I’m Not a Street Photographer Anymore…
Reading time: 3 mins
One of the most important things I've done on my photography journey to date was photographing the summer solstice at Stonehenge. I'm not suddenly a hippie, and I know people have been photographing solstices at Stonehenge for many years and after one trip I’ve barely scratched the surface.
But something about it captured my imagination like nothing else I've photographed before.
Nearly 25,000 people were crammed into the space next to the ancient monument, all sharing in a collective experience as we anticipated the sun rising on the longest day of the year.
There were people from all walks of life: hippies and ravers, Hare Krishnas, druids, shamans, Peruvian pan-pipers. Old, young, families, singles, lovers, different nationalities - you name it. It was special to share the space with so many others, but it became truly magical after the sun had risen and much of the crowd had left. Wandering amongst the stones, I found myself wondering at humanity and the countless human moments that have been shared in that spot for over 5,000 years.
Big thanks to my friend Simon for inviting me and encouraging me to go - I almost didn't, but I'm so glad I made the trip.
Resting my head against the stones for a moment, closing my eyes, and taking stock of how far I've come on my personal photography journey really lit a fire under me. It got me thinking with clarity about what I care about most photographically: people.
This is why I was drawn to street photography in the first place, but the more I've practiced it over the years, the less interested I've become in it as my sole focus.
Street photography, for me, is a relationship with the random - with the spontaneous and serendipitous. Don't get me wrong, it's a joy to go out my front door or walk through the park or winding city streets with no aim other than to see what the world offers up that day, then respond to it and capture it with my camera. It's taught me so much: to be patient, to be creative compositionally, to make something out of nothing, to be bold, and to connect more closely with fellow humans. It's given me purpose and drive, and I've gained countless photographic skills by testing myself in the challenging environment of the street.
But is Stonehenge ‘the street’? Is a protest, cultural gathering, ceremony, or time spent with family? Because those are the things I'm interested in now - that's what I want to explore and capture with my camera.
I've spent many years honing my skills on the ‘street’, which I can now carry into little projects and threads that I want to pull to see what happens and what I discover. I'm still going to make YouTube videos and write about street photography, but I'm going to explore other photographic ideas as well.
Am I going to stop taking photos on the street? Candid photos in public? Hell no, I still love that. But I really want to build a body of work over time focusing on the human condition, whether through staged portraiture, human landscapes, candid spontaneous photography, or whatever feels right.
My focus is shifting from street photography specifically to photography in general. You might call it documentary photography, but here's the point I want to make: I don't want to label myself or try to fit into a box, and maybe you shouldn't either.
For those of us that want to take our photography sincerely, who want to improve and make the best work we can, I think it can be very valuable to take stock and assess where we’re at in our journey so we can check in with ourselves that we’re really on the path we want to be on.
I'm not a street photographer anymore - I'm a photographer of humanity. I can't wait to see what direction this mindset shift takes my photography as we start the second half of 2025.
Thanks for reading :)
