Eric’s Note: Nuno Moreira is a visual artist living and working in Tokyo, originally from Lisbon, Portugal. He has recently published his new book: “State of Mind”, which explores different themes such as identity, memory, psychological states or what he refers simply as the “thinking moments”. Get a little more inside his mind and his images in the interview below.
When I was in Stockholm end of last year, I interviewed Ola Billmont— a very likable and talented street photographer. He is one of the co-founders of CUP (Contemporary Urban Photography) in Stockholm, and also shared some of his work at my workshop there. He frequents LA quite often for shooting– and he specializes in shooting with a flash in multiple formats (35mm, medium-format, large-format) in both black and white and color. I put together this video interview at a bar, apologies if it is a bit loud in here!
Read more to see the full transcript and his images from the interview.
Harvey Stein is a photographer, educator, and curator based in New York City. He just released a new book: “Harlem Street Portraits“, documenting portraits in Harlem for over 22 years (from 1990 to 2012). I interview him about shooting and putting together the book– and what other tips/advice he has for street photographers who want to take more intimate portraits. You can also see my previous interview with him on his book “Coney Island.”Â
The work of Boston photographer Stella Johnson is grounded in her photography training at The San Francisco Art Institute and her advanced degree from Boston University. Stella was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico in 2003-2004 and a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Mexico, in 2006, for photographing and teaching, respectively and a Visiting Scholar to the School of Art, Northeastern University, in 2007.
She teaches at the Lesley University College of Art and Design, at Boston University and at the Maine Media Workshops in Crete, Greece and Rockport, Maine. Her work is showcased in her monograph AL SOL: Photographs from Mexico, Cameroon and Nicaragua, published in 2008 by the University of Maine Press.
Anahita Avalos was born in Tehran, and has lived in Mexico and Paris. In Mexico she began to take pictures on a regular basis in order to explore her own identity as a Middle Eastern woman who grew up in Europe and mom to a child with a rare condition. By observing and trying to understand strangers, she tries to discover herself.
Steve Richmond is a London based photographer, originally from Northern Ireland. You can see the full “Kimology” series on Flickr here.
Dimitris Makrygiannakis is one of the up-and-coming rising stars when it comes to street photography. He has only been shooting seriously the last two years, and has made a huge leap in his work. I love the sense of surrealism, symbolism, and emotion in his work. He also breaks the “street photography” boundaries by embracing multiple types of work: posed portraiture and “still life” work.
See more of Dimitris’ work on Flickr. You can also see my past feature with his work here. Read more to see the entire transcript.
Eric’s Note: This is an interview with Siegfried Hansen, one of the finest contemporary street photographers who hails from Hamburg, Germany. What I love about his work is how he is able to combine strong graphical elements in the streets – and make simple yet beautiful images. See his fine images and advice for street photographers in this interview below.
Erics Note: Rohit Vohra is a street photographer based in New Delhi, India. In a search for new methods to ‘read the city’, his photographs are often about contact with humans and basic living elements. He is also the Editor in Chief of Art Photo Feature.
Rohit: Street photography is one of the purest forms of photography. Love the challenge it presents, of capturing the unknown. You are out on the road with absolutely no idea of what you are going to come back with. I enjoy street photography because of this uncertainty… the joy of capturing that perfect moment… perfect in terms of light, texture, and elements all perfectly in place. Such a flawless alignment of elements, coming together randomly, to create a perfect moment which is visible for the smallest span of time before it vanishes forever… that is what I enjoy. When I am on the street I like to show my reading or perception of reality.
Eric’s Note: This project is by Trevor Marcyzlo, a Canadian street photographer currently based in South Korea. He is a part of the collective STROMA.
Trevor: Located on the 9th floor of Shinsegae Department Store “The 9th Floor” is a rural themed playground for kids in urban city Uijeongbu. Photos June – October 2012.
Eric’s Note: ​OBSERVE is a new international photography collective focused primarily on the practice of candid street photography. I have sent questionnaires to all 13 of the members, and will feature their responses and images on the blog for the next upcoming weeks. This week’s feature is Danielle Houghton, based in Dublin, Ireland.
Danielle:Â Picking up a camera in my teens I found myself automatically taking pictures of strangers without really knowing why. After a long break, I now find myself doing the same but this time with a name and understanding of my folly. I like to appreciate the odd in the mundane and find that suburban life can be nicely quirky. In Dublin I often shoot by the coast, in parks or even from the car window. While visually pleasing settings are very important to me the real beauty of photography stems from the uniqueness of people and those moments that cannot be repeated.
