The Mystery of the Mundane in Street Photography

Yo, what’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

This morning I wanted to chat about the mystery of the mundane. And yeah, let’s open up a slideshow. Look at this file on my desktop.

Let’s see what’s inside.

Just some random photos that I’ve been making over the past few weeks.

Today I wanted to discuss mystery and why I’m interested in mystery in photography and life generally, and how this has been influencing the way that I’m practicing. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Photographing From Instinct

Over the years, I’ve traveled the world looking for decisive moments, telling stories, and using language to describe life through the way that I compose things, the way that I arrange a frame, and ultimately engage with the medium.

However, these days when I’m photographing, I’m photographing purely from instinct — where I do not think, but I just shoot.

Here in this moment, when the pigeon flew by, I didn’t necessarily raise the camera to my eye. I simply shifted my body and responded from my gut.

As somebody with a brain connected to eyes that allow me to see everything, I find that by photographing from my heart — from this inner sense of spiritedness, from some sort of childlike curiosity — I can unlock the mystery that lies within the mundane.

And I think that is where we can actually start to say something with photography.

“When I let go of the fact that life isn’t necessarily what it seems, I find myself making much more interesting photographs.”

Forgetting What I Know

We’re bombarded with media, headlines, TV advertisements, posters on walls.

We know a lot about imagery.

We know a lot about photography.

We can go to galleries and study the compositions of the masters. We can look at cathedrals and paintings throughout history and understand how visual language describes life.

But lately, I’ve become more interested in letting the chips fall as they may.

Forgetting everything I think I know about photography, art, composition — and even life generally.

So when I’m photographing, I’m photographing from a heightened state of sensitivity to all of my surroundings.

I can see. Hear. Taste. Touch.

I’m in embodied reality when I’m photographing.

And while I can put four corners around something and describe life factually through decisive moments and understandable imagery… I also recognize that I know nothing about life.

I can explain a rainbow scientifically through refraction and light.

But when I let go of all of that and stumble through life recognizing that I really don’t know anything — I make more interesting photographs.

Relinquishing Control

When I’m making pictures now, I’m no longer trying to impose myself on the world.

I’m allowing life to deliver mysterious, magical moments to me through the way light touches the camera sensor and interprets reality.

Through black and white photography, I’m abstracting the world.

And I’m finding that the imperfections — the mistakes — are actually the moments I chase.

Even here, I was looking at the man waving the flag, but I didn’t notice the lightning bolt shape created by the reflection on the pole until afterward.

And it reminded me:

“What you see at the moment you press the shutter isn’t necessarily what you get back in the photograph.”

Maybe Photography Teaches Us How to See

I’ve been thinking a lot about expressiveness in photography.

People talk about photography as self-expression, and while I understand that, I think authentic expression comes from the subconscious mind.

Not from thinking.

If you’re making pictures from a place of control, I don’t think the photographs become authentic reflections of how you actually perceive life.

But when you let your mind go fallow…

When you photograph from your gut…

When you follow your thumos — your spiritedness and courage —

Something opens up.

You become sensitive to the magic and mystery hidden inside ordinary life.

And maybe that’s where expression actually exists.

Not in trying to tell stories.

Not in trying to describe yourself.

But in making pictures that go beyond language.

The Infinite Wonder of Photography

My goal with photography is really about opening my mind, body, and soul to the infinite wonder and mystery that exists in the world.

I’m not necessarily curious about pictures.

I’m interested in picture-making.

The practice itself.

The hypersensitive state of awareness.

The excuse photography gives me to engage with life.

To engage with humanity.

To forget the past and future and simply become hyper-present while making things.

And through that heightened state, I think you actually become closer to reality.

Ironically, while photography abstracts reality, it has made me feel more connected to the real world than ever before.

The Question Mark

When I look back at a photograph and see the relationship between the light, the sky, the architecture, the people — I’m surprised.

And I’m asking:

Why?

What?

How?

Where?

Those questions are what I’m really chasing while making pictures.

I don’t think we’ve seen it all.

I don’t think we’ve photographed it all.

I believe there are infinite possibilities within photography and within life itself.

Returning to Day One

There’s an unrepeatable nature to life.

And I think the magic comes from returning to day one every single day.

Waking up.

Embracing play.

Turning off your brain.

Opening your mind.

Meeting new people.

Walking somewhere new.

Seeking out a new view.

Photography allows me to cultivate that childlike wonder.

And honestly, I think that’s one of the peak human experiences.

That moment where time disappears and the only thing that exists is now.

Imperfectly Stumbling Through Life

We are imperfect creatures.

Emotional.

Irrational.

Flawed.

And I think reminding myself of that imperfect nature is maybe the purest way to explore photography.

Not through storytelling.

Not through contrivance.

But through imperfectly stumbling through the world and interpreting life and light.

That’s how I think about photography these days.

The mystery within the mundane.

Photographing from the gut.

Not overthinking composition.

Allowing tilted angles, mistakes, candid moments, and imperfections to exist naturally in the frame.

Because those imperfections more authentically reflect the way we actually experience life.

“Maybe through photography I can uncover that mystery.”

Public Note-Taking

These are just thoughts I’ve been exploring lately.

I basically treat video like public note-taking.

None of this is scripted.

I’m literally just thinking out loud.

And if this video resonates with you, I’d encourage you to check out the Flux Generator.

The Flux Generator

If you go to the top link in the description, it’ll take you to the Flux Generator.

You can create your own DIY photo book at home by dragging and dropping 36 frames into the layout. It automatically arranges everything chronologically and exports a printable PDF.

You can also submit your work to me.

I’ll review it, and if I connect with the work, I’ll publish it into the public catalog.

There’s also a Dispatches tab with a mini-zine generator where you can drag and drop 6 frames to create a folded mini-zine.

You can also browse my archive — around 15,000 photographs organized chronologically by year, month, and day.

Everything exists as a stream of becoming.

Chronologically stamped in time.

And yeah, that’s pretty much it for today.

Thanks for watching.

Peace.