Revisiting the Logic of Past Street Photography

Past Logic

As I grow as an artist, my logic changes. What was once awful now has potential. The disregarded now have an audience.

This is something I've come to know over the past 30 years of being a street photographer. First, it came as I scoured through pages of old negatives. I remember thinking clearly that there's a shot in here somewhere, only to find several images of which I had not seen the quality before. With the advent of digital technology and the possibility of hundreds of shots, as opposed to dozens, the chances of a ‘found’ image increased. Not long after digital came Adobe Lightroom. Designed for editing, its most significant feature was the ability to catalogue huge libraries of images in various ways.

This has given photographers the ability to review their past work by various criteria. This is great for finding something specific. An image shot five years ago on camera A with lens B in month C is the intended purpose, but what if you didn’t have a specific image in mind? What if I just want to see the photos I shot last July, or July 2009? It is as simple as a few clicks.

Being able to scroll through past work in such a way can provide insight into one’s growth, or lack thereof. It can also give a glimpse of where you came from. What was I thinking with this composition, edit, or colour grade? It can be a good thing.

A found image that went unpublished.

Revelation of Logic

This week, I was looking for an older image I had taken commercially of someone who had passed years before. The image was required to honour their life. I didn't want to disappoint, but I only had a year to work with. Tens of thousands of photos were taken, so I started going through the year. I could have narrowed the search a little more, but I quickly became enthralled looking at my past work, from commercial to creative and family, all mixed together.

I found the image I was looking for within minutes. I kept scrolling, flagging, editing and saving images for hours. I could not believe the number of good shots was sitting on the hard drive. Found work is terrific, but the revelation of past logic is what got me. Let me explain.

At this point in my career, I was driven to share the best of the best, without taking time to consider what to do with the good or the great images. There was no project for them. In a sense, they had served no purpose until now. They had been culled, edited and for the most part ready to share, waiting their turn for years.

Over that period, I had matured and could now see a great deal of worth in these unshared and unseen images. Adding them to the mix of pictures set to go to social media goes without saying, the real value is what can be learned from them. Why did I use image A instead of image B? Why is this image in colour, but all the others in black and white? Question after question came as I scrolled through all the photos.

Each photo presented a different and fascinating set of questions. Answering them with the present self vs past self was an ideal exercise for the creative mind. What did this exercise reveal? Five years ago, I was ahead of where I am now. Fundamentally speaking, my recent photos and past images are pretty similar, but I've fallen behind in my shooting style.

Five years ago, I had a voracious appetite for shooting, not in volume, but fearless in my approach. I went after it. I can see that in the collection of images, I was after a particular shot and kept going until I got it. Perhaps I am more efficient now and can get something I want with less effort. Efficiency comes at a cost. I have the image I want, but I don’t have the supplemental photos that helped me get there. Those pictures represent a choice; one is just a little better than the other. I lost that choice in an attempt to be a more efficient artist. Art is the very definition of inefficiency.

A found image that went unpublished.

New Logic

It can be easy to get caught up in oneself. A simple idea can overwhelm our creativity with little to notice. We are still creating; we are happy with our creations, but are we getting the most out of our creative selves?

Taking the time to consider past logic and compare it to my current thought process has reminded me that art is a fight. A fight to create, a fight to grow, a fight to share, a fight to have a voice and have it heard. There is no room for efficiency in my art. The attack is what propels my growth. It may not be elegant or romantic in nature, but it’s true.

The truth is what street photography is.

A found image that went unpublished.