Eric’s Note: This article is written by Mehdi Bouqua, a street photographer based in LA. He shares his experiences shooting with an iPhone– and the importance of documenting life. Mehdi shares more of his thoughts and images below:
Mehdi: Today’s society is definitely over equipped/ flooded with many different types and genres of technological gadgets for all sort of necessities. Photography has become an essential tool of proof and evidence, showing, duplicating a moment and emotion by capturing the exact frame, reflecting it, and documenting it all at once.
Eric’s Note: This is a full transcript of an interview I did with Jack Simon, a talented street photographer and practicing psychiatrist (over 45 years). I interviewed him at his home, and got to know more about his philosophies and ways of working in the streets. Jack is also member of international candid collective Burn My Eye and based in the Bay Area, California.Â
Eric’s Note: I am excited to share this interview as a collaboration between Todd Gross (Quarlo) and Mark Powell (locaburg). I first discovered Mark Powell’s work through Todd Gross- who has been a big fan. I thought it might be a great idea to have Todd interview Mark – as he knew his work far better than I did. Enjoy the interview and images below!
Todd: I’m pretty sure it was my friend, Eliot Shepard who first tipped me off to Mark Powell’s work on Flickr way back in 2004. I was immediately struck by the unique atmospherics and equally out there cast of characters present in the photos. Although I’m fairly certain Mark could point his camera at a blank wall and the resulting image would still have that “locaburg vibe”, Mark has an eye that’s finely attuned to the odd in-between moment.
I had the good fortune of meeting Mark on a couple of occasions and his personality certainly mirrors his work–vivacious, affable, inquisitive and a touch bent.
Eric’s Note: I am excited to share this interview which was conducted by Brian Eden, a street photographer in New York City. He interviewed Joshua Yospyn, a freelance photographer from Washington D.C. about his “American Sequitur” project. Find out more about how Joshua got started and see some more of his photos in the interview below!Â
Eric’s Note: I first noticed the work of Peter Kool on Flickr (and in another interview with Leica Liker) and loved his jolly, whimsical, and fun street photographs. He has a superb eye for details and timing.
Peter was born 1953 in the Netherlands, and moved to Belgium in 1973 to get married. He started to shoot from the birth of his first son, and went to the academy from 1980-1985. He also says, “The life expectancy of a Belgian male is 77 at the moment, so still 17 years of photographing to come.” Read the interview and see his images below.
I recently had the pleasure of shooting on the streets of San Francisco with Jack Simon, a well-known street photographer in the community for this month’s fiestamovement mission. I followed Jack around the streets of San Francisco, seeing how he worked the streets, his philosophies on street photography, while listening to his tips and learned a ton from him.
I also have an hour-long interview that I am in the middle of transcribing that will be live on the blog soon as well. Stay tuned!
Eric’s Note: This is a transcript of an interview I did with Huseyin Yilmaz, an avid photographer and photo book publisher from Istanbul. Huseyin runs Espas, the premier bookstore in Istanbul. In this interview he shares his passion for street photography, his garbage collector project, his experiences in Gezi park, and the importance of photo books.Â
Eric’s Note: ​OBSERVE is a new international photography collective focused primarily on the practice of candid street photography. I have sent questionnaires to all 14 of the members, and will feature their responses and images on the blog for the next upcoming weeks. Â
Chris Farling: To me, street photography has more in common with other improvisational arts than it does with other types of photography. As such, it is as much about enjoying the process and working at it as it is about the final results, with near-misses sometimes being more interesting than their more polished counterparts. Ultimately, I see street photography—despite its occasional rude manners—as an honest way of actively living in the world.
Eric’s note: Earlier this year in NYC I bumped into Jerry Pena, a street photographer living in upstate NY. Funny story, he took a street photograph of me, and then I ran after him (not to beat him up) but to just chat. We shot a bit together, chatted about street photography, and I saw some of his color film work – and loved his refreshing style and aesthetic. See more of his color street photos below.
Jerry: My name is Jerry Pena and I’m a 27 year old construction worker living in upstate NY. I have a lot of time off in between jobs and street photography is what keeps me sane. I have always noticed the strange characters and interesting moments that happen on the streets of NYC and always wondered how I could captured them.
