One of the first issues is the pressure that working digitally can put on us, and the difficulty of re-visiting work. Pellegrin explains: Also the joy of shooting for yourself is that it takes a tremendous pressure off your shoulders and to remind yourself that photography is about the process, not necessarily the final image. Why did Magnum do this? It was due to the fact that a photographer’s admission into Magnum wasn’t due to just their final images, but their working style and how they thought when taking photographs. John G. Morris, one of the editors for Magnum, shares: “That’s so you can see their thinking.” Up to that point, I had not taken many pictures. Everyone on the boat knew I was a photographer, but it somehow had not felt right. It’s difficult to explain. But as the boat sank, David, the Haitian whom I had followed on this journey, said to me, ‘Chris, you’d better start making pictures. We only have an hour to live.’ And so, without much thought, I began making pictures.

There are a few different ways I can imagine someone reading this book and I can see myself doing each of them: I used to believe that the fewer photos you took when out shooting in the streets, the better. Also part of it is that when I saw a good street photograph opportunity, I would get nervous and only want to take one shot and get the hell out of there.

I absolutely love the series of posts on 35mmc in which people share a full roll of film. Not many people are actually willing to do this, especially when you compare it to the number of people who do 5 shots posts! This quote from the book perfectly sums up why people are not clamouring to share a whole roll: I’ve mentioned before how, for me, the photographers’ reflections add immeasurably to the value of book. Riboud’s text tells us he was walking the streets of Paris on his first visit to the capital, with just his Leica, a 50mm lens and a single roll of film. He notices the painters high above, climbs up the tower, and makes several pictures, among which is that unforgettable image of Zazou. “I think photographers should behave like him,” says Riboud, “he was free and carried little equipment” (p74).

The exhibition shows photographs from over seventy years of visual history, including the D-Day landing by Robert Capa, the Paris riots of 1968 by Bruno Barbey, Robert Kennedy’s funeral by Paul Fusco, the Vietnam War by Philip Jones Griffiths, and 9/11 by Thomas Hoepker. The exhibition features iconic portraits of political figures, actors, artists, and musicians, from Che Guevara and Malcolm X to Miles Davies and the Beatles. I personally believe that the editing part of photography (choosing your best images) is more difficult and than the photographing. To choose between your images is like choosing between your children — you want to keep them all but at the end of the day you have to choose one image from the scene that best describes it. Riboud used the constraints of his 50mm lens to frame his photograph accordingly, and also to wait for the right moment in the scene. He continues by likening the care-freeness of the painter in his photograph to how photographers should be by saying, “I think photographers should behave like him: he was free and carried little equipment”. 10. Revisit your work A Photograph from my “Dark Skies Over Tokyo” series, 2011. I originally oversaw this image, and my good friend and fellow street photographer Charlie Kirk mentioned to me that he thought it was one of my best shots. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have chosen it!As a takeaway point, realize that photography isn’t just about your final images- but the hard work that goes into them. I encourage you to re-visit your personal favorite images and see the before and afters of the shot. Think to yourself: how long did I have to wait for a shot? Did I “work the scene” and create the shot, or did it serendipitously come to me? Did I take too many scenes of a shot, or not enough? Thinking these things will help you better understand your own working style in photography. 4. Realize the strengths & weaknesses of working in film or digital Tokyo, 2012