10 Things Garry Winogrand Can Teach You About Street Photography by Eric Kim

I found the link to this blog by street photographer Eric Kim via @BlurbBooks on Twitter. The piece is full of great information about Garry Winogrand and I find the personal, enthusiastic tone refreshing - Kim frequently mentions in the article how studying Winongrand has influenced and informed his own photographic practice and methods. The blog also provides lots of different suggestions for further research. At the time I read this I was researching workflow and thinking a great deal about my own ways of working and a number of points resonated with me.

Something that has stayed with me about Garry Winogrand for many years is a famous quote of his, "I photograph to see what the world looks like in photographs." I think I read this before I  was consciously aware of Winogrand's work and it is a simple sentence that I keep mulling round in my mind and often use as something to spur me on and inspire me. On one level the sentence can be read as a flippant aside, I believe though the truth is much more than that. For me it suggests the self doubt a photographer can face and confronts critical questions such as 'why did you photograph that?' It is a rebuke to such statements and asserts the right of the photographer to work as they wish - it says 'if you don't get what I do why should I explain?' I often feel uncertain about what I should be photographing and the Winongrand's words spur me on not to overthink but to get out and do - the words give me such a strong sense of his drive and energy. 

In his article Kim states that a conservative estimate of how many photographs Winogrand took in his lifetime is over 5 million. (He does concede that there is some conjecture about this however with a commenter challenging that the true figure is between 1-1.25 million, without getting drawn on this he recognises that even this lower figure means Winogrand took a great number of photographs.) Something I am becoming increasingly aware of is that I do not shoot enough, I tend to have periods high activity punctuated by days or weeks when I do not pick up the camera. I have thought long and hard about why this is and there are many reasons; often I have a sense of self doubt or I feel unsure about what I should be shooting, if I do not feel in the mood for taking photographs I tend not to, I feel guilty if I am taking photographs for 'fun' rather than for the course are a few reasons. While the 455 images a day Winogrand took is somewhat on the extreme side maybe if I set myself the target of going out to take photographs twice a week that would be a more realistic approach. Again I go back to the previously mentioned quote - Winongrand seems to be telling me to put aside all these doubts and just get on with taking photographs.

Of course the problem remains of how to edit and select all the images taken, Winongrand had had a radical solution to this - he never processed his film straight away but waited up to two years believing he needed to almost forget having shot the pictures. He felt that emotion was the enemy of good selection and that he could be influenced by the way he felt on a particular day rather than the strength of a particular image: "You make better choices if you approach your contact sheets cold, separating the editing from the picture taking as much as possible." I recognise this as being true - I often struggle with editing my images because I make too many selects and therefore take too much time reviewing and processing. I need to find ways to be more decisive - it strikes me that Winongrand was extremely confident in which images to select and I guess this is something I will develop too over time. Still the doubt remains that I might not make the correct selections so I include images that I really know are not working - I need to find a way to divorce my emotion as Winongrand did.

Kim's blog contains other similar articles about other photographers that interest and have influenced him such as William Eggleston, Henri-Cartier Bresson, Walker Evans and Robert Frank. All photographers that also interest me so I will spend time reading further. I am beginning to realise that looking at photographers work alone is not enough but understanding there ways of working is also very important - hopefully this will help me develop my own strategies and ultimately help me find my own photographic voice.

Exercise 2: Your Own Workflow 2

The brief for this exercise requires an approach that is the opposite of project 1: instead of conducting a photo shoot in a controlled environment in a planned way the aim is for a shooting assignment that is unstructured and open ended. A possible example given in the brief is street photography and this is a format I decided to use straight away. I have an interest in street photography, particularly candid shots, but rarely set out with the specific aim of taking street photographs. A lot of my photography fits around my family commitments, for example I may take a couple of candid shots when I am out and about with my children. This alleviates any pressure about pointing my camera at people I do not know but also works as a kind of security blanket which prevents me from developing my confidence.

For this exercise I decided to head into Durham city which is about 15 miles from my home. I chose Durham because the city centre is compact yet diverse in terms of locations. Durham also attracts a large number of tourists so I knew it would not be unusual for someone to be taking pictures and I would therefore feel comfortable walking around with my camera. I would only have a short amount of time (around an hour) to take the pictures as I needed to be back home, I decided to use only one lens for the shoot - a 24-70mm zoom, however I quickly doubted whether this was the best choice as the lens is quite large - perhaps the much more compact and less obtrusive 50mm lens would have been a better choice. The discipline of using a fixed focal length could also have been a benefit. My initial feelings when I took out my camera were a little unexpected, I felt distinctly uncomfortable and uncertain about what to photograph. I realised how rarely I put myself in this sort of position where my sole purpose is to take photographs, even when taking pictures that did not contain people I felt ill at ease.

My approach was extremely free form - I simply walked around the city centre taking pictures of anything that caught my eye. The exercise brief suggests editing images on the go for this project but I decided not to do this as my experience is that images can often look stronger on the cameras LCD than on the computer and conversely images which do not seem worthwhile can be found to have merit when downloaded onto the computer. With plenty of space on my memory card I felt no need to delete images as I shot, also, the process of reviewing pictures on the go would potentially spoil the pace of the shoot. My nervousness meant that I did not hang around in a particular location for long and the majority of my images have a 'snatched' quality about them. Potentially I would have benefited from staying longer in one location and exploring the opportunities. I also felt pressured by time, an hour seems like a lot of time to spend on a shoot until you are actually in the position of taking the pictures. I felt like I was just starting to get into a rhythm with the shoot by the time it had come to an end, I was also doubtful that I had been able to capture anything worthwhile. Towards the end of the shoot I employed a couple of strategies which I think with further work could have yielded results. Firstly, I stood on Framwellgate bridge which is the main pedestrian bridge through the city - I pretended to be taking pictures of the river Wear with the Cathedral and Castle in the background when I was really using these as background to my candid shots. Secondly, I took photographs around the statue of Charles Stewart on horseback in the market square. This is a busy area of the city with lots of movement and people interacting so I knew it would be a good place for candid shots.

