In my last ‘Street Photograph of the Day’ I talked a bit about including advertisements in street photography, specifically how difficult it is. So when I went out to shoot the other day, and came across these garish Beyoncé H&M advertisements, I knew I wanted to create a follow-up post.

Typically, I am not the type of photographer who can stand in one place and shoot frame after frame trying to get a single image. I tend to want to go to where the action is, punching toward it, always moving in and at my subject. But this day, my swagger wasn’t so good, so I decided to hang back and let the tide of rush hour sweep through the frame. Here is a little sample of the shots from that day.

Selected Edit

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 400

I think including advertisements in street photography is one of the hardest things to do well in the genre. No doubt, advertisements are large part of urban life. They are everywhere. In the large urban metropolises, advertisements cover much of the external environment and empty space. In New York, graffiti on subway trains – by poor and middle-class kids in the Bronx and boroughs – has been replaced by full – train advertisements for the new Microsoft Windows and Target.

Most street photographs that include advertisements use them in one of two ways either as graphic backdrops or kitschy contrasts/juxtaposition of a subject (A “ha ha one line joke”, if you will). Not many of these photographs get at the psychological and emotional impact that these advertisements play in urban life. When I saw this “healthcare” truck, with its strange advertisement – the figures in on relationship to one another and with disjointed expression, the panels subdividing the faces of the children – I knew I had to include it in a photograph. I kept shooting as crowds of people walked in front, shooting frame after frame at about chest height, but none of the photos with the exception of this one had any mystery to it.

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 1600

I think most photographers are guilty of trying to bring balance to chaos, order to disharmony. It is a long-standing photographic trope that an image and must be ‘well composed’ and the edges of each individual element must be independent and separated from the elements behind it. I guess, this leads itself to a type of clarity and makes the image easier to view – perhaps this is the difference between a snapshot of an image and one that has been thought through. Sometimes it seems like these harmonious images actually do a disservice to the reality that they intend to represent. Occasionally if you’re lucky you can take a photo of a disorganized mess of an event, in a jarring slightly offkilter way – with tangencies, overlaps that don’t quite seem right, and skewed horizontal and vertical lines – that better represents the moment than any organized frame could.

This is what happened here. I was shooting through a crowd of people crossing and overlapping in all different directions, coming at diagonals and crisscrossing and there was a kind of vibrating tension in the air. Off to my right there was a nasty cackling noise and two women moved into the frame with a kind of undulating rhythm, laughing nastily. I don’t know if it works as a harmonious image but it sure makes me feel tense when I look at it.

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 800

I have written about it before, but you have to be careful about taking photos of children that you do not know. As nonsensical and media driven as the fear might be – people are very sensitive to strangers taking photos of children. That said some of the best photos ever taken were of children.

I have traveled around the world quite a bit, and most places that I have gone, especially out of the United States, there is not such a culture of paranoia and fear of people taking photos in general, but especially of kids. When shooting photos of people, it is important to try and be as inconspicuous as possible, but also you must ‘own the role’. Do not hide what you are doing.

Just as you have every right to take almost any picture that you want, people also have the right to ask questions about what it is you are doing. I always carry around a 4 x 6 book of my photographs. That way if anyone gets upset, I can flip out the book immediately and show them what it is I do. I tell them that I will gladly send them a print if they like. That said, I don’t suffer assholes and if someone is good to be a jerk to me…

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 400

Sometimes you see a detail or a piece of something that attracts you and you take a photo of it, or at least try to. Usually these types of “grab shots” do not work, as the photo is not about an idea or relationship but rather a single element that attracted your eye. Other times you see the photo as a whole, and you already know where you were going to put the frame, and for the most part how the different elements are going to interact, so you are just waiting for the moment. In the end, you never know what you have, until you look at the photo a few days after – and in both types of photos it is the unpredictable elements (that you were reacting to subconsciously or intuitively) that make or break it.

