Like every year, I wanted to inflict on you some photos taken during the holidays with the children. Just to make up for my lack of inspiration to write. But then I read a very interesting blog by Alex Coghe in which he reacted to an article written by Michael Ernest Sweet which took stock of the Street Photography ‘scene’, claiming that the hype had died down and that there were fewer and fewer blogs or sites devoted to Street Photography. This article was written in 2020 … Oh shit! And yet I’ve spent the last 4 years doing what I do best, which is walking the streets and capturing moments in life. Funnily enough, it seems to coincide with my departure from Aix-en-Provence. I didn’t think my departure would cause such a cataclysm!

Anyway, enough jokes. Alex takes offence at the article written by M.E Sweet, who compares him to a certain Eric Kim, criticising him for selling air to first times camera’s owners in Street Photography. In his opinion, the Street Photography ‘bubble’ has burst and hardly anyone talks about it any more. I don’t agree with Michael at all. I don’t think I know of another blog that talks about Street Photography as authentically as Alex Coghe‘s does. Alex is very prolific and is for me the example of a guy who lives and breathes Street Photography. As for the rest, M.E Sweet’s article makes no mistake in stating that Street Photography has become a pastime for many people who indulge in the practice. But why would that be wrong? Should we confine Street Photography to a genre reserved only for certain people who are exclusive and obsessive about it?

There are many reasons to do street photography. Money (Eric Kim), to become famous (good luck…), for fun… Everyone does what they want. Personally, I do Street Photography for other reasons. I wouldn’t presume to say that what I do is more legitimate than someone else. I’ve been away from social networks for a long time, so I don’t know what’s going on. John Harper told me recently that it’s still pretty rubbish and that I haven’t missed anything since I left … Like Alex, I see things more as a way of life and I don’t think in terms of photographic genres. I always carry my Ricoh GR3 in my bag and I take it out whenever I feel like taking a photo. In any case, whatever anyone says, a good photo is a good photo. Whatever your reasons for taking it.

Why has street photography suddenly become so cool? It was no longer necessary to travel miles to exotic locations with cameras and lenses costing thousands of euros to take photos. A simple little camera with a fixed focal length allowed you to express your creativity and artistic side. Social networking accelerated the practice, making it possible to quickly share with the whole world what was happening in the streets of our cities. People also discovered the work of pioneers like Winogrand, Meyerowitz, Bresson, Robert Frank, Vivian Maier, Elliott Erwitt… to name but a few. That’s what attracted me to this practice in the first place. I’m still blown away by the beauty of street scenes. Those fleeting moments frozen for eternity in a single photo.

Then came the camera manufacturers. They sensed which way the wind was blowing and that there was a lot of money to be made. The camera had to be made sexy for this new clientele who were ready to walk the streets in style! Leica and Fujifilm understood this very well. In fact, these are the two brands that dominate the sector. Mind you, I’m not casting aspersions on these brands. They make very good cameras and deserve to be the ones people turn to for their equipment. Leica was already a benchmark in the world of street photography. Fujifilm drew a lot of its inspiration from Leica when developing its X100 series. Cameras like the Leica Q, the Fujifilm X100 and the Leica M are made for the street, and what’s more, they’re damn sexy! Leica and Fujifilm understand this, and look no further for the reason they’ve created their brand ambassador programme. A huge online presence for these ambassador-influencers, who are supposed to promote their respective brands to sell even more cameras. Clearly, it’s the manufacturers who are benefiting greatly from this Street Photography hype.

We’ve also talked a lot about those who organise street photography competitions. Whether online or at festivals organised in major cities. Just Google “Street Photography Contest” or “Concours Street Photography” and you’ll be surprised by the sheer number of publications on the subject. You know where I stand on these contests. I’ve never liked them and the work submitted is very often shoddy, even if there are some damn good photos. The only problem is that these competitions lack bias. There are also always the same types of photos that are rewarded, leading to a uniformity in the work submitted. Most of the photos entered in these competitions have already been seen millions of times on social networks. The dice are loaded. Even if these competitions are criticised for making money out of photographers’ enthusiasm for Street Photography, I think that’s really ridiculous compared to camera manufacturers. But it’s true that these competitions don’t produce anything apart from using other people’s work to feed their competitions. On the other hand, I regret the use of famous names to give credibility to these competitions. Very often it’s just photographers who don’t even put any effort into it, but just offer their name in exchange for money…

I’ve gone a long way from M.E Sweet’s article. Between 2016 and 2020 I wrote a lot about Street Photography. That’s not to say that my Blog has become a reference on the web. But at my level, I found it very difficult to write from 2020 onwards. I don’t think this difficulty is linked to what M.E Sweet was saying. I’d been writing non-stop about street photography for 4 years and yes, I’d done the trick. Not to do street photography, but to talk about it. Yes, I can say that since 2020, my blog has been struggling and my articles must be boring to read. Even though I often don’t take any photos during certain periods, I still have this fire burning inside me. I’m not present on social networks, hardly anyone comes to read my crap in my blogs, but as far as I’m concerned, Street Photography has never been more alive.

So what’s left of the Street Photography scene? I don’t know, and frankly I don’t give a fuck! I’m not part of the Street scene any more. I don’t even think I was ever part of it. I go my own way without being influenced by anything or anyone. Maybe the bubble burst, if it ever did, but I never did Street because it was hype and cool. I think a lot of us do Street Photography just because we have it viscerally ingrained in us. We don’t need to shout from the rooftops that we love what we do. Personally, my work speaks for itself.

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GR3 | 35 mm Crop