After practicing graphic design for almost two decades, Markus Hartel began his career in photography in 2003, coincidently when he moved to New York City.
What is street photography? A reflection of every day life – real, unaltered impressions of public places, places that everybody visits every day, the street where you live, the parking lot of your favorite grocery store, the subway. Street photographers document the truth – take candid pictures of things that you don’t notice in your daily grind.
Street photography involves attention to detail. The photographer pays attention to scenes, moments that you only recognize subconsciously. The camera is an unobtrusive extension of the eye in any given situation. Oftentimes, street photographers take pictures they feel; the photographer happens to be there and captures the mood in a fraction of a second. He freezes a moment that you will forget in the same amount of time…
A poster design created as a submission for a contest asking "What is design?"
A poster designed as a submission to a contest entitled "What is graphic design?"
The first thing that popped into my head was if someone were to ask me, in person, what graphic design was, I’d want to pick up a design piece at hand and say “This is graphic design”. I couldn’t put it any more concisely. In brainstorming how to say “This is graphic design” on a piece of paper as simplistically as possible, I realized using simple typography would be the most direct route.
Some miscellaneous logos I've created.
At Homes & Land Magazine, I oversaw the production of multiple real estate magazines across a national network. My daily responsibilities involved laying out and designed advertising material for national companies such as Prudential, RE/MAX, ERA, Keller Williams, and Coldwell Banker. I also developed and implemented an online proofing system and co-developed a paperless workflow that was adopted for our national network leading to faster approvals and savings in money and resources. Other duties included image manipulation, color correction, formatting and management. I trained clients and staff on our proprietary website interfaces and ad submission software. Along with managing interoffice tech support and network administration, I also BETA tested new software.
You carried your camera with you as a taxi driver in New York City. The city was your office, so to speak, and you were able to take pictures on the job. When you began taking pictures, did you know what you were looking for? Had you seen things from the cab and thought, “if I only had my camera”?
I think that anyone who lived in NYC back in the late ’70s remembers what certain parts of the city were like, particularly at night. The things I saw were brutal and sometimes real funny. “If I only had a camera” was something I started mumbling after each crazy thing I saw; people having sex in broad daylight on the hood of a car, knife fights that seemed like they were a scene from West Side Story, and lots of other violent or unbelievable things. The list could go on and on.
Originally from Bogor, Indonesia. Currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan, as a PhD Candidate in geotechnical engineering. Having a big passion in photography. This blog is the visual expression, the collection of street photography, snapshots of everyday life.
"I’m Korean and I grew up in Germany. I live in Berlin and street photography is my passion. I love this city dearly and capturing the little moments I happen to see on the streets excite me every day. I carry my camera with me all the time."
Tatsuo Suzuki was born 1965 in Tokyo, Japan. He started shooting 3 years ago. His works are published on several online or paper magazine and books.
