The Photograph as Document

To document is to record. Documentary photography, therefore, can be defined as the practice of photography that is based on the idea that the photograph is a record.

As a record, the photograph gets its authority from, among others, what is called the pro-photographic event (the event was there; it happened) effect and I was there (the photographer) effect. Furthermore, it also gets its authority from the sense of authenticiy it derives from what is called the indexical effect of conjectures of cirumstance. A photograph, in other words, is a "meeting place" or rendesvous of things such as the subject matter, framing, light, characteristics of the lens, the chemical and/or digital processing, etc.

Summarized from Wells, Liz (ed.) (2004) Photography: A Critical Introduction (3rd Ed.), London: Routledge, pp. 17 - 18.

The Streets

In its candidness, street photography is an uninhibited impression of the every day life as it is unfolding in public places. Yes, I said "uninhibited" - the very word that I think accutely describes the approach that the photographer takes, the setting, and the subject's unaltered state of being.

Photography Is Cheap

Photography is cheap. In technical terms at least, anything about it is replicable. So, unless it is dedicated to something larger and more essential than itself, it is bound to become just another modern triviality.