This image I saw immediately as a whole. I was on the corner, off to the side, facing the wrong direction and I saw these three women with the central woman holding a bouquet of flowers. I knew I wanted the bouquet to divide part of the frame so I circled around, positioned myself, and snapped the photo when she gestured her chin out like that. I knew I had a decent one, but it is the elements in the background that are aligned – that is what makes this photo work.

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/1000 – ISO 1250

There are many days that I am torn about whether or not I want to go shoot ‘street’. For me, street photography is difficult and not relaxing or fun. That’s not to say that I do not enjoy it and that it does not bring me satisfaction or get my blood up.

I know many people have different approaches to photography, but when I start shooting, it is a very intense experience and exhausting. Sometimes on the days when I am on the fence about whether or not I should go out, I manage to get up the gumption and override my excuse making, and get out there. The juice moves like molasses, and the photos come hard and slow and it is one bad photo after another.

At times like these, I just repeat to myself a little mantra, and keep walking – one foot in front of the other – looking and waiting for the next thing. Sometimes, it never happens – it’s all a wash – but then occasionally you see something, and you get a rally going. It’s like you landed one really good punch, and the next one comes easy, and the one after that too – and all of a sudden you’re in it and flowing, and you’re really going for it. Then you begin to notice details that did not notice before; the lines, the gestures, the light casting down through the scaffolding onto faces.

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 640

I saw this character around the corner from where I took my last street photo of the day. I do not know whether it was a man or woman, who was dressed in a full-length purple raincoat, a baseball cap, and large black wraparound sunglasses, but he/she definitely caught my eye. They looked straight out of a very bad French spy thriller from the 1970s – hunched over and cagily stalking about.

I circled around behind the falafel cart to intersect their path, snapping a bad photo which she/he noticed me take, giving me the infamous “lip curl” of suspicion or displeasure. So, I crossed the street, quickly entranced by another developing situation, thinking I had missed the shot.

It was only about five minutes later – as I found myself in a mob crossing the street – I noticed a small purple shape in front of the plate glass façade of the H&M store. This time I was determined, so I came in at an angle almost completely parallel, only side-stepping at 45° angle at the last moment – framing the faceless, terrifying, white manikins which were catching the raking late afternoon light.

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 250

My favorite corner in Manhattan is under construction.

I go into Manhattan less than I used to – as the last few years I have lived in Brooklyn and before that Queens. These days when I going to Manhattan I find that, the places that I love, and that represent New York the most to me – whether it is a corner, or a bar, or a restaurant – are gone. They say that; there is a New York for everyone – 8 million people, you can build your New York history however you damn well please. They also say; that you are not a real New Yorker until something that made New York yours, is gone.

The physical structure of Manhattan lends it its character, and its history of immigration and the smashing of cultures – in the vertical metropolis of industry and commerce – are quickly being erased by gentrification. Maybe gentrification is not the right word; perhaps CAPTALization is closer to the truth. NYC is becoming a tourist town and a playground for the rich.

But, they’re still places – certain corners that have a life about them, an edge about them, that speak to my values and my bones. It is just sad to see one go, knowing that it’s only going to be replaced by a set of values that I don’t understand.

Jackson Pollock, Number 8, 1949 (detail)

Often, I look to other genres of art to find inspiration for my Street photography. Sometimes getting out of the realm of photography grants clarity of reflection on one’s process and results. So, you might be asking yourself: what does Jackson Pollock – the abstract expressionist from the 1950s – have to do with street photography? Let’s find out. Jackson Pollock was an ‘action painter’ and part of the American school of abstract expressionism. He invented and popularized a new type of working, called ‘drip painting.’ Standing over a canvas laid on the floor, he dripped splatters and poured ribbons of paint in overlapping and interweaving rhythmic compositions. His complex compositions brought organic forms into harmonious discord, very similar to the compositional problems Street Photographers face daily. Aesthetics aside, it is his working process and approach to art that I find valuable to modern-day street photographers. So let’s investigate Pollock for possible tips and tricks that can be used while shooting on the street.

