INSPIRATION
Anywhere Street
STREET LIFE
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY AWAY FROM THE METROPOLIS
It’s easy to associate street photography with famous cities like New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Paris because they lure us in with myriads of cultures, stories, flavours, contrasts, and photographic opportunities. There’s a long lineage of street photographers associated with these place – Bruce Gilden, Weegee and Helen Levitt in New York, Tatsuo Suzuki in Tokyo, Eugène Atget and Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris… the list goes on.
Arguably, it’s simpler to be a street photographer in a big city, packed with people too busy to notice you or your camera. As Josh Ethan Johnson says in an interview about his latest production, Wrong Side of the Lens, photographers are invisible in the big cities, either because no one has time for them or because people are so used to seeing photographers on the streets that they fail to notice them.
However, photographing a metropolis is not the only way to establish oneself as a street photographer. In the context of our current theme, Street Life, we make a point of showing you how street photographers from around the world find success and inspiration in shooting in their own countries and hometowns, large or small. After all, street photography is about people and their stories, both within reach anywhere human communities exist.
Banner image © Betty Goh
SINGAPORE:
BETTY GOH
Images © Betty Goh from her Instagram grid. See more at www.bettygohphotography.com and @betty_goh_photography
Betty Goh has captured the photography world’s attention with her photos depicting Singapore’s urban life. Her works have been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Hamburg, but she has never as yet turned the lens to something other than her home city.
Goh owns her success story to the ability to capture the soul of the place in an authentic manner. She uses elaborate compositions that include reflections, juxtapositions, multiple layers, and a very personal approach to shadows and highlights. But what’s more important is that she blends in perfectly. The soul of the city is the expression of her own soul. She is at home in Singapore and can easily navigate the ebb and flow of emotions and moods that this marvelous place has to offer.
BLUGARIA:
LUIBOMIR SKUMOV
Images © Luibomir Skumov from his Instagram grid. See more at @liubomirskumov
Artists coming from Eastern European countries often feel the burden of a certain expectation to focus on the damaged side of their countries. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the West became interested in how communism molded this part of the world. Artists could largely only emerge from the unknown if they chose to focus on this particular theme. But street photographer Liubomir Skumov, born and raised in Bulgaria, in a small town on the Black Sea coast, proves an exception to the rule.
Inspired by Vivian Meyer, Skumov photographs his hometown and the surrounding area with candor and love. He emphasizes traditions and local colors, resilience and lifestyle, and all the range of human emotions. The photographer embraces composition in a very personal manner, playing with accents of texture and contrast like no other. He allows himself to explore the world freely and adds the salty Bulgarian air from home to any photo he takes.
SOUTH AFRICA:
LONDEKA THABETHE
Images © Londeka Thabeth from her Instagram grid. See more at @londeka
Born in a small town in South Africa, Estcourt, KwaZulu Natal, Londeka Thabethe is a photographer with multiple interests. She doesn’t limit herself to street photography, although her street photos depicting Estcourt and Johannesburg’s life have been featured in major publications. Thabethe gives equal attention to portraiture, documentary, and fashion photography. She also experiments with black and white and color aesthetics, film and digital mediums, as well as medium format photography.
Thabethe’s photos have a particular candor and an organic feel. Whether candid or posed, they always have a natural background that says a lot about her home country. And the quality of natural light, perhaps unique to this part of the world, adds a new dimension to her compositions.
MEXICO:
ALEX COGHE
Images © Alex Coghe from his Instagram grid. See more at www.alexcoghe.com and @alex_street_photographer
“Street photography is my jam—it’s where I find solace, where I find poetry in the mundane.” – Alex Coghe
The streets of Mexico City provide enough subjects for photographer Alex Coghe to fill a lifetime with street photography. Born and formed as a photojournalist in Italy, Coghe wandered on the Italian streets and American landscapes to find a home in Mexico City. He says street photography became a lifestyle and never parts with his camera, not even when he buys groceries.
His purpose is to make people stop and notice the issues and challenges we face. Coghe uses storytelling to infuse his photographs with meaning and transform them into manifests for change. As for an aesthetic, whatever serves the purpose best goes. It may be artful black and white photos or vibrant color ones; carefully poised compositions or snapshots; meaningful large negative space or detailed, busy frames. He may photograph up close or step back from the scene. Technique and composition are just tools to reach his purpose.
NORWAY:
EVA BRODTKORB
Images © Eva Brodtkorb from her Instagram grid. See more at www.evabrodtkorb.com and @evabrodtkorb_photography
Eva Brodtkorb was born in a small town in Norway and now lives in the capital, Oslo. She defines her relationship with street photography as a journey that has taken her to “different places throughout the years, both in geography and in expression.” Along the way, Brodtkorb has come to peace with her terms and perspectives. She doesn’t need another city than Oslo to transform her inner thoughts into an artistic expression.
Similar to other street photographers, Brodtkorb’s style is versatile and fluid. Her expression changes with the scenery and easily flows from graphic black and white to smooth soft colors. Preferring minimalist compositions, she treats colors as subjects, making them shine and take the main stage. But regardless of the aesthetic, her street photos are surprising and catchy and reveal a face of the city no one else can see so accurately.
From Norway to Bulgaria to South Africa, from Mexico to Singapore, street photographers infuse their work with love for their home or adoptive cities. Regardless of how large or busy a place is, when you have an open heart to listen to its stories and give something back, you are in the right place for your next amazing street shot.
Created with ❤️
Words by Monica Radulescu
Photography © the author.
