Street Photography Magazine

I’m writing this on January 15 which means we have just published the January 2021 issue of Street Photography Magazine. We are super excited because the January issue kicks off our year of women street photographers with a special issue that features work by all women. And throughout the year each issue will feature a super talented woman street photographer. Publishing a Photo Book Workshop Also this month we are holding our very first remote workshop, Publishing a Photo Book with Harvey Stein. If you’re planning to publish or even thinking about it I encourage you to check it out. Harvey is a very inspirational teacher. Harvey is a longtime New York street photographer who teaches at the International Center of Photography in New York, also called ICP. He has also published nine monographs over the year with the 10th scheduled for next spring. This lively, 7-week interactive workshop will be held each Tuesday on Zoom beginning January 26th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern time. And you don’t have to be a street photographer to get something out of it. Some of the takeaways form this course are: Generate book ideas Sequence images Identify potential publishers What and how to present to publishers Evaluation of your project And much more. If you’re planning to publish or even thinking about it I encourage you to check it out. Harvey is a very inspirational teacher. Click Here to learn more about the workshop. Interview with Michael Ruggiero Our guest this week is Michael Ruggiero. He’s passionate life-long photographer, former photo journalist professional chef. Michael has been heavily influenced by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lee Friedlander, Mary Ellen Mark and Garry Winogrand. In fact while living and photographing in Paris in the early 1980s he had an opportunity to meet both Cartier-Bresson and Andre Kertesz. He even shares the story of how he met Cartier-Bresson in the interview. He has had solo exhibitions in Fort Collins, Colorado – Philadelphia New York and Boston. As a black and white film photographer, Mmch of his work comes from a number of long-term projects including Over the Road about American long-haul truckers. In fact we will be publishing part of that work in the March issue of Street Photography Magazine. A selection of Michael’s images Links from the show Michael’s websiteMichael’s Instagram

Happy New Year and welcome to 2021. Twenty twenty is finally in the books and perhaps we can all have a sigh of relief. Anyway I am very happy to announce that we have declared that 2021 will be the Year of Women Street Photographers. So each month during the year we are choosing a woman to be the featured photographer of the month. And our first issue of the year, which will be published on January 15th, will feature street photography created by all women. Keith Dannemiller Our guest this week is Keith Dannemiller, an American photojournalist who has been living and working in Mexico City for the past 30 plus years. Keith is no stranger to Street Photography Magazine. He was the featured photographer in September 2016 and has contributed content to the magazine and podcast over the years. So it was good to catch up with him to see what he’s up to during the pandemic. Keith is currently independent, but over the past 31 years he was associated with two US photo agencies: Black Star and Saba. In Latin America, he has covered a wide variety of situations, ranging from Nicaraguan Recontras to street children in México City to life on the US-México border and the evolution of a refugee camp in the Mexican state of Chiapas into a thriving community today. As a photojournalist he covered the First Intifata in the occupied territories of Palestine the late 1980s. In our interview Keith told me the story behind this assignment and how he came to cover an event on the other side of the world and how it became a book project 30 years later. That’s right, he’s currently working on two books at the same time. My favorite project of Keith’s is about LaBestia, which means The Beast. It’s the nickname for a freight train that travels from the southern Mexican border through the length of the country to the US border over 1600 miles away. Hundreds of migrants, men, women and children, escaping economic hardship and gang violence in Central America risk their lives riding atop the freight cars. He uses his camera and heart to tell a powerful story of desperation and hope for a better life. La Bestia ©Keith Dannemiller 2014 He lives with his wife in the Colonia Nápoles of Mexico City and often conducts street photo tours of this unique metropolis. You will learn this and more when you listen to my conversation with Keith Dannemiller. Keith’s Links Keith’s WebsiteKeith’s InstagramKeith’s FacebookEyes on Main Street Festival

