Street Photography: Where the Sidewalk Ends

     Though its practice is now constant and practically ubiquitous, street photography has been subject to many unique methods and motivations over the years. As Shimon mentioned in an email, one of these methods was the "specific, aggressive sort of approach to photographing people without their consent...", practiced by photographers like the controversial Bruce Gilden. Yet closer examination opens a world of possibilities when it comes to photographing the street. 

     The reading this week really brought to mind the significance of method, something that appears to be more influential in street photography than in any other type of photography. If Gary Winogrand had foregone his eccentric "comic compulsiveness", what sort of photographs would he have produced? Certainly they would be quite different from the work he is known for. 

     I liked the description by Rexer of the photographer looking for "...crystallized social relations, the coincidence of appearance and significance." I've always seen street photography as a treasure hunt of sorts, a hunt through space and time to frame a transient image that can never occur twice. Clearly though, this view is based upon current views of the street photographer, and is not shared by those who favor a more architectural view of the street, often achieved with longer exposures.