Street Photography

Our topic for February was People Photography, including Street and sports Photography but also wider into documentary and Environmental Portraits

First Street Photography: A Brief Definition form the Web

It is a branch of realistic fine-art photography that records unposed scenes in public places (e.g. streets, parks, train, bus etc.) The primary subject is people, at rest or in motion, alone or with others, going about the every-day activities of life. 

The emphasis is not on the subject’s personal identity, as in portraiture. And unlike photojournalism, there is no news although the line between photojournalism and street photography is often blurry. Many of the best street photographers were photojournalists. Unlike travel photography, that aims to entice the viewer to visit a certain place or to fondly remember it, location is relatively unimportant, though busy cities with interesting architecture are commonly seen in these works. 

The primary objective is to capture a fleeting composition, a temporary arrangement of lines, forms, textures, and tones balanced within a rigid frame. While such photographs often document clothing styles or automobile design, these details are subordinate to the artistic elements; whereas, in strict documentary photography, content is more important than artistry. In street photography, the image can be sharp or blurred and impressionistic. 

A few examples from the web showing the range of subjects and emotions provoked.