Thanks to the Internet we now live in little silos of individual realities. The shared experiences we had before this phenomenon no longer exist. Then along comes the coronavirus pandemic that has thrust into a new shared experience not felt since the 911 attacks and the Kennedy assassination. It is a common reality we cannot escape. No this isn’t another story about the pandemic but it is one example of how one very creative person has reacted to the changes the pandemic has forced upon his family, business and personal life. This week I had an opportunity to sit down with Shlomi Amiga from Toronto Canada. He’s a commercial photographer, avid street photographer, husband and father of two young boys. Once the lockdowns began Shlomi saw his wedding photography work, which was a key slice of his income, vanish over night. He had been thinking about phasing out the wedding side of his business, but now the decision was made for him. The pandemic had accelerated the change he was already contemplating. The extra time has given him the mental space to develop the studio-side of his business and find new avenues to be creative. For example Shlomi has applied his creativity to video by creating a new YouTube channel called Nerding out on Photography. In his first segment about street photography To keep his creative juices flowing he began sharing his knowledge with other photographers worldwide through a new medium, video. He’s created a YouTube channel Nerving out on Photography that shares his vision and thinking about street photography composition. He uses a few examples of his own work to help the viewer create a mental picture of interesting visual elements to recognize in the street. He did a brilliant job of making an abstract concept real and memorable. This is no small feat. I’ve embedded the video below this article for you to see for yourself. Change is inevitable, and the pandemic has accelerated it many times. Sometimes sudden change works out to be a good thing. It requires us to make difficult decisions and take action that we would normally avoid. And maybe the constraints the we’ve had to endure over the past nine months will result in some new creative ventures that we wouldn’t otherwise have considered. Shlomi’s Links Geeking out on Photography YouTube ChannelShlomi’s WebsiteShlomi’s Street Photography Instagram

Our guest this week is Ashley Tillery, a street photographer from Arlington, Virginia. Raised in a military family Ashley moved around a lot as a child which exposed her to many different cultures and places. But it wasn’t until after college while working as a folklorist in rural Alabama that she found the inspiration to begin photographing communities of color. And she has been doing it ever since. Fast forward to today, armed with only an iPhone she continues to follow her passion documenting the people she meets in the DC metro area. Currently she shoots in the Gallery Place / Chinatown area of downtown DC. Here she focuses on making compelling and personal street portraits of perfect strangers. It’s through her work that Ashley was invited to join the DC Street Photography Collective, which is high praise indeed. Don’t get me wrong, Ashley does more than make portraits. She captures candid moments on the street too. All within her mission to document the lives of people of color. Ashley is smart, friendly and funny which enables her to connect with her subjects in a very personal way. She gets close, not just physically but emotionally which is evident in her work. It’s obvious that she gains the trust of her subjects who respond in kind. The result is a visual narrative of a community most of us only see from a distance. After you listen to my conversation with Ashley be sure to spend some quality time with her work. A Selection of Ashley’s Photos Links From the Show Ashley’s WebsiteAshley’s InstagramAshley’s FacebookDC Street Photography CollectiveDC Street Photography Collective InstagramRobert Trejo Jr.Eyes on Main Street

