THE ART OF STREET DETAIL by Fran Balseiro

I go out on the street with my camera ready to photograph any moment, situation or occasion that comes my way. Every situation has its moment. And every moment a chance to portray the art of photography.

Although I try to photograph moments of people's daily lives, situations always arise that call my attention; such as details of the street itself and even situations in which there are no people. Small details that coexist between us and the street; which normally go unnoticed.

When we get close enough to everything around us we can discover forms and compositions that attract our attention. In a small circle next to us, for example, we may find many shapes and textures. This is what I would call the art of detail photography, as I try to show situations in a different way; showing small details and strange shapes that are peculiar in our daily life. Some of the images even tell a story about a certain situation in the present or in the past.

From small things we can create big images.

For this type of photography I usually use a lens that allows me to concentrate on the detail, in these cases I usually use the Fuji XT3 with a 35mm lens or with a 56mm lens always using a single point of focus.

A space for dreams by Batsceba Hardy

Years ago I picked up my camera again and started taking street photos.

In the seventies, I was a professional photographer. I was a theatrical performer and I photographed the avant-garde theatre and beyond, for magazines and newspapers.

Theatre and street are not very different for me, in both cases I become invisible, I observe and choose what to tell. It’s a way of documenting with your own personal filter. Of telling.

Actually, I have spent most of my life telling stories. I chose to tell them to the kids and young adults, because through adventure it is easier to wake up the brains and make them think.

After all, telling is always documenting ...

Just writing for boys I had my first meeting with the homeless. Every day I took my dog, a huge German shepherd, to the park and every day I met the same people: men and women with empty eyes, dressed in winter and summer in the same clothes. And this has always struck me hard.

It was the nineties and poverty was becoming endemic again, in Italy too. I wrote a book about these invisible people, I approached them in my own way, from afar, bringing winter blankets, clothes, sometimes money. I received smiles and insults. They also threw stones at me.

But why am I telling you this?

Because, becoming a street photographer, years later, I found myself facing a stupid debate: is it correct to photograph poverty? Isn't it too easy? Shouldn't you help them instead of photographing them? In the debate that I found open on the social network where I started posting my photos I found this answer, which I think also best expresses my thoughts:

“I could bankrupt myself in a week trying to eradicate poverty, and make no difference what so ever. The issue is not what I have and another doesn't, but how I deal with what I have. Those that use what they have to dominate and extract substantially more from others, at any cost, will destroy you and me in an instant. And could eradicate poverty in a generation. But for 1000's of generations, the powerful have not chosen this route. But their damage, their greed, has been held in abeyance by the consciences that are pricked by those who communicate the "other", uncomfortable truth. The victim - of violence, of poverty, of abuse systemic or specific - cannot, at that moment speak. They have no voice. And it is by recording and communicating their reality that we keep consciences keen, and put some stay to rampant greed. Whether by giving the poor dignity by showing them as human too, with all that that means, or by highlighting oppression and violence as the professionals do. If you did not, who would? And the decline would be faster.

IIRC, Phillip Bloom tells of taking news footage of people frantically digging through earthquake wreckage, looking for survivors, and couldn't take it any more. He put the camera down and started to help. And the people said to him - 'take the video - the world needs to see this, and send help'. “ Grant Hillebrand

All around me I see many more images of wealth, fashion and beautiful women and muscular men. Sometimes the terrible pictures of deaths at sea, or in wars. But I no longer see images that represent the poverty that is beside me... I don't see the daily despair. Not in newspapers, in magazines, on billboards and even in movies...

And I'm convinced that people who are economically well off don't see the poor ...

And that's why in Progressive we talk about poverty, we have a Gallery and many articles that discuss this subject.

And every time we find ourselves debating with some new member and we have to 'defend' our point of view.

No, we will not win any Pulitzer Peace Prize, but we will always carry on our speech, with consistency and awareness. Our contribution to 'truth'.

As a child, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I never was able to, because I can't stand suffering. Too much suffering makes me sick. I have a fever, I have migraine attacks. This is why I am not suitable for 'helping' physically. It's my limit, but I can always find another way.

For this, I write and photograph. And for this I have always photographed poverty from afar, trying to tell a story, finding the situation that highlights the message.

In this way too, I detach myself from the 'rules' of the street, proximity. But I'm an anarchist like the Gang that gathered around me. Restrictive rules that leave no room for fantasy and intelligence and freedom do not interest us.

One last thing. In my latest novel, the protagonist is a woman who has lost everything. The character was born from an encounter with a homeless Berliner ... Elfriede. No, I never talked to her, I just gave her some money when I met her. I gave it a name. I don't think I stole anything from her ...

Peace and love

A space for dreams

"Space for everything and everyone: From 71 to 202 square meters, the residential lofts in A SPACE make family dreams come true, but even space-conscious singles or couples will find something to suit them from the 24 individual floor plans. The open-plan living, kitchen and dining area in the large lofts is complemented by one to three separate rooms. Depending on the layout, there are dressing rooms, utility rooms or storage areas. And, of course, a fantastically spacious bathroom with a separate guest WC comes as standard, as does the sun terrace or balcony. "

... Humanity -definition-: all human beings collectively...

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. Confucius

“If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones.” ― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.” ― Plutarch

"Silent poverty is just around the corner. Urban poverty has surpassed rural poverty in importance, and the countries with the largest number of poor people are middle-income countries, not the least developed countries."

