“the spirit of the street "runs strong in our veins"
Progressive-Street is an international community of street photographers and photojournalists who use the art of photography in diverse ways to document the effects of globalisation through their lenses. We focus on ethnic, social, and cultural events across the globe, thanks to our network of high-end photographers who cover everything from big cities to the smallest towns, sharing the places and stories of people from countless cultures in this pageant of humanity.
Our photographers are selected for their authenticity, ethical behaviour, identity, and quality of work, which strengthens our position as an independent organisation.
Progressive-Street is a photography gang dedicated to the visual narrative of the street.
We go to the street for images that resonate with compelling insights into the human condition.
We seek images that reflect truths without the slick professionalism of the photojournalist.
We strive for uncompromising authenticity and aesthetic beauty.
We respect tradition but are not afraid of change. We are truly international in both our background and in our purpose.
We are Progressive-Street.
Our objective is to show everyday life, real life, without seeking the exceptional and without wanting purely to surprise. Today, reality is more complex than at any time in history. On the contrary, far from presenting reality, many photographs today are disconnected, presenting the everyday in the language of advertising or seemingly narcissistic acts. Through our reporting and initiatives, we aim to prompt reflection on what people see, opening a new window into the scene and perhaps revealing what they cannot see. We’re talking about small gestures caught in the most diverse situations, making people wonder what lies behind them. Photographs that remain photographs and not processed computer graphics. Narrative photographs, not just great scoops. Each is accompanied by precise text that identifies the places, people, and occasions.
“We would like to leave a sincere testimony, like the monks of the Middle Ages, without the blackmail of money and the homologation of consumerism.”
Members and guests of Progressive Street reside in all four corners of the world, and our professional standards are literally focused on all aspects of life, culture and politics - from New York City to Seoul, from Kolkata to Tel Aviv, London, Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Milano, and to the smallest town.
We reach a global audience thanks to Progressive-Street’s use of mainstream social platforms. We now have our own site where you can find cutting-edge photo features and articles, incisive biographies of the photographers, personal galleries, and how to subscribe to our magazine. Our strength lies in our numbers. We are many, yet connected through the virtual network. We are increasing every day, and continue to share the same ideals.
“We hope more and more people decide to stop this crazy online sharing of thousands of images and search for people in real life, galleries, and their social circle.”
“Attach a photo to a wall! Perhaps the small audience is the quality audience.“
The key difference between what the network offers and what we offer is that our motives are not driven by profit but guided by our ideals. We do not follow strict rules; instead, we foster a collaborative spirit. In a world consumed by the pursuit of success and financial gain, we are a peaceful island, committed to our values.
Have you considered the nature of the shots you take? Have you ever sought to categorise them?
In our Gang, we have photographers who perfectly match the canons of street photography (always with soul), others who approach documentary, and others who even touch on something more artistic. We are free, we try to discover reality and its problems, its beauty and its ugliness through our images. And we all have the drive to create stories and pursue projects.
Humanity always needs fences, confines. For us, if there is a difference, it's just the spirit with which you shoot. It’s true that we could enclose ourselves within a category, but not our shots. They should be free, unfettered. No rules in the street, only intelligent thought. Don’t follow a rule to make an image, follow your instinct, and your heart too!
Many people choose street photography workshops, which we are not against in principle. Some Progressive photographers and others we esteem offer them, and we respect them. But what we find disturbing is the potential cloning, a simple desire to recreate famous images by copying and kind of lowering the street to a bunch of tricks (like: juxta, chiaroscuro, panning...) However, you should think about learning the technique rather than just putting your work into method cages.
Why not look at the work of photographers who came before us – when someone hadn't yet defined the street – to learn? We create our speech. Let's have fun. We are creative. And we follow inspiration, not rules. We could spend our money on books, and if you really want, on an art history course.
Progressive Street: How many ways can it be categorised? Street? Documentary? Photojournalism? Artistic? Maybe the fact that we’re only looking for good photography is what matters.
Batsceba Hardy
"If you don’t appreciate satire (and sarcasm is a cousin), please leave now and read a supermarket tabloid."
