Intimate alienation: street photography as a mediation of distance

Abstract

Street photography, in the last few years, has seen a resurgence of popular interest. Digital cameras, online tutorials, and social media platforms like Instagram and Flickr have introduced the quasi-documentary genre to a new generation of photographers. But this street photography renaissance is not just a consequence of new digital technology; it is also a response to it. Street photography, the author argues, is about getting “out in the world” and directly engaging with others at a moment when more and more of our lives are spent in front of a screen. And yet, this getting closer to others is itself facilitated by a series of screens, whether a digital viewfinder, the LCD display on the back of the camera, or the laptop where photos are stored and edited. This essay explores the inherent contradictions that underlie much of contemporary street photographic practice. Street photography, the author concludes, is a fraught medium through which we negotiate distance from others in the digital age. As such, it is a potent metaphor for the intimate alienation that defines so much of our lives today.