Looking for other "street" photographers similar to William Eggleston and Stephen Shore

Oatcake

Oatcake

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Any recommendations? I know they aren't necessarily considered street photographers by "purists" but I find these two photographers most closely resemble my own style and was wondering if there was anyone else I should check out. Dead, alive, famous or unknown photographers are welcome. I really like their democratic snapshot aesthetic. I've been getting into photobooks a lot recently, so any recommendations for books would be much appreciated also.
 
All good suggestions guys thanks, particularly iain serjeant and John darwell.
 
Thanks guys. I'm already familiar with Eric Kim's blog and most of the masters. I guess I was looking more for personal documentary style photography and street photography. William Eggleston and Stephen Shore have a much lighter touch that fits with my style as compared to someone like Bruce Guilden who has a much more abrasive style. Opposite ends of the spectrum really. I'm looking for less well known names, particularly British but I'm not so fussy about that.
 
Oatcake said:
Any recommendations? I know they aren't necessarily considered street photographers by "purists" but I find these two photographers most closely resemble my own style and was wondering if there was anyone else I should check out. Dead, alive, famous or unknown photographers are welcome. I really like their democratic snapshot aesthetic. I've been getting into photobooks a lot recently, so any recommendations for books would be much appreciated also.
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You may want to look at the work of Lee Friedlander?
 
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martin parr has some similarities like shooting everyday "banal" subjects like a colourful bottle of drink and that type of thing - i think the key is finding interest in everyday things that many photographers might overlook as not being interesting enough
 
Matt - my view for what it's worth! . . .

I teach street photography (at university and via workshops) and constantly come across the 'randomness' we see in street photography today. A random person in a street does necessarily make for an interesting street photo! 'Bloke in street', whilst it may be nicely lit, focused and composed, is not always a genuinely good street photograph - it's nothing more than a picture of a bloke in a street.

Sure, there are some very good contemporary street photographers about but the better ones stand out a mile for the wit, emotion or element of story-telling they get into their photos. Matt Stuart is a good example of the latter (who has a new book out shortly).

I agree that Street Photography Now is a good read and possibly the best of it's kind available today. There's also a good film worth checking out - it's about street photography in New York and you can rent, buy or stream it - details here: http://everybodystreet.com. I'm currently authoring 'Mastering Street Photography' for Ammonite Press, which will be published in October - so watch this space!

And if you fancy a workshop, I'm here: http://www.streetsnappers.com !

All the best,
Brian
 
Hi Brian. Completely agree with your statements re bloke in the street. I think Street photography must be one of the hardest forms of photography to conquer. I have studied the work of the magnum photographers in great detail and I'm also familiar with Matt Stuart. If I take one photo of the same calibre in my lifetime I will be happy. Having said that, I am also keen on documentary photographers, particularly Eggleston and Shore and their snapshot style. Whilst not considered the best street photographers, the elements of aesthetics and composition still play a big part, even in photos where there are no people involved. My primary focus though is documenting the world around me and my life, and if that means I take photos of bloke in the street whilst honing my skills then that's fine by me.

I took 2800 photos last year and have probably one shot that is closest to being considered a 'good' Street photo composition. The other 2799 are interesting documentary photos of people and objects that caught my eye. Some of these I like more than the ones with the best compositions. I guess I'm accepting my shortcomings as a street photographer and supplementing my shooting with lots of personal documentary stuff that will be interesting to look back on in 50 years from now. Some people might say that this is a cop out, but I would argue that I'm just being realistic! Haha
 
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