Lifelong New York street photographer and educator, Harvey Stein, has published 9 books throughout his career and I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with him about several of them over the years. When he finished his latest book, Then and and There, Mardi Gras 1979 we got together on a Zoom call to discuss the book and what he’s working on currently. This book is quite different from Harvey’s past monographs. Its created from a collection of polaroid photos he made over 40 years ago at the Mardi Gras with a Polaroid SX70 “instant” camera. Something used by millions of consumers at the time to photograph family holidays and vacations. In fact my mother had one and it’s still around here someplace. There is only one printing of the book, once it’s gone there will be no more. You can obtain a signed copy directly from Harvey by sending him an email at hsteinfoto@aol.com. During our conversation I learned much more that the backstory behind the photos. Because it’s also about how Harvey made a real book, one that will be in peoples’ personal collections and in libraries for generations. All from a box of photos that he had tucked away in a drawer and almost forgotten. It’s a story about how putting yourself out there and taking risks to show your own work can lead to unexpected opportunities. It’s a story about overcoming the restrictions of the pandemic by using your photographic vision to tell stories about the people and places near you that were overlooked in the past. And it encourages you to follow your interest and imagination to create projects that will hone your own skills and enrich the lives of your subjects. Harvey is always a gas to speak with, and I always learn something new each time we speak. I come away from those conversations looking at my own work a little differently. I hope you will too when you have a listen to our conversation. About Harvey Harvey Stein is a professional photographer, teacher, lecturer, author and curator based in New York City. He currently teaches at the International Center of Photography and has taught in several undergraduate and graduate photography programs. Stein frequently lecturers on photography both in the United States and abroad. He was the Director of Photography at Umbrella Arts Gallery, located in the East Village of Manhattan from 2009 to 2019 until it lost its lease and closed.  He has curated 66 exhibits since 2007. His photographs have been widely exhibited in the United States and Europe-89 one-person and over 165 group shows to date.  His images are in more than 57 permanent collections including the George Eastman Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago,  the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Bibliotheque Nationale.  He has had nine books of his photographs published, including Coney Island 40 Years (2011) and his two recent books, Mexico Between Life and Death (2018) and Then and There: Mardi Gras 1979 (2020). His work is represented by Sous Les Etoiles Gallery in New York City. See Harvey’s work on his website www.harveysteinphoto.com and @stein.harvey on Instagram. Photos from the book Links from the show Harvey’s WebsitePhotographing People with Intention Zoom Course 10/6/20 – 11/10/20Harvey’s InstagramHarvey’s Facebook Other Interviews with Harvey on Street Photography Magazine Street Photography Magazine Featured Photographer July 2014New York Street Live “Briefly Seen” by Harvey SteinMexico Between Life and Death – Interview with Harvey SteinPodcast Interview November 2015

One of the great frustrations in the digital age is that e easy it is to make your photography available to the world, yet so difficult to get people’s attention and to take the time to look. Street and documentary photographer Chris Suspect, the Street Photography Magazine featured photographer in August 2020 issue, has figured it out. He regularly enters his work in competitions, attends festivals (at least he did when you could do that sort of thing) and just getting to know people personally. And most recently is self publishing a series of photo books, which have been very successful. After speaking with Chris I realized that he is the living embodiment of the old adage “Don’t wait for the phone to ring.” In this free sample of the interview from our most recent issue of SPM, Chris Suspect, shares the details about how he creates and promotes his self-published books. Plus he tells us the story behind his latest book, Old Customs. Links from the show Chris’ website Chris’ book Old Customs Chris’ Instagram Photos from Old Customs

When you ask Kevin Fletcher of Portland, Oregon what he does he’ll tell you that he’s an image maker. Like all good elevator speeches there’s so much more to it. Professionally he is an independent Directory of Photography who does commercial work around the world, most recently for Netflix. And he’s working towards doing more narrative work like short films. As a visual artist he is also a damn fine street photographer who applies the rigorous skills of filmmaking to his still photograph. Earlier this year he completed a personal project titled 82nd Avenue of the Roses about an urban street in Portland. That project won the Lensculture 2020 Street Photography Series award against some tough competition. We include some of the images in this article so you can see for yourself. During our discussion Kevin tells us about his motivation for creating the project and how is cinematography experience influences his street photography. In the process he gives us insight as to how filmmakers think throughcomposing and lighting scenes and how those skills apply to photographing in the moment on the street. One thought that really stuck out to me from our conversation is that Kevin says not to make editing decisions while shooting. Basically do only one thing at a time. When you are making images, don’t think about which you will keep or discard later, just keep shooting and focus only on making photographs. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Links from the show Kevin’s Website Lens Culture 2020 Street Photography Awards Stephen McLaren Drive Lincoln Project The Third Man movie Endeavour television series Selections from Kevin’s 82nd Avenue of Roses Project

