Ethics of Street Photography Part 1: Street Photography and Non-Posed Event Photography Should be Illegal!!

 I haven't touched this blog in awhile;  I had an Olympus camera the Olympus PEN EPL-6 that I shot in Feburary and just haven't had the ambition to review yet.  So instead, I'm going to rant about another "Hot Button Topic" for photography that I have touched on, but never made a full post on and that is the "Ethics of Street Photography" which also I will cover the legality of in this post as well.

This will be a two part post.  First part is going to go off mostly the knee-jerk reaction to Street Photography by a small minority of people (and in my years of doing street photography I've learned that yes it is a Minority.  Most people Don't Care.).

The drive to do this rant came after a fairly petty online fight about "Taking photos at a recent event I was at without asking EVERYONE at the event if I can take their photo" I then realized that it ties into Street Photography as well.

The ironic thing was the ones who started the fight and brought this up were two edgy teenagers who didn't even attend the event that was being discussed  and were paranoid to the point like the photographers at the event were going to go to their house and go all paparazzi on them.  (Guess what, no one who was actually at the event actually cared...)

Maybe they felt this was what was keeping them away from attending the event because someone might take a photo of them. While this is valid, its a personal issue not one that should be forced on everyone because they feel self-conscious about themselves.  

It was a strange interaction, I did let it get to me a little in which case I redacted one of my comments that was poorly written out of just being too much caught in the moment. The discussion push a button, and got me thinking about the topic again.  Because its not the first time its been pressed.

There are some concessions I will make in a followup post in part two abut what I believe should be the responsibility of the photographer about being ethical when taking photos of random people at an event or on the street even in both cases they have a full legal right to be there and take photos. But that will be its own separate post that will follow at another time.

First let's talk about the legality of street photography in the United States still.  As of writing this post it is 100% legal to do photography of anyone or anything as long as you are standing on public property anywhere in the country.  Doing street photography in a place like a mall will be at the mall's discretion on whether it is allowed or not because that is a private business.

You can also apply anything in said regards to street photography in a public area (like a downtown shopping district) to a public or private event where organizers of the event state in their TOS that photography by guests during their event is allowed, for example the Minnesota State Fair.

If you are in other countries such as anywhere in the EU the legality becomes murkier, but even in this case it is not enforced except for very certain situations.  Back in the late 2010s and early 2020s the EU passed some very draconian laws, and one did basically forbid "Photos of people without written consent in a public place even if they are just in the background and not the main subject".  Again, this is in the European Union not the US.  That said, this law is very rarely enforced otherwise the millions of tourists who visit these countries would all break this law, likely unintentionally at some point in their vacation.

With the legality out of the way, I will break this down to the counter-points that I heard from the discussion today or that I've heard before, and my argument on why they are completely baseless or have some merit which I will be re-visiting in my followup part two post to this and the concessions I make and am willing to make to atleast meet these critics halfway.

You need to get permission from every person you ever take a photo of! It's unethical to take photos of people who may not want their photos taken!!

First point: we are being presumptuous here.  Remember how I said "Most People Don't Care" in the intro? That's because most people don't care if their photo is taken in a public space. It's going to be that vocal minority of people, a lot of whom are teenagers, with confidence or self-image or identity issues who are going to take offense to having a photo taken of them.

In the seven years I have been doing street photography (since 2018) I can count the amount of people who have approached me and asked me to either delete photos of them or not to take photos of themselves on two hands.  Which means, it has happened but less then ten times maybe at most one person a year.

Under ten people out of hundreds, perhaps thousands.  Do the math and that's a very small number less then 1 percent.

In my followup post I will however cover how to respect (or how I have respected) those who have approached me wishes about deleting photos or not taking photos of them.

There are several problems with the approach of "asking permission for every photo". First off Street Photographers may not be wanting to risk confrontation. In this crazy world we live in sometimes just approaching someone will incite that other person to yell out threats of violence or even become violent.  So I fully respect any street photographer that wants to be the fly on the wall because that is my approach too.

Secondly, part of street photography (which a lot of street photographers focus on, myself not as much but I still feel its important) is candid photography to catch a moment in time.  The moment you ask that person "can I take your photo" the moment is past and cannot be replicated, and you are left with doing a posed photo which can be art on its own but has a much different energy and storytelling element that a candid photo can convey (a few examples of this I've put below).

