IGOR ČOKO : STREET PHOTOGRAPHY & VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

What drew me to Igor Čoko , was the Street Photograph of , probably a 7 or 8 year old girl. Crossing the road in the rain, all wet, with her face and right hand stretched towards the traffic, maybe alerting the drivers that she is on the road & crossing!? Her left hand, holding the all wet accordion to stop it from opening. Most probably a “child” working girl with an accordion hanging around her neck, working the streets for a few coins. It’s slightly blurred which indicates both the speed at which she was crossing the road & the speed at which Igor had noticed his decisive moment. The Blur, is actually The Charm of the image which I love and subject of the Image, The Girl, filled me with a heavy heart for a life of a young child, captured in frame.

Attention to details, is a signature of Igor Čoko’s Street Photography which he coins it as “Visual Anthropology” ! it’s a new Term in my Street Vocabulary! It makes perfect sense.

Igor, Lives & works in Belgrade which he calls the New York of the Balkans, Alive 24 hours a day! which makes me feel like running to the airport to catch the next flight with just a camera & no luggage!!

Igor has authored four books, participated in 40 exhibitions, is a lecturer & enjoys a long list of awards.

His Notable project is the “Balkan Route”, The journey and life of refugees, which links Street Photography with Documentary under the umbrella of Visual Anthropology.

We have a conversation about Street Photography & my curiosity on what is in his mind!

How Did You Get Into Street Photography

I used to be a journalist, spent many years in the