The art of street photography
Living in Iowa it is difficult to practice the art of street photography. There are, of course, opportunities wherever you live to find great street images. But when comparing Des Moines to other major metropolitan cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles you can see the potential for street photography diminishing.
A street poet prepares for inspiration as a woman enjoys a smoke and waits for friends on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans.
I’ve always been drawn to the gritty images that street photography offers. There are so many historical masters (Erwitt, Bresson, Koudelka) of street photography and there are also many (Gilden, Webb, Free) working the streets today.
That is why when I travel I always make sure to take time and walk the streets where I visit to take photos of the people that are part of those communities.
A woman walks along the road in Belize City, Belize.
I’ve walked the streets of New York, Chicago, Beijing, and Ho Chi Minh City to name a few. I’ve also utilized the window on a bus in cities like Quito, Manila and Rosario to get some street shots. The photos below are a sampling from my recent travels to Belize City and Cozumel along with some of my favorites from other cities.
For more than two decades, Joseph L. Murphy has had the pleasure of meeting and connecting with people from all walks of life through photography. He has photographed presidents and heads of state, traversed the winding alleyways of the Fes Medina in Morocco, photographed the sprawling countryside and people that make up Argentina and covered events that have defined the U.S. Most recently, Murphy’s travels have taken him to Cambodia, Mexico, China, Vietnam and Ecuador.
He has spent the past 20 years specializing in agriculture photography for multiple organizations, publications and marketing projects.
A graduate of the University of Iowa, Murphy determined at an early age that his love of photography would shape his vision for life.