Eric: This is a guest article by Neil Ta, my homie and babysitter. In this article he shares his new project, “Harmonious China” and his thoughts about the editing process.
Neil: My good friend and International Street Photographer, Eric Kim, first introduced me to the idea of letting photos marinate. The concept is really simple. When we take photos, there is an emotional attachment or bond that reminds us how amazing we felt when we took the image. Photographers who select and post their photos immediately are often times at a disadvantage because they let their emotions at the time of taking the photograph get in the way of their better judgement. To combat this, Eric has recommended to photographers to let their images marinate. As time passes and we revisit our images, we lose that emotional bond that had initially formed and we’re better able to objectively look at our images without biases.
So why the long-winded introduction to my new project, Harmonious China? Taking Eric’s advice, I recently decided to look at my archive of images that I shot in China back in April 2011. I hadn’t looked at these images in a very long time and secretly I was hoping that (by some act of god) I was able to pull something out of there that I had previously missed.
When I began to review the images, so much time had passed that they were fresh to my eyes, Surprisingly, I was able to pull out a number of images that fit into a centralized idea. Because I let the images marinate for so long, there were a number of shots that I forgot I took or had no immediate recollection of where it was taken.
Josh White is a street photographer from Newfoundland in Canada, and has done the majority of his work in Seoul, Korea. I conducted a video interview with him when I taught my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop with him in Toronto. We caught up, chatted about his beginnings, his inspirations, working in film versus digital, why he prefers black and white, and some memories from Seoul.
 
​OBSERVE is a new international photography collective focused primarily on the practice of candid street photography. I have sent questionnaires to all 14 of the members, and will feature their responses and images on the blog for the next upcoming weeks.Â
Antonis Damolis: I was born in Crete, Greece, in 1980. I’m an orthodontist and I discovered photography in 2010 when I bought my first DSLR. I started shooting in the street because it was an accessible place. I’m amazed by the way my camera sees the world.
Justin Sainsbury is a street photographer based in Brighton, on the south coast of England. He is also a member of Burn My Eye. What I love about his images is that his photos ask more questions than provide answers. Take a look at his images and interview, and participate by making up your own fictional stories in the everyday lives of the subjects he captures.Â
Oguz Ozkan is a street photographer based in Istanbul. I was introduced to him by Charlie Kirk– and I was amazed how much progress he has made in only about a year and a half of photographing on the streets. We sat down for a beer over dinner at a bar, and this is a typed transcription of my interview with him.Â
I recently had the chance to interview the talented Shin Noguchi on the Leica blog. He is one of my favorite contemporary Japanese street photographers and what I love most about his work is his strong visual images, uncanny moments, as well as his look into Japanese society.
A quick tidbit from one of the questions I asked him:
Eric: What is some advice you would give to street photographers starting out?
Shin: Currently, activity at SNS is the main stream for all kinds of artists, and as for photography, it is in vogue to get a good reputation at reviewing sites such as 1x.com. Under such circumstances, it is important for street photographers, regardless of a review of one photograph or artistic review, to shoot streets coolly as persistent storytellers or spokesmen from the standpoint of shooting documentaries which exist on the bottom of people’s life.
I do not deny the importance of seeking artistic photographs as expression. On the other hand, I would like photographers to express, without relying on the characters of the subjects, their existence in the themes selected, and the composing ability of elements such as light and shadow, with the final aim of being evaluated by the totality of their activity as a photographer.
>> Shin Noguchi: Open for Interpretation [Leica Blog]
Eric’s Note: Ola Billmont is a street photographer based in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also one of the co-founders of CUP (Contemporary Urban Photography). Learn more about the founding of CUP (Contemporary Urban Photography in Stockholm), his work in film and digital, and how he approaches strangers on the street.Â
Eric’s Note: Aik Beng Chia (ABC) is a street photographer based in Singapore. I first met him a few years back, and he is one of the hardest working and humble street photographers I know. He has recently published, “Tonight The Streets Are Ours” with Invisible Photographer Asia. To check out what he has been up to, read the interview below!
I recently had the chance to interview Todd Gross, currently one of my favorite color street photographers when I was in New York about a month ago. We sat down at Jackson diner, had some great Indian food, and chatted about street photography for about 45 minutes. Watch the interview above or you can read the transcript below.
Eric’s Note: I first came across Dimitris Makrygiannakis on Hardcore Street Photography, and was blown away with his unique vision. I love the way how he captures life through his lens, with a surrealistic flair. To see more of his images and his thoughts on street photography, check out his feature below.
