What & Who is Toronto Street Photography?

Street photography is different things to different people, to some it is capturing people in natural situations, to others it is about the buildings and structures of a city or place, and to others it is a combination of both those. To me this genre could also be described as artistic reportage. It becomes an historical documentation of a city or place or people at a specific time. When we look back at famous street photographers of years gone by their work has become an historic accounting of the places they lived in or visited; a documentation of their time and how humanity lived within that time.

Looking at a picture taken two days ago does not yet possess that merit, it must also survive because of creative ability by design or by capturing the decisive moment. It will not acquire the value of documentation until it has become much older and will be viewed by some future audience in a much different way. There is every possibility that its documentation value of people or places will eventually outweigh whatever creative value it initially possessed. A great street image today requires the capture of an important moment or the strength of creativity to be valued right now, but it is a potential documentary reportage jewel in waiting that may be appreciated in a different way years from now. In this way a good street image is still not quite finished until it has aged properly.

Toronto Street is a website dedicated to the art of street shooting in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) read more about us.