The Instinctual Lens: Buenos Aires
Street Photography and the Art of Capturing the Moment
Over the years, I had the privilege of traveling to many international cities. On occasion, I’ve traveled for client work, most recently, a small group travel company. Even though my main goal on these trips was to capture beautiful marketing photos for my client, I found myself drawn to the art of street photography.
Street photography and travel go hand in hand, in my opinion. Travel photography is documentary in nature and street photography is a style of documentary photography. Often while traveling for this type of client work, the speed at which I need to visit and move through places requires me to move quickly to capture images.
Travel can be a true run-and-gun scenario for capturing images, forcing you to move fast and rely on instinct. This skill taps directly into my past experience as a wedding photographer.
Events on a wedding day unfold quickly, and no matter how much planning is done to prepare, a photographer often must move quickly and rely on their instincts to capture the images that best narrate the day. It is the same with travel and street photography—move fast, ‘feel’ your settings, rely on instincts.
Street photography is indeed a practice and I’ve spent years developing this skill. Not by a long shot am I an excellent street photographer. I still have much to learn. But I know I’ll spend years continuing to hone this skill. Nothing beats the thrill of capturing a truly stunning split-second in a place you might never visit again.
This collection of images is from a recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was my first trip to the country, and only my second time visiting South America. The city of Buenos Aires surprised me in its vast sprawl and unexpectedly beautiful architecture.
But maybe more significantly, Buenos Aires felt like a city going about its business. The city and its inhabitants simply absorbed us, folded us in like we were one of them, just another body moving through the flow of everyday life. This immersive experience enabled me fantastic viewpoints of what felt like daily life in the city.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. I find there is no need to explain them. Every frame is a slice of daily life.
Thanks for reading along. If you’re interested in travel that’s a little less polished, a little less planned, and a lot more focused on the feeling of being in a place, subscribe to Waypoints. Paid subscribers receive an exclusive discount on all prints and products in the shop.
Let's wander a little slower, and see what we find.
Lindsey A. Miller