Eric’s Note: Julien Legrand is a street photographer based from the north of France, with a keen eye for the chance moments of everyday life. I was initially drawn to his color work– but have also been impressed by his monochromatic work. Check out his work and thoughts on street photography in this interview below.
Eric’s Note: This guest blog post is by Robert Larson, a talented documentary photographer based out of Los Angeles. He recently got married (congrats man!) and also documented his own wedding– groomside. If you have ever been curious how it would be like to document your own wedding, check out the article that Robert put together.
Eric’s Note: I recently taught a street photography workshop with Satoki Nagata in Chicago, and had a chance to sit down for him for an hour and interview him. This is a transcription based on recording we made. If you want to learn more about his philosophies in his street photography, and how he combines it with documentary work — make sure to give it a read. It is a very in-depth interview, which I personally think you will gain a lot from.
Also make sure to attend “Lights in the City: a multimedia presentation†by Satoki at the Harold Washington Library Center, Pritzker Auditorium at Monday, August 5, 2013, 6:00pm.
Eric’s Note: Federico Chiesa was born in a small town in Tuscany, Italy, in 1979. He studied commercial photography at “I.E.D” in 2005 and now works as a professional advertising photographer and retoucher. Street photography is one of his favorite vocations. See his “New York Diary” project and his thoughts on street photography below.
Eric’s Note: I am excited to share this interview with Harvey Stein, a prolific street photographer from NYC. He has been shooting the streets for nearly half a century, and has recently published his book: “Coney Island 40 Years” which is one of my new favorite street photography books. Check out some of his work and thoughts on photography in the interview below.
Eric’s Note: I am honored to share this interview with James Whitlow Delano, a talented photojournalist whose work has been awarded intentionally, including the Alfred Eisenstadt Award (from Columbia University and Life Magazine), Leica’s Oskar Barnack, Picture of the Year International, NPPA Best of Photojournalism, PDN and others for work from China, Japan, Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar). His most recent iPad book Black Tsunami (FotoEvidence) documenting the Japan tsunami and nuclear crisis took a 2012 PX3 Award.
James is now trying to get his “Black Tsunami” book published as a hardcover book. Check out the Kickstarter page and support this noble cause, and also check out my interview with him below.
Eric’s Note: Mat Thornton is a 41 year old freelance designer and art director based in sunny Manchester, UK. I first stumbled upon his work in a Hardcore Street Photography thread, and was impressed by his strong graphical form and subtle use of color. Not only that, but how much of his street photography is quiet and doesn’t involve much people. Check out this brief interview with him below, and see some of his superb color work.
Eric’s Note: This project is by Jonathan van Smit, a street photographer based in Hong Kong. In the past I have interviewed him on the Leica blog and you can follow his work on Flickr. In this post he shares his “Heart of Darkness” project in Phnom Penh. Warning, the photos are explicit and not safe for work. I thank Jonathan for sharing these very touching images with the rest of the community.
Jonathan: How did I start the ‘Heart of Darkness’ project?
Chris Minko, a musician friend of mine in Phnom Penh is the founder, guitarist and song-writer of a local band called ‘Krom’. I was touched by the words in one of his songs, and started a project loosely based on the lyrics.
she no like but she do
no money, no eat
love you like monkey
i no lie, i speak true
‘Yama’ is the God of Death in Sanskrit but in Phnom Penh it’s amphetamine sometimes mixed with heroin. I took these photos of two young women smoking Yama in a back room in the slum behind the ‘Heart of Darkness’ nightclub on Street 51’s red light district. They were beautiful once.
Eric’s Note:Â Jin Kay Lee was born in 1991 and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York and attends the School of Visual Arts. I love very much the way in Jin Kay is able to catch odd moments of everyday life with so much humor with a gentle touch. The color really adds to the zaniness of some of the images, and her images are very fresh from other contemporary street photography I see today.
Read more to see her playful color street photography.
Eric’s Note: I’m not sure how I first stumbled upon Baptiste Hauville’s work, but I knew instantly that I liked his unique vision and color street photography. What I love most about his work is the layers and complexity that he adds to his photographs, with strong geometric shapes and layers. Not only that, but a lot of his photos have a punch of humor in them as well. Check out his images and thoughts on street photography below.Â
Baptiste: I’m 27, and currently live in Lyon, one of the biggest cities in France. I hope to soon be a full-time working photographer. I think I first started photography thanks to my dad. I remember playing with his old camera (a black Minolta SRT101) during my childhood. He owned it for almost 30 years! And it still works. What a great piece of metal!
