Imagine a photographic world where all images are pictorial. a place where lush landscapes, cute puppies and bikini clad beauties are top of the photographic agenda, imagine that your photographic magazine fix is fed by publications like Amateur Photographer who's main objective is to sell you imported Japanese kit rather than challenge the status quo where the photo-establishment has failed to recognise photography as Art !
No, no, this is not now this is the 1970''s, the internet has not yet arrived ! Street photography existed and was practiced by the few, while the majority pursued a Camera Club aesthetic , the term Street Photography was rarely used in England at this time.
Street Photography in the UK certainly existed in the 70's although the term used at this time was Social Documentary photography as photography could not be real creative art , could it ?
The Americans already knew that it could .
The job of photography in England in the 1970’s was to record and document at this time, photography was NOT and could not be art ?
The practice of framing Art photographs was seen as unacceptable at this time , framing was for art not photographs, framing photographs was seen as pretentious by the “Gallery Police” , the preference was for block mounting at the few gallery shows that existed. the pastime of Photography was booming and bathroom darkrooms were common, despite all this, most photographers played it safe, the freedom of expression offered by the “new” medium of photography remained dormant for many as family photo albums bulged !
Creative Camera magazine had started beating the drum for a more creative aesthetic in the 1960's but even in the 1970's this was more or less an underground movement which did not make the impression that Punk rock did on the decade but Creative Camera appears to have laid important foundations for what we all now know as Street / Art Photography in the UK.
The famous image created by Ian Berry of the boy with the box on his head is a classic street picture in my view , it was created with the aid of a bursary from the Arts council of Great Britain as part of his renowned "The English" project and of course the late great Tony Ray Jones had his book " A Day Off " posthumously published in 1974 which was also aided by the Arts Council , British Photography was not breaking down doors at this point but small steps forward were being taken, Art Photography was beginning to simmer , I believe that the economic climate of the 1970's did not create the best environment for British Street Photography to prosper but I must admit that England was a very interesting subject for photography at this time, as the UK struggled through what was a challenging economic climate amidst post war social change.
Looking back it appears to me that the internet and the ability of digital photography has really set Street Photography and Street Photographers free in terms of sharing work, we must now try to prove that we are worthy of the great opportunities that lie ahead for us and acknowledge the photographers who were brave enough to shoot street despite being seen as little more than eccentrics by many first time around , remember , tomorrows archives are created today …
The roots of UK Street Photography are heavily influenced by the social documentary traditions established in the 1970's although many prefer to behave as if Street Photography is the product of an immaculate conception which was born on the net, it was not , it was born in Paris by Eugene Atget , a long time ago , the rest is history as they say …
Social documentary photography is not second class street photography, when done well it should be meaningful, creative and relevant, much of this “old skool” “Social Doc Photography” is street photography it just lacks the clichés , sarcasm and highly saturated colours adopted by many of todays practitioners .
How many of your pictures will be republished on the internet in fifty years time, the challenge for all of us should be to try and create work that is valued in the here and now and future generations, if nothing else such ambitions will help to motivate us today.
This item grew out of a piece I blogged on my site ukstreet.photography about Creative Camera magazine.