Our guest this week is Montana documentary photographer Kelly Gorham is a former photojournalist, filmmaker and Director of Visual Media at Montana State University. As a filmmaker he is about to finish a PBS documentary film, titled Mavericks, about the story behind the ascendancy of Montana skiers to the heights of competitive freestyle skiing. In fact Kelly is a former competitive freestyle skier himself. Well into his career, Kelly attended the prestigious Kalish Workshop for Visual Storytelling in Rochester New York. He says it was an amazing experience that changed his life and how he approaches his work. As a lifelong resident of Montana he learned patience by photographing wildlife in Yellowstone National Park near his home. He would seek out a beautiful background and wait for hours and sometimes days for animals to wander through to make a few good frames. He uses this same approach when photographing on the street in the cities he visits while traveling. Whenever I conduct an interview, whether for our podcast or the magazine I always try to learn at least one new thing from our guest. I figure if I learn something you will too. Recently I’ve been trying to do more documentary work and I’v been looking for ways to become a better visual storyteller. I knew I was missing something fundamental, but I didn’t know what. It’s been a frustrating experience trying to figure that out on my own. Then during our conversation Kelly explained how he approaches a new documentary project I had an “aha moment.” You know the old adage says, “when the pupil is ready, the teacher appears?” That’s what happened to me. Kelly opened my eyes to something that has been in front of me all along. I didn’t quite realize it at the time. That little piece of advice means a lot to me. I need to thank him for it. So please take the time to listen to my conversation with Kelly and I hope you will benefit from it as much as I did. Links from the show Kelly’s website Kelly’s Instagram Mavericks documentary film Kevin Carter’s Starving Child and Vulture photo Kalish Workshop for Visual Storytelling Arnold Newman, portrait photographer A selection of Kelly’s street photos Street scenes in New York City. January, 2020. Photo © Kelly Gorham. Bremen, Germany ©Kelly Gorham Minneapolis Airport © Kelly Gorham

Although the Coronavirus is not currently in the headlines that doesn’t mean it’s gone away. On the contrary it’s still there and just as dangerous. Now that we’re collectively letting our guard down I fear that it will come roaring back. But I hope I’m wrong. Like you, I’m sick of hearing about it. The disease has taken it’s toll on family and friends, the economy and to a lesser extent our work as street photographers. It’s been a drag being locked up for the past few months and to be honest I’ve been in a funk. It’s caused me to put aside many of my good habits and I’ve lost interest in getting out to make new images. That’s why Ashley and I pulled together a panel of longtime street photographers to discuss how the pandemic has affected their personal work, businesses and psyche. The panel is Lauren Wellesvaler from New York, Valérie Jardin in Minneapolis, and Jens Krauer in Zurich, Switzerland. We got together in a live town hall format via Zoom on June 3. I knew intuitively that we’re all facing the same issues, but the act of talking about it with other photographers made it sink in. For me it was a cathartic experience. Valérie said that this has been a stressful experience for everyone and dealing with stress requires energy. We only have so much energy available so something has to give. Why didn’t I think of that before? For your convenience we embedded the replay video in this podcast post in case you prefer to watch it. But because this is a podcast I assume you’re on the go and not able to sit down to watch. Therefore this episode includes the audio portion of the discussion for your listening pleasure. Up next is our discussion about Street Photography during the pandemic. Video Replay

Although Debby Cole, a former business owner and corporate executive from Austin Texas, spent spent most of her adult life as a landscape photographer she never considered street photography until she attended (almost by accident) a workshop with Valerie Jardin in Paris. Debby says it changed her life. Since then Debby has traveled the world to connect with people and sharpen her skills. Even during the height of the pandemic, Debby ventures out almost daily to discover new things to photograph in Austin. Her transformation into a passionate street photographer was so profound that she was compelled to record her experience in a new book, Letting Go, How Less Becomes More. Links from the Show Debby’s Photography Website Deborah Cole Connections Valérie Jardin Website Peter Turnley Website A selection of Debby’s street photos Better Together. ©2020 Deborah Cole High Tea ©2018 Deborah Cole Generations ©2018 Deborah Cole Errands ©2019 Errands Stripes ©2018 Deborah cole SoCo At Rest ©2020 Deborah Cole Morning Stroll ©2020 Deborah Cole