Street Photography is often described as a personal journey, this got me thinking about all things yellow brick road, which is one of the greatest fictional journeys of all time. The solitary figure of Dorothy setting off on her great adventure to escape her real life troubles may well reflect the escapism SP brings to many of us but I believe other lessons can be found in this 1939 movie if we look for them.
The scarecrow in search of a brain is a great reminder that togs should try to bring a level of intelligence to the work that they create, the togs that have taken time out to think about approach and technique are quite often the most successful. The Tin Man in search of a Heart can be seen as a metaphor for bringing an emotional element to your Street Photography, this is a much overlooked element in my opinion but is the difference between good and great photographs.Its never a bad idea to shoot with your heart !
The Cowardly Lion can probably teach us most, his pursuit of courage underlines the importance of not shying away from getting the shot and making sure we get close enough to fill the frame with our wide angle lenses. Courage is also required to take on the challenges and obstacles Street Photography presents us with, not to mention the bravery required to follow your journey to the end and maintain the belief in your work to get you through the dark days when confidence and your mojo is low.
The revelation that the wizard is little more than a bogus old man using trickery to maintain his perceived wisdom, has many parallels in the SP global community but I'll leave it to you the reader to cast your own wizard as I believe there are many to choose from in the land of Street Photography.
Finally if you take only one thing away from this piece it should be that the journey is far more important than the destination and that the bauble that the wizard rewards you with is not the real prize.
The real reward is the work you create and the life lessons you learn along the road, remember if you want to get off just click your heels and you'll be in Kansas !
There's no place like home, There's no place like home !
Keep it real !
The journey is more important than the destination !