At the end of the shoot I had taken 61 pictures. I knew that I would have little of merit from the shoot but felt I had learned a lot from the experience. Firstly that I am not as confident at street photography as I had thought and secondly that I simply do not get out with my camera enough. I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed the process of simply getting out and taking pictures and that too often it is my self doubt that means I do not get out more. I need to be less worried about failing and more willing just to get out experiment and enjoy photography in general.

Selections

I have discussed my process for selecting images at length in my write up for exercise one so will not repeat myself here. I used the same process for choosing the pictures with the aim of arriving at two selections.

My initial thoughts of the pictures were that they were clearly rushed - a number of images suffered from camera shake which resulted from me not spending enough time composing and not being careless with my choice of camera settings. After my first review I flagged 15 images as picks for further review and deselected 3.

Final selects:

My initial thoughts from my review of the 15 images I had chosen as picks was that I did not really like any of them! I left a couple of weeks between my initial review and selection before coming back to them but found myself feeling the same way - I was struck with a feeling that the images have no purpose. I guess this is the result of having no agenda for the shoot, the advantage of this is that I could have captured a moment that I could never have prepared for, and if I had solid and immovable objectives this may not have happened. The truth however is that nothing I had taken fit that criteria which leads me to the conclusion that for me having an objective is something I need - the trick I assume is working with some sort of purpose while remaining flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances.

An example of an image I visualised much more successfully in my mind than I managed to capture is this:

When I took this picture I was drawn by the reflection of Durham Cathedral in the window of the bar, I thought the reflection contrasting with the modern building and the ladies enjoying a drink within would make an interesting juxtaposition of old versus new Durham. My aim was to show how Durham is now a bright, modern cosmopolitan city while still retaining its historic routes. I also thought that the interplay between the reflection and the transparency of the glass would be visually interesting. I do not know whether the image I previsualised is possible from the various elements here, but I do know I came nowhere near capturing what I imagined. Potentially if I had spent more time composing the shot so attention is concentrated on the windows and been more careful with my exposure settings the image would be more successful. This is an example of a situation where I needed to slow down and think about what I was doing before pressing the shutter and also one where I should have experimented more and taken a number of shots of the scene.

Final Choices:

Despite not being happy with the images I produced for this exercise I have chosen 2 pictures which I think show ideas which can be explored further:

24-70mm f2.8 lens @ 70mm, ISO 200, 1/60 sec, f9.5

For this image I was experimenting looking through the viewfinder from my high vantage point focusing my composition around the many triangles created in the frame when the two figures entered the scene. Their inclusion adds a point of interest to the image would otherwise be lacking. I like the purposeful way they are moving through the which adds a dynamism that is accentuated by the many diagonal lines, there is also a voyeuristic feel to the image due to the high viewpoint and the feeling the camera is peeking over the wall in the foreground which is a little unsettling. I am unsure as to whether the foreground being out of focus helps or detracts attention from the image - perhaps being a little more in focus while still being blurred would be more successful?

24-70mm f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 400, 1/750 sec, f8

The most successful of my 'pretend to be photographing the Cathedral' shots! I like the way this image is bookmarked by the two purposely moving characters at either side of the central figures - their opposing directions also add an element of tension. The figures are also arranged in a pleasing diagonal, the Cathedral in the background provides a sense of location but is sufficiently obscured to not dominate the composition.

Conclusions

The main thing I have taken from this exercise is a better understanding of where I am at currently as a photographer rather than having produced a set of images I am happy with. Indeed, the process of having to look closely at pictures I would probably have discarded at first glance has been an interesting one. Firstly, I have learned that I am not as confident at street photography as I first thought. This exercise has made me recognise that the majority of my photography happens alongside other things I am doing in my life. For example, if I am on a family day out I will likely capture a few candid shots during the course of the day. Subconsciously being with my family (and therefore having a legitimate reason to be taking photographs) provides me a kind of confidence - before completing this exercise I would have said I am confident pointing the camera at strangers in the street but I can now see this is not the case. I also realise that this type of freeform photography probably benefits from exploring a particular area in more detail. I think if I had stuck with taking photographs on Framwellgate bridge longer I would have netted some better results. Lastly, I think I am someone who needs to be working towards a specific brief to be able to produce results. By that I mean that pursuing projects or series' of photographs is something I should pursue further - currently one of my main barriers to taking photographs is one of self doubt about the purpose of my photography. The main area I seem to be developing at the moment is finding excuses not to go out and take photographs, not having enough time, not feeling like it/being in the right frame of mind etc. etc. The biggest challenge I face currently is managing my time effectively, perhaps breaking goals down into manageable objectives could be a strategy. I also need to manage my self doubts and worry less about producing work I am unhappy with - the only way I am going to progress is through producing work , analysing whether it is successful or not and in turn learning from this.