Street Photography

Street Photography :
David Ken’s great passion

David Ken has a particular affection for street photography, which he practices daily in the streets of his adopted city. Paris, with its shapes and lights, its emblematic settings and its spontaneous scenes, has become the photographer’s favorite playground. So much so that he released a book (now out of print), called “Facing Paris or the proposals of chance”, which compiles some of his most emblematic photos.

Masterclass

Face à face

La Street Photographie,
à partir de 2 heure en tête-à-tête individuel dans Paris

Cours en ligne

Visioconférence sur Zoom pour un partage de connaissance à plusieurs.

Atelier intensif

Une ou plusieurs journées pour découvrir certains de ses endroits préférés à Paris ou pour une formation sur l’éclairage Studio.

Street Photographer :
Or “Propositions of chance”"

Preamble: Street Photography can be defined as taking images in a public place, without staging or elaborate conditions. It is usually centered on humans, whether they are the main subject or whether their presence is simply implied.

Historical evolution allows us to distinguish two main trends in street photography. The first, played by Robert Doisneau or Henri Cartier-Bresson, tends to seize the moment to tell a story. The second, more contemporary, introduces a graphic dimension into the photos. Photographers like Saul Leiter, Allan Schaller or Phil Penman belong to this movement, which is characterized by a visual impact linked to the use of shapes, to the play of light… Humans are no longer the only subject: the photograph can be understood in a purely aesthetic way.

The fact remains that the street photographer, whatever the trend he is fond of, remains an attentive witness, an onlooker who is not really one, always on the lookout for the unusual or moving moment. David Ken, faithful to his vision of the ideal photo, tracks down this fleeting moment that he has always called with poetry and humility “the propositions of chance”.

Street photography in the age of smartphones and social networks

The unlimited growth of new technologies and the speed of dissemination of images and information have somewhat blurred the boundaries of street photography. Everyone tries it, with varying success… It’s not enough to hold up a smartphone to capture the vibration, the emotion or the detail that will make a good street photo!

As a passionate and versatile photographer, David Ken puts the same seriousness and acuity into his Parisian photographic walks as he does into his studio work. He does not just shoot at random, but seeks the subtle balance between emotion and spontaneity, between immediacy and impact.

As an involved and deeply human artist, David Ken also questions the reasons for doing street photography. What are we showing, to whom and why? Much more than a simple photographic movement, it is an art, a way of conveying a message. And, like any form of representation of reality and people, street photography implies a true respect, a form of modesty in the face of the power of the moment, an implicit recognition of the magic of life.

The decors are prestigious or modest, but speak of those who live there. The faces are framed closely or the silhouettes captured from behind, but the human remains at the center of the composition. This is perhaps the essence of street photography: giving man back his rightful place in an urban setting that has become too big, too anonymous, too standardized for him.

Street Photography or the art of enhancing the everyday

Facing Paris constitutes an immense fresco of Parisian life, patiently put together over nearly ten years by David Ken. With kindness and humor, the artist captures seemingly insignificant moments and restores them to all their grandeur. Banality has no place under the gaze of the photographer: each scene, each detail within it is rich in meaning.

For me, street photography is simply THE photography. You must react in 1/1000 of a second to hope to capture the moment. This brilliant process, invented in 1839, allows you to “write with light”, and it’s magical!I experienced the emotion of this moment revealed on a sheet of paper in the laboratory, and it changed my life, I was ten years old.There are so many things happening in the street, there is no script written in advance. I take everything that happens there as a real gift.The street forces you to pay attention to the present moment, the only real moment. My camera gives me a sort of license to see and especially to rewatch these stolen moments. I love humans, their emotions, their excesses, their imperfections. I like funny but caring images, those that tell a story in a single frame. My only limit is kindness.With Street Photography, I feel connected to life, it’s magical!David Ken (extrait de son livre “Un éclat de rire a changé ma vie”)

Street Photography

Street Photography :David Ken’s great passion