A quiet reflection. A bit of healthy self-criticism. Thoughts in liberty. What is and where it’s going the Street Photography today? We’re really going through a period of great success for the genre, or maybe it’s all a bluff? There is no doubt that today many people are talking about Street Photography. New groups come every day on facebook and flickr, and the interest on the part of photographers is evident. We should be pleased or start worrying?

Street Photography is different from the past: despite many make reference to Henri Cartier Bresson, his photography and his teachings seem to be worlds apart from the Street Photography that we see daily. It is right: the world evolves and with it a photographic genre witness of the times that we live. But the majority of the images we see every day are forgettable and quite often express a lack of aesthetic knowledge and many are not even real street photographs. There is need to filter the massive amount of images passed off as street photography. We see innocuous candid pictures,documentary images, life shots…but not real street photography.

Guilt is a bit of everyone, including me. Maybe we should stop talking too much about Street Photography and philosophize about it. And we should reappropriate of Photography. In these instagram times Street Photography has become a phenomenon of social networks. And some group on flickr takes itself so seriously confusing the virtual with the real.

I enjoy Street Photography and Street Photographers, but I dislike a lot of things of these times. Street Photography for someone is like a sport, and physically can also be so considering the meters that makes you walk, but I think it’s a bit sad this frenzy to share in groups. Especially when it comes to street photography without having understood what it is: images don’t lie.

As I said street photography can not be the only resource. Street Photography is useful in order to complete as a photographer. We can mean it as a gymnasium, to acquire skills. Absorbing Street Photography as a method and approach to be used in other genres. Confusion reigns. The misunderstanding that Street Photography and Photojournalism are the same thing is widespread. And many people continue to quote the famous sentence of Robert Capa (If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough) doesn’t help. Ladies and gentlemen, Robert Capa has never been a street photographer, and the phrase was referring to his experience as a war photographer!

Common places. So many cliches, citing documentary photographers to assume to the quotes good meanings (?) for street photography. And photographers who prowl the forums when they should stand in the street to take pictures…perhaps would improve. When I see to real professional photographers I look to Severin Koller, Chris Weeks, Giovanni Savino, Philip Lorca di Corcia, Trent Parke. They are real photographers who through the street photography method really work with photography, without wasting time in a group on flickr. You can do this in the beginning, then Flickr uses it as a room for your photos. If after years you’re still there to discuss, maybe you should reflect on the state of your photography.

Naturally this post is not against an useful activity such as social networking. I don’t have anything against this: i consider facebook, flickr, 500px, twitter important resources for today’s photographer. I am, however, against thinking that being popular on a social network is related to success as a photographer. The success of a real photographer is given by the exhibitions he does, by selling photographs, publishing books or simply by winning awards.

Ok, there is also the audience of amateurs who read us. But this speech is addressed also to them. The invitation is to give the right dimension to what you see on the internet. Don’t agree with passivity everything that is proposed. The authority is not given by the number of members or the number of group discussions. And even if a photographer is part of a collective he is not the god of photography. Also the collectives sometimes propose a lot of crap images, and the collectives are created by photographers with common ideas, with their simpathies and dislikes.

It is a jungle, where it is difficult to orient, especially for a beginner. In a world where real working photographers fuck each others, imagine those who are not real photographers and are pushing to become someone. And the armies of photographers frustrated…

And there is much hypocrisy…“five minutes experts” which support convinced that the type of camera that uses is not important. A sentence with which I can agree, but then why talk about sexy camera? And you’re not using expensive equipment? Over the last two months I’m using a compact camera, and I don’t repeat every five minutes that the camera is not important. And I don’t possess either a Canon or a Nikon, if this can help…

And then there are the pro flickr photographers (uhm…also i have a pro account, maybe next year no)…ooh, really? You are a pro? Fantastic! Maybe you are also a moderator of an exclusive, heavy-curated-elitist-fuck-the-enemies-group…oh, shit…cool!!! The dream of a photographer lifetime  becoming a moderator, or exaggerating, administrator of a group on flickr…you are doing a great work, man…you are a successful photographer, now!

It is clear that in the “real world” these social bullshits have absolutely no relevancy. In the real world they are not photographers, and bad amateur “photographers”. But…oversaturating the presence in this social networks (posting in 60 groups all the images submitted because they’re “pro” and they can) they claim their existence. No matter if only virtual.