Tag: leica blog

Interview with Shin Noguchi on the Leica Blog

Hase Kamakura, 2012. Photo by Shin Noguchi
Hase Kamakura, 2012. Photo by Shin Noguchi
Hase Kamakura, 2012. Photo by Shin Noguchi

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]

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Interview with Hong Kong Street Photographer Jonathan van Smit at the Leica Blog

Recently when I taught my street photography workshop in Hong Kong I had the great pleasure of having Jonathan van Smit as a guest speaker. Jonathan is a street photographer originally from New Zealand, and has shot the raw streets of West Kowloon for nearly four years now. Check out my interview with him over at the Leica Blog.

In the interview he explains how he shoots the raw streets of West Kowloon, how he interacts with his subjects, and how he got his old Leica taken from him at knife-point.

>> Jonathan van Smit: Raw Hong Kong Interview

Interview with David Kim about the “Society of the Individual” on the Leica Blog

Recently the Leica Blog just published an interview that I did with David Kim, a Korean-American street photographer currently living in Korea. He shoots film on a Leica M6, and many of his images capture Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “Decisive Moment” aesthetic. It was a fantastic interview, with many insightful thoughts from David himself about how he got started in street photography and soulful photos from Korea. I encourage everyone to check it out.

Read the interview here: David Kim: Society of the Individual

Interview with Junku Nishimura on Leica Blog

Junku Nishimura
Junku Nishimura
Junku Nishimura

I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Japanese street photographer Junku Nishimura over on the Leica blog. He shoots film on a Leica M5 and his images hauntingly remind you of the past. Definitely one of the hottest street photographers out there–make sure to read the interview below:

>> Junku Nishimura: Street Shooting Set to Music

A Video Interview with Street Photographer Craig Semetko

Today I was on Twitter and saw two tweets about this video, one from Jonathan Murray and one from RooshPhotog. It is a wonderful video which shows you Craig Semetko, a street photographer in action. He has been featured in countless exhibitions, and has even had his work side-by-side to street photography master Henri Cartier-Bresson. The music is great and gives you insight into Craig’s philosophies on street photography, which is quite inspirational.

His Bio from the Leica Camera Blog:

A street shooter in the tradition of Cartier-Bresson, his Leicas capture classic images that reveal the moment

Perhaps this says all you need to know about Craig Semetko’s inspired Leica photography: In 2008 his work was featured along with images by legendary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson at the Open Shutter Gallery in Durango, Colorado, in an exhibition entitled, “Street Photography: From Classic to Contemporary – Henri Cartier-Bresson and Craig Semetko.” In 2009/2010 he mounted one-man shows at the Leica Galleries in Frankfurt, Germany, Salzburg, Austria, and at the Leica headquarters in Solms, Germany. His work was also recently shown opposite renowned photojournalist Elliott Erwitt’s in the group exhibition “The Art of Photography Today” at the Camera Obscura gallery in Denver, Colorado. In June of last year he spoke on street photography at the International Center of Photography in New York City and he was the keynote speaker at the Leica Historical Society of America’s 2009 annual meeting in Seattle, Washington.

Semetko is inspired by the humor and irony that crosses cultural boundaries and he travels the world to find them. A graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and a current masters candidate in Consciousness Studies at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles, Semetko’s photographs have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and numerous other international publications. Twenty of his images were selected to be published in the exhibition book Family of Man 2. Also, his book “Unposed” came out in October from publisher teNeues.

He also has a an interview with the Leica Camera Blog where you can continue to read here.