Wide Aperture #4

This is Wide Aperture, a little corner where we get closer to experienced and talented photographer.  This is where they, kindly, share their insight in a very direct way, straigth from behind the viewfinder.  
This is where the XXI Century kicks in, blending the classic vintage work with the latest techniques and media, from unorthodox work to borderline street portraiture, always keeping in mind the most engaging unstaged and candid photos with a narrative we call Street Photography.

Today we met Sagi Kortler, an exquisite and inspiring Street Photographer from Israel, lucky for us an administrator of this Yard, as he walks through our patio in his hunter game.

How did you find street photography, and how do you describe your photographic style?

Allow me to quote myself:
"I got into street photography in 2009 as I was looking for my voice in photography.
Before I found street photography, I felt that I was a technician of the camera and not a photographer, a creator. I wanted more and by searching for more meaning in my photography I found street photography. It felt right from the beginning, I felt I was connecting to my subject and to the process of creation. It’s a kind of photography that is made from the heart and not from the head. There are no defined rules to live by.
I can't define my style, this is the job of the curators. I believe that you can't define style in technical terms, I believe that the style describes the photographer and not his techniques. I think that my photos feel close and distant at the same time, which fits me as well as a person.

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How do you find your subjects?

It's a hunter's game. I go out on the streets and I just let my senses find them. The eyes are always scanning, the ears always listening and even the nose might pick up something.

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Do you hit the streets with a first theme in mind, or it just flows?

Sometimes. but there is never a detailed plan as the streets are always unpredictable. Even if there is a plan or a theme I let if flow and I run with what the streets offer me.

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What kind of equipment do you use, do you carry much gear? If you had to stick with one lens for the rest of your life, which would it be?

I use mirrorless cameras, I like the small, light-weighted and quiet cameras. If I travel overseas then I'll carry back up camera and lenses but on my local streets I usually carry one camera with one lens, usually I don't even carry a bag.
If I had to stick with one lens for the rest of my life, it would be a prime lens, probably equivalent to a 24mm or 28mm.

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Do you use hip-shots? Describe how you shoot from the hip?

I sometimes shoot from the hip. there is no one method but they all pretty much involve pointing and shooting...

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Who are your influences?

It's hard to say. I like many photographers but I take inspiration from photographs and less from photographers. To name a few - Bresson, Josef Koudelka, William Klein, Alex Webb, Trent Parke and the list goes on...

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What drawns you to do photography in the streets

It's where I feel most natural to photograph. I like people, I like to observe and study people.

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Any top tip for the SP out there?

Be yourself, photograph for yourself and not for others, forget fame and enjoy what you do. Explore, explore yourself, find out who you are, your photographs should reflect you.

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