Happy New Year!
I had a very unproductive (somewhat) 2019 in regards to my street photography. I literally only shot once and that was on a First Friday event in downtown. I published 3 separate blog post all within the same topic on my upcoming film, Fill The Frame. I was so wrapped up in finishing my documentary, which I did at the very end of the year and now am awaiting to hear back from film festivals. I was so busy with finishing the film and trying to obtain new clients for my freelance video business that street photography was last priority. A few years prior it was one of my main priorities and one of the things I looked forward to every chance I got because it helped me escape my miserable 9 to 5 job, and allowed me to be creative without much effort compared to producing a short film where there’s so many elements involved. As I’m writing this I’m reminded that street photography has given so much to me, I’ve done talks here locally at a high school, photo convention, I made new friends, met many other enthusiast online and around the world both in person and virtually. I’ve made a handful of images the past five years that I’m really happy with but its still difficult for me to go out on my free time to shoot.
Every time I had the itch to go out and take my camera for a walk I would stop and say to myself you should be editing your documentary. It was very hard in the beginning, I had to be discipline, sometimes I felt like doing street photography just to give myself an excuse why I’m behind in my work. And now that I haven’t gone out to shoot and deleted my old Instagram I actually enjoy just walking outside without my camera and not having to photograph and always be observing with my camera. Observing with your own two eyes without hesitation to press that shutter button is quite liberating to say the least. But now that my film is wrapped up I should get off my ass when I can and go take a scroll to Waikiki and make some photos.
I know for some photographs and for myself a visit to another country or city can ignite a new fire for street photography because of the excitement of seeing a new place or simply being in vacation mode without any distractions. Maybe that would get me going but I don’t have the money to travel at the moment. Sometimes photographing home gets boring. Stale. And the minute I walk into Waikiki, I get bored within fifteen minutes. One trick that worked in the past for me when things got stale was that I would look at my favorite street photography books. Looking at images of Vivian Maier, Richard Sandler, Harry Gruyeart, Carl De Keyzer, and Helen Levitt would usually get me going again. Re-energized, inspired again to roam the streets hoping to find an image that’ll make me feel good.
I’m quite amazed at many modern day street photographers all around the world, I see on Facebook and Instagram at how constant they are with their craft. Almost going at it daily for years, that to me is inspiring in itself. I guess I need to take it one day at a time and just force myself to get back out in the streets because how I remembered it, the more you do it the more you’ll want to continue to be out there on the streets. I don’t think I’ll ever retire the camera, hiatus yes and hopefully that hiatus was 2019. 2020 I want to hit the streets again an experience that feeling of both excitement and disappointment when I snap the shutter button.
