Street photography is a specific type of photography that captures real-life moments in public places, like streets, parks, or markets. It often shows people going about their daily lives, without posing or knowing they are being photographed, making them candid images. The goal is to tell a story or show emotion through everyday events, unknowingly. Street photographers look for interesting moments, or details that happen naturally to understand the beauty in ordinary, everyday life.

History and Context

In the Street Photography between Reportage, Cinema and Theatre by David Campany, this essay explains the growth of street photography overtime and the transformation of pictorial arts (like landscapes and portraiture) to a genre that is specific to the camera. Since the 1830’s, pictures of streets have been taken. However, it wasn’t until nearly 100 years later in the 1920’s when it resembled the street photography we know today. Since this point, manufacturers advanced to producing lightweight cameras, making it possible to sneakily take images in a candid way, to capture the pure essence and beauty of everyday life without it looking fake or unrealistic.

A quote that I liked was “Above all I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes.” from Henri Cartier-Bresson. I agree with his quote since in this time period, Cartier-Bresson couldn’t take multiple images with his camera as there wasn’t enough film, so he had to take the perfect image. Because he used the word “Craved”, it shows a sense of urgency, determination and pressure to ensure his image met his standards. I also agree with him because once you capture that memory, you are unaware of what will happen in next few seconds (for example, if the person got angry that you took a photo).

Another quote I liked was “It is associated with the hand-held 35mm camera and especially the emergence of the very compact Leica and its superior lens quality.” I agree with this quote as this camera is one of the most well known cameras used in street photography, since its easier to hold and was impactful for its time, especially because it was less noticeable.