I got into street photography progressively. Actually, when I decided to go out with my camera for the first time, I had no idea that I was shooting street photography (well, trying to shoot street photography).
Erics’ Note: Lukas Vasilikos is one of the most original and talented contemporary street photographers today. Not only does he have a strong grasp of black and white, but he is also able to use color to his advantage as well. His photographs are powerful and show a deep insight into human nature. Read more to see his thoughts on street photography and his amazing work.
Lukas: My name is Lukas Vasilikos. I live and work in Athens, Greece. I started to take photos at 2006 after a photo-seminar with Manos Lykakis. Since my first steps in photography, I liked being out at streets and shooting. I like to communicate with people and use them as actors, playing a performance just for me.
Street photography makes me feel free. All my senses are on alert and I like the “huntingâ€: finding and catching the right moment. Right now I’m also working on a whole different project which is more personal, concerns night shooting. This way I explore emotions like death, loss, and more.
Hector: My name is Hector Isaac. I’m 24, Cuban-born living in Miami, FL, I’m a Computer Science student and work as an auditor on the medical field.
Funny enough photography came as way to escape computers, as it involved much of my life from work, to school, and as a hobby as well. It all started back in December of 2011 after I read Life Magazine: A 100 Photographs that Changed the World. Soon after I bought my first camera, theFuji x100, and since then I have spent as much free time as possible photographing on the streets. Recently have been lucky enough to participate on 2 street photography events as a result: Miami International Street Photography and You Are Here II in Los Angeles.
Eric’s Note: I got introduced to Robert Huibonhoa from talented photographer Geric Cruz. When I look at Robert’s work, I am taken back by the elegance and poetry of his images. Although many of his images are quite somber in feel, he still celebrates and highlights the joys of life through his images. Check out his soulful black and white images (and some of his thoughts on shooting) in the feature below.
Robert: I got started in photography by the influence of my friends. I never took any formal training or attended any workshop, but luckily have been surrounded by, in my opinion, the best image makers in my country. There’s so much to be learned from other photographers vision and style. Most photographers are innately teachers of their craft even if they don’t know it. I still continue to look to their work for inspiration.
Eric’s Note: When I was in Manila in January, I met Veejay Villafranca at an exhibition of Carlo Gabuco‘s paintings. I heard great things about Veejay’s work, and when I looked at some of his images on his iPhone I was blown away. Not only does Veejay have a great eye for composition and imagery, but a great ability to connect with his subjects on a deeper and more emotional level. He is definitely one of the finest photographers in Manila, make sure to check out some his work below.
Eric’s Note: Chris Porsz is a street photographer based in Peterborough and has recently published a book on his photos from the 1980’s titled: “New England.” In this interview below, I talk to him about how he got started in street photography, how he embarked on his project, and how he eventually put it together as a book. Definitely an in-depth interview you don’t want to miss! Â
Chris: We share a birthday Eric but I go way back to the early hours of January 31, 1953, safe within the walls of Peterborough’s maternity unit while the worst floods of the 20th century visited our shores; ships went down and more than 300 people drowned.
Just eight years earlier, my mother, Krystyna, had teetered on the brink of death in a Nazi concentration camp. She and her two sisters, Eda and Regina, used to be called ‘the three beauties’. They led happy lives in Warsaw but the family was torn asunder by war. My mother’s father died in the sewers, her mother Sarah, Regina and her five-year-old daughter Lilliana were murdered in Majdanek concentration camp, Lublin. Eda was sent to Siberia by the Russians and that is where my cousin Vicki was born.
Eric’s Note: Stephen DiRado is based in Worcester, MA. and has been exhibiting his photographs since 1983. He is a Photography Senior Lecturer in the Studio Arts Program in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Clark University. Stephen has also recently received the prestigious Guggenheim fellowship to continue his photographic projects. In addition, he has finished his film “Summer Spent,” a personal documentary about recording beach goers on the island of Martha’s Vineyard on a large-format camera.
The emergence of the shopping mall during the later part of last century was like heaven opening many doors for a healthy middle-class to venture. As a subject it was under the radar of artists, accept for possibly George Romero’s cult film Dawn of the Dead in the late 70s, where zombies roamed about in a suburban mall in Pennsylvania. Shopper’s World, in Framingham, Massachusetts was located just miles from where I grew up. My parents loved shopping there, but I was emotionally terrorized with all of its multilevel ramps, dead end corridors, multiplex cinemas and endless parking lots.
