long time. We taught a Leica Workshop together in Seoul a couple of years ago. Shortly after that workshop I came back to Canada. During that time I had four different Leica cameras and a bunch of lenses. I was like the king of gear. I had everything and bought and sold everything else.
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“Global Wandering”: Colorful Street Photos from Around the World by Daniel Kramer
Daniel Kramer: These images are part of a street photography book in progress that I’m working on and which I’ve tentatively titled “Global Wanderings.” I’ve gone through one round of editing with Mike Davis and now I’m carefully combing through and digitizing my archives which is both a joy and a pain.
Warning: One of the photos in this post is Not Safe For Work.
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Observe Collective Interview #4: David Horton
Eric’s Note: ​OBSERVE is an international photography collective focused primarily on the practice of candid street photography. This week’s feature is David Horton from Boston, Massachusetts.Â
David Horton: I’m a graphic designer by day, street photographer by accident. After art directing and observing some of the finest commercial photographers in the business for over a decade, I made the conscious decision to get behind the camera instead of the photographer. I discovered street photography. I am primarily interested in making emotional connections. I’m interested in telling stories and creating a narrative. I’m interested in capturing the mystery—the mystery of life and the beauty of people moving through the world.
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Photographs are Everywhere: The Extra-Ordinary Street Photography of Haris P (Xaris P)
Eric’s Note: Haris P (Xaris P on Flickr) is a street photographer from Crete in Greece. I was blown away by his surrealistic images — and wanted to feature his work on the blog. See more of his images and tips on street photography below.
Haris: Hi Eric thanks for having me in your blog. My name is Haris P(anagiotakopoulos!) and I am a 44-year old greek guy born and raised in Athens. For the last 19 years, I’ve lived in Heraklion of Crete (the cultural capital city of southern Greece as we call it for fun with my mates). I have been taking photos for the last 4.5 years.
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22 Interview Questions with the “Street-Photographers” Collective
Eric’s Note: I am excited to share this interview with the “Street-photographers” collective. I sent them 22 interview questions, and the members shared their personal answers opinions below. See their superb images and insights on street photography below!