5 Tips – Jackson Pollock can teach you about Street Photography

Jackson Pollock, Photo © Hans Namuth

1) Override your Intellect

When I am in a painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about.

Most photographers are inspired by and look at photography on a regular basis. It is important to remind yourself why you take pictures and hold yourself accountable to the history of photography, lest we slip into weak imitation of our predecessors. While shooting, there are often familiar images and symbols in our minds-eye. This of course is natural, but can also lead to stagnation and poor mimicry of our heroes. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just shut up. What I mean is this: try not to think so much and turn your mind off. If you are well studied, you can trust that the images will “bubble” up. This bubbling is the first inkling of a style.

So go out and let your mind wander and guide your eye. You never know what new thing you might discover, see, or recognize. Sometimes it takes me 30 minutes to traverse a single block, because I am photographing everything. If I free my mind of expectations, I can discover new details on the most familiar streets.

Later, when you’ve returned home, wait at least a day before looking at your photos. Often if you let the images sit, the “new-ness” of them will fade, and you will discover a web of interconnected ideas. Write down broad themes that you see (broken windows, flaking paint, gestures of hands, reflections, sunglasses, etc, etc) from your round of uncensored shooting. This lends tangibility to your ideas; makes them smolder a bit. I think you will discover a new awareness and recognize these ideas more and more out in the world.

Remember, where there’s smoke there’s fire.

Jackson Pollock, Yellow Islands,1952

Photography © Gary Winogrand – Austin Texas, 1973

2) Go to the Edge

I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc, because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.

Many times when we take photos and review them after the fact, the photos themselves become very precious. This is unproductive and any beginning street photographer would do well to jettison this attachment.

I am here to tell you almost all the photos you will take will be bad and some will be really truly awful. That’s okay; everyone has to take a lot of bad photos to get a single good one.

Photography is a skill – something you do, not something that you are. The late great Chuck Jones – animator and creator of a little-known character named Bugs Bunny – said that everybody is born with 10,000 bad drawings inside of them, and these have to ‘come out’ before any good ones can emerge.

Taking photos you know how to take in your comfort zone will increase your percentage of semi-decent photos and minimize your complete failures. But you will have fewer breakthrough successes.

In the digital realm, the act of shooting a photo costs nothing, and is, for most intents and purposes, unlimited. This is not to say that one should just shoot randomly; be very conscientious about what you shoot and how you shoot it. Remember, your images are your best teachers. Look at them, then look at the images of your heroes. Ask yourself: do they work, or not?

Go out there, take risks, mess up, and “destroy the image.”

Left – Cathedral by Jackson Pollock, 1947. Right – Gandhi’s Funeral, Delhi, India, 1948 – Photograph © Henri Cartier Bresson

3) Abandon the Classical Approach

New needs need new techniques. And the modern artists have found new ways and new means of making their statements … the modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any other past culture.

Prime lenses are best for street photography. Rangefinders are the best camera for documentary photography. To shoot sports you need fast autofocus and a 70 – 200 zoom. All Street Photographs must be in color. All Street Photographs should be in black-and-white. You have to be close to take a great street shot.

I have heard each of these rules at one time or another. Many were born out of aesthetic tradition or technical limitations. For every rule there is a contradiction; for every photographer that approaches street one way, there is a photographer doing the opposite successfully. One must acknowledge the traditions of street photography and the shoulders of the greats that we stand on (Bresson, Klein, Koudelka, Moriyama, Strand, Evans, etc). But this is our world, our time, and our place. From an aesthetic and educational point of view, we must look at those images with respect, but be ready to discard their approach for our own vision of the world.

That’s not to say certain certain techniques don’t work. But if you find yourself in a situation where you want to take a specific photograph, and some arbitrary rule or technique is preventing you from doing so, the only allegiance you should have is to the photograph that you want to create.

Painting by Jackson Pollock – Stenographic Figure, 1942.