Eric’s Note: I am not sure how I stumbled upon the work of Todd Gross, but when I first saw his images- I was hooked. Not only are his images colorful and vibrant, but they are quite surreal, wacky, and in Todd’s words– jazzy. Not only does he have a talent for spotting and photographing interesting characters, but also colorful “still life” photos on the street. Check out his fresh color work and thoughts in the feature below.
Todd: I am a 42-year old lifelong (townie!) resident of Queens, New York and Forest Hills High School drop-out. That’s the same school the Ramones didn’t got to. Love those guys. I saw Tommy buying flowers for his Mom at a local deli… once.
As a kid I was obsessed with collecting Mad magazines. Alfred E Neuman was my guy. I wrote and drew my own rip-off, called Nutso. Unfortunately, I lacked talent. My drawing skills were for shit. I couldn’t even make it to stick-figure level. We’re talking more like… blobs. Also, this being the early ’80s there was Atari and Intellivision to play, so I eventually grew discouraged and gave it up. But I knew I wanted to get involved with some sort of visual art at some point.
Eric’s Note: Yves Vernin is a street photographer based out of Marseille, France. I met Yves in Marseille last year, where he was an amazing host and showed me all around the city. I wanted to share his images of Marseille, a place that I haven’t seen much street photography from, and I love how he is able to catch the brilliant light there. Read more to see his images and his beginnings and what he looks for when in the streets.
Eric’s Note: I recently met Swarat Ghosh in my Intermediate/Advanced worskhop in Mumbai. When we were doing portfolio reviews, I was quite blown away with his work — especially considering that he has only been shooting street for a little over a year. He is based in Hyderabad, and is one of the most fervent and hard-working street photographers I have met. His work definitely shows it.
Swarat: I am a Visual Designer by profession, working in a reputed IT company in Hyderabad. Mostly been influenced by my parents and sister who have always encouraged me to do the best in my life.Later, my hidden talent in photography was discovered when my wife gifted me a DSLR camera Nikon d3000 with 35mm prime lens in Oct, 2010. Since then, I am nurturing the passion for photography.
Eric’s Note: When I started street photography, one of the photographers whose work always amazed me was that of Matt Stuart. He is part of the international street photography In-Public, and has caught some of the most incredible images I have ever seen. I was always curious about how he was able to capture his moments. In the video interview with Miniclick, he talks about his thoughts on street photography, commissions, ethics, his interest, and the future of photography.Â
For your convenience I have also written together a transcript of the interview below, so read more to get all the goodies. Photographs courtesy of Matt Stuart.
Eric’s Note: Nico Chiapperini is an Italian street photographer currently based in Den Bosch, The Netherlands. He wanders the streets looking for documents, memories, and impressions, in which composition and light freeze feelings for eternity. He also uses his street photography as a way to collect his thoughts in which he uses a metaphor of a kaleidoscope of memories and future visions. Through this quest, he discovers questions, sometimes answers, but always emotions in his imagery.Â
Nico: My mum was a teacher in a primary school. I was eight years old when I went with her on a school trip to a Jurassic Park for children. There I took some pictures of fake dinosaurs with my father’s SLR. It was my first time and I used two rolls of film. The day after my dad told me I could have bought nice postcards instead of wasting so much film and money. He did not have bad intentions, he later tried to encourage me, but I was a sensitive child and never touched a camera again for a very long time.
Tumblr has been one of the most popular social media sites as of late when it comes to street photography. Personally I haven’t used Tumblr much, but I see that the platform has a lot of potential for street photographers and the community.
There is a vibrant and active street photography on Tumblr — but the problem is knowing who you should follow. Below is a curated list of notable photographers/street photographers/collectives to follow. Big thanks to Chio Gonzalez and AG DeMesa for helping me compile this list.
Also of course this is not a comprehensive list. If you have other suggestions on other street photographers to follow on Tumblr (other than yourself) please paste a link in the comments below!
Eric’s Note: I am very excited to share this interview that I did with the members of Oculi, one of the most established photography collectives in Australia. Their members are diverse and practice many different styles of photography including documentary, fine art, reportage, street photography, and more.
