My definition of Street Photography #2 : Distortion of the reality. 8


Mars 2018.

 

(English version at the bottom of the page)

 

Dans cette deuxième partie, je vais aborder une chose essentielle à mes yeux. Les différences entre photojournalisme, photographie documentaire et photographie de rue. D’ailleurs quand on parle de Street Photography et qu’on me demande de citer quelques photographes célèbres je cite souvent Henri-Cartier Bresson, Marc Riboud et Robert Capa. Si on me demandait de citer quelques noms de photojournalistes, j’aurai citer les mêmes noms… Si étonnant que ça ?

 

Février 2018.

 

  • Différence entre Photojournalisme et Photographie de Rue.

 

Beaucoup de personnes confondent ces deux termes. Mais même si des passerelles existent entre ces deux pratiques elles n’ont absolument pas la même finalité. Le photojournaliste a cette contrainte de retranscrire le plus fidèlement possible une époque ou un évènement. Ce sont les garants visuels de notre histoire. Le photojournaliste a une éthique et une responsabilité. Celle de rapporter la vérité. Le street photographer lui ne montre pas la réalité, mais son interprétation. Dans les deux cas et c’est valable pour la photographie d’une manière générale, il y a le cadre de la photo prise. On décide ce qu’on va mettre dans le cadre et bien sûr, le plus important à mes yeux, ce qu’on va soustraire du cadre. C’est ce qui définira la photo. Un très bon photographe de rue est pour moi un très bon menteur. Nous ne montrons pas la réalité, mais notre interprétation de la scène qui se passe devant nous. Et c’est très facile de suggérer les choses en ne montrant pas l’intégralité de la scène. Au contraire, le photojournaliste lui, doit donner suffisamment d’informations pour comprendre ce qui se passe. Il n’y a pas de place à interprétation. C’est la réalité qui est rapportée et rien d’autre. 

 

Février 2018.

 

  • Différence entre Photographie documentaire et Photo de rue.

 

La photographie documentaire pourrait s’apparenter au photojournalisme au premier abord. Cependant, le photojournaliste travaille pour des agences de presse et ses photos ont pour but d’être montrées rapidement car elles sont relatives à un moment qui a été documenté. La photographie documentaire, n’a pas cette urgence. Elle peut se faire sur une durée plus longue. Je dis souvent que je documente les rues de ma ville au travers de mes photos. Est-ce vraiment le cas ? En effet, certaines de mes photos montreront à quoi ressemblait Aix-en-Provence à une époque. Est-ce que ça suffit pour dire que c’est de la photo documentaire ? Je n’en suis pas sûr … La photographie de rue est beaucoup trop subjective pour être assimilée à de la photo documentaire qui elle, se doit d’être objective. Une autre différence fondamentale est le fait que le photographe de rue a un travail aléatoire. C’est un observateur attentif dans la rue qui réagit à la rue et travaille de manière spontanée. Ce qui est totalement différent du travail de documentaire qui lui se focalise sur le sujet qu’il documente.

 

Mars 2018.

 

  • Distorsion de la réalité.

 

La photographie de rue ne montre à aucun moment la réalité, mais une distorsion de la scène qui se passe devant nous. Nous construisons notre propre version de la réalité en décidant ce que nous allons mettre dans le cadre. On agit un peu comme “un metteur en scène”. Mis à part les protagonistes que nous ne maîtrisons pas, pour le reste, nous agissons sur le rythme (quand nous allons appuyer sur le déclencheur), l’exposition (même si la lumière nous est imposée), le choix du point de vue pour construire une histoire avec ce qui est mis à notre disposition. On ne peut donc pas parler de retranscription de la réalité, mais bien d’une distorsion. Ça va au delà d’une interprétation de la scène qui se joue devant nous. Je ne veux pas dire que ce que je photographie est “faux”, mais je dis simplement que c’est un point de vue que je présente avec ma photo. Ce point de vue a été influencé par mes choix de lors du déclenchement et surtout par mon état d’esprit lors de ce moment. 

 

Mars 2018.

 

Il arrive néanmoins que les frontières se brouillent entre photojournalisme, photo documentaire et photographie de rue. Ce ne sont pas des pratiques cloisonnées, il n’y a qu’à regarder les exemples de photographes que j’ai cité au début de ce Blog. Mais je pense qu’il est important de savoir exactement de quoi on parle. Personnellement, je fais de la photographie de rue et de temps en temps de la photographie documentaire. Mais définitivement c’est dans la photographie de rue que je me sens le plus à l’aise. J’aime cette liberté de pouvoir photographier ce que je veux en racontant mes propres histoires. 

 

 

 

~ o ~

 

 

My definition of Street Photography #2 : Distortion of the reality.

 

 

March 2018.

 

In this second part, I will talk about something essential to my eyes. The differences between photojournalism, documentary photography and street photography. Moreover, when we talk about Street Photography and I’m asked to name some famous ones, I often quote Henri-Cartier Bresson, Marc Riboud and Robert Capa. If I were asked to name a few names of photojournalists, I would have quoted the same names … So surprising ?

 

February 2018.

 

 

  • Difference between Photojournalism and Street Photography.

