Shoot the Street: Nashville - June 2021
Every once in a while - and likely far too seldom than I should - I break away from “business” photography and do what made me fall in love with a camera to begin with: street photography. So, I called up a friend and said, “Let’s go to Nashville and see what we see.”
We set limitations on ourselves: one camera, one 50mm lens. That is a good exercise for any photographer and since I tend to favor a 70-200mm lens, it forced me to get closer to my subjects. It is also a good exercise to strengthen my reactions. When you are shooting the street, life happens quickly and you may not have the time to think about what you want to do with a picture.
I do not usually shoot street people or the homeless, unless it is to show them in interaction with an unusual aspect of their environment or other people. A guy passed out on the street is (a) too easy and (b) exploitative. Street photography for me is more about capturing that millisecond of something out of the ordinary among all of the ordinary moments, not photojournalism. If you are documenting the homeless, great - otherwise, I won’t do it.
And maybe one, maybe two of these pictures I like. That is okay. I have friends who do wildlife photography and some days nothing shows up, and other days they get great shots. You haver to let it happen. And if it doesn’t - well, I spent time in the company of a good friend and ate some tasty BBQ brisket when we took a break. And got to practice. If a photographer is not practicing, why even bother to pick up a camera?
Enjoy. Here’s Nashville, Tennessee on a Wednesday night.