If I had "asked" in any of these instances, the photo I would have gotten would have been very different, and would be a different type of art.  Some street photographers are great at posing people on the street while I am not one.

When we are talking singling out people who are out for a walk with their dog or on the beach with a few friends, it's therotically possible for someone with good personal skills, low social anxiety and high charisma (all of which I lack) to make their art out of doing posed photography with random strangers they are able to connect with.  This is very much a niche skill that not all street photographers have.

In the case of large events, such as the State Fair the idea of having to have a "Verbal photo release" from Everyone at the event that might be in a photo you take is well beyond absurd.  Case in point, try imagining having to get a release from everyone in this "where's waldo" style crowd from the very event mentioned:

And the last point I will make to this is that photography is a much different hobby then it was in the early days where you could easily spot everyone who is out doing photography and ask them not to take a photo of them.  

In today's modern world it is quite unavoidable that your photo at some point won't be taken in a public space because yeah, you might spot me taking a photo with an "obsolete or redundant" to most large DSLR or mirrorless camera.  But you will not be able to avoid the hundreds of people you run into every day who carry around a smartphone and may be doing street photography or taking a selfie while you walk by with their smartphone.

But why should I care about street photography anyways?  Its just done by creepy weirdos who have nothing better to do but stalk random strangers...

First off, what makes one weird, strange or unusual can also be what makes an individual independent and free- thinking.  A critic of Street Photography may have a hobby or interest that is just as creepy or weird to the photographer should they ever meet. 

During the pandemic street photography taught me two truths. The first was that it was a coping mechanism; a bubble if you were to be able to take events unfold that I thought I would never see in my lifetime and by taking a photo of it I was now putting it into the past in my mind. 

This helped me to move forward and get through an incredibly frustrating time in my life (which very well could happen again shortly if things keep going the way they are going in turning the US into an Authoritarian Dictatorship or Banana Republic but I digress...).

This ties into the second truth that is becoming more and more relevant again:  Street Photography is a form of Photojournalism that is un-filtered, un-cut and un-censored from the government or national news agencies which may becoming paid off by someone to not show "the whole story".  

I got a very small taste of it in 2020-2021 even though since I played it safe and didn't attend protests or  do urbex in looted and destroyed buildings during the civil unrest in Minneapolis following the George Floyd murder by MLPS Police. 

I have nothing but the utter respect for both the photojournalists both Professional and Amateur that are braver then me who quite literally risked their lives during this time to show us what was really happening out there and not the watered down version that the government wanted us to see.

As the roots of an attempt at Authoritarian government in my country take seed and grow over the next few years, it will be the Street Photographer and Independent Reporters out there putting their neck out to show us what is really going on and keep our eyes open.  

It's already starting to happen, protests are breaking out across the US which Media has been told to quietly ignore.  Events that most of us would be totally unaware and oblivious of happening if not for one brave person with a cellphone who uploaded videos and photos they took on youtube.  

Its the year 2025 and everyone has the potential to be a reporter. Street Photography may very well be the future of Photojournalism as we know it, not a handful of paid professionals with a press pass and mild mannered Clark Kent attitude. 

Anyone of hundreds of millions of people in the US can be a Journalist; all they need is to see something happen and have a camera or their phone to record it for those who don't want to quietly live a life in Censorship oblivious to the real truths out there.

 

HP Photosmart m537 Full Review

In my first post of 2025 I revealed the overall challenge I am doing for this year and that is shooting twelve more cameras that weren't reviewed in 2023 but this time for an entire month instead of a week, and posting the results of a "straight out of camera" jpeg vs editing them myself in POST.

January is my least favorite month in all of the year.  Living in a Northern climate our winters are typically very brutal and puts severe limits of how much outdoor activities many of us can or are willing to do (some "adjust to it" better then others.  I am one of the "others").

So to start this off I took the cheapest working digital camera I own which was also my last purchase of 2024 (not including cameras that were gifted to me or in a trade) which was a non-assuming pocket digi-cam from 2007: An HP Photosmart m537

Yes, you heard right an HP camera.  Not a webcam but an actual honest stand-alone pocket camera that writes images to a SD card.

In the early to mid 2000s Digital Pocket cameras were all the rage.  They were the "smartphone like camera device" you could have on you at any moment to quickly take a photo to capture a moment and then turn it off and put it away. 

