The photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, the flâneur finds the world “picturesque”.
Susan Sontag, 1977
This morning I found myself writing the following in my journal, “I’m not a street photographer….” I immediately said, “Wait a minute dude, where did that come from?” I needed to ask what I meant by that, was that a true statement and what is a street photographer. I have over the years taken many images that are defined by Sontag’s definition of a photographer without the adjective of street or wedding or portrait or fashion, placed before it. The truth is I’m a photographer, period. When I have my photographer’s hat on, my camera and lens become an extension of me, and I am now the flâneur who finds the world “picturesque” whether that’s a street scene or sunrise on the prairie or a car show.
For any who want to know: Flâneur is a French term meaning ‘stroller’ or ‘loafer’ used by nineteenth-century French poet Charles Baudelaire to identify an observer of modern urban life. The above image of the statue of the dog was taken at a street car show in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2008.
And, there was some nice handcrafted merchandise for sale. Some were working on their craft while at their booths so you got to watch them. Plenty of food was available. There was booth with these jars of apple/maple syrup for toast or pancakes and offering samples. I could just eat it right out the jar. They had a slide setup for the kids with several of us adults attempting to sneak on. Sorry, John we did not get as much talk time as would have liked but we do have the opportunity to setup a meeting. I think you have good work and liked how your booth looked. Hope the day went well for you.
