The genre of Street photography is truly one giant, thrilling mystery. Serving the sole purpose of reminding us to appreciate the beautifully complex nature of the lives being lived around us, and to shake us gently back to reality from time to time.

I’ve been trying to share a few street photos on my instagram when I get the chance (instagram.com/streetstories.jpg) and I’ve been blown away at how much involvement there’s been on my stories and people requesting more of this style. I don’t get a lot of free time outside of client work to wander around the streets, but I had some time yesterday after photographing an Elopement in Santa Barbara and decided to stop in Solvang on my way home. This particular trip really inspired me to start writing a few thoughts and stories of the people I meet in a format outside of Instagram.

So here is Blog Post One: Solvang, CA.

I spent a couple hours wandering around Solvang yesterday with my new Fujifilm XT30 to get an idea of how the camera shoots and had a blast doing it. I’ve been a Fuij fan for almost 8 years now since I bought my first X series camera and the rangefinder style has really reignited my passion for Street Photography. I’m able to be much more discreet than I could be with my bulky Canon 5D MKiii and the manual dials make the shooting experience feel more akin to film. I find that subjects are not as intimidated by a smaller, “less professional” looking camera.

You meet all kinds of people and scenarios in street photography, but some photos I feel much deeper than others. The shot above was one of those. The second I turned the corner and saw this man in a hat with his head hung, the artist in me felt excited— the shapes, the contrast— I knew it would make for a great photo. If you’ve ever set out in search of something abstract until you see it—you know the excitement well. The thrill of stumbling upon “the shot”. I checked my camera settings and started shooting quietly from my hip as I walked toward him. When I got closer he noticed my camera and looked right at me. I smiled and asked if it was okay that I took his photo, explaining the nature of candid moments. He nodded in agreement and told me the photos looked great and said I was welcome to keep them and continue shooting. As we started talking though, I heard such a sadness in his voice. It broke my heart. The whole drive home I wondered what his story was. I couldn’t shake the heavy feeling and I just sat in silence wondering about him. Why was he all alone? Why his voice was so weak and pained. His words were so slow and empty sounding. Should I have done more to help him or cheer him up? I felt guilty knowing that if it wasn’t for the camera in my hands I probably wouldn’t have even noticed or interacted with him at all. I would’ve been completely unaware and unaffected by whatever hurt he was suffering silently. He seemed so kind in our brief interaction. I don’t know why the world is so cruel to some or why his eyes held so much sadness as he sat there alone and still on that bench, but it hurt me to see it and to feel his heartache.

I realized all over again with this experience that every single person we pass on the street has a completely different set of worries and challenges. Complex days intricately woven with all kinds of happenings. A whole range of emotions. Fears and hopes and dreams and talents and passions we have no idea of. Losses that have rearranged the way they see the world. Of course I’m logically always aware of this fact, but sometimes someone on the other side of my camera shakes me enough to makes me really feel it all over again. For a moment on that drive home I battled internally with myself over the age-old ethical question every street or documentary photographer asks themselves at some point.

Do I have the right to take these photos? Does it reduce his very real experience to share a quick snapshot I took as a complete stranger?

In this case I had shown him the pictures and he gave me his full blessing, yet I still battled with myself. Could I share this set of photos? They felt so heavy because I related to this man’s pain and loneliness. But ultimately that’s what street photography is all about. It’s about relating. It’s unfiltered, raw real life. It’s a shared human experience.

Sometimes it’s nothing more than visually appealing shapes and smiling faces captured in the right light. But sometimes it’s poverty or loneliness or disaster. The reverence of true documentary photography to me is in recognizing and committing to sharing all of it, the good the bad and the ugly. The true human experience is anything but posed or glamorous. We consume so much curated content every day from a culture that trites positivity. Photoshopped models, scripted scenes, light set to just the right angle to be flattering and tell only the story we choose. But what a surreal thing to be able to capture and hold in your hands a small visual piece of history exactly the way it is, with all the light and darkness tangled and meshed together. The honest, untouched moments of a stranger on the street. A single slide in a long series of happenings held up to the light to be observed; otherwise untold and lost to time.

Real life is more dynamic than anything scripted could ever be because these photos don’t begin and end with the click of the shutter. We only got to see a small sliver of each precious history, but the people in these images will keep on living out their stories long after the camera is gone. We’re allowed only to look onto this brief blip of time…these incredibly short snapshot previews of the experiences happening around us. The homeless person sleeping on a cold street that we skirt past to avoid eye contact, the blurred couple fighting at the bus stop as you drive past, the tired looking young woman that sold you movie tickets at the theater, the old man in line behind you buying groceries that keeps checking his wallet. We have so many glimpses into strangers’ lives, but how often do we stop to see them? To consider who they are or what their stories could be?

The genre of Street photography is truly one giant, thrilling mystery. Serving the sole purpose of reminding us to appreciate the beautifully complex nature of the lives being lived around us, and to shake us gently back to reality from time to time.

Every image holds a great secret that will remain a mystery to both me, the photographer, and you, the viewer…. Who the subject is and how will their story continue?

The Heart of Street Photography - Solvang, CA