So many companies got on the "make a cheap digital camera" boat including companies well known for cheap digital cameras like Kodak and Vivtar; but also a wide array of other electronics companies such as HP, Toshiba, Sanyo, GE, HP, Casio (whom actually had good cameras) etc.  

The pocket camera market stayed that way until margins became thinner and the "major camera companies" (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, Fuji and Pentax/Ricoh) started taking away the smaller pieces of the pie left for companies like HP away.

But enough with the history of Digicams, let's start the actual review. I will start off by admitting that the HP Photosmart m537 is not the worst Digital Camera in my collection;  that title is contested either by the GE RS1400 or the Coleman Xtreme waterproof camera.  

The HP digicam does its job a lot better then either of those two cameras in all respects including ease of use and image quality; but the m547 is defiantly among the most boring and unassuming cameras to use in my collection.

It turns on relatively fast and has a quick shutdown too (for a 2007 era digicam atleast) and there is very little shutter lag which was a common issue with old digicams. 

Images shot straight out of camera have fairly good colors and contrast along the lines of what a CCD enthusiast would expect under the right lighting of course.  

When shot in overcast conditions the colors are a lot duller and it tends to underexpose shots, though its lightmeter overall is a lot more accurate then I was expecting; which is a good thing as the exposure cannot be compensated or adjusted in any way at all which I will get to soon.

My biggest complaint about this camera was not the handling/ergonomics nor the Image Quality/Colors/Exposure but that this camera was honestly just really boring to use.

For "Full Auto Digicams" the HP Photosmart is about as full auto as you can get.  It has no P mode, and there is no way of adjusting exposure compensation in any embedded "creative mode" either. The amount of creative modes that can be "manually" set is very limited and do not alter the color profile of the camera in any way, and most of the creative modes have the internal flash forced on if selected manually.

Therefore the only real way to shoot this camera is to use full auto, where you can atleast change one very important setting:  Flash ON or OFF.  Every time the camera is shut off however you need to disable the flash manually as it will not remember this setting and will set the default flash to auto (which means it will fire in any condition that is not in direct bright sunlight including overcast days.

Ergonomically the camera is fine. It feels like dozens of other digicams of its era hower: an unassuming box with rounded edges slightly bigger then a deck of playing cards that can easily fit into a jacket, loose fitting pants or dress shirt pocket. It takes AA batteries instead of a proprietary LiION battery pack making getting batteries in the field incase you forgot to re-charge the camera a snap which I know a lot of digicam enthusiasts look for.  (myself I actually prefer to have that rechargeable pack.

With the straight out of camera challenge, I am going to be relying on the camera to "make adjustments for me as I tell it to" like the average user but this camera didn't have those features.  

There are no "color modes" to shoot an image more vibrantly or in Black and white, and there is no way to adjust the exposure compensation so you are stuck with the fully "press the button get digital photo" line of thinking.

While this forced "full auto" method of shooting did force me to think about the composition of a photo a lot more then usual and really work that into the creative aspect of this type of photography it did make this camera feel extremely boring to use overall.

In 2007 for someone who just wants to get photos of their family and not think about the actual photography portion at all this wouldn't be the worst camera you could buy and was probably worth the asking price for the average person that wants some quick vacation selfies or photos at a family event.

All that said, I'm glad to be done with Jan and this camera put on the shelf of "cameras I will probably never shoot again (or will only shoot as a dare or if I am extremely bored).  It will be the most lackluster camera of this entire year of camera reviews; somewhat fitting for the most lackluster month of the entire year. 

That's really all I have to say about the HP Photosmart m537.  Can I recommend it to someone looking for a Digicam?  No no really- there are far better options out there even for something small and compact as this camera is.  I rate it as a "perfectly average" ranking of a C to C minus.

I will leave you with a few more photos from this camera, done with no editing at all and simply uploading them to this blog post.

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For this upcoming month (Feb), I will be shooting something bigger and newer yet still somewhat pocketable:  An Olympus PEN E-PL6. In keeping with the "pocket" theme the lens attached for the review is going to be the smallest M43rds lens I own too which is the 14-42 "Pancake Kit Zoom lens" Olympus made for their later PEN series of cameras. 