Their current members are: Donna Bailey, James Brickwood, Lee Grant, Claire Martin, Nick Moir, Jeremy Piper, Andrew Quilty, Raphaela Rosella, Dean Sewell, David Maurice Smith and Tamara Voninski, with former members including: Narelle Autio, Warren Clarke, Nick Cubbin, Tamara Dean, Glenn Hunt, Jesse Marlow, Trent Parke and Steven Siewert.
To find out more about Oculi and their philosophies, read on!
Eric’s Note: Junku Nishimura is one of the most talented street photographers that I know in Japan. Not only is he incredibly passionate about his photography (he shoots exclusively film and develops and prints all of his work) but he is also one of the most down-to-earth. I taught a film street photography workshop in Kyoto with him alongside Bellamy Hunt and Sean Lotman- which was an incredible experience. On the last night of the workshop, we were sitting in a bar in Kyoto and I conducted an interview with him. Here is a transcription (along with some edits) of the interview.
Also I am excited to share that Junku has joined international street photography collective Burn My Eye. You can see his portfolio on BME here.
Eric’s Note: I first met Gary Wang when I visited Singapore last year to do an exhibition and a series of street photography workshops. From what I heard about Gary was that he used a rangefinder, shot really close to his subjects (often using a 21mm or 28mm lens), and that his black & white work was stirring. Gary is an all-around cool guy, with a great passion for street photography and the photography community — being one of the founding members for the Rangefinder Singapore (RFSG) group. Oh yeah, and he is a complete black&white film nut as he does all his own developing at home. I also did an interview with him in the past on the Leica blog.
Gary recently was featured in this short documentary during a trip to Brighton pier in which he talks about his philosophy about street photography, traveling, and shooting black and white film. There are also some good video footage of him shooting the streets of Brighton.
Gary told me that they forgot to bring a microphone along, which caused the audio to be quite poor. I have gotten this complaint a ton in the past as well, so I transcribed a rough guideline to what Gary says in this interview. To see more of Gary’s work and read his words, read on.
Eric’s Note: I first met Carlo Gabuco in Singapore about a year ago, at the Invisible Photographer Asia gallery with Kevin Wy Lee. When I looked at Carlo’s work, I was overwhelmed by the sense of beauty and darkness in his monochromatic images. I was even more surprised to discover that he was first a painter (I saw a recent painting exhibition by him in Manila and was also blown away).Â
Discover more about Carlo’s artistic vision and his visions/aspirations for the Filipino street photography community in the interview below.
Eric’s Note: Geric Cruz is a Filipino photographer that discovered photography on accident in 2006 when his uncle gave him a Polaroid Instamatic Camera. Through his travels in the states and in the Philippines, he discovered his unique voice in photography and focuses on personal projects that deal with social issues. His documentary and personal work is strong and stirring, beautifully marrying both form and content.
To see more of Geric’s black & white work, read on.
Eric’s Note: Geloy Concepcion is a young photographer from Manila, who is both interested in photography and street art.  Upon graduating from The University of Santo Tomas, he got selected at the 7th Angkor Photo Workshops in Cambodia, and has exhibited his work in Taiwan, Tokyo, and most recently in Singapore. If you are looking for a talented up-and-comer, definitely keep your eyes on Geloy.
Eric’s Note: This is a transcription of an interview I had with Leanne Jazul, a photographer based here in Manila. He is one of the founders of Usapang Kalye, a forum for “street photography talk” in the Philippines. I was very impressed with his thoughts and philosophies on street photography, as well as his vision and hope for street photography in the Philippines. Read on to find out more about Leanne and his images.
Eric’s Note: Chio Gonzalez is a 17 year-old street photographer based in Manila, Philippines. He has been shooting street photography seriously for almost a year now, equipped with a Nikon D60. I first discovered Chio when he applied (and was awarded) for a student scholarship to both my Manila Intro and Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop. Not only am I impressed by his photography and vision (especially at such a young age) but also by his maturity and humbleness.
To find out more about his photography, beginnings, and vision for street photography in Manila -read on.
Eric’s Note: I am honored to share this interview with Burn My Eye member Zisis Kardianos on his new book, “A Sense of Place” – an exploration of the Greek island of Zakynthos. As Zisis describes in the book:
“They suggest a tour, off the beaten track, where the personal exploration of my native island is shared in the hope you are left with an emotional awareness of the place rather than a literal understanding of a location. A sense of the place.”
If you want to read more about Zisis’ start in photography, what inspired him to make the book, and how he put it together – read on.
