Full Interview: Street Photographer Jack Simon

The October 2014 issue of Popular Photography published my article, Street Cred. To prepare for that article I had the privilege of conducting interviews with four of the top street shooters active today—Jeff Mermelstein, Melanie Einzig, Jack Simon, and Richard Bram.

Due to space constraints, only a portion of the interviews actually made it to print. Here's the third in the series, featuring Jack Simon.


 Photo © Jack Simon
Jack Simon on Street Photography

"I  prefer when the story is not clear and it is left up to the viewer to put their own interpretation on the scene."

MR: How long have you been doing street photography and what got you interested in it?

JS: Ten years ago I began photographing our travels with a digital point and shoot. When I realized the immediate feedback helped me take better pictures, I started exploring photography in general at home. As I looked through photography books and photography in museums, it was the work of street photographers that captured me. Also, I’ve always liked exploring cities and began appreciating the added enjoyment photography gave to that exploration.

MR: Who were/are your influences--current or past?

JS: Alex Webb and Constantine Manos, along with many of others in the Magnum, group were especially inspiring. I liked the strongly complex and colorful visuals they produced. Although I appreciate the humor or some photographers like Elliot Erwitt, the very beautiful look of Manos' and Webb's work is what really attracts me. I think they have a way of taking what would be an ordinary scene and elevating it to another dimension.

I'm also a big fan of Gregory Crewdson, who constructs surreal/dream-like images with people whom he poses and then photographs his cinematic constructions. It's the end result I appreciate even though my approach is totally simple, unposed, and unplanned. There are a number of artists like Edward Hopper and Magritte whose painting strike a deep chord.

MR: Street photography seems to be undergoing a revival these days. Do you agree? What do you attribute this to?

JS: There seem to be many more people doing street photography than ever before. But I don't think galleries or museums are necessarily part of this revival. In fact, it seems more and more "art photography" is about constructed works or highly conceptual ideas. More shooters probably relate to social media.

MR: Has social media been a good thing for street photography?

JS: It's been very good for me. I've improved my skills through different groups, found ways to educate myself further and learned about competitions and photography festivals to enter. Also through one of these groups I jointed an international collective Burn My Eye, which has become an important part of my photographic life.

MR:  It seems like the Internet has become a great platform for photographers to share their work, but the downside is there are a lot of mediocre photos being passed as "street photography" out there. What do you do to get your work noticed and to rise above the noise?

JS: As I mentioned above, via the Internet/social media (primarily Flickr), I learned about several international competitions and photography festivals. This resulted in my winning or getting into the finals of a few, getting into photography festivals, and joining an international photography collective that increases my exposure.

Also connected with your question of social media, having been interviewed in several blogs has also increased my exposure. I notice that one video interview of me has been seen over 60,000 times which is an amazing exposure.

Edit, edit, edit! Everyone takes lots of mediocre photographs. It may be tempting to post all new work, but I recommend editing strongly and showing only your best. 

MR: When you go out to shoot, do you have any ideas in mind about the kinds of photos you want to capture? Could you talk about the plusses and minuses of preconception as it relates to street shooting?

JS: I don’t have a specific theme or idea in mind of what I am going to photograph. I am not especially interested in documenting aspects of life in the public domain which I think is the general focus of street photography. I am using the “street” to find complex, colorful, and sometimes cinematic views. I  prefer when the story is not clear and it is left up to the viewer to put their own interpretation on the scene. 


MR: Are you ever confronted while doing street photography? How do you handle it? Do you have suggestions for diffusing situations where someone stops you?

JS: Sometimes I have been confronted. Once, I shot impulsively at a corner scene and realized I had photographed a drug deal. I kept my cool through the confrontation, apologized and explained what I was doing with street photography and deleted the photo. The man confronting me nicely added ” why don’t you go photographing at “Fishermen’s’ Wharf.” I was in the Tenderloin of SF at the time which is a seedy and gritty part of town.

Maybe being a bit older too, I am given a little room and am less threatening. I won’t get mistaken for an undercover policeman. Mainly, though, my suggestion is to be polite, apologetic if necessary, and keep a smile on your face.  Also be smart about what you are shooting. There are some situations that invite trouble.

MR: Have attitudes towards street photographers at street level changed in recent years? Do people react differently to you now compared to  when you got started?

JS: I haven't notice a big change. If there is any more tolerance at this time, it may be that I am shooting with smaller cameras and am over time likely to be doing things that diffuse attention to me.

MR: Color or Black & White? Why?

JS: Color. I love the look of color more. Probably I could come up with other reasons,  but it really comes down to the look of color in photographs.

MR: Since this is for Pop Photo, I have to ask: What camera & lens do you use for street photography, and if you're shooting film, do you have a preference?

JS: I started out with SLRs but in the past few years have switched to  Fuji X100 and now the Fuji X100S.  It has a fixed 35mm lens, is small, light and quiet, and as with my previous SLR does well indoors with natural lighting.  When I shot with my SLR, I used prime lenses 20mm, 28mm, and 50mm.  Likely I will start using primes again with another Fuji X camera because I miss the variety of different views. Overall, though 35mm works ideally for me.

MR: What advice would you give to an aspiring street photographer regarding camera and lens choices?

JS: As I said above, I'm enjoying smaller cameras like the Fuji which have controls that I use accessible on the camera rather than in the menus. 35mm is a fairly good choice. But I'd say anything between 20-50mm can work and gives different viewing options. Most importantly get comfortable with your camera so you can shoot quickly.

Here are some questions and answers from other interviews that Jack sent me that he thought would be helpful:

Q: Do you have any advice for people who are starting out or are struggling for inspiration?

A: Enjoy yourself! Actually I would give that advise to any street photographer. You are going to spend a lot of time wandering around and looking for something interesting to shoot. For myself, then it is great to have things to enjoy during that time. Then you are in the mood to for seeing more too. Spend a lot of time looking at great images from photographers you admire both in books and museums. Online viewing is fine, but seeing photographs in print, and especially on walls is really inspiring.

Q: In your professional life you work as a psychiatrist. How does this role influence what you shoot and how you publish?

A: I think it helps me understand myself better when I see what I shoot and how I shoot, but not the other way around too much. Perhaps, though, my work helps me with an intuitive sense on the street of people and situations. Along with that though, I like the street for the periods of time to not relate, to just walk and enjoy my surroundings. It’s quite a contrast to psychiatry which I find refreshing.

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