Berlin

Milano

“We're not stupid! We're just poor! And we have a right to insist on this distinction”

― Orhan Pamuk, Snow

Unfortunate Side Of São Paulo by Frans Kemper

Long thoughts and several re-writes… and still not sure what the right words are… There are no right words, I guess…

But when I see these situations, I always remember the wise and philosophic words of my dad:

“You can never be smart enough in choosing your parents”

My dad always had something philosophic to say… The homeless human beings, did they choose wisely?

I never asked and will never know. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. It doesn’t matter, they are here. Amongst us… More in some places, less in others…

I could never bring myself to make images of the homeless, regardless of how “good” the image would be. Then there was a healthy discussion on the subject in the Progressive Street Gang, and that made me think some more. Finally, I came to the conclusion that it has to be shown.

It is a reality and it is street. But it should be in the right context. The context of showing the world about the less fortunate human beings amongst us, even in so-called first-world countries, and not in the context of “look-what-a-great-image”. But strong images that make us think, and maybe strong enough to make us act!

I hope that this little photo essay helps somehow in realizing what we have and they don’t.

And then I am talking about a roof, food, bathroom, etc. And not iPhone, Leica, etc.

You get my drift. And then maybe thinking, what can I do about it. Even something little, even something human. Countless small actions can make a difference and can make the world a better place.

Many little sips also can make you drunk… (My dad again…)

So, I did it and I said it. The unfortunate side of my city of residence: São Paulo, Brazil.

(Some images might be disturbing)

The Opposite House by Batsceba Hardy

Anyone like me who spends most of their day looking at the sky, cannot fail to run into the windows.

I love windows, which reflect the sunlight, which lights up at night, because behind each one there is a story, a heart that pulsates. For a time I lived in front of my Doppelgänger.

I called it that because, like me, she was always on the computer and the light in her window was always on. Whatever time of night I looked at her, she was always there ...

But you know, Batsceba Hardy loves to contemplate herself in the windows of houses.

The apartment across the street

Rarely have I spent meaningful amounts of time in towns or cities. I’m slightly envious of those whose lives encompass the daily ritual that goes with the territory.

I appreciate that for some, urban existence is drab and grey; something in which to hide and fade away. For others, however, City Life is a way to absorb colour.

Oh to live in an apartment building...full of sounds, people and stories. Imagine that from your apartment you can see another; just across the street.

Many the story that unfolds within your view; almost serialised by it’s daily repetition.

There’s no conversation with those distant neighbours… but there’s almost a dialogue .

There’s no knowing what music plays in the background of that other apartment … but a list of possible songs grows.

There can be no knowledge of what smells drift through from the kitchen … but a menu forms in the imagination.

In the mind of the right viewer, this is not invasive. Nor is it voyeuristic.

Those are cold, hard terms to describe another kind of person.

No...in the mind of this particular viewer it’s just a knowing:

Life goes on,

Observed,

In a warm and respectful manner.

Truth be told, if the tables were turned, the shoe on the other foot...or more explicitly, the camera in the other’s hand…

I believe this photographer would be quite ok with that.

A response born of respect.

Keef Charles

AT THE BUS STOP by Fran Balseiro

**EN LA PARADA DEL BUS**

**by Fran Balseiro**

Unknown people getting on and off public transport, people waiting, people who are probably driving around aimlessly and I wanted to capture them with my camera.

This Saturday afternoon I had to go to the city of A Coruña near my house and as always I took the opportunity to bring my camera.
I walked for several hours and did absolutely nothing, either I was having a bad day or the photographic circumstances I wanted were not present.
It was close to nine o'clock at night when I decided to leave and on the way to the garage there were three bus stops, so I thought I would stop and see what was going on and observe the people. It is when I began to capture the moments, in hardly half an hour I had made more than 50 photographs, so I leave you a sample of what I did.

The images were taken with my beloved fuji XT-3 and a 23mm/f2 Aps-c lens equivalent to a 35mm in FF with an ISO of 2500 and a f2 aperture, measurement
in the high lights and single-point focus.

EN LA PARADA DEL BUS
Personas desconocidas que suben y bajan del transporte publico, gente que espera, gente que seguramente circula sin rumbo y que quise captar con mi cámara.

Este sábado por la tarde tuve que ir hasta la ciudad de A Coruña cerca de mi casa y como siempre aproveché para llevar la cámara.
Estuve paseando varias horas y no hice absolutamente nada , o tenia mal día o no se daban las circunstancias fotográficas que yo quería, hice alguna fotografía pero se fueron para la papelera.
Ya eran cerca de las nueve de la noche cuando decidí marcharme y en el trayecto que tengo que recorrer para llegar al garaje , había tres paradas de bus, por lo que se ocurrió pararme en ellas a ver que sucedía y observar a las personas. Es cuando empecé a captar los momentos, en apenas media hora tenia realizadas mas de 50 fotografías, por lo que os dejo una muestra de lo que realicé.

Las imágenes fueron realizadas con mi querida fuji XT-3 y un objetivo Aps-c 23mm/f2 equivalente a un 35 mm en FF con un ISO de 2500 y un diafragma de f2, medición
en las altas luces y enfoque con un sólo punto.

Fran Balseiro

Walking in Paradise by Harrie Miller

Sunshine, Sand and Vitamin Sea or if you prefer, walking in Paradise.

A line of Australia’s anthem proclaims that we are girt by sea.

The coastline of Australia is long, very long. Depending on how it’s measured and the scale of the map it is nearly 70, 000km. Another weird fact is that Australia has far more coast per person than any other continent on the planet so to see a crowded beach outside a tourist hotspot like Bondi, Surfers, St Kilda or City Beach, or during a holiday season or on a weekend is very unusual and for me that makes it an almost perfect paradise.