 

Many people confuse these two terms. But even if bridges exist between these two practices they have absolutely not the same purpose. The photojournalist has this constraint to transcribe as faithfully as possible a time or an event. They are the visual guarantors of our history. The photojournalist has an ethic and responsibility. That of reporting the truth. The street photographer does not show the reality, but his interpretation. In both cases and this is valid for photography in general, there is the frame of the photo taken. We decide what we will put in the frame and of course, the most important to me, what we will substract from the frame. That’s what will define the photo. A very good street photographer is for me a very good liar. We do not show the reality, but our interpretation of the scene that is happening in front of us. And it’s very easy to suggest things by not showing the entire scene. On the contrary, the photojournalist him, must give enough information to understand what is happening. There is no room for interpretation. It is the reality that is reported and nothing else.

 

February 2018.

 

  • Difference between Documentary Photography and Street Photography.

 

Documentary photography could be akin to photojournalism at first sight. However, the photojournalist works for agencies and his photos are meant to be shown quickly because they relate to a moment that has been documented. Documentary photography does not have this urgency. It can be done over a longer period. I often say that I document the streets of my city through my photos. Is this really the case ? Indeed, some of my photos will show what Aix-en-Provence looked like at one time. Is that enough to say that it’s documentary photography ? I’m not sure … Street photography is much too subjective to be likened to documentary photography, which must be objective. Another fundamental difference is the fact that the street photographer has a more random approach. He is an attentive observer in the street who reacts to the street and works spontaneously. This is totally different from the documentary work that focuses on the subject he is documenting.

 

March 2018.

 

  • Distortion of the reality.

 

Street photography shows no reality at all, but a distortion of the scene that is happening in front of us. We build our own version of reality by deciding what we will put in the frame. We act a little like a “director”. Apart from the protagonists that we do not control, for the rest, we act on the rhythm (when we will press the shutter), the exposure (even if the light is imposed on us), the choice of the point of view to build a story with what is available to us. So we can not talk about transcribing reality, but about distortion. It goes beyond an interpretation of the scene happening in front of us. I do not mean that what I photograph is “fake”, but I just say it’s a point of view that I present with my photo. This point of view was influenced by my choices when triggering and especially by my mood at this time.

 

March 2018.

 

However, borders may be blurred between photojournalism, documentary photography and street photography. These are not compartmentalized practices, just look at the examples of photographers I mentioned at the beginning of this Blog. But I think it’s important to know exactly what we’re talking about. Personally, I do street photography and from time to time documentary photography. But definitely in street photography that I feel most comfortable. I like this freedom to be able to photograph what I want by telling my own stories.

 

 

 

 

 

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8 thoughts on “My definition of Street Photography #2 : Distortion of the reality.

  • John+Harper

    Excellent article Jeff, accompanying images too.
    You’ve certainly set yourself s tough task with the definition of Street Photography. Like many of my own photos that never see the light of day, the lines between Documentary and Street, are blurred! Street can be more about surrealism, leaving the viewer to decide what’s going on, but often it’s simply documented. That said I suppose there’s more room for creativity with Street because it’s not crucial to record the absolute facts.
    Photojournalism is totally different I’d say, it is defined by the very nature of the images produced. Robert Capa wouldn’t spring to mind as a Street Photographer. In my opinion he was a Photojournalist and defined that genre. He was a gambler, someone once said that he was a poker player who took photos on the side. To carry out the kind of work he did I suppose you’d need to be a gambler, of course it cost him his life eventually. Maybe he could be the example that sets the genres apart?

    • Jeff Chane-Mouye Post author

      You’re right about Robert Capa. This article was written a while ago and the form was different when I named him. He’s definitely a photojournalist and define the war genre. I also read that he lost all his money gambling.
      SP could be assimilate to documentary if they were not this search for objectivity. This point is crucial in documentary photography. Sometimes our street shots could be in this category but speaking of my way of photographying, I think it’s more an interpretation of what is happening in front of me. Take a look at the series I called “Tourists in the city”. It could be documentation of this kind of population during summertime. It is in a certain way, but the way I photograph and edit my work, is more related to SP. But yes the lines between the genres are blurred.

      • John Harper

        Good point, subjectivity and objectivity are likely to be the separating factors.
        Haha, no good telling me to look at “Tourists in the City”, you know that I know your photographs almost as well as you do :-)) True, that series is Street Photography, not Documentary.
        I can’t remenber now who said it (I’m crap with this stuff), but I thought this was an interesting question posed by someone recently – “Sould it be either Street Photographer or Life Reporter?”

        • Jeff Chane-Mouye Post author

          Life reporter has a connotation of reporting things like a journalist.the street photographer is polymorphous. Depends on how you operate on the streets. Some people really document in their way the streets. Some others (like me) like to create à New reality with the given scenery. I think that there is no right or wrong. That’s the beauty of street

  • hpchavaz

    A way to think about the question, is, as you mentioned, thinking about the intent and the subject. Photojournalism is about an event, Documentary photography is more about a social phenomenon. Street photography is about the street as it is lived.
    When the social phenomenon gives rise to an event that connects its actors in the public space, there is an inevitable overlap.

    • Jeff Chane-Mouye Post author

      Good point HP, but the most important thing for me is to be objective with what we are photographying. Photojournalists and documentary photographs have an ethic and need to bring the absolute truth. The Street Photographer on the other side, shows his vision of the world and doesn’t care about telling the truth. Of course we can also record the truth, but personnaly speaking, I’m more interested by telling my own stories.

      • hpchavaz

        Hi Jeff, I totally agree. The Street Photographer doesn’t care about telling the Truth. He.is nterested by showing his own vision.