Loneliness belongs to the Photographers

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I don't think I'm essentially a street photographer. I guess Photography is just the way for me to express how I see things. It has something to do with a philosophical approach to reality. I have always had this way of observing reality, dwelling on details, on scenes that tell me something. Early on in my life, I felt inspired by what was around me. Eventually, I got into street photography. It was a slow process. And this happened in a city that was not my hometown, where my view got released from all the parameters and preconceptions that you naturally develop in known places. What I perceived in that new urban landscape and became the ghost I kept freezing everywhere and in everyone’s face with my shots was an intense feeling of loneliness. As a photographer, I am already used to entering the world of loneliness because I must be able to become invisible. So I found myself breathing in my own loneliness and the solitude of those around me.


© Batsceba Hardy

solitudes - three women © Batsceba Hardy

It is the distance between the photographer and the rest of the people that allows the photographer to notice what is overlooked and under-loved. I found this particular statement that confirms my thoughts: "...if love belongs to the poet, and fear to the novelist, then loneliness belongs to the photographer. To be a photographer is to willingly enter the world of the lonely because it is an artistic exercise in invisibility." - Hanya Yanagihara, Loneliness Belongs to the Photographer, The New Yorker.


© Batsceba Hardy

The photographer feels and represents the loneliness of humanity. This society is turning us into monads... and Street photographers are those who daily tell us about the loneliness of mankind through their shots. And that’s why words are superfluous in this realm. Only by looking at photographs we can understand this. Here is a link to an article on Deviant Art, where you can find many beautiful pictures: fav.me/daufv9c


© Nils-Erik Larsson


© Andrea Fasani

© Batsceba Hardy

And finally I would like to draw your attention to the work of some photographers who explicitly addressed the theme of solitude:


© Hiroharu Matsumoto

Hiroharu Matsumoto, Tokio - Adventures in solitude hiroharu-matsumoto.tumblr.com/…

“He believes loneliness is an innate feeling for the people of this city. He tried to express it in a large monochrome space.”



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© Rui Palha

© Rui Palha

Rui Palha, Lisbon and Fado - leicaliker.com/…/18-rui-…

“He believes solitude is a prevalent condition not only in Portugal but throughout society.

People are generally lonely in crowds. It’s a sad fact of life. A state of affairs that we must live with.

There’s even a Portuguese term for it – “Fado” which literally means ‘fate’.

It’s a Portuguese national symbol really.”



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© Cedric Roux

© Cedric Roux

Cedric Roux, French, Urban Loneliness - www.streetphotographylondon.co…



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© Sam Ferrris

Sam Ferris, Mike Keevers, Greg Marsdenhttp, Sydney -

All The Lonely People, an exhibition of work by three Australian-based street photographers - vimeo.com/168283886



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