Walking along the shoreline with my camera feels different. After a click, invariably you will be noticed and when you are, you can’t just turn and pretend you are part of the crowd. Because there simply isn’t one. Nada. In fact walking on sand and likening it to the asphalt I am accustomed to, is equally as strange. The concept of getting my head around that this is ‘street’ is, for me, problematic as well. Although there may be similarities, street photography is a far cry from beach photography.

Since time and tide waits for no one let me move on.

On the beach you will be seen, with or without a camera and regardless of camouflage. Think on it. Walking along the shoreline in ‘street clothes’ is, to state the obvious, inappropriate and marks you out as odd or peculiar at the very least. I’ve alluded to the reason, you are on your own, and there is no mob to blend into. But just as challenging is wearing a swimming costume, a bikini, board shorts or a cozzie and trying to figure out where to put your camera? It’s hard enough taking care of the budgies!

In my case size does matter. I place my camera in my short’s pocket and pretend that I’m being normal when I take, it, the camera, out, drop to my knees, turn to face my victim, read subject, compose and click. I pretend to look at flotsam and jetsam as I meander down the beach but I’m not sure how convincing as camouflage that is.

I use a compact camera, a Sony rx100m3; brush and puffer; lens cleaner spray; cotton buds; sun glasses; wide brimmed hat; UV cream and a back pack for things not worn, rounds out my beach photography gear.

Weather at almost any time of the day is an enemy and amplifies things by orders of magnitude. A wind on the street is welcome. When managed by buildings, trees, bushes, buses, cars and people it is gently reduced to become a breeze. On the beach a breeze is not so gentle. There are no buffers and it tends to amplify and turn into a fiend of a gale that carries sand particles into personal places and crevices where they are not welcome. Not to mention that sand finds its way onto the camera lens, under knobs, behind LCD screens, focus rings, you name it, everywhere. And as if to make further comedy out of a ‘not so comedic’ turn of events, it gets better. For good measure the minute molecules of sea spray will also help to bond the annihilation of sand onto everything it has already reached and coat everything else with salt that the sand hasn’t!

Then there is the sun, it is fierce and harsh. You protect yourself with UV cream which in turn too finds its way onto the camera no matter how often you wipe your hands! If the camera is still able to do its thing after its battle with wind, sand and sea salt, aperture set on at least f8 or smaller and ISO set to 100 becomes your friend in an effort to tame the sun’s brilliant harshness. And if you are very lucky and the weather god smiles on you, you’ll get some clouds. Which will bring that sweet, sweet cooling cover of shade……. But deep down you know that it’s just wishful thinking. Because after thirty minutes or so you seriously start thinking it’s time to get back off the beach because you are starting to dehydrate and hallucinate. And the combination of sun, the heat, thirst and your hunger are driving you to Chish ‘n Fips and a cold one

I’m floundering like a fish out of water [pun intended, but necessary] as I ponder the question, is it, street photography? For me, no. Not really. BUT I’ve had it from good authority and greater minds as well as lots of thoughtful to-ing and fro-ing that it is and at times I’m heading into the ‘street’ camp. The good thing is that addressing the comparisons, similarities, overlaps and exclusions about public place, people, walkers, thoroughfares, bicycles, cars and trucks, trailers, boats, helicopters, dune buggies, etc. to grasp what it is that makes street photography ‘street’ photography -has if nothing else, set me thinking. Which, in my case, isn’t a bad thing.

So if you too still have reservations as do I, I understand but, regardless, let me tread on your toes, gently, because I will keep walking in my ‘sandy-yard’ while taking pictures!

Just as a ball on the beach becomes a communal play thing for all in its proximity, so to your camera forces you to overcome your worst imaginings about people and turns you from an isolate into a model charmer. Applying interpersonal tango steps to engage with your subject and you can cancel her or his negative concerns about your photography. And furthermore, at times your compassionate, thoughtful interaction will, in joy of joys, create a real friend. Be prepared!

And, here’s the thing, so far, now with fingers and everything else crossed for the future, my personal interactions have, all, but once, been positive. Not once have I been asked to delete a frame, nor been called an old fart or worse. In fact providing my online handle has resulted in real friends and real work.

Remember, I did say at the outset, ‘I walk in paradise.

There are challenges of walking along the shoreline compared to walking a street but they are minor, relatively easily overcome with a smile and a word or two of explanation and the benefits are greater than fresh air, blue skies, and even dare I say it, even greater than your best shot!

End Note: The faint skyline at the back of some of my pictures is Surfers Paradise. Not sure why it is called that as it is probably the worst surfing beach not only in Queensland but probably in Australia.

Harrie Miller

Since 2016 I’ve resided in Melbourne. Now I live in the Gold Coast, a metropolitan region south of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast.
I’ve been a teacher for longer than I care to admit. I’ve taught across a spectrum of ages and institutions, from Infants children, to Primary, High School, College and adults at University. Prior to teaching I was in the electrical trades and in industrial electronics. Not long ago I worked in two art galleries in Western Australia. Now I try to travel as often as I can to see the many facets of our changing world and its vast and diverse people.

The body ink film by Shimi Cohen

Since the beginning of the current decade, the tattoo world has known days of excellence as it never knew. If in the distant past tattoos were considered negative connotations and were attributed to very specific factions in a population such as sailors or gang members, today tattoos are an integral part of mainstream culture and are considered a popular artistic stream for all intents and purposes.

An article published several months ago in several American newspapers claimed that one in four Americans ages 18 to 50 carries at least one tattoo on his body.