"The photographer feels and represents the loneliness of humanity. This society is turning us into monads... and Street photographers are those who daily tell us about the loneliness of mankind through their shots. And that’s why words are superfluous in this realm. Only by looking at photographs, we can understand this." Batsceba Hardy
"For me, street photography is an instinct, an attitude that takes you among people to stop time, a moment, a grimace or an important event. But always with the spirit of adventure and curiosity, nothing prepared, no project, only me and my camera and the life that surrounds me." Fabio Balestra
"I have no profound explanation for why I do what I do … for why I have this addiction to use a camera to document people on the street doing what they do … “some are mathematicians, some are carpenters' wives, don't know how it all got started, I don't know what they're doin' with their lives.” Michael Kennedy
“Street captures the imagination, it excites me, it’s slices of life! We live on borrowed time; some shots help that time last just a little bit longer.” Keef Charles
"Which approach is better? Well, this is a wrong question in the Zen sense. Neither approach is right or wrong. Instead, the question we have to ask ourselves as photographers is this: what do I want to photograph, and what story do I want to tell?" Lukasz Palka
"I'm interested in human presences inserted into light, shadows, colours and geometries, searching for something that sends the image "on the other side". "Orlando Durazzo
"When I look at my old negatives, I realize I shot something similar to street photography right from the start." Niklas Lindskog
"Street Photography mainly helps me to understand that similarities between human beings are actually more than I was told." Alphan Yilmazmaden
"Street Photography for me is a natural expression of my love of people and their cities, tiny fragments of their life stories captured in one fleeting instant, the vibrance and emotion of the street, it lifts me up and drags me down and shakes my emotions all around, no other type of photography holds my attention like street." Gerri McLaughlin
"Street photography is my means of connecting with the ever-unfolding drama of human life." Siddhartha Mukherjee
“The street photography to me now means a way of documenting society with a critical view.” Andrea Ratto
“Photography for me is a way to have fun, enjoy life, get to know new people … and eliminate boredom.” Boy Jeconiah
“It's so difficult to describe my sensations when I push that red button" Marco DM
“Street photography has become for me a real discovery, adventure and true enjoyment.” Edita Sabalionyte
“To me, street photography is not just about taking random pictures. It really is a whole world. My world.” Anat Shushan
“I'm an urban beast, who likes to find beauty and interesting images in my environment and street photography is full filling my hunter-gatherer instincts.” Bogo Pečnikar
“A street photographer has to be ever observant while on the street because most scenes only last for a few seconds before being lost forever.” Don Scott
“For me, street photography is a matter of finding a visual moment that inspires me to click knowing there’s only one chance to get it right!” Harrie Miller
“I am focused on people – behaviour, culture. I like natural scenes and not working in a studio. People in the street are in their native environment and I love to be the invisible observer. Sometimes I sit in a coffee shop and just look at people.” Neta Dekel
“To grasp the usual unusual, watch the complexity simple. Taking street photos teaches me to appreciate the matters we get used to.” Neville Fan
“I like to tell those stories that shake me or the people who, by their actions, beyond what they look like, can leave a mark on our hearts.” Pacho Coulchinsky
“I want magic! I am looking for something special that makes me smile when I think of it.” Lola Minister
“I search the connection to the people, the conversation. To be in impossible situations, even absurd ones. To shoot in "forbidden" places, especially those that are almost impossible to reach. Take a walk on the wild side is my moto” Shimi Cohen
“Why do street photography? To tell a human story, to show a kind of metaphor. In photography, there is a decisive moment to show something unusual or a connection, or a human story. Nothing is staged, for me. With all this, I insist on maintaining a strong aesthetic, unlike some street photographers.” Corinne Spector
“It’s the flow of life in all its emotions.” Frans Kemper
“The magnificent thing about street photography is that it teaches you how to see: glances between strangers passing on the pavement; nuances of body language; fortuitous and humorous meetings of colour, objects and people.” David Goold
“Sometimes I think that when a street scene seduces us it’s because, in some way, we see ourselves in it and the story – if it exists – is sometimes, on this side of the lens.” Delfim Correlo
“I have always been fascinated by human nature and the way people relate to each other and the environment around them. It is also on the streets or in the urban environment that we can find countless amazing stories to tell through all kind of compositions.” João Coelho
“Street-Photography for me is a declaration of love to humankind... that sounds a little pathetic, but how else should I call it in other ways, when we spend day by day hours in the streets just to catch these varied details of humankind.” Theodoros Topalis
”if you do not like what you see, turn around” Jay Tanen
“Street photography is my genre.” Deepbrata Dutta
“I would know the favourite dish or dance of people I photograph, but most probably, I will never see them again.” Nadia Eeckhout
“It's hard to get right and you are not in control so I'm stretched every time I try to take a photo” Andre Bogaert
“My advice? Be confident, act like you’re authorized, be respectful.“James Payne
“Street Photography allows me to go out without ties, interact with people and to some extent be part of the scene that you are capturing as a luxury observer.” Pablo Abreu
“I like to see how the street opens its legs to be penetrated by my lens.” Ruber Osoria
“One of the things that I am most passionate about SP is unpredictability, so I'm not looking for anything; I'm just trying to find something that catches my attention.” Ximena Echague
