Street Photography for the Purist

You see the photographs by Mssrs. Cartier-Bresson and Doisneau and perhaps Mssr. Boubat and you think, “This is what I want to do.”
Is it really that simple?
Photographer.
Camera.
Film.
A slice of real life on the street? Or a café? Or a restaurant? Or anywhere where humans are just being themselves?
If it were true in any endeavor, everyone could cook the perfect soufflé, play scratch golf or make movies like Kubrick.
It is not true.
Making portraits – environmental, editorial or otherwise – are easy compared to recording moments that happen on streets in Paris, Prague, CedarCity or even Los Angeles. For no matter what you do as a photographer in the context of a portrait – no matter if you are Andrew Eccles or Annie
Leibowitz or Herb Ritrs – they are contrived.
Real moments are not contrived.
They happen.
Without your input.
In as much as I think that much of HCB’s work was soft or “only famous” because “he’s famous” I will give him credit where credit is due. I fully
agree with him that perfect moments exist. These perfect moments can be framed within a composition that lend to what could be considered a great
photograph.
Notice I haven’t said anything about exposure or light?
To succeed at street photography light and exposure and depth of field should all ...
ALL ...
Be second nature to the photographer.