Coming soon to Youtube, photographers can watch the film Fill the Frame for free on April 6th. The film, which came out in 2021, profiles the work of several street photographers. The list includes some of the greatest street photographers alive such as Dimitri Mellos, Jonathan Higbee, Julia Gillard, Lauren Welles, Mathias Wasik, Melissa Breyer, Melissa O’Shaughnessy, Richard Sandler, and Paul Kessel. and on that date, you’ll get to watch them in action. In our 15 years as a publication, we’ve featured five of those photographers. So we’re revisiting their work and sharing their insights.
All images used with permission from the photographers in our interviews. Lead image by Paul Kessel. For more, check out Fill the Frame on April 6th.
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Insights from 5 of the Greatest Street Photographers Alive
Fill the Frame is a film that we think every photographer who is looking for inspiration should check out as there aren’t really many that delve into the minds. It seems instead that there’s so much emphasis on gear — which gets montonous. The one that does it really well is Paulie G’s Walkie Talkie. He’s talking to some of the greatest street photographers around right now along with those you really should be paying attention to. But if you want more then please check out Fill the Frame and check out insights from the photographers below.
Melissa Breyer Lets Her Mind Wander
In our 2019 interview, Melissa Breyer said the following:
Well, I think for me, concentration and a clear mind are perhaps at odds with one another. My favorite photos have come when I am actively not concentrating, but have instead left my mind wide open to wander and feel things. If I am too focused and looking for something, I can miss the odd spontaneous moments happening in the peripheries. I am at my most creative when my expectations are turned off and I am completely in the moment, with all of my senses open. I am much better when I’m shooting intuitively rather that intellectually.
Melissa Breyer
Paul Kessel Got Into it After Retirement
In our 2021 interview, Paul Kessel said the following:
“Some people snap away constantly and take over a thousand shots in a day. Others wait for special moments and press the shutter relatively infrequently. I fall into the latter category. I do not search for “emotional moments”. I believe that photographers are not capable of seeing “emotions”. The best we can do is catch expressions and gestures which may or may not reflect an emotional state or elicit emotion in the viewer. I try to press the shutter when light, background, and composition coupled with content that includes people or interactions that interest me fall into place. Admittedly, sometimes the composition is largely contingent on luck more than my perceptual ability.”
Paul Kessel
Melissa O’Shaughnessy Adds a Woman’s Perspective
In our interview, Melissa O’Shaughnessy said to us:
Though I photograph wherever I find myself, I spend most of my time in New York City, so that is where I do the bulk of my work. There are many New York street photography books, but relatively few of them are by women. I hope my book adds a new perspective to the genre.
Melissa O’Shaughnessy
Jonathan Higbee Shares the Insights of a Tough Day
In our interview with Jonathan Higbee, he stated:
I was starting to lose my cool at this point because I was losing the light. And I was flabbergastedd that this security team was so misinformed about U.S. law and the rights of photographers — a group of people whom, I imagine, they encounter by the busload. I wondered how many other harmless people they’ve threatened, and how secure the whole area must really be if this is their idea of a code red situation.
Jonathan Higbee
Lauren Welles Tells Us About Simplicity
In our interview, Lauren Welles told us
“I wanted to simplify the frame so that viewers could focus on its composition and intended subjects, without distraction,”
Lauren Welles