Spartan Street Photography
We are the new Spartans. That means, we are more indifferent to success or failure, we are more interested in courage and the attempt.
An innovative thought that I had this morning is that if you think about it, there is a good hybrid mix and cross pollination between Street photography and being Spartan. That is, I believe street photography to be the most courageous form and approach of photography out there, maybe even more courageous than war photography, because in war photography or conflict photography or photojournalism, do you got a press badge. But in street photography, you don’t.
In street photography, you have no “reason“ or ultimate authority. What drives you instead is your own personal interest, guts, and ambition.
It is all about the attempt, and your own personal courage
Better to ask for permission and get rejected, than not to even ask.
In weightlifting, better to attempt an insanely audacious weight, and fail, instead of attempting something lesser, and succeeding.
Also I think there is a good crossover between weightlifting and courage, audacity in Street photography. That is, the stronger I get in the gym, and the more hypelifting I practice, the more courage I actually gain in street photography. Nowadays, I am far less fearful in the context of street photography now than I was in the past. Why? My personal theory is that with weightlifting, hypelifting, powerlifting, etc., it boosts your testosterone, your courage, your muscle, and helps you conquer the fear of failure, and also makes you more risk loving. Once you’re able to rack pull over six plates, and you find out that everything‘s OK, if you find out that you could really do anything.
Courage in street photography
Seek danger. That means in the context of street photography, try to put yourself into more situations or scenarios which require you to exhibit your courage.
For example, I’ve discovered in the context of weightlifting, I am not interested in attempting any sort of weightlifting style exercise in which I am 100% certain I will succeed. In fact, I am actually more interested when at the back of my head, there is a potential for failure. Why? Danger, risk, and adventure are all intertwined. If you already know you’re going to succeed at something 100%, before doing it, I have zero interest in doing it.
So maybe in Street Photography, the reason why it is so fun and interesting is because you never know what’s going to happen. Also, when you interact and engage with a person, when there is a risk of something going south, that is what makes it fun and interesting.
Therefore as a philosophical twist, maybe the only way to keep street photography fun and interesting for us is to keep seeking danger, social risk-taking, and uncomfortable situations.
Pragmatic ways to become more courageous in street photography
Intentionally try to get rej