This camera and lens put together will get you get a small (albeit weighty) compact camera that feels very well built. The PEN and pancake zoom lens make this camera still fit into a jacket pocket (though a pants pocket or shirt pocket is now out of the question.

On collecting and shooting the "Imperfect" cameras

As anyone who's read my blog knows, I collect cameras. A lot of times these cameras are ones that are old and outdated or just ones that are overlooked or tons of them are on the used market for people who upgraded for "better" cameras (like my Nikon D610).

However, a good portion of my cameras are not in "perfect" shape by far.  A few have various liveable flaws and still take great photos, and I often got these for half the price of what a "perfect" condition camera would sell for (except for the a99 but that one is a story of itself that I covered in my review of it two years ago.)

Taking in cameras that are "as is" or "flawed" is always going to be a gamble.  You might get one that is totally inoperative IE it flashes an error on the screen, shuts itself off, or something like the shutter is jammed. Or you might get one that works for everything but one small feature that is often liveable without having or having to use a "workaround".

Recently I picked up a Canon 90D, one of the last DSLRs Canon ever made for half of what they sell for normally (they are still pretty modern and thus fetch a high price) because it has a broken function button and grips that are expanding off the camera likely because it was left in a hot car at some point in its life.  

The shutter count is less then half of its life expectancy (which is never an absolute there are 100k shutter rated cameras out there with half a mil to almost a mil shutter actuation out there) so for its "lifespan" it still has a ways to go even if the previous owner may have been a little rough on it physically. For under $400 its a heck of a deal for an otherwise amazing camera. 

Another good example of this which is probably my best deal I've ever gotten was a Canon Rebel T6i for $100.  Canon Rebels are still popular as they are small and easy to use and the newer models (T6i-T8i) still sell for $250-500 used as they have their cult following.  

The issue?  The orientation switch is broken so if you flip out the screen and then close it against the body it's updside down.  It still works folded out in the correct orientation and closed inwards so that the screen is "off" just fine.  Otherwise the buttons on the camera are brand new and the camera itself had less then 20,000 shutter fires.

I have a number of other "imperfect" cameras: a Sony a99 with a broken IBIS unit (which flashes a message that needs to be cleared constantly) but the images it takes are still just as good as any other Sony a99 as long as you aren't in really low light situations.  

Another camera with a broken IBIS is an Olympus Pen E-PL6 that I thought about returning but I haven't been able to tell any difference in the photos I take with it. Its mostly used for candid street shots as its a tiny mirrorless camera with a tilt screen making it a hip-shot wonder cam. 

There will be more of the Olympus Pen EPL-6 soon as its my next month's challenge cam, and a definite improvement from what I stuck to this month.

In summary the point of this post is someone's e-waste is another user's treasure.  A flaw or defect which might be too much for one photographer may be a perfect fit for someone on a tighter budget or like me looks for the best bargins to feed his camera collecting hobby.

Used cameras have character, and Imperfect cameras have even more. We're in the golden age for used camera equipment and sadly a lot of hobbyists just pass it right by to go out and buy the newest Sony A7 brand new with several thousand dollar lenses when they'd likely be just as happy with say a used first generation Sony A7 and used lenses instead.

Photography doesn't have to be a $5-10k investment.  The only reason it is for me is because I can't stop adopting all these misfit cameras no one wants and if you add up the value of my entire collection, yeah we are talking several grand worth of investment minimum.  Most individual lenses and cameras however I've spent no more then $400 a piece for.

Maybe I'm the weird one that would rather have my menagerie of "not perfect" or "not the best" cameras then one "of the newest and best" and two lenses.  This just be how I roll and I'm helping keep used camera stores in business.

New Year, New Challenges: Back to Basics for 2025

After taking nearly 65,000 photos in one year (boy I am glad that is not all on ONE camera x.x) I think its time to try and tone things back for 2025, and try something new. There will be no more daily photo "requirement"  but I will still enjoy going out and doing photo walks when I can as the weather is cooperative; it is my primary source of exercise and keeping active and not sitting at a computer all day (since that is what I do for my day-job).

The challenge I am going to do to try and get back to the basics of photography this year will be to have a daily carry camera that changes every month which is shot in either JPEG or RAW+JPEG to post up photos SOOC without any kind of Edits in POST. 

