Seize the Moment: Street Photography

Participants of the 3rd Filipino Street Photographers International Photowalk in Binondo, Manila

Make the ordinary extraordinary. These were the words that played over and over in my head as I looked for people and street scenes to capture on my camera during the 3rd Filipino Street Photographers International Photowalk held last Feb.17 in Binondo, Manila, and simultaneously in key cities of Japan, US, Singapore, Afghanistan, and Oman.

I am no expert in photography, nor a photography aficionado. But ever since I ventured into travel writing, I have fallen in love not just with the art of telling the story of a place but also with the art of capturing its own story in unforgettable images. 

Although street photography differs from travel photography to a certain extent, I thought I could learn a few tips on photographing ordinary people in action if I joined this photowalk, together with those whose passion is to see the world in frames through life's fleeting moments. Of course, I was hesitant at first, not having the right equipment nor the acumen for street photography. But I found relief and comfort in the fact that there were students and newbies like me in the group. Besides, I had my cousin, a professional photographer, by my side, so I was prepared for anything that could go wrong.

Prior to the photowalk, our team leader briefed us on the basics of street photography while we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. He gave a casual talk on the difference between documentary and street photography, and warned us not to be trigger~happy but rather to wait for the right moment. Yes, good pictures come to those who wait.

Divide and conquer. That was the game plan, so into three small groups we split and, armed with our only weapon, the conspicuous camera, we stepped into the battlelines and began our photowalk around Chinatown, Escolta, and Avenida. 

Feeling both pressured and inspired by the prospect of taking good pictures, I waited for the “right moment” to come like divine providence, but it was like waiting for Godot. Everything around me looked so ordinary. Nothing seemed worthy of special attention. The street scene was almost the same wherever I went: people selling and buying merchandise, children playing, mothers carrying babies, and lots of cars moving everywhere. Just the same I clicked my camera at every passing scene and wondered if what I was doing was street photography.  

But it did not take long for me to realize that the real challenge in street photography is how to make the familiar look unfamiliar, to bring out the essential from the trivial, and to transform the real into surreal. Needless to say, it takes more than just a good camera to do this. In photography, as in any other art form, perfection is a matter of technique and timing. Later, my cousin told me that such perfection is nothing but the “decisive moment,” a term coined by Henri Cartier-Bresson, the pioneering genius behind street photography. 

In my own limited understanding of this new artistic medium I was beginning to explore, I felt as if I was breaking into an unfamiliar territory, a world distant yet so near because it's a world where everything is possible in just a snap of a finger. 

As the photowalk drew to a close, the group reviewed all the photographs taken and shared their honest views on what makes a picture a great work of art. Looking at their works which they shared on Facebook, one can see that a million decisive moments can happen at any given place anytime.  And if I were to capture any of those moments, I would seize every photo opportunity that catches my eye. After all, a great photograph is but a moment away.