"Street photography is an art. It’s not paint by number. There is no recipe to shoot street as if it was a script or a mountain.

Like hip hop music, you sample the pieces that you like in the work of others. Then you make it your own. Not a cover band.

Street photography is like poetry. It’s not about likes. Rather it’s creating images that others can find a story in. Not your story. Not even your intention. But to read between the shadows and the light.

It’s not about eye candy or gimmickry. It’s the fleeting moments never to be witnessed again. It doesn’t dictate how you should think or feel.

When you are motivated to shoot without the promise of prizes or fortunes but for the true activity of just doing it, that’s the art.

No expectations. Nothing pre planned. The spontaneity of observing. You can’t make this up. Moving in slow motion. Watching it all unfold.

You click the shutter and click again. Forget the previews! No looking back at what’s been shot. Save that for later.

Street photography is an art. It’s the art of life. One snap at a time. Fully engaged in the moment."

Leanne Staples, 2023, used by permission