Kathmandu (Part 2)

Along with this second batch of photos from my Kathmandu visit last year are five quotes pulled from Eric Kim’s blog post on aphorisms/heuristics/sayings on street photography. I only just came across them this morning while on my way to work. These have all resonated with me for one reason or another:

• Street photographers tend to warp reality, while documentary and photojournalist photographers try to show “reality.”
• Don’t ask if your photo is a “street photograph” or not. Ask if it is a meaningful photograph.
• How to never be disappointed when shooting street photography: never expect to make good photographs.
• Enjoy the present moment when you photograph in the streets, and remember to shoot only to impress yourself.
• The journey in street photography is the reward.

Well, all these Kathmandu pictures (in Part 1 as well as in this post) are an attempt at showing reality rather than warping it, as is often (but not always) the case when I do photography. Fortunately, we needn’t diverge and question whether these pictures are still “street photography”–Eric Kim discussed the meaning of the term rather well in another post, and by my reckoning they are, not least because of their candid nature, but that is beside the point.

What is interesting is this distinction about reality and whether the photographer is warping it. What becomes clearer to me now, then, is what distinguishes a good street photograph from a plain one–wink, Y.

That leads us to our second quote. While my photos are plain, I hope that they are marginally meaningful at the same time. Namely, I hope that they are useful in offering a few slices of daily life in Kathmandu and can provoke some reaction, however simple.

I like the third quote too because of its cubist nature. I am forever disappointed with my attempts at street photography, none more so than now. This very moment. It’s about time I lowered my expectations.

The quote that follows is full of redemption, however. Being in that “present moment” when taking pictures is certainly a thrill. And the pictures I make are really for myself. Now if it just weren’t for all this social media…

The closing quote sums it up rather well. Notwithstanding my recent stumbling about misguidedly, this process of discovery is rather enlightening.

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Here are 12 more simple shots from Kathmandu (February, 2015), then.

> See Kathmandu (Part 1)