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When I became publisher of Street Photography Magazine earlier this year, one of my goals was simple: get out from behind the computer and spend more time with the photography community in person.
For more than a decade, I’ve interviewed photographers, exchanged emails, edited articles, and hosted conversations from afar. But photography is ultimately a human endeavor, and I wanted to experience some of that community firsthand.
That goal led me to Eyes on Main Street in Wilson, North Carolina this spring. But as I started planning the trip, I noticed something interesting. May seemed packed with photography festivals. Dublin Street Photography Festival. Raw Photo Fest. Photo London. Eyes on Main Street. It made me curious.
Why are photography festivals becoming so popular? What keeps photographers coming back year after year? What do people actually get from attending?
To find out, I spoke with photographers who attended four different events in May, each with its own personality, audience, and approach to celebrating photography.
PSA: I thought of this grand idea without realizing that I am a far worse audio/video editor than I am a photo or word editor. So, the episode is far longer than I intended and the audio quality is, in some places, not as fantastic as I would’ve liked. Still, I decided to share. Thanks for giving me the space to learn here folks. I appreciate it!
More Than Just Photographs
One theme emerged almost immediately. Of course the exhibitions mattered. The speakers mattered. The workshops, portfolio reviews, book signings, screenings, and gallery presentations all added tremendous value. But what people remembered most were the conversations.
Andrew Glickman, fresh off his third visit to the Dublin Street Photography Festival, described how easy it was to meet photographers from around the world. People who had followed each other’s work online for years suddenly found themselves sharing coffee, meals, and long conversations in person.
Deborah Cole, speaking from the inaugural Raw Photo Fest in Menorca, repeatedly returned to the sense of camaraderie she experienced there. She described photographers from different countries, backgrounds, and languages gathering around a shared passion. Everyone was willing to share ideas, feedback, and encouragement.
Seeing the People Behind the Pictures
One of the unexpected joys of attending a festival is meeting the people whose work you’ve admired from a distance. Where social media gives us access to photographs, festivals give us access to photographers. Andrew mentioned spending time with photographers whose work he had followed for years. At Eyes on Main Street, I experienced something similar.
There were people I’d interviewed for the magazine. Contributors whose articles I’d edited. Photographers whose work I knew well but had never met. Suddenly they weren’t names in an inbox anymore. They were walking down the street with cameras in hand.
One of my favorite moments wasn’t even during a presentation. It was simply watching photographers work. Walking through Wilson, I’d spot someone pausing for a reflection, someone else waiting patiently at a corner, another photographer studying the light. Street photographers spend so much time observing others. It was fascinating to spend a weekend observing them.
Creating Space for Everyone
One thing that stood out about Eyes on Main Street was its commitment to accessibility. When I spoke with festival founder Jerome De Perlinghi, he emphasized something that became obvious the moment I arrived. The festival doesn’t separate established photographers from emerging ones.
Students exhibit alongside internationally recognized artists. First-time participants are treated with the same respect as photographers with multiple books and decades of experience. That philosophy created a refreshingly open atmosphere. There weren’t any exclusive areas reserved for the VIPs. It was easy to walk up and talk to anyone and everyone. Judith Rodriguez, who has attended eight out of 12 of the festival’s editions, called it “a very democratic festival.” You can listen to a presentation by a renowned photographer and then chat with them afterward over lunch. There was a sense of inclusion, and for creative people, that matters.
Inspiration Beyond Street Photography
Not every event we discussed focused exclusively on street photography. Photo London, which Sureita Hockley attended, is a massive international photography fair featuring galleries, collectors, publishers, and artists from around the world. It’s a very different experience from a street photography festival.
Yet Sureita made a compelling case for why photographers should occasionally step outside their usual circles. Exposure to different genres, different artistic approaches, and different ideas can spark creativity in unexpected ways. You may not photograph like the artists you encounter. You may not even particularly like all the work you see. But understanding another artist’s intention, process, and perspective broadens your own understanding of photography. The influence might show up months later in ways you never expected.
Why We Keep Coming Back
By the end of these conversations, I realized that the answer to my original question wasn’t particularly complicated. People attend photography festivals because photography can be a lonely pursuit. Most of us spend our time working alone. We walk alone. Edit alone. Wrestle with projects alone. Wonder whether we’re making progress alone.
So maybe festivals remind us that we’re part of something larger. They offer encouragement, inspiration, education, friendship, and sometimes even a little validation. Most importantly, they connect us with people who understand why we do this in the first place.
As Andrew Glickman told me, after years of photographing largely on his own, he realized something simple: these are his people. After attending my first photography festival, I think I understand exactly what he means. If you’ve never attended one yourself, perhaps that’s the best reason to go.
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