Photographers discover humor on the streets
Telling a story in a picture is probably the most difficult and powerful element of street photography. There is no short, no direction, and often the photographer just waits and has to trust his intuition to find the shot. From the eye-catching black and white street photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "crucial moments" to Bruce Gilden's extreme and sometimes controversial close-ups of ordinary people, street photography can take many forms. While the photographer's job is to observe, capturing humor on our streets can often be the most rewarding job as the images created are unexpected, entertaining, and contrast the ordinary with the extraordinary.
Street photography seems like a simple outdoor walk and a few clicks of the camera, but the actual process is more nuanced. For the London-based photographer Dougie Wallace, it's about tapping into the environment and the people in it. "(My photography) is inspired by people and their daily life," he says. "What motivates me is human behavior – the interactions and emotions of people fascinate me. My stories are thematic; they have similar expressions. My work is shaped by the trends and incongruities of society and translates what I see through the lens, in wit, criticism and humorous vignettes. I would like to think that my photos convey a believable and absurd point of view. "
Above and Above: From Stags, Hens & Bunnies, A Blackpool Story, 2014, by Dougie Wallace
Wallace creates images that are bold, vivid and almost garish. He says this style is inspired by its Glaswegian roots. "I'm Scottish. I grew up in Glasgow. My upbringing shaped my style, which has been described as 'visually exaggerated' and 'sharp-edged'. I've lived in and around east London for the past two decades," he explains. "I experienced the days before gentrification when Shoreditch was a big party. It helped me develop an eye for the tragicomic, chaotic side of uninhibited human behavior that can be found everywhere, not just in Shoreditch and the East, of course -London. "
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