Saved by Street Photography
A monthly photographic newsletter about street photography, a shared humanity, and an ongoing empathic and spiritual awakening...
Saved by Street Photography: Answering the Call
Issue 01: October 2022
For the street photographer, every interaction on the street is yet another opportunity to be saved. And from whom do we need saving but ourselves? There is always a lesson, sometimes many, attached to every interaction while doing documentary style, candid street photography and/or impromptu street portraiture. Attached to every photo, of any random person I’ve ever made there was, and is, an opportunity for learning, growth, and the acquirement of wisdom. This opportunity presents itself whenever I raise my camera and release the shutter. It’s an opportunity not only for myself but for everyone involved, including those who find this photoblog.
After each impromptu interaction I ask myself, What did this encounter teach me? What felt good about it? What didn’t? What can I do differently next time in order to make it a more positive and rewarding experience for everyone involved? And because I am an LSW, I adhere to the NASW Code of Ethics in both my personal and professional lives, which often overlap. Because it is me who provokes these interactions with my camera, I feel it is my ethical responsibility to do no harm and to attempt to lend a hand and lift another up whenever and wherever possible.
Whether opportunities for personal growth and expansion are being sought by every street photographer is another story, of course, but for those of us who are actively seeking to expand our personal understanding of what it means to be here on this planet right now, going through all this… the opportunity for personal growth through connecting with others is always there. The realization that we’re all just trying to figure it out, and that we’re all attempting to do it, and get through it, with as little pain and trauma as possible, was a huge realization for me. If, instead of continuing in these petty debates that have us divided, we laid our differences aside and started listening to one another, we could come to a new understanding that we’re all in this current situation together, even if it is from different perspectives, and that having the ability to see it and understand it from different perspectives is actually a great advantage to us all.
It’s never too late to learn a valuable lesson. We can, however, spare ourselves years, decades, and even lifetimes of unneeded drama, trauma, and suffering by simply listening to one another and learning a few vital lessons sooner, rather than later. This photographic newsletter is an attempt to unite, through the recognizing and capturing of a shared humanity through street photography. So please, click Subscribe now and come along on this wonderful and amazing journey of connecting, sharing, growing, and yes, even healing...
To be continued…