Ready or not the new year is here ! The fireworks have gone, so its important that your hangover from 2018 doesn't last for the next twelve months, its time to initiate new projects, bin the stuff that didn't work out in 2018 and develop your ideas, this is not a rehearsal !
How can you move your Street Photography forward this year ?
My search for change and progress is not based on dissatisfaction of my current practice, my search is based on a journey of change and inquiry. I may not be moving forward but I know I am not standing still, visual questions need to be asked and answered ? Doing things how you have always done them will create the results you have always had ! Embrace and seek change, change your mindset , change your focal length , change the locations, change, change, change, change and don't fear failure , failure is the food of creativity, learning and progress.
Think like a student no matter how long you've been shooting "Street" ! Photographic technique is becoming easier to learn , don't spend your time pixel peeping, instead show a active interest in Art , the cubists, surrealists and impressionists have many lessons for photographers with curious minds.
Don’t let pride or peer group pressure get between you and your pictures, everyone talks the talk , very few walk the walk !
Look deeper , shoot sets of pictures . Notice I used the word set not series , I understand that many photographers feel that the idea of shooting in series is pretentious and conflicts with purest principles of the "Street Photography Moment" ! Don't get caught up with the semantics , sets of images allow the author to develop a deeper narrative that can engage viewers on a different level to the sublime one off captures we usually crave. Shoot a set this year, just five or six pix, keep shooting it until it develops a rhythm and flow that works.
Care less about what others think , these are your images, this is your journey and this is your life . Should you wish to become a sheep become a black one, better still become a wolf, the world has enough sheep ! Be cautious of wolves dressed as shepherds !!!
The best advice I can give for 2019 is to stop taking pictures when your not feeling it, too many photographers create unsustainable workloads for themselves, a dedicated street photography commitment is a huge undertaking especially when it is combined with work and family commitments. Remember what is important to you and yours .
Ensure your photography is created on your terms and for the best of reasons . The greatest reward a photographer can / should expect is the thrill of a meaningful capture, everything else is just window dressing.
Taking my own advice I'm going stop writing this now as I have some other stuff to do, best wishes for the next twelve months.
Keep it real in 2019 !
Go off piste now and then , follow your visual instincts ,this is your journey !