As street photography grows as a genre, daily life around the world unfolds before our eyes. And what’s most striking about it? The countless similarities. Street photography could be called a social proof that no matter where a person lives in the world, human beings are human beings. We are drawn to the same humorous situations, we face the same struggles and injustices, we gather to eat, we go to work, we come home, we feel love and loneliness. People are people.
You may remember Julie Hrudova from the June 2017 issue of SPM. Just in case you missed it, Julie was our featured photographer. She spoke about capturing people and animals in urban environments and how we can sometimes create confusion and intrigue by capturing ordinary scenes in daily life in surprising ways.
Julie is a talented photographer with an eye for finding the interesting in the ordinary, and perhaps it was her observant nature that led her to notice how street photographers everywhere in the world were capturing similar scenes. Whatever the case, Julie was inspired to create a dedicated Instagram page that focuses solely on street photography similarities. It’s called StreetRepeat. On it, Julie collects images in sets of threes, by photographers from around the world. Each set of three has its own obvious theme.
“Animalines” Photographers from left to right: Matt Stuart, Vineet Vohra, Sasikumar Ramachandran
This was such an inspiring project to me because I find it so unifying and fascinating. Looking at Julie’s collection of curated images reminds me that not only are do similar scenes exist around, street photographers from around the world are actually seeing similar scenes, scenes other passersby may pay no attention to. It’s as if street photographers have some kind of secret shared vision.
“Follow the Line” Photographers from left to right: Nick Turpin, Efrat Sela, Christian Clowes
This feed also gave me an idea on new ways to use Instagram. StreetRepeat features specific themes. Why not give the feed a follow and then take a week and challenge yourself to capture an image that fits the description of the current theme? It would be an excellent way to grow and improve as a street photographer.
“Loose Legs” Photographers from left to right: Noppadol Maitreechit, Dimitris Makrygiannakis, Tavepong Pratoomwong
It also made me think about the possibility of creating an Instagram profile for a specific street photography project, either done by you the individual or perhaps by a group of collaborators. The possibilities are really endless!
If you are interested in learning more about Julie Hrudova, you can visit her website or personal Instagram account. If you would like to be featured on StreetRepeat then the first step is to follow the feed. Julie accepts direct messages, so you can contact her directly with ideas for themes or to share one of your images with her for consideration. Even if your image doesn’t make it to the main feed, Julie often shares extra images that fit with her theme in the feed’s stories. You will also want to keep an eye on the stories to find out about new themes. Sometimes, Julie posts new themes there and then asks for submissions. Not only is it a great opportunity to challenge yourself as a street photographer, if you are featured, you’ll get some great exposure too!
Thanks to Julie for creating such a rad Instagram feed and for sharing it with us! Go give it a follow street shooters!