Appreciating The Everyday
Embracing Street Photography
Before I pivoted to street photography, I was exclusively shooting in black and white. I love the works of Irving Penn, Lilian Bassman, and Rodney Smith and had this crazy vision in my head of doing commercial and/or editorial work similar to their aesthetic. That was my dream. Unfortunately, just as I was starting out, a downturn in the economy in the early 2000s made the cost of renting a studio and the darkroom unsustainable. I made a painful decision to let them go. My debt was piling up so I took a full-time job in the city to fix my financial situation.
I lost my drive and felt depressed about my photography. Quitting was never an option but I had no idea what was next. Tina gave some great suggestions when I voiced my frustration to her.
“How about shooting in color?”
“Why don’t you try street photography?”
When I brought up the issue of time, she countered, “How about photographing in small increments?”
I have to be honest. I am very stubborn when it comes to seismic changes, although I am better at it now than I used to be. Photographing exclusively in black in white for many years was difficult to set aside. Her suggestions took time to marinate in my psyche. Frustration dragged on until I realized my limited mindset hindered my ability to move forward and make new pictures. I had to evolve and adapt. Tony Robbins once said that making the choice is instant. It’s getting to the point of making the choice that takes longer.
The pictures started to emerge once I made the decision to try something different. I reframed my thoughts from “there is no time” to “there is time in between.” That simple switch made all the difference in the world. Focusing on what I had instead of what was missing empowered me. I took every opportunity to use the hour before my work shift started, the 30-minute lunch break, or the hour and a half after clocking out to search for interesting moments in the streets. Even when I came away from these sessions empty-handed, it didn’t matter as long as I had my camera and I spent the time noticing. The more I noticed, the more my appreciation grew for the beauty of the everyday.
Cisco, my cousin (actually my nephew but we’re too close in age so it’s easier to refer to him as a cousin), first introduced me to street photography when we were both students at Brooks Institute. We poured through monographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Alex Webb together at the library. Learning to see in color was a whole different ballgame so I revisited and referenced their work once I decided to go in this direction I also studied a few more photographers such as Saul Leiter, Gary Winogrand, and Joel Meyerowitz.
I made so many mistakes and failed countless times. Still, I kept at it. Street photography became a lifeline. Walking the streets with my camera fed my soul. Finally, I found a way for life and photography to co-exist It was no longer an “either/or” but an “and.”
In 2019, I changed jobs My new route, a 20-minute walk to the BART station, was sketchy and I didn’t feel comfortable whipping out my camera. I rarely did any street photography that year. Then Covid 19 and the lockdown in 2020 completely changed the city. Unfortunately, brazen thefts targeting camera gear increased and the rise of Asian hate crimes has largely kept me off the streets.
In the meantime, I’ll be pulling street images from my archive and posting them here on Sundays with Stella from time to time.
Street Photography Inspiration
I highly recommend having a look at Women in Street on Instagram. Seriously, there are so many talented women from diverse backgrounds photographing their own corner of the world. It’s one of my favorite IG accounts on my feed.
On Flipboard, I curated a storyboard on Women Street Photographers showcasing not only the pioneers but also modern practitioners of the genre. Have a look!
I loved these words - "Focusing on what I had instead of what was missing empowered me." and "The more I noticed, the more my appreciation grew for the beauty of the everyday. " Very true in so many ways. Thank you.