Over the past few years, I have been studying street photography, its types and the impact of a creative approach on the perception of the surrounding reality. I've been honing the spotted principle for a long time. In a month, I decided to gallop through the main branches of the street genres and show how the picture is changing.
And so, let me remind you of the concepts that I use in street photography.
In my own classification, there are three types, three different worlds, three moods in the street: reportage (aesthetic), spotted and contrasting.
Reportage street is a type of street photography where the picture is as aesthetic as possible and suitable for publication in the media.
A spotted street is an unaesthetic, often abstract picture, where the main principle is the maximum accumulation of objects and elements. Spotted or compressed – because from afar or out of focus, the image looks like a collection of spots. There is a certain connection with graphics.
Contrasting street – street scenes with shadows and geometric elements. It can be confused with mottled due to the occurrence of mottled shadows or a jumble of details.
The main principle of a contrasting street is to fit a person into a formalistic plot. It also intersects with graphics and minimalism.
These types of streets differ not only in their metaphysical component, but also in their physics.
If you can use any lens from the widest angle to the body for reportage and contrast, then spotting is done only on a telephoto lens with a tightly closed aperture.
At first, I myself confused the concepts of spotted and contrasting streets.
All of these genre-worlds may overlap in plot, but they may not overlap in mood.
I can make a reportage picture on the wave of the spotted street, but if I'm on this frequency, then I don't want to jump to another one.
In theory, you can take a camera and walk down the street, shooting along the way everything that catches your eye.
But if I came out with the desire to create spotted compressed plots with lots of details in the frame, then I don't want aesthetics anymore.
It's a mindset that's backed up by a desire, an idea.
This is the frequency, the creative wave. It may persist for some time.
And then all of a sudden I want aesthetically pleasing, beautiful reportage pictures with people – this is a different wave, frequency, world, genre, where I never want to make some kind of frame with piles.
And let me clarify once again: there are no rigid frames and clear boundaries, but a series of shots will clearly show a creative approach.
To be continued..