CUT and DRY : ATHENS

I have always loved Street Photography, but it wasn't until late 2018 that I actually started to get dedicated to that genre. Having always lived in European cities my images reflect the urban everyday life. For the past one year and a half I have been photographing regularly on the streets of Athens.

Street photography (and by that I mean candid photography), in my experience, is a surprisingly difficult photographic genre to practice in Athens, Greece. That said, for the past two years until now things have changed drastically. Anyone in a public space taking photos of strangers these days is almost guaranteed to come under some type of suspicion. In other words, Street photography is incredibly challenging.

I remember there were times where I would get yelled at by a stranger. I remember how I felt threatened on that day. I would always try to stay calm and explain them what I was doing. Ideally if a rational discussion results, then the problem could be resolved constructively.

Perhaps people feel threatened - not everyone likes being photographed - actually. But street photography is all about taking candid pictures of strangers in a public place. As female street photographers I don't think we have an inherent advantage because people feel less threatened. In my experience, many people don't like having their picture taken. Perhaps they feel as though taking a photo of them is an invasion of their privacy. And it's okay.

I sometimes shoot from the hip. But, even so, there's always a possibility to get noticed by passers-by. For my "When People Toil" project I shot the entire body of work from the hip like a scared cat. It was especially tricky as that area is quite unsafe to walk around.

But I am still having a love affair with Street photography but hash, that's a secret!

Hope you have a beautiful weekend! xx

My website: Betty Manousos Photography.