I was told today by the Santa Monica Pier security to not ride my bike on it “because a little girl was hurt.” The same pier that has cars driving on it. Sounds like a dumb rule to me and illogical. So why have all the dumb rules for taking your photos? “I don’t take photos of dogs, vendors, the homeless, cars, etc…” I’ve heard all of these rules. We live in a world full of rules and laws. Why limit yourself if you don’t have to. I’m not saying rules and laws are bad, the opposite in fact. A world with rule of law is important to manage society. Don’t believe me? Ask an anarchist about any currently run anarchist countries. Crickets…

So why all the rules when we are abiding by them on a daily basis. Just free yourself and go with the gut.

Is a street photo good if it’s unique to the world but not a specific area? I look at these type of photos as tourist shots. I shoot a lot in Santa Monica. There’s specific things about Santa Monica that make it unique. If I were traveling to Santa Monica from Cincinnati, everything looks foreign and interesting. But since I live in Santa Monica, what’s unique to you isn’t unique to me. First layer of the onion. I want to get to the core where all the nutrients are.

Surprisingly , I rarely see other street photographers here. For such a fruitful place, I’d expect more. I’ll stumble upon others peoples street photos of Santa Monica on IG. I love looking at these since I’m so familiar with the area. I know exactly where every shot is taken. Kinda like watching a movie that was filmed in your city. But this is the problem. I know where every shot is taken. They are all tourist photos. The first layer. Understandable if you don’t shoot here often. But if you regularly take photos in the area, why not get beyond the first layer?

The more I think about this, the less I know. But learning from the greats, one thing is pretty clear. A good street photo is not easily repeatable and contains something unique happening in it. It’s pretty simple to me. That’s basically what I strive for. The thing is a lot of these moments happen is less than ideal lighting or surroundings. So end result can be a great moment that looks poor after you review the photo. I think the pinnacle is the unique moment in great lighting with a good composition.

Shoot, export, edit, process, post. Something is off.

I think I know what.

I hope I can get a good photo of them.