Eric’s Note: I am happy to share the work of JB Maher, a street photographer based in Dublin. JB is a member of the international candid collective Burn My Eye and his photographs of everyday life show both the hopeful aspects as well as the more grim aspects. Check out why he shoots and his images in the feature below.
JB: I am 29 years old and currently live in Dublin, Ireland. I don’t really have any complex explanation as to why I began to walk the streets of my home with a camera in tow. However, having a very bad memory I imagine this unconsciously drove me to pick up a camera as a way to document my surroundings. Little did I know that that was an impossible task and it took some time but I eventually learned that what I see and what a photograph can show are two very different things.
Eric’s Note: I am pleased to share the work of Paolo Rabuffi, a street photographer based in Rome. Working in both color and black and white, he loves to capture the “strangeness” of Rome – while being more present in the everyday moment. Check out some of his thoughts and images below!
Paolo:Â I’m half Roman and half Etruscan and after several years of relocations I am based in Rome. I’m a 32 year old full-time-precarious who sometimes uses to walk with a camera in his hands.
Why photography? I dunno, it was something that grew inside of me slowly about 2-3 years ago. I can’t stop it. Someone call it “obsession”, and may be right.
Recently I showcased the work of Krishnendu Saha, a street photographer from Indian Street Photography Collective, “That’s Life“. Krishnendu is currently based here in Kolkata, and I was blessed to meet him in person. We had a nice coffee, got to know each other better, and then conducted this interview. We chat about Indian Street Photography as a whole, how his background in Mathematics influences his photography, and his advice for other aspiring street photographers.
Make sure to check my recent feature of his work here. You can also see more of his work on “That’s Life” here.
Eric’s Note: When I was in Berlin earlier this year, I was able to meet up with Severin Matusek, the head of content & community at EyeEm, one of the most popular mobile photo sharing applications. He manages EyeEm’s worldwide community affairs, blog and partnerships and he has also previously published photos books, city guides and camera commercials for Lomography.Â
To learn more about EyeEm and Severin, keep reading below!
Eric’s Note: I am pleased to share the work of Krishnendu Saha, a street photographer based in Kolkata. Krishnendu is part of That’s Life, an Indian Street Photographer Collective. He is a student and teacher of Mathematics, but has been honing his photography skills for the last few years as a way to tell the “untold stories” from his hometown. Keep reading to get a better insight about his philosophy and background in street photography!
Krishnendu: To me, street photography is a game that can never be played twice in the same way. A game that is played by me against the world, a game that I control. I decide when to start, when to finish, or when to have a tea break.
It’s a way how I react to the surroundings I am placed into at that time.
Not only that, it allows me to build relationships with different people whom I didn’t know earlier! When I go through my old archives and see the photographs, all those slices of life just start flashing on my mind. I can feel the connection with those persons present in my photographs, with those places.
One of the guys I have been spending the most time with here in Tokyo is Mike Nguyen, a street photographer based in Tokyo. What I love about his work is that he is a very versatile photographer – combining landscapes, portraits, and street shots into his distinctive style. His photos are a visual diary of Tokyo and his life’s experiences – allowing him to “…hang onto what continually vanishes” and to “capture the minute splinter of reality that is a fleeting moment” (from his bio).
Watch the interview I did with him above, and see more of his images below.
About a week ago I met up with my buddy Mijonju, a great photographer (who also has a great YouTube channel about film cameras). I visited him at the Impossible Project Space in Tokyo, and he gave me a tour of the store, taught me more about the Impossible Project, and his own interests in film and current projects.
Keep reading to see some of his Instant Photos!
In this interview I had the chance to chat with Bellamy Hunt, aka Japan Camera Hunter. We chatted about how he started photography, his inspirations, and why he does what he does.
Keep reading to see more of Bellamy’s street photography below!
The past weekend I had the great pleasure of catching up with Brian Day, a street photographer based in Detroit. I first met Brian Day through a reference by my manager, Neil Ta – and ever since I met Brian (like Neil) I have had a serious bro crush on him.
Not only is he a very talented photographer that explores many genres, but he is also incredibly humble.
Check out the interview I did with him above in which we talk about his early influences in photography, how it is to shoot street photography in detroit, and advice that he gives other street photographers starting off or trying to find their own unique voice in street photography.
I have done several features including Brian, including his “Walkers With the Dawn” series you can see here.
To see my past video interview with him (as well as his images) read on!