hairballOne

When we get better at photography, particularly street photography, what is the core skill that we are actually building? Certainly, we need to learn how to use the photographer’s tools: the camera, the lens, lighting, the usage of film or application of digital editing, and so on. And of course, the exact tools of the trade vary. What is crucial for one photographer is useless for another. However, I would argue there is one universal skill that comprises the foundation of photography: perception. The fundamental aspect of what we do is simply put as seeing. It is this ability which we need to learn, to improve, and to sharpen in order to get better at photography. What is Seeing? First and foremost, street photography happens in the mind, not in the camera. By seeing, I’m referring to your ability to look at the world and make sense of it through geometry, color, semiotics, and narrative. Through these, and other, aspects we all make different interpretations of what we experience