Why I Photograph Every Day | Street Photography with the Ricoh GR III
What’s poppin, people?
It’s Dante walking around Philadelphia with the Ricoh GR III, photographing using high contrast black and white, small JPEG files. As always.
The Spirit of Play
Today I’m thinking about this idea of the simple joy—look at that—of pressing the shutter and what that provides for me in my everyday life.
When I’m photographing and I’m pressing the shutter throughout the day, there’s this exuberance for life that’s fueling me to do that. Like there’s this innate quality I’ve cultivated through simple gratitude for the day where, when I’m photographing, I’m merely embracing the spirit of play.
“I’m simply having fun and having so much joy flow through me that then has me press the shutter.”
Detachment and the Flow State
And I think ultimately, that joy—that feeling—hopefully is what reflects back in the photographs I make, despite what I’m photographing.
When you’re detached from the outcome of whatever you’re photographing and you’re simply embracing the process itself, you enter something deeper.
- You click the shutter more.
- You affirm your life through that clicking.
- You just enjoy the walk.
- The sounds, the sights, the smells.
- Just looking at things.
Even if you’re in a mundane place or walking the same route every single day—like I come to Chinatown all the time—it’s not some novel experience for me.
But through photography, I actually believe it’s possible to experience novelty in the way light casts upon surfaces.
A Stream of Becoming
“People, places, and things will always be different. No two photographs that you make will ever be the same.”
When you’re on the street and photographing in these familiar places, you can actually enter this stream of becoming—that’s what I call it. You’re evolving with each click of the shutter.
And the way you photograph reflects that—through:
- Speed
- Spontaneity
When you’re actually shooting in a very streamlined way—using a small JPEG, photographing quickly, not thinking too much about the result—you enter this process of making imperfect photos.
And those imperfections, those little nuances, the small details you wouldn’t otherwise notice, they reveal themselves in the images you make.
“Those mistakes are what allow a novel photograph to be born.”
And it’s through letting go…