This was so much harder than I thought it'd be

I thought I would try my hand at street photography
and clearly I need some practice.

Over the last few years I’ve consistently followed a few photographers on YouTube whose ideas and work often challenge me as I shoot. Some of the photographers also work in documentary or portrait work like me, but many of the photographers I consistently follow shoot an entirely different genre than I do.

One of those genres is street photography, which is exactly what it sounds like. Sean Tucker is my favourite because his commentaries on street photography, or on anything creative really, is truly life giving. I find it no surprise he was once a pastor because his videos feel like the delivery of a great sermon. He’s a street photographer in London and his channel often features other colleagues too which makes me love him all the more. Give him a follow if you're into that kind of content.

Now, while I’ve never considered myself a street photographer, that style of work has always intrigued me because it feels like the kind of work I’d like to do just for fun. Walking around cities, exploring without a plan and no client expectations. Just a person with a camera looking for light. Honestly, that sounds like the perfect Saturday.

So while I was in the Dominican this past April I met a local photographer Ivan Mendez and we spent an afternoon walking around the colonial zone with our cameras and a super loose plan. The experience was something completely foreign to me. I’d never shot with another photographer, and I was a bit lost to be honest. No, that’s not honest. I was completely lost.

I overthought every shot. I was super self conscious. I didn’t feel at ease at all. I was hyper aware that I probably looked like a cliche white girl tourist with an expensive camera. And layer all of that with anxiety about whether we - or in reality me more than him - were mugging targets. That’s not a great recipe for coming back with anything substantial.

In fact I shot so little on our walk Ivan actually asked me, “So you’re not that inspired by the city?” I felt bad and I think he took it as if he’d done a bad job at showing me around his stomping grounds.

The truth is inspiration was the furthest thing from my mind because I was overwhelmed with feeling like I was encroaching on people. I truly don’t ever feel this way in any other shoot when I am shooting for a client. Maybe it’s because I know in my mind I’ve been given permission to capture events or weddings or family gatherings. That allows me this inner confidence that says I belong in a space - that I’m allowed to be there.

But this day in the Dominican no one gave me any permission. I didn’t know if I should be open and ask people if I could take their picture, or if I should act chill and sniper shoot unsuspecting bystanders. 

That day as I moved about Santo Domingo I was aware of this inner battle going on in my mind and many times I thought back to 2017 when I went to Mexico City with CBC News. I was sent with a crew to cover Trump’s first inauguration, and as I produced our national broadcast reports that day I also walked around that city with a camera in hand and captured images of the events for our online pieces. I didn’t feel awkward at all. I felt assured that I was documenting something important and providing a service. But on the surface I didn’t look any different - I was still “white girl with camera” - but I had given myself a silent permission, a permission that was well-rooted in my mind and told me I was allowed to be there.

On the contrary, my Santo Domingo day was a big learning experience into the dynamics of street photography. The nuance of being invisible yet not overpassing boundaries. Balancing respect for personal space while altering as little as possible. There is so much to learn in this genre.

Thankfully I did get some images I enjoyed from that walk through the city. A little series I’m calling Zona Cats. Given the indifferent nature of cats and their clear display of stretches I’d say these subjects gave me permission to take their images.

But better than cats, we also stumbled upon a music academy and there I found a wonderful woman who was practicing her violin. And, yes, I asked her if I could take her photo. So while she played a beautiful piece of music I got to shoot a stranger. She got a lovely photo of herself, and I got some practice asking random people if I can encroach on their space and take their portrait. I truly didn’t think it was going to be so hard to do this, but clearly I was wrong, and now I know I definitely need practice in street photography.