Photo © Josef Koudelka – Moravie (Moravia), 1966.

4) Follow your Instincts

When I am painting I have a general notion as to what I am about. I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident.

You should start off your day with a general direction where you want to take pictures. Often this general area is a place that will have good light or an abundance of picture-making opportunities. Sometimes, however, you might find yourself returning to the same places over and over again.

It’s good to make decisions about what you want to photograph, in order to prepare with the right equipment and scout out appropriate locations. But there will be times you just have to let go and follow your gut. When a place isn’t working, don’t be afraid to get up and go. Leave. Go to a new place. Wander. Explore. Try something new; switch up your lenses; let your intuition guide you.

5) Find a Rhythm

A dripping wet canvas covered the entire floor… There was complete silence… Pollock looked at the painting. Then, unexpectedly, he picked up can and paint brush and started to move around the canvas. It was as if he suddenly realized the painting was not finished. His movements, slow at first, gradually became faster and more dance-like as he flung black, white, and rust colored paint onto the canvas. He completely forgot that Lee and I were there; he did not seem to hear the click of the camera shutter… My photography session lasted as long as he kept painting, perhaps half an hour. In all that time, Pollock did not stop. How could one keep up this level of activity?

I seem to remember having read a quote by Alex Webb (I searched for this specific quote and I couldn’t find it, so I might be mistaken) that said he has to shoot at least two rolls of bad photos before he gets into any kind of rhythm.

Many athletes and photographers will talk about being in the “zone.” Street photography is such a reactionary form of photography, combining timing with luck, that creating a kind of rhythm on the street is critical. Without a rhythm, one can lulled into passivity, fear or self-doubt.

One way to create a rhythm is to place yourself in environments that lend themselves to a constant stream of stimulation and image-making opportunities. I like to go where it is busy – not necessarily to the major shopping districts, which tend to attract many people (but all the wrong ones for my purposes) – but places where diverse types of people collide in daily life.

Even in those busy places, I sometimes need an exercise to get the “juice flowing.” One such exercise in particular has helped me get a rhythm started.

Try this:

Take a photograph (it doesn’t really matter what it is, provided that it is about something that attracts you or interests you). Immediately start counting 1,2,3,4… Before you get to 5 you must make another photograph, good or bad. Repeat as necessary, counting and shooting before 5. This sequential exercise forces one to override the internalized blocks, hesitations and fears that plague even experienced practitioners, and allows one to shoot more responsive and instinctively.

Photo © Gary Winogrand – Peace Demonstration, Central Park, NYC 1970.

Jackson Pollock, One: Number 31, 1950

The Final Word

Pollock’s way of working lends insight into a genre of art that was reactionary, intuitive, and off-the-cuff, while simultaneously deliberate and considered. His improvised dance holds many parallels to the act of street photography. Regardless of what you think of the results of his efforts, as street photographers we could do much worse than to organize complex forms as successfully as Jackson Pollock.

Jackson Pollock Working, Shot for Life Magazine, Photograph © Arnold Newman

Further Information

Check out this awesome video of Pollock Painting in Action (b&w footage), n.d. Filmed by Hans Namuth © Hans Namuth, Ltd.

E-M5 – OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8 – f/8 – 1/750 – ISO 800

After taking one bad photo after another for the entire afternoon, I saw her down the street while walking toward the train. The light was fading. My instinct told me that something was happening, that there was a photo forming. (When you shoot street long enough you begin to have an sensitivity about these things) I approached carefully.

Questions appeared, one after another, like an archipelago in the fog: Was she thinking? Was she in pain? Did her rent check bounce? Did she just hear that her father had died? Should I take this photo? I did not want to disturb her, but I knew the moment would be gone in a fraction of a second, so I quietly snapped single frame. That second she snapped out of it, not because I disturbed her – she did not even notice me – but simply because ‘it’ was over. The moment had vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

I was reminded of a quote from The Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
By T.S. Eliot:

Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.