The street issue

Rankinjozi : Pictures of Africa

In South Africa in Pictures, a one-hour BBC Four documentary airing in spring, British photographer Rankin explores South Africa’s rich photographic tradition. The film follows Rankin - best known for his glossy fashion shots - through a series of encounters in Johannesburg or ‘Jozi’ with some of South Africa’s most significant photographers from a range of photographic disciplines, including David Goldblatt and Alf Kumalo. Meanwhile, Rankin has Rankinjozi, a related book and exhibition, to present, which includes his social reportage celebrating the rich culture of community and diversity that thrives in South Africa today.

Street Grooves

par Han Schoonhoven

Photo file - The very first street photo is still, deathly still. Louis Daguerre exposed the plate for several minutes, so that all the life vanished from the Parisian Boulevard du Temple. Only the man who had been standing still all that time, waiting for the shoeshine to finish shining, is captured. Street photography follows the rhythm of time. The best street photos are made on the busiest streets, in large cities such as Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, New York, even Amsterdam. Sixty years ago in New York, the capital of jazz, modern street photography was invented.

Globetrotting

par Pim Milo

Portrait Martijn Van de Griendt In Egypt he was pleasantly surprised that the young people were so willing to be photographed. Young people in America were very accessible to him. Articulate, but easy to approach. Tokyo was harder, and he was more timid, didn't speak the language, didn't immediately ‘recognise’ them. Martijn van de Griendt photographs young people on the street all over the world.

Garry Winogrand - Uncurbed enthousiasm

par Erik Vroons

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William Klein - Cinematographic Cities

With his first books in the ’50s and ’60s, William Klein (New York, 1928), began a quest for ‘the zero degree of photography’. Rushing into crowds and shooting from the hip - bang! bang! - he was among the first to break the visual taboos of the medium by introducing blurry, out-of-focus shots taken with a wide-angle lens. More than his pictures, however, it was his innovative use of the photo book that made Klein the personification of a generation of streetwise photographers.

Back by popular demand

par Shinta Lempers

Interview de Jamel Shabazz Puma trainers with fat laces. Tracksuits. Flax moustaches, Kangol safari caps and, of course, a pair of sunglasses. Men walk the streets with pride and women are treated respectfully. Kids call each other brother, their smiles innocent, and soul music pops from boom boxes. It is the time before crack. An interview with Jamel Shabbaz.

Bruce Gilden - In the flash

Bruce Gilden (1946) is a member of Magnum and a noted street photographer from New York. With his heavy Brooklyn accent, he realised early on that Shakespearean acting was not for him. It was eventually photography that got him hooked, and the streets became his theatre.

Two Minds one thought

Less than a year ago, when we hooked up with Viewbook, Blurb and Vedett to organise the first Viewbook Photostory contest, we couldn't have known how often one of the two winners would cross our path. The SAPE from Congo brought this all about...