Everybody Street: Walking NYC With The Masters
It is said that the best way to learn photography and to learn about photos is to look at pictures and read photobooks. Another great way to learn about photography and from the masters themselves is to watch a documentary. Especially one as good as Everybody Street.
Although this documentary is as much about New York City as it is about street photography, it is an ongoing parade of masters of street photography: Joel Meyerowitz, Boogie, Ricky Powell, Martha Cooper, Jeff Mermelstein, Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Jamel Shabazz, Mary Ellen Mark, Rebecca Lepkoff, Clayton Patterson, Bruce Gilden. You name them; they make an appearance.
And they not only make an appearance! They share!
They tell their stories: what drives them, what does (street) photography mean to them, what are their subjects, the challenges of street photography, and so much, much more.
I have watched this documentary now at least seven times, and I keep watching. Every time I discover new gems.
And it asks me questions.
Each of these photographers brings their own wisdom. And sharing of this wisdom triggers questions.
Starting with: why street photography?
Or as Joel Meyerowitz states at the beginning of the documentary: "Why do some photographers go to the street and other photographers go to the studio?"
And while he provides the answer to his own question "Some people want to pretend it's a movie; other photographers walk into the world and they say 'show me'", it makes me think. Why do I have this appetite for street photography, to tell stories, to share the world with my audience?
Maybe it is for the same reason that Martha Cooper says: "You might have captured something that might be of interest in the future". And realizing that you have not captured it when it is gone! Or maybe because it is so real; in Jill Freedman's words: "this is not a movie, this is not tv". And maybe it is just because what I see in the street is a metaphor for my vision of the world; as Bruce Gilden explains: "People are symbols for what I see...And it's how I express what the world is."
The most important lesson, however, is that street photography is as diverse as it's photographers: with different backgrounds, different styles, different equipment, and different subjects. Which made me realize that it is as important to learn from these master, as it is important not to copy them. I need to find my own vision and voice, and share that with the world.
Always keeping Meyerowitz's guiding principle in mind: if you don't believe the world will present itself to you, you won't see it; you have to look for it!
Now enjoy the documentary, and share in the comments what you took away from it!
Everybody Street
A 2013 documentary produced by Everybody Street LLC and directed by Cheryl Dunn; shared on YouTube in 2017 by ShutteRev.