In the midst of the whirlwind of technique that has devoured the art of photography, "Street" photography has emerged - quite a few years ago now. This style of photography, despite what we might see on social media, is not actually new. We could categorize it as photojournalism or even documentary. Although in the end, it's all photography.
What's the problem? Street photography lacks a philosophy of photography; it's more of a "here and now" approach, where immediacy, likes, and ego have overshadowed reflection and therefore traditional reportage, which is slow-paced, tells a story through a photographic project, and requires prior research and extensive reading.
So, I'd like to present what, to me, is a street photography project, for lack of a better term. Something very interesting in my opinion, but not novel, no matter how modern we believe ourselves to be or pretend to be.
This time, I'd like to discuss the project "Out of Time" by Taras Bychko. Taras, born in Ukraine in 1987, is a photographer who, despite the ongoing war with Russia, continues to take photographs, telling his stories from an intimate perspective, showing how he sees the reality around him, his family, his country.
Taras Bychko - Out Time.
"Out of Time" tells us how his country seems to have stopped in the 60s/70s, with images reminiscent of those 70s films, with a very cinematic and analog look.
Taras reminds us of the virtue of patience and hard work to obtain this collection of photographs, which were not taken in a day, but over a pre-pandemic period, from 2018-2020, by walking the streets of his city/cities, visiting different places in his country, without the rush and immediacy of posting his photos on social media to get a like.
Taras Bychko - Out Time.
Some of his photographs remind us of Saul Leiter of New York with their beautiful colors and characteristic reflections.
In "Out of Time," there are characteristic objects from the 60s and 70s, which likely some are still in use today. There are also interiors from that era that perhaps remind us of our parents or even grandparents.
Taras Bychko - Out Time.
Taras Bychko - Out Time.
Taras Bychko - Out Time.
In short, it's a project born out of tranquility and rest, far from the rush of the internet to gain followers, portraying a calm world despite the current whirlwind.
In my humble opinion, it's an example of good photographic work. I invite you to explore Taras Bychko's world through his personal website, where you can see his other projects, which are more intimate and familial in style.
Taras Bychko's website is: https://bychko.com/out-of-time