Tattoo artists are so named because they create paintings that stay forever.

The question of whether a particular tattoo is an artist or just a professional is primarily related to the quality of work and the illustrative ability of each tattoo. It is important to understand, most tattoos are done within boundary lines and filled in colors within these lines - not fundamentally different from children's paintings though which requires a much more gentle and precise technique. The number of tattoos painted in a style called free hand is zero, and most are simply unwilling to take the risk. Therefore, for most tattoos and for this article, tattooing people is not an art but a skill.

Although tattoos are more common today than they ever were, Israeli society is ready to accept them only within the boundaries of good taste.

Until the early 1980s, there was a negative image in Israel and this concept also contributed to the halakhic prohibition on body tattooing, and perhaps even the role of tattoos in the Holocaust. In a gradual process, tattoos have become an integral part of world and local culture and today they are a common sight, of all ages and of all strata of the population. Is it really in our favor?

The good taste, according to the average Israeli, is tattooing in an area that is easily covered and concealed (ie not a tattoo in the neck, wrist or other hard-to-hide body part). This unwritten code book states that small-scale tattooing in a hidden area is acceptable and socially acceptable, especially for women, but still carries significant negative connotations when it is abnormal in size or appears in some visible body (in both women and men). Such tattoos have a significant impact on the tattooist's employability and image on the Israeli street.

You will always remember your first tattoo, the loss of this virginity when the needle pierces your skin thousands of times.

Any such tattoo signifies for you as it does.

The ones on my body tell me a lot of what brought me to enact them.

And there's always the thought of what the next tattoo will be.

Shimi Cohen

Poverty is mixed with a colorful life around us - by Abrar Asad

**Poverty in colours**

**by Abrar Asad**

Poverty is mixed with a colorful life around us.

These poor and needy people live a very simple life within their expectations which I consider as a dream.

Their imperfect dreams motivate them to survive more and they love to dream again and again as a hope.

They always try to be happy with the light of hope.

Life is meaningful only when happiness and sorrow are mingled together in different colours.

Traveling by bus by Abrar Asad

Every day people of different religions and different ages travel by bus for various activities.

I'm also one of those guys who travels to work by bus.

During the travel time people pass their times in different ways:

Some people fall asleep for long journey and tiredness.

Some others look at the city out of curiosity through the window.

And someone people are love to gossip with their partner.

These transports are also the source of livelihood for some people.

The dispute between the passenger and the bus rent collector on hire is an everyday occurance.

Traveling on the bus is a part of our daily life.

And we enjoy this journey in our own way.

73086411_738772599869152_868174183723433984_n (1).jpg

Danza di luce by Stefania Lazzari

lexus performance 02 col.jpg — Danza di luce

**by Stefania Lazzari**

And here I am, I find myself inside one of the many installations present at the Fuori Salone, an international avant-garde design event that takes place in Milan every April.
I sit down, I look for the most comfortable position to be able to take the best shots, without knowing what is about to begin. I set my camera to the maximum aperture and ISO considering the conditions of almost total absence of light in which I find myself.
And it all begins.
After a play of light and movement composed of spotlights and large vertical robotized panels that move imposingly, she unexpectedly appears, a magnificent evanescent dancer, dressed in white.
From that moment her dance starts, accompanied by loud and redundant music and the movements of the robots and the lights that surround it.
I find myself immersed for a few minutes in a parallel, futuristic reality.
And then everything ceases, slowly. And she disappears in the dark.

' Ed eccomi qui, mi ritrovo all'interno di una delle tante installazioni presenti al Fuori Salone, evento internazionale di design d'avanguardia che si svolge a Milano ogni anno ad aprile.

Mi siedo, cerco la posizione più comoda per poter scattare al meglio senza sapere cosa stia per cominciare. Imposto la mia macchina alla massima apertura e ISO considerando le condizioni di quasi totale assenza di luce in cui mi trovo.

E tutto ha inizio.

Dopo un gioco di luci e movimento composto da faretti e grandi pannelli robotizzati verticali che si muovono imponenti, appare inaspettatamente lei, una magnifica ballerina evanescente, vestita di bianco.

Da quel momento parte la sua danza, accompagnata da musica forte e ridondante e dai movimenti dei robot e delle luci che la circondano.
Mi ritrovo immersa per pochi minuti in una realtà parallela, futuristica.
E poi tutto cessa, piano. E lei scompare nel buio.'

Glances in the rain by Fran Balseiro

74437393_2492948084362452_8324911616365690880_o (1).jpg — Glances in the rain

**by Fran Balseiro**

Miradas bajo la lluvia – Octubre 2019

This weekend was celebrated near my city, in the town of Mondoñedo (Lugo) a festival that lasts several days of great livestock tradition called "As San Lucas" which highlights the great tradition of fair of horse riding livestock and which attended hundreds of people, is declared of national tourist interest.

I didn't think to go since these days it rains with enough intensity, and the best thing was to stay at home but it passed me by the imagination to take the camera and to realize something different, integrating me in the rain passing unnoticed with my umbrella in the middle of the people and to be able to realize some photographs that were different from the habitual thing, looking for a single point of focus and to blur the rest, this was the result.

I used my Fuji XT3 with the 56mm f1.2 lens and practically fired between f2 and f1.4 to produce that blur.

Este fin de semana se celebraba cerca de mi ciudad, en la localidad de Mondoñedo ( Lugo ) una fiesta que dura varios días de gran tradición ganadera llamada " As San Lucas " donde destaca la gran tradición de feria de ganado cabalar y a la que acuden cientos de personas, esta declarada de interes turistico nacional.

No pensaba acudir ya que estos días llueve con bastante intensidad, y lo mejor era quedarse en casa pero se me pasó por la imaginación llevar la cámara y realizar algo distinto, integrandome en la lluvia pasando desapercibido con mi paraguas en medio de la gente y poder realizar unas fotografías que fuesen distintas a lo habitual, buscando un solo punto de enfoque y desenfocar el resto, este fue el resultado.

Utilicé mi fuji XT3 con el objetivo 56mm f1.2 y practicamente disparé entre f2 y f1.4 para producir ese desenfoque.

Exercise diary Bogo Pečnikar

**Beauty Is in The Eye of The Beholder**

**by Bogo Pečnikar**

I live in a town surrounded with greenery, yet also containing lots of parks.

I'm lucky to live in the immediate neighborhood of one, so convenient for my daily walks. first with my faithful dog, who is now getting too fast for me - and it is me who needs the daily exercise … or those times when I'm only walking alone with my cane and my camera, the later being (except myself) my oldest companion on these brief sojourns.

It all began with a smartphone in those times when I wasn't yet used to lugging my camera with me.

The park consists of an ancient forest-like core of huge chestnut trees once belonging to a19th- century manor, which now houses a cafeteria and pizzeria. The park is landscaped amid flat land that probably once served as the baron's fields. Today, this area features numerous sport objects and playgrounds, including a swimming pool, a few tennis courts and even a small football stadium with an athletic track.

Add to this a grade school and a sports college, both buildings from the 1960s in that socialist utilitarian style allegedly inspired by the Swiss-French urban planner Le Corbusier (1887-1965), one of the pioneers of modern architecture … the whole scene is interspersed with miles of wire fences.

Indeed, this is not a visually pleasing environment … yet the air is fresh, the grass is green and there is no traffic. Despite the visually dull milieu, I scanned for compositional details.

I used my smartphone to take some photographs. When reviewing the material at home, I was quite happy with the results. Yet if the image quality was disappointing, I brought my camera the next day, and the day after.

As the environment seemed static, I often studied the landscape for nuances like classic painters, embracing the subtle changes in light and atmosphere measured by time and climate.

Gradually, I learned to adopt the annoying wire grid as an integral part of composition … a distinctive common denominator of the series, and an important element of its narrative - conveying the feeling of the solitude and being caught in daily routines and obligations.

Having the camera with me, I was also able to take photographs during coffee breaks in one of the two cafeterias, be it portraits of friends I met, or candid images of random guests and personnel.

Back home, when reviewing the photos I often liked some of them very much, yet they usually ended in some marginal folders on my computer hard drive, since I never considered them as central to my portfolio.

The images were much like etudes, known to every music student …short pieces of music addressing certain technical problems, different scales and chord progressions - not without the appeal of real music, possibly containing nice ideas and pleasing melodies.

Exactly like playing etudes this praxis helped me stay connected with my photography, practicing creative framing and swift reactions, experimenting with exposure settings and testing new equipment, when I was lucky to acquire some. All in all, a habit I can recommend to any photographer.

Over time I developed a special affection for finding mysterious beauty in apparently dull, if not ugly everyday scenes. The Japanese culture has a special word for it: “wabi-sabi,” which is an aesthetic that embraces transience and imperfection. As a result, my collection of photos has grown larger and larger.

As it is a product of conscious activity I could boldly call it a body of work, some images being quite interesting … evoking many memories of my solitary walks and even passing the test of time … in my opinion, worth showing to a broader audience.

my April photowalk by Bogo Pečnikar

I'm an urban beast, who likes to find beauty and interesting images in my environment.

Maybe street photography is full filling my hunter-gatherer instincts.

I love colours and we see in colours. Moreover I've noticed that many contemporary (mostly American) street photographers have embraced the colour media. And totally consciously decided to go that way myself to try conveying my way of seeing the world in a totally naturalistic way only by framing and choosing the moment (which I often happen to patiently wait for minutes).

The Nomenclature of Seeing by Kevin Lim

and_when_i_looked_back_you_were_gone_by_batsceba_dcoxag2-pre.jpg — The Nomenclature of Seeing

**Kevin Lim**

"My short essay explores the relevance of insight… metaphors and visual literacy and curation of your particular style of work. The questionnaire is also a bit of fun and a pleasant icebreaker" Kevin Lim

Frame A

“The universe is true for us all and dissimilar to each of us.”

― Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time

I realised from a very young age , that it was never really about what was happening but how we perceive things. Many masters of photography, including Graciela Iturbide cautions us that “photography is not the truth”, but merely our personal interpretation of the world we photograph. We are guided by our past so to speak, when making decisions in photography, by the world within us.

She said :

“What the eye sees is a synthesis of who you are and all you have learned. This is what I would call the language of photography - an intuitive act infused with all you have learned”.

Ansel Adams echoed her sentiment succinctly with the following thought :

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”

For me , the images we make represent an amalgamation of our personality and whatever lies in front of our lens that motivates us to release the shutter. More often than not factors such as personal beliefs, emotions, education among others that unconsciously influence the process of making images are not accounted for - we are simply not aware and for better or worse , do not know , that we do not know.

Frame B

“We believe that we can change the things around us in accordance with our desires—we believe it because otherwise we can see no favourable outcome. We do not think of the outcome which generally comes to pass and is also favourable: we do not succeed in changing things in accordance with our desires, but gradually our desires change. The situation that we hoped to change because it was intolerable becomes unimportant to us. We have failed to surmount the obstacle, as we were absolutely determined to do, but life has taken us round it, led us beyond it, and then if we turn round to gaze into the distance of the past, we can barely see it, so imperceptible has it become.”

― Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time

Dr. David Bohm, the renowned theoretical physicist , offered us a truly elegant explanation that sums up the exquisite balance between our beliefs and what we experience as reality :

“Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we think. What we think depends on what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.”

As humans we cannot resist the secure familiarity of comparisons that form our past and we naturally compensate with points of association in the present and what gives us comfort is not so much the meticulous depiction of reality that matters but the vision evoked within us that is important. We are but an intricate tapestry of reminiscences and beliefs and sentiments.

Frame C

“But sometimes illumination comes to our rescue at the very moment when all seems lost; we have knocked at every door and they open on nothing until, at last, we stumble unconsciously against the only one through which we can enter the kingdom we have sought in vain a hundred years - and it opens.”

― Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time

When Proust was thirteen years old , he answered a questionnaire in an English-language confession book belonging to the family of his friend Antoinette, daughter of the then future French President Félix Faure, entitled "An Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings, etc." At that time, it was popular among the wealthy to answer such a list of questions that revealed the tastes and aspirations of the taker.

The Proust Questionnaire was and remains popular today due to the responses given by Proust as a teenager and by many other famous personalities. Perhaps we would like to have some fun answering similar questions contained in the questionnaire and in a small way enjoy gaining a little insight about ourselves, and at the same time realise that photography is:

More about vision ... Less representational... More figurative ... Less descriptive ... More feeling.

Frame D

Dear friends, I give you The Proust Questionnaire. Enjoy.

Questionnaire

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Where would you like to live?

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?

Who are your favourite heroes of fiction?

Who are your favourite characters in history?

Who are your favourite heroines in real life?

Who are your favourite heroines of fiction?

Your favourite painter?

Your favourite musician?

The quality you most admire in a man?

The quality you most admire in a woman?

Your favourite virtue?

Your favourite occupation?

Who would you have liked to be?

Your most marked characteristic?

What do you most value in your friends?

What is your principle defect?

What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?

What would you like to be?

What is your favourite colour?

What is your favourite flower?

What is your favourite bird?

Who are your favourite prose writers?

Who are your favourite poets?

Who are your heroes in real life?

Who are your favourite heroines of history?

What are your favourite names?

What is it you most dislike?

What historical figures do you most despise?

What event in history do you most admire?

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

How would you like to die?

What is your present state of mind?

What is your motto?

Dear friends please send associated images of Proustian moments that have deep significance to you

Batsceba Hardy answers

FRAME A

“The universe is true for us all and dissimilar to each of us.”― Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time — “***The universe is true for us all and dissimilar to each of us.”***
― *Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time*

FRAME B

“We believe that we can change the things around us in accordance with our desires—we believe it because otherwise we can see no favourable outcome. We do not think of the outcome which generally comes to pass and is also favourable: we do not succe… — “We believe that we can change the things around us in accordance with our desires—we believe it because otherwise we can see no favourable outcome. We do not think of the outcome which generally comes to pass and is also favourable: we do not succeed in changing things in accordance with our desires, but gradually our desires change. The situation that we hoped to change because it was intolerable becomes unimportant to us. We have failed to surmount the obstacle, as we were absolutely determined to do, but life has taken us round it, led us beyond it, and then if we turn round to gaze into the distance of the past, we can barely see it, so imperceptible has it become.”
― *Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time*

FRAME C

“But sometimes illumination comes to our rescue at the very moment when all seems lost; we have knocked at every door and they open on nothing until, at last, we stumble unconsciously against the only one through which we can enter the kingdom we ha… — “But sometimes illumination comes to our rescue at the very moment when all seems lost; we have knocked at every door and they open on nothing until, at last, we stumble unconsciously against the only one through which we can enter the kingdom we have sought in vain a hundred years - and it opens.”
― *Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time*

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

humiliation, losing the dignity of being human

Where would you like to live?

in Neverland

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

I do not know. happiness is a concept without boundaries. for me to be happy, it means to see a flower in a place where it should not be but also to sell a photo. for mankind it should be living in peace, because that depends on us

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?

I am generally sympathetic and indulgent. I try to understand the reasons... but I have no clear the definition of faults

Who are your favourite heroes of fiction?

I have so many heroes, now perhaps not so many ... "Tommy River", a normal man (a character invented by an Italian writer) ... a character who has accompanied me from six to twenty-five years (when I was reading philosophy and Proust )

Who are your favourite characters in history?

Hannibal, Napoleon

Who are your favourite heroines in real life?

I have none

Who are your favourite heroines of fiction?

Pippi Longstocking

Your favourite painter?

too many! … ok... Il Veronese, Modigliani, Magritte, Hopper

Your favourite musician?

Mozart and The Cure

The quality you most admire in a man?

honesty

The quality you most admire in a woman?

honesty

Your favourite virtue?

Intelligence...

Your favourite occupation?

Think

Who would you have liked to be?

myself

Your most marked characteristic?

do not have superstructures

What do you most value in your friends?

friendship, personality

What is your principle defect?

what do you mean by defect? stubbornness? for me it can be a value

What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?

lose a child, a son

What would you like to be?

air

What is your favourite colour?

blue

What is your favourite flower?

poppy

What is your favourite bird?

the flying goose

Who are your favourite prose writers?

too many!

Who are your favourite poets?

Dylan Thomas and many others

Who are your heroes in real life?

I have none

Who are your favourite heroines of history?

Ipazia

What are your favourite names?

boh!

What is it you most dislike?

wickedness, cruelty

What historical figures do you most despise?

I despise anyone who could do something positive and did not do it

What event in history do you most admire?

the end of every war

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

fly when I was a child

How would you like to die?

I do not want to answer

What is your present state of mind?

normal, why?

What is your motto?

I am what I imagine…

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” S. Beckett

photos by Batsceba Hardy

Michael Kennedy answers

FRAME A

FRAME B

FRAME C

FRAME D

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Surviving the death of one’s child.

Where would you like to live?

Summer in Lisbon, and winter in Bangkok

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

a committed companion who is willing to be a witness to my life

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?

meaningless sex, mental inertia, stubbornness

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?

Bond. James Bond.

Henry Chinaski

Who are your favorite characters in history?

Abraham Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant

William Tecumseh Sherman

U.S. General Douglas MacArthur

U.S. General George Patton

Who are your favorite heroines in real life?

My mother for providing me language skills and inspiring my love of literature

Mary Ellen Mark for her remarkable skills and dedication to documentary photography

Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?

Elizabeth Bennet

Your favorite painter?

Picasso … and Lucien Freud, and Edvard Munch

Your favorite musician?

John Lennon

The quality you most admire in a man?

the proper mix of intelligence and a sense of humor

The quality you most admire in a woman?

the proper mix of intelligence and a sense of humor

Your favorite virtue?

acts of kindness

Your favorite occupation?

writing and photography

Who would you have liked to be?

American actor Steve McQueen

Your most marked characteristic?

- an unwillingness to take authority figures seriously

What do you most value in your friends?

credibility

What is your principle defect?

a lack of tolerance for fools, dimwits, moral pygmies and general douch-baggery

What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?

the death of a child

What would you like to be?

a person of worthy accomplishment

What is your favorite color?

blue

What is your favorite flower?

marijunana

What is your favorite bird?

—-

Who are your favorite prose writers?

Mark Twain, Henry Miller, Hunter S. Thompson, Christopher Hitchens and F. Scott Fitzgerald

Who are your favorite poets?

Robert Lowell and Charles Bukowski

Who are your heroes in real life?

teachers

Who are your favorite heroines of history?

Germaine de Stael

George Sands

Simone de Beauvoir

What are your favorite names?

Madison

What is it you most dislike?

People who use piety to cloak hypocrisy and justify avarice

What historical figures do you most despise?

Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Trump

What event in history do you most admire?

The end of World War I

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

the ability to sing

How would you like to die?

in my sleep, and with dignity

What is your present state of mind?

as reasonable as could be expected

What is your motto?

Don’t take shit from anyone.

photos by Michael Kennedy

City and its people by Siddhartha Mukherjee

PS_UL_0 Den Haag (2).jpg — **City and its people**

**by Siddhartha Mukherjee**

This is just the taste of the project that will be published on one of the next issues of our Magazine.

The visual confluence of people and the cities they inhabit forms an inextricable whole in my pursuit of street photography.

Empty cityscapes to me invoke as much a sense of haunting, as people without their surroundings invoke estrangement.

In this project, I try to interweave through a series of double exposures (all on 35mm black and white film) candid street photographs with cityscapes.

Much like reflections, double exposures bring out the interplay of light and shadow in surreal forms that are difficult to conceive and yet played out fluidly through chance, experiment and exploration.

Shooting analogue makes chance a determining factor in how these photographs turn out, while completely bypassing the allure of excessive editing and the pursuit of perfection in overlaying two scenes.

Here I first shot all the portraits, and then a series of random cityscapes (keeping in mind a few general rules I followed in composing the former).

Developing each roll of film brought surprises as well as lessons that I tried to learn for the next series of shots. So far, these photographs have been shot over a month in Hague and Copenhagen, and I will be continuing this project in different cities. I hope it sparks some viewers into connecting more intimately with their city and its people.

Siddhartha Mukherjee

Den Haag

Copenhagen

FASHION AND BUSINESS

F&B 4.jpg — FASHION
BUSINESS

**by Stefania Lazzari**

This project is about Fashion and Business, as well as Business in Fashion.

The intent is to represent how Fashion is one of the main points of interest and strength in a city like Milan. I want to show how these two aspects blend together from a street perspective.

You can see the model having fun during a street shooting, a business man walking in the centre of the city where there is always famous brands on show. The fashionista and her vanity become clearly visible.

This blend of style and business attracts millions to Milan every year. It is what makes Milan tick.

It is a street photographers dream. Beauty, style, light architecture, friendliness, culture and foot traffic that keeps you clicking all day.

My world in red

DSCF2992 (1).jpg — **My world in red**

***by Karlo Flores***

Blue is the male principle, stern and spiritual. Yellow the female principle, gentle, cheerful and sensual.

Red is matter, brutal and heavy and always the colour which must be fought and vanquished by the other two.

Franz Marc

KARLO FLORES

Home: Davao City, Philippines
Age: 39
Profession: Radiographer

Calling in life: Street photographer
Hobby: Video games
Last book read: Fire by Kate Cann
Last Accomplishment: OnSpot selected exhibitor - sept 1-15 - Bucharest, Romania

Favorite quote: Perfection is the enemy of creativity and success.
Profile: A hunter … I always find the right ingredients. I hunt for images that are evocative, meditative and, most importantly, reflect my thoughts and feelings. I always allow my state of mind to be the source of my vision and creativity.
Favorite drink: Jack Daniels

Stefania Lazzari: Pride of Vision

Feature on Stefania Lazzari.jpg — **Stefania Lazzari**

***Pride of Vision***

**by Michael Kennedy**

The cliché: “Buy the ticket, take the ride,’ persists because there’s an element of truth to taking routine chances, and later realizing how this often changes us for the better.

Ask Stefana Lazzari. Two years ago, the Milano native took a photography workshop “by chance,” and fell in love with Street Photography. The 41-year-old Lazzari has not looked back.

In fact, the chance workshop ignited such a passion for her, that one would never know Lazzari has only been pursuing street photography for two years.

“I love street photography,” Lazzari said, “yet my approach more closely resembles documentary photography.”

Documentary photography. Photojournalism. Street photography. It’s all good. Where one line begins and ends has little meaning when it’s the narrative that matters.

More recently, Lazzari had a chance to hit the streets of Milan as a photographer to cover the annual Gay Pride Parade. This year it occurred on June 30.

“The Milano Pride is a parade and festival held at the end of June each year in Milano,” Lazarri said, “to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies.”

Lazzari’ hometown is one of the cities displaying the widest variety of LGBT friendly clubs in Italy, yet the week with the greatest amount of LGBT friendly events is the week of Milano Gay Pride.

When Lazzari pursues her passion for photography in the street, she relies on a Canon 600D with a fixed lens - primarily a 50mm, though sometimes a wide-angle. Regardless, she prefers one camera and one fixed lens. As the Zen proverb goes: “Less is more.”

According to Lazzari, Pride Week takes place in the Milano city center.

“During the last week of June,” Lazzari said, “many gay cultural events take place mainly in Casa dei Diritti (House of Rights). Porta Venezia, is the heart of the gay district in Milano, and hosts “Pride Square” where vendors sell food and drink with live concerts and performances.”

Allegedly, this year’s event attracted about 250,000 people to the parade and after parties. The parade itself lasted four hours.

Whether a massive parade or people mingling on Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), Lazarri is astute about observing her immediate surroundings so that she feels part of the scene.

"I try to be as close as possible to the subjects that I want to photograph,” Lazzari said. “Yet I don’t want to be intrusive. Like all street photographers, I just want to blend in and be invisible - if possible.”

As a photographer, Lazzari uses color - which she rarely converts to B&W through Lightroom during post-production, a fine-tuned process that takes her about 15-minutes.

Italy: home of The Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. Italy: and Gay Pride parades.

Based on Julius Caesar’s time in Gaul (modern-day France), Roman historian Suetonius famously referred to him as “a husband to every woman, and a wife to every man.”

The world-weary view of “nothing new under the sun,” has existed as cliché for centuries.

Yet 30,000 people in Milano turned out for the recent Gay Pride parade.

“The residents of my city are absolutely tolerant of lifestyle choices,” Lazzai said. “Of course, there are many older Catholics who have some difficulty accepting same- gender relationships. Yet a huge number of Milano residents have an open mind, and accept all people who are honest and decent. Our time on Earth is so brief, we must be happy yet respectful of others.”

The Gay Pride parade in Milano, which gave Lazzari so much material as a photographer, has its origins with the Stonewall riots - a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 29, 1969 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan in New York City

What became the Gay Rights Movement was a logical extension of the American Civil Rights Movement, spearheaded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - and many others in the 1960s, a time of significant social upheaval in the United States..

When Bob Dylan composed The Times They Are a Changin’ in 1964, he put truth to words.

And photographers like Lazzari are dedicated to documenting these changes, both common and profound, with a camera.

Michael Kennedy

Street in Pink

On exhibit July 2- 14On

From 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Chi Ama Milano, via Laghetto, n. 2 Milano

Stefania Lazzari wants to see you today, and every day for the next week.

More precisely, Lazzari wants you to see her first exhibit of street photographs, which are displayed at Chi Ama Milano.

Lazzari’s photography is well worth the trek to Milano, so if this means arriving in this fashionable Italian city by airplane, by train, by car, by helicopter, by hot-air balloon or a convoy of camels along the Old Silk Road - head out the door now, and don’t waste another second.

“When I realized that I would have my first solo exhibit,” Lazzari said, “I felt excited and surprised. Then the big day arrived - July 2, and there I was at the preview with all my friends.”

For the 41-year-old street photographer, it was a wonderful emotion, sharing her best work with all the important people in her life.

“To be recognized for what you love to do is tremendously satisfying,” Lazzari said.

And the Milano native loves to share her passion for street photography - a pursuit she discovered by chance, yet it was a “game-changer,” and Lazzari has not looked back.

Lazzari’s work is displayed at Chi Ama Milano, via Laghetto. The theme is the female figure in street photography.

“The female figure has inspired some of the greatest art across the ages,” Lazzari said, “and the relevancy of the subject is just as valid in the Street genre.”

Lazzari’s intent is to emphasize the delicacy and sweetness that femininity can give to those instantaneous, stealthy and spontaneous shots that only Street Photography can show.

"Street in pink" expresses Lazzari’s way of attributing grace and sensitivity to ordinary moments of life that happen everyday - yet escape our attention if not depicted in the decisive moment.

“This is my passion,” Lazzari said.

exhibition-by-stefania-lazzari

Faceless

Alphan is a photographer whom I would call 'theatrical'. His shots are "genuine" representations, but in him, I see also a conceptual mind. In short, he is a great street photographer, who blends together various aspects while maintaining his own unique style.

I have noticed how his research inside colour has grown. I have interpreted it as a pictorial attempt on his part, almost as if he wanted to recall a dreamlike world through colours; as if at certain times reality needed to be ' discovered ' through his eyes.

B.H.

Let's enjoy this his project