I will also be using cameras that are newer purchases or trades and I haven't fully reviewed here yet. I'll "pretend" I don't have this huge library of lenses to go with these cameras and if the camera has interchangeable lenses, I will only have one lens attached for that "Daily Carry" I can just keep in the car assembled, grab and shoot.

For those who followed my 52 camera challenge in 2023 or my daily photos on my personal social medias this year; you would have noticed that almost all of the photos, yes even those taken with an absolute rubbish camera like the GE 1400, were doctored up in POST.  

I was aiming to get the best photo I could get from the equipment I had at my disposal and it did teach me one thing: with today's Lightroom/Photoshop/Photo Editor of choice you can indeed polish a turd quite easily even if the camera does not support RAW (Raw just lets you do more with it and push further but these days yes you can polish a JPG from a digicam into something respectable with not much effort).

Looking back at a lot of my camera  reviews a lot of the sample photos look very similar in quality with only subtile differences because whether it was a DSLR from 15 years ago or a Mirrorless body that's modern and still being made (or recently discontinued) I was putting this extra effort into making the photo look like what I thought it should look like after it was pulled off the camera.  Adjusting exposure, white balance, contrast, sharpening and of course the biggest sin: becoming super pixel peepy and removing as much noise as I possibly could.

As a dedicated hobbyist photographer I do not "take photos" in the same way as the "average person" does if the average person was armed with a dedicated camera and not just their Phone which makes all these crazy corrections to the photo for them automagically.  

When shooting RAW I often try to go for as Neutral of a shot as I can.  Have a nice flat curve, even exposure and not too vibrant of colors because I can just bump them up in POST.  This mindset changes of course when you are either stuck with, or shoot by choice in JPEG.

Cellphones aren't the first to have offered "filters" and effects inside the device.  Digital Cameras were.  Some of these such as Fuji's "Film Simulation" modes are still quite popular for people seeking to just point, click and post.  

Up to this point filters/creative modes/etc are something I've been fully ignoring because they are all "consumer features" normally.  Part of the challenge will be using some of these filters and see what they can do.   

So if you see me post up a black and white photo for example during this challenge; that wasn't me editing it in post but using a setting/profile in the camera that is adjusting the image as it is being shot and written to the memory card.

This is not to say I won't use my "best gear and edit photos" during the year at all; quite the contrary.  I will still be shooting raw and slapping things around Lightroom when out doing more serious nature photography walks or at a Photography Club outing or event where I DO want to push my gear and get the best photos I can from it.

But I think it would be neat to take a few moments to take a step back and see what these cameras can do on their own without going overboard on editing just like the average person who takes photos for fun would do with it.  

Is "Fuji Magic" actually a thing (because there IS a Fuji mirrorless camera in this challenge, I finally got one!) and does a $1400 modern Full Frame mirrorless camera with a $1000 lens actually take that more impressive of a photo without taking advantage of its much better Dynamic range in a POST editor then say a digicam I payed less then $20 for out of the box?  

It will be interesting to find out.  I will be doing a review at the end of the month of the camera I used coming purely from the perspective of the shooting experience and what the photos look like straight out of the camera. 

During these reviews of the "daily carry" for the previous month I will be more critical on things that I normally would not care as much about such as "how good is the camera at Auto White Balance" which otherwise may not be a dealbreaker for me, but would be night and day for someone who just wants to upload and post the photos they took straight off the memory card which again, is the majority of people who go out and do casual photography.

The only editing I will allow myself is rotating and re-sizing the photo if necessary; since a 24mp image is quite large for posting on social media.  

This "no edit in Post" otherwise rule also means I can't crop for these photos which is another reason I am still going to "Cheat" when it comes to my regular Wildlife photography as I know I'm not going to get a good photo of like a Bald Eagle without having my longest lens on and then cropping heavily in post so the subject better fills the frame instead of just being a little speck in the center.

Getting good photos for this challenge will rely soley on trying things with the camera itself and culling, IE there are going to be a lot of terrible photos from this experiment I'll likely just delete.  You're only going to see the ones where the camera actually did its job and didn't fuck up :).

Here's a sneak peak from some SOOC images I took with my first challenge camera for 2025 this week.  Which camera is it? Well you'll have to wait till the end of the month to find that one out.

