Commonalities Between Construction Progress & Street Photography

men installing yellow concrete block

I had occasion to listen to a conversation between Bob Patterson of Street Photography magazine and Julia Dean, the founder of the Los Angeles Center for Photography. I work as adjunct faculty at LACP so I was keenly interested in knowing more about Julia’s background as a street photographer. I wasn’t disappointed. Inspired in fact as I came to realize the commonalities between the genre  Julia and many others work in and what I do: construction progress photography.

From Wikipedia: ‘Street’ simply refers to a place where human activity can be seen, a place to observe and capture “social interaction”. The subject can even be absent of any people and can be that of object or environment where an object projects a human character or an environment is decidedly human. Framing and timing are key aspects of the craft, with the aim of creating images at a decisive or poignant moment.

Now what I do doesn’t exactly have a pure “social  interaction” but the camaraderie of fellow workers is relevant and present when I’m on a project site. I’m always trying to capture the “decisive moment” of a particular activity, it’s the essence of what I do and what street shooting is. We are bonded together.

Hope you enjoy our chat: Michael e. Stern on Street Photography Magazine

 

 

Michael Stern

My work depicts, appreciates and honors the people who build. Their specialized equipment and stunning challenges are marvels I behold and get paid to interpret. Hope you enjoy this site.
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