I look at a lot of street shots published on the web. Some are awesome, beautiful; most are boring. A few are really GREAT. What I don't understand is how many of my fellow street shooters manage to get so clean shots? Shots not disturbed by parked cars, telephone lines, lamp posts etc. When I shoot, such distractions are everywhere, not to be a avoided. Like the shot above. These two young women were deeply engaged in conversation and weren't aware of me "shooting" them, but however I tried the background was getting in the way as it were. And, take a look at the image below. This photograph was shot from the hip, and I'm personally quite happy with it, but it's not a very "clean" shot, is it? There are a lot of disturbing elements, aren't there? E.g. the leg beneath the bag in the centre, and the tree tops above the bus, etc. Not what I would call a "clean" shot. Just a shot, shot on the streets on an everyday life day. My shots are not clean, because life on the streets where I shoot, IS NOT clean of distractions.

Below is another shot. A lot of distracting elements in the shot, but how the h**l had it been possible to avoid them?

My conclusion is that some street photographers are finding a location and a light they like, and just wait there long enough for the right person to enter the frame. Others are just plain lucky. Good for them, and every now and then the photographs are stunning. But more often, the photos are like they're shot through a "formula". No sense of life. No sense of nerve. No sense of nothing but aesthetics. Just a beautiful surface, and nothing else.

This, the last shot, however, is not cluttered with unnecessary elements. It was shot at an outdoor terrace at a restaurant in Höör, Sweden. It's time to party! Party time, everyone!