Breaking the "Rules of Street Photography" - Part Two: Street Photography requires People as the Primary Subject

This is the second part of my "de-bunking Street Photography Myths" series of rants.  The first one is the one I run into the most and that is about using a Prime Lens for street photography; however I am covering two more subjects I hear a lot that "Street Photography Is/Must Be" which I am going to de-bunk. So let's get on to Myth Number Two:

Street Photography Myth #2: It's not Street Photography unless People are the main focus of your photos you post.

Just like the first topic this one is pretty bogus as well.  Some people will make it their entire focus to perceive street photography as just including either candids of people on the street or street portraits, IE a posed shot on the street where you identify yourself or someone comes up to you and asks for a photo.  

Before I begin on my rant, People are a very important subject of Street Photography and this post is not intended to make this seem otherwise. 

I fully understand why people will make people the main focus their photography on the street as I do it myself from time to time.  It is very easy to make an emotional storytelling photo of some street musicians playing for a small audience for example, and if I saw that happening oh yes would I very much get that shot.

Photos with the focus on people, whether crowds, candids or street portraits makes up for 25-40% of my street photography.  Which means they are a significant subject and I will not ignore them when given the opportunity to take a shot that incorporates them.  But that other 60-75%, what does that entail?

When I am on the street my photography is focused on whatever catches my eye.  It could be people yes, but it could also be cool old architecture, signs, urban wildlife or domestic animals (IE a cat in a window), window displays, old cars, graffiti and street art, stickers, colorful fabrics, neon lights, etc. 

The list of different interesting things you will see in an urban area; whether in a small town, regional city or downtown metropolis will be vast and include more things then just people.  Street Photography is about capturing "the influence of man" but that does not mean that humans have to be in it.   

This ranges from taking architectural shots of bridges, buildings, to how nature adapts in an urban environment to traces humanity leave behind which are often symbolic; this ranges from Street Art, graffiti and stickers to objects that have been left behind in a purposeful way such as a pair of gloves, or a small collection of items arranged in a pattern on a table or sidewalk by someone.

There's another type of photography that can very easily tie into street photography and that is Liminal Space photography.  People have published entire books on this subject alone.  

Typically Liminal Space photographers will target abandoned places such as a dead boarded up mall, a dilapidated gas station that has been abandoned for years, or sneaking inside an abandoned Chuck E Cheese where the animatronics are still intact.  This falls under the umbrella of Urbex Photography, a subject I am fascinated by but rarely have done due to the legal gray area partaking in this subject of photography requires.

However you can also get Liminal Space photos from street photography and not dangle in that legal gray area and its easier then you think.  Go to a small town that may be less active in an "off" season during a slow time of day such as a Sunday Morning during "Church Time".  You'll often find vacant streets during this time that are a Liminal Space photographer's dream and can legally take photos that show a very prominent "hand of man" influence without anyone being present. 

I can recommend doing this as exercise for anyone who wants to get better at Street Photography; not only does it build up your confidence going out on a day when there is very little chance of being confronted by someone but it also trains your eyes of what to look for in a city and what is going on in the background that you might otherwise miss if you are just going around taking candid photos of people all day.

So let's move on to some examples of the "other subjects" that combined make up a higher percentage of photos for me then just taking photos of "people on the street".  If there are any people in these photos they are well in the background and blurred out, so the focus of the photo is clearly not about them (and you need to pixel peep to even see that there is people in the frame).

Street Photography Subject #1: Architecture and Liminal Space

In an urban area the first most noticeable objects are not the people but the buildings and architecture mankind has created to permanently alter the environment to suit their own needs; whether residential, office businesses and industrial facilities, entertainment or commerce or even the infrastructure for transportation itself IE roads and bridges.

This subject is very easy to adapt to street photography, and generally when people ask me "what I am taking photos of" my canned response is "I enjoy taking photos of old buildings".  

Stating that you are taking photos of old buildings is generally an acceptable answer to the intrusive question and can even be an icebreaker that will either get them to move on or start a small side conversation about the town and its history and some interesting places to go visit. 

Architecture and empty street scene photography is one of the easiest forms of street photography to capture.  You can take as long as you need to compose your shot, just make sure you pack a wide enough lens on a quiet mostly peopleless day and this type of street photography is really easy.  

People, if present become background elements and the subject become the street scene itself' the focus shifting to towering skyscrapers or an outdoor patio outside a small restaurant.  This is a solid subject to use to as an icebreaker to get into street photography with.