“My starting point is a quote by Odysseas Elytis, an eminent Greek poet, that goes as follows: “with lime twigs you may capture birds, yet you never capture their singing. It takes a different kind of twig….”” Petros Kotzabasis
“Photography is all about living in the present moment, the candidness.” Shubhodeep Roy
“I want to capture the human condition and so people and the themes of everyday life are my subjects.” Anne Launcelott
“Although I also love landscape photography, I found myself getting lost in street photography. Sometimes I feel like a hunter looking for prey/image.” Rene Geensen
“From the first moment I became interested in photography, I was interested in street photography” Asli Ulaş Gönen
“Candid street photography tends to act as a natural reflector of the lives of the people on the streets.” Tuna Angel
“I like the pace, challenge and difficulty of street photography, walking around exploring new locations and meeting new people, and attending to subtleties that most people simply overlook.” Eric Davidove
“Photography for me is a multi-layered journey of material and human environmental discovery.” Bruno Lavi
“Street photography is documentary photography of life lived, whether actually on the street or not. It should tell stories, have meaning, and be fair and honest.” B.D.Colen
“Whether you want to add the word "decisive" or not, the moment is the key phrase.” Martin Agius
“Trying to capture the ephemerous moments of everyday life in an interesting way is my daily challenge and a good way to understand and express my relationship with humanity.” Pia Parolin
“Streets never lies and that's what fascinates me.” George Koulouridis
“I am a criminal defense and civil rights attorney. In that role, I see the uglier sides of humanity, but through photography, I learned to see beauty in all of humanity, even when hidden behind the ugly.” Patty DeJuneas
“Right now street the kind of photography that moves me and tells stories. I love people, crowd. Go unnoticed and be invisible. ” Mario Barrela
“I think street is the most basic, raw genre of photography. Capturing everyday moments in human life, trying to arrange chaotic elements to fit a frame in the pursuit of art, without any control over those elements is very demanding but also very rewarding on that rare occasion when it all comes together.” Cameron Scott
“Street photography has taught me to slow down and feel present at the moment. Almost like a meditation. To see the humour in the mundane. To touch the sadness in the lonely and to give these stories life through the magic of the camera.” Richars Keshen
“Street photography has always been my passion, but it is just one of many ways I observe the world.” Bruce Saille
“ Instead of street photography, my photos would be documentary photography.” Tina Manley
“I like to meet people as close as possible to who we are, erasing my social identity . This is my way of seeing the world and bearing witness.” Myriam Aadli
“I love street photography because of my interest in people and in their diversity and their interaction” Eduardo Storch
“I believe that there are two moments that are pivotal in a street photographer’s life: the moment one starts street photography and the moment one finally understands why he is doing this.” Karlo Flores
“This is my ideal theatre.” Alberto M. Melis
“What fascinates me about street photography is the spontaneous moment, the event that is usually only partially predictable and I have to react to it very quickly” Simone Christina Sander
“ I find street photography a real challenge, and that in itself is something I love.” Cassian Edwards
“Photography is my “weapon” for documenting, interpreting and sharing experiences, opinions and events.” Orna Naor
“As a Street Photographer looking for candid motives, I tend to remain on the threshold of a scene.” Isabelle Coordes
“I am attracted by the “existential” and the ephemeral as they transpire from the “every day.” Catia Montagna
“I love street photography because it offers a multitude of personal visions. An impressive variety of stories to photograph with an impressive variety of personal styles. The street is always different, even in the same places. And street photography is always different. Always fascinating” Roberto Bartolini
“When exploring an unfamiliar city with open eyes, you are more observant to unpredictable events.” Mikael Carlsson
“My interest in street photography maybe stems from my love of old movies and exploring. Having always lived in European cities my images reflect mainly the urban everyday life. My personal vision focuses on capturing candid moments of life on the street, as well as something beyond the regular reality, the spirit of a city, a trace left by humans that reveals something about life. I'm less interested in creating images the traditional way. In fact, I'm very intrigued by the unexpected and the unusual as these are part of life.” Betty Manousos
“Street seems to fit this 21st century- a chaotic time in which everything is moving, and changing, faster than ever.” Martin Ingber
“The photography is a pure expression of joy for me. I scan the view. I am not looking for anything in particular. My motive is simple and hedonistic: I am looking for beauty.” Tinglan Li
“I love walking the streets, they are my jungle. I enjoy observing their dynamics and details, talking to people, learning about their lives, strengthening bonds, and that permeates my work. I see everything transforming in front of me in combinations of people, lights, colors, shadows. Besides, I always felt like a fish in water among the crowds, whether at a sporting event, a popular festival or a protest demonstration. That energy lifts me up.” Federico Borobio
“Street photography is sort of a way of life. It’s a thrill every day and you never know what you’ll get and…it gets me out of the house.” Christian Stops
“The street is my playground—a space where I wander freely with my camera, collecting fragments of life, fleeting moments of solitude, and glimpses of untamed beauty.” Srijoyee Datta
“Street photography allows me to retain a child’s perspective; it helps me preserve that sense of wonder. Sometimes, this isn’t easy—especially when you’re walking down the same street for the 50th time.” Jonathan Camélique
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