I find that what I am interested in looking at and thinking about as a street photographer is slowly, but surely, changing. In both my own work and in the work of other photographers, looking at single, stand-alone images less and less satisfying. If I am presented with multiple connected images, you are likely to get my full attention. I think there are a lot of reasons for this change.

Photo by Susan Schiffer. Used with permission. You can see her Instagram gallery at @susan.schiffer.

In the beginning, there was Instagram. It was the first media where I regularly put my work up for viewing. Maybe more important, it was my first opportunity to see other photographer’s street work, and truly, the only limit in that activity was my time. As a newcomer to street photography there was so much to take in. I can remember seeing a photo by my friend, Jason Little, that had a silhouette in it. I was totally taken by the image and the idea. I could hardly wait to get out and “take me some silhouettes”.

After a while, though, I wanted to be on a site that was more directed toward my specific interests, rather than a general photography site. I became a member of the Facebook group that is now called Inspired Street Photography and its associated group, Street Photography Challenge. Certainly, there are a lot of stand-alone images posted, but they often are grouped. For example, there is a weekly themed challenge in Street Photography Challenge and for one week you see a lot of photos with bridges or photos that feature framing or whatever the themed challenge is. At the end of the week, a slideshow of the best photos is assembled. I wait each week for that slideshow. In Inspired Street Photography, Wednesday is a day to post a themed series. I don’t always have the pictures for the week’s theme, but if I do, I will post. At this point, I rarely post anything other than a series except for a challenge.

The pandemic has, no doubt, pushed me along in my journey toward preferring multiple connected images over stand-alone images. For one thing, I have almost completely stopped taking photographs. This significantly slows down my thinking in terms of single images. Even if you have a theme or a project in mind, when you are taking pictures you take one stand alone image at a time. That keeps you grounded in thinking about, seeing, and analyzing single images. Now that we are in pandemic times, instead of taking pictures, I walk miles and miles. While I am walking I listen to one of the more than 500 podcasts of The Candid Frame, where all sorts of photographers are interviewed. If there is a single issue that is always discussed in these interviews, it is the photographers’ commitment to personal projects. I have definitely responded to the “strength in connection” message. I find I am buying photography books, some teaching, many not, with increased frequency. I am interested in the photographer’s pictures and message, and also how he or she sequences them to make a meaningful presentation.

I have seen several ways that images are typically grouped:

Pairs
Trios
Series which, for me, is 3 to 6 pictures. I think of a series as a sprint.
Projects, which can include many pictures taken over many years. I think of projects as the half marathon or marathon.

Groups of photos are shown in various ways:

On Instagram, as a way to organize your posts.
On Facebook, by posting multiple images that are connected in a single post.
On Facebook, by participating in a series challenges.
In gallery exhibitions.
In books.

This blog has included single images taken by my friend, Susan Schiffer. Susan has recently introduced me to the idea of pairing photos. This practice arises as a first step in making a book. The idea is to solve the problem of what two pictures will face each other in a open book. After you get pairs together you consider how to sequence the pairs in a meaningful way. I find the pairs fascinating. They definitely add another layer of interest and meaning to these photographs.

Do you find the pairs even more interesting than the single images?

Dedicated to Street

The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts