In the mid-nineties, when I began making photographs and developing them in the darkroom, I discovered street photography. For me, hours and miles spent wandering the streets with my camera was the best thing I could imagine. I learned to see in black and white, understanding how the things that drew my eye would appear as finished prints. I didn't shoot color until my first trip to India in 2009. I was, and still am, curious about almost everything, and although I shot a lot of film, I was frugal with the rolls of 24 or 36, preferring to take only one (two at the most) version of each scene I captured. I used a film I still love, XP2, which can be developed by machine, giving 4x6 snapshots, rather than the usual contact sheet. The "proofs" were tinted strange monochromatic tones but allowed me to see what I wanted to take into the darkroom and print for real. The other reason I used XP2 is that when combined with a mild soft-focus filter, I could make images that were delicate and nostalgic. I was enamored with 19th century images, having studied both 19th and 20th Century photography at Columbia College. I particularly enjoyed photographing torn posters and graffiti on the street using this method, and my street work from those days remains among my favorite of my own work. In fact, one of the groups of posters is now a black and white scarf in my Lensflair Editions line-up! And Zebra Gaze has been made into a long scarf with the addition of more zebra stripes.
I soon discovered that the best images came from trips to Europe. In the case of the torn posters (which I named Poséie des Affiches, or Poetry of the Poster, and still make today) I realized that the text in a variety of foreign languages allowed the composition to become important, rather than the actual meaning of the words. The historic architecture in the backgrounds helped create a sense of timelessness, and for years I made images free of human presence, or with perhaps one figure in the background.
As time went on, and I became more comfortable adding people to my vistas, the images began to tell stories. I found ordinary people to be fascinating, and so humans became an integral part of my street photography. In the images below, the juxtapositions of the subjects to their backgrounds are playful and ironic.
A few years ago, I was at the Naschtmarkt, Vienna's flea market, watching a particular dog whose owner was paying him little attention. I decided to make an image of the dog with only the barest hint of the owner. In that way, my series Dog at Flea was born. The owners are only there to hold the leash, making the dogs the stars of the show. Since that first shot, I've captured dogs at flea markets in Paris, Berlin and Vienna, among others, and expanded it to dogs on the street. The owners are never shown in full, allowing the dogs their dignity as subjects.
Soon I noticed cell phones everywhere I looked while shooting on the street. It was disheartening to say the least – every possible subject for a photo seemed to be either texting or speaking on the phone. Even children and old people, alone or with others, had phones in their hands. However, St. Petersburg Russia presented some great street photography opportunities. Somewhat behind the rest of Europe, cell phones weren't as ubiquitous in 2019 as they already were in the EU, allowing me to capture some wonderful images of ordinary citizens.
Alas, those days of roaming with a camera and capturing people just being themselves are basically gone due to mobile phones. I've begun photographing other things for my series and for my Lensflair Editions scarves. But then even while shooting in museums for my Gesture Series, I am surrounded by people taking photos on their phones – selfies with famous paintings, one another in front of same, and photos of art they like and want to remember. Unfortunately, cellphones are here to stay, for better or for worse, and those of us who love being on the streets with cameras are, as they say, out of luck. Even the image below, of which I'm rather fond, features a mobile phone… enough said. In any case, three decades as a street photographer has provided me with dozens if not hundreds of images, relics of the past to exhibit. Who knows, I may even collect them into a book at some point!
From My Silk Roads,
Susan