Street Photography Subject #2: Urban Wildlife and Urban Nature

One of the most overlooked aspects of Street and Urban photography is how Nature adapts around mankind's influence.  This ranges from trees planted in a park, crawling vines on the side of buildings, weeds and of course wildlife itself that has adapted to fully urban settings such as birds, squirrels, insects, rabbits, raccoons etc.  

Urban nature is not a subject I am able to capture on every street photography outing (as Urban Wildlife is still often wary of humans) but is one I prepare myself to be able to capture when it presents itself as it can often result in some very unique and contrasting photos.

Street Photography Subject #3: Street Art and Graffiti

Another obvious hand of man subject is Street Art.  This ranges anywhere from sculptures the city has created, to murals painted on the side of building down to grafiti that some teenagers put up to post a message.

This is a subject I want to do more of, unfortunately much of the more interesting street art and graffiti in my area is put up in higher crime areas of the major urban center that I do not feel comfortable visiting alone.  That said, I have still found plenty of it in my travels and always make a point to capture it when I see it.

Street Photography Subject #4: Signs and Stickers

Similar to street art and graffiti, signs provide a human element and a message one which has been tailored to a specific purpose such as advertising a business or event to spreading awareness of a specific subject or even just leaving a message.  Unlike Murals however signs and stickers are often more transient and easier to remove if a business goes under, an event ends or the city decides to clean up stickers placed in various places.

Signs have always had a special place for me in street photography as they were the first subject that really drew me into doing it. Yes, the first subjects I took photos of on the street were "funny looking and weird signs" and not people, as it took time to gather the courage and learn some tactics of taking candid photos of people without having a lot of confrontation to go with it. Sign photography was my gateway into street photography.

Signs do not get offended if you took a photo of them, so just like Architecture I found this as a safe anchor to fall back on when out in the street with a camera and people ask me what I am taking photos of.

Street Photography Subject #5: Vehicles

By definition "streets" are designed to move vehicles that carry drivers and passengers from bikes and cars up to busses and light rail trains. Classic and unique vehicles found on city streets can make a fun subject to work with, but even more mundane transportation such as bikes and mass transit vehicles can still make fun subjects on their own without any drivers or riders when taken at the right angles.

Street Photography Subject #6: Window and Street Displays

One of my favorite subjects for Street Photography are store displays.  These are most common in small towns and rural regional centers whether the product is behind glass or on the street for passers by to look at.  Many of these displays will often be arranged in a way where it is a work of art in of itself which is why I always stop by glass fronted businesses as I am out to take photos as I pass by.

Street Photography: Other Non-Human subjects

I could make this into a book if I were to list every possible subject to street photography that doesn't involve a person, so after giving the major subjects I will look for to anchor myself on the street that aren't people here are a few other subjects that you may encounter while doing street photography that are worth stopping for and snapping a photo of:

• Domestic Animals without a owner on a leash (such as cats in a shop window)
• Objects arranged in a pattern
• Trash and "Lost" items like gloves, glasses, etc
• Construction Zones
• Utility features (street lamps, fire hydrants etc)
• Sport/Recreational Equipment
• Flower Planters
• Wall and Door decorations

 

To sum up this entire post, I feel that people miss out on a lot if they only view Street Photography as photos that include a person as a main subject element.  By restricting yourself to just taking photos of the people who were there you are missing the opportunity to document your surroundings as they change.  

Not only will this limit you to how many photos you will take when you are out, but you will also miss a lot of different things, some quite obvious like vehicles and buildings, and some more subtle like window displays or lost items that are just waiting to have their image taken as you journal your daily life in photography.

For me, that is one of the big draws to street photography as just like travel photography you are documenting what you see from your perspective, the only difference being that with travel photography you are doing so at a new place you will likely never or rarely return to; whereas street photography can be done at a place you frequent.  

You may take a photo of a restaurant, and a few months later it is demolished and nothing but a hole in the ground.  Or you may take a photo of a window display with a Christmas theme and 6 months later its showcasing mannequins in bikinis.

For me, this constant change is what keeps me drawn to street photography.  Every time I go out even if its to a spot I've done street photography at dozens of times there is always something new and different to capture.  If I stuck to just one subject I likely would not see many of these differences, and would have less drive to return to an area I had already been to.