The Weekly Street Photography Thread #32 24/10/2025

I would be interested to know what the answer would be to "...why would this be classed as a strong "street photography" image?" 😁

@davidwien

It's okay, David. I never get upset… too old for all of that nonsense. lol
I am genuinely interested in what makes for a good and impactful street photo.

When you ask AI a question, it already knows the answer, as many hundreds of AI bots have and are reading everything ever written in real media (books) and, of course, here on the internet. It does not have to go and look up anything at all!

Milliseconds after you ask your question, dozens of results are collated into a pool or “mixing pot,” and the AI responses that you receive are synthesized for human understanding. The purpose of this synthesis is to generate output that is natural, coherent, and relevant to the user's input, even though the AI itself does not "understand" in the human sense. Large Language Models (LLMs), which power most AI chatbots, work by predicting the most probable sequence of words rather than by processing thoughts or experiences.

This all comes with a cost, as vast amounts of computing power and energy are used to generate these answers, and it has a measurable impact in relation to our carbon footprints.

Edit: AI is a tool, and it’s here to stay.
A long, long time ago people were frightened when radio was discovered and marketed as a product for the masses to be used in their homes… “furniture that talks”

@Woodsider79

youtu.be/RLCml0IZrgU

@AlanSh wrote: It seems to have made a response to the wrong photo. Which one did you send him?

This one...

I agree because in my mind the bot has been seeded with the negative and has responded accordingly.

For all the positive assertions about AI, for me it is so far off the mark that I will rarely ever read an AI response.

E.g. Over on DPR someone asked AI to list all threaded view forum software. AI proceeded to list a whole bunch of forum software that was NOT threaded view.

And just yesterday I did a google lens image search on a bird that I hadn't seen before. Google has recently taken to placing its AI response above the lens results.
The lens results had two potential matches, favouring the obviously correct one. The AI result had picked the wrong one but spoke as if its answer was categorically correct.

That bothers me greatly as there will be a time when decisions are made on the AI results with no proper doubt as to their veracity.
Indeed google has just introduced a browser setting that switches off all the search results just leaving the AI result.

We are supposed to be an intelligent society. I really wonder about that...

[Edit] Back on topic, I like selective colourisation of B&W images, or the selective de-saturation of colour images (whichever).

Interesting vid and topic with some nice images and music clip at the end. But that accent is something else...

I am quite sure that you know and understand that AI is in its infancy, Bryan, and all of today’s responses come with a caveat.

Regarding prompting it with a “negative” biased question… I agree somewhat, but it was still interesting to read about the observed negative/flawed points and what could be done next time.
At least it exercised my little pea brain. lol

Very few of us here are perfect, and I include myself in that statement.

“Hell! there ain’t no rules around here! We are tryin’ to accomplish somep’n!”
Thomas Edison.

————

Edit: Yes, the London, England, accent.
East End wide boy.

Wide boy is a British term for a man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing.

I wonder if the term Wide Boy has been around for a long time or if it was a counter to the American / Italian street mafia Wise Guy?

Back in high school when I was shooting film, I used to carry an empty Kodachrome slide frame in my back pocket and use it as a viewfinder to hunt for and see possible compositions.

A small device like this in the palm of your hand will let you remain under the radar on the street and in crowded areas. You can also black out the camera brand logo on your camera’s neck strap with a permanent Sharpie (Sharpie Extreme) or remove the embroidery and place black PVC electric tape on all camera body logos and badges.

Photo composition is the art of arranging visual elements within the frame of a photograph to create a visually appealing and impactful image. It involves deliberately placing subjects, using negative space, and guiding the viewer's eye to emphasise certain parts of the image and create a sense of balance and story. 

Edit: Wide boys are stereotyped as working-class, small-time hustlers who survive by thinking quickly on their feet. A classic example would be a dodgy secondhand car dealer or someone selling knock-off goods.

In my experience a wise guy is a smart-aleck.

Thanks, David. I think it’s a street photo. I find this genre to be one of the most confusing among all forms of photographic art. I believe we need a separate thread dedicated to this discussion.

Nice use of architecture as a frame, a lone figure in the whole frame might have work even better.

I think it has improved the overall photo.

I believe this is right; using selective colouring (or the opposite) like a highlighter works well. Eyes will be drawn to different part...

I'm no expert, but to me 'street' is about the interaction between people and their environment in a public space. This would normally be outside, but in this case it happens to be indoors. I would be happy with this as 'street'.

French Quarter, New Orleans

A good portrait of an interesting character...

Conversation…

Men… er, man at work…

Makes me think of "Nighthawks".

Lynne