Although I enjoy landscape photography, my forte, ever since I started photography as a teenager in the 1960s, has been candid work in city streets. My hero was and still is Henri Cartier-Bresson who used a small camera to shoot arresting images at what he described as the “decisive moment” and while “on the run” (“à la sauvette” in his native French).
I do not “lie in wait” like a hunter after game, but keep moving while shooting, through the streets and often “from the hip.” I shoot whatever grabs my attention, especially images that depict some aspect of the human condition. People’s expressions change by the second, and I choose moments when they express emotion, be it happy or sad, determined or wistful, alone or in a group. Owing to increased sensitivities to candid photography, even when in public places, I often choose not to publish certain of my street photographs until they are at least 5 years old.
When editing, I seek images that clearly delineate the subject, but in contexts that complement (or deliberately clash with) that subject. In post-processing I aim to present interesting compositions with high technical quality, while recognizing some inevitable compromise given the rapid, almost chaotic nature of working in busy streets.
Since I began, I’ve preferred small, sharp lenses, especially Leica or Zeiss, on what were described as rangefinder cameras, and now, with digital, are called mirrorless. During the last five years, Covid has raised its ugly head and retreated somewhat. This has been evident, of course, in what I’ve seen in the streets.
Taking arresting street pictures that look good on electronic screens is rewarding, but, for me, the real reward lies in producing high quality prints for wall display. I began darkroom printing as a teenager, switched to color in the 1980s and about fifteen years ago was fortunate to receive instruction in digital printing (and Adobe Lightroom) from a master, George DeWolfe. I make my own digital prints using archival materials, and have Type-C (darkroom) laser prints made for me at superior labs in London and San Francisco.
