Photography in the News, Street Protest Edition

I think historians of the future will ignore most of what we say or write today and instead look at our actions. The fastest growing artform in our society is photography, yet it's become closely associated with our biggest cultural fears: terrorism, loss of privacy, and the abuse of children. Some undergrad in 2064, then, will likely have to write a paper or two about our changing relationship to photography on the street.

Are there any items in today's news related to that thought? I'm glad you asked, because there is in fact something you may find interesting:

Photographers protest against police use of anti-terror laws

"Trafalgar Square was lit up by flash bulbs this lunchtime as thousands of photographers demonstrated against police use of stop and search. The event was organised by the campaign group, I’m a photographer, not a terrorist, following a series of high-profile detentions of photographers under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Official estimates indicate that around 2,000 amateur and professional photographers joined the protest."

Helen Levitt

Helen Levitt, Who Froze New York Street Life on Film, Is Dead at 95

"Helen Levitt, a major photographer of the 20th century who caught fleeting moments of surpassing lyricism, mystery and quiet drama on the streets of her native New York, died in her sleep at her home in Manhattan on Sunday. She was 95."

An Army of Not Me

On Sunday, while I was indefatigably practicing a bit of street shooting, walking from Midtown to the Upper East Side, I couldn't help but notice how overwhelmingly saturated the street is with cameras.

Cell phones, sure: dozens of people locked in a zombielike shuffle, phone jammed against temple, swerving in front of me at intervals. But cameras: everywhere. At the same time, little of it could be called street photography, really. It's just not what people do.

Above: near Bryant Park.

Podcast on Street Photography

New York Institute of Photography has posted a podcast in which I talk on and on about street photography.

Street Photography in The Times Online

A nice article from the U.K. news:

Street photographers fear for their art amid climate of suspicion

"To some, the very idea of covertly photographing strangers might seem “odd”, even distasteful. And yet a proportion of those same people will own a print of Robert Doisneau's Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville, or have sent greetings cards showing 1930s Paris, as recorded by Brassai. Street photography has given us a lot. More, perhaps, than we know."

The Times on Street Photography

From yesterday's New York Times "City Room" blog:

Street Photography in an Image-Filled Age

One of the most interesting topics in the talk was the discussion of how to take images unobtrusively; all three artists have shot images that are startlingly frank, but in which the subjects seem utterly oblivious to the presence of the image-maker. Mr. Powell, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, said his height means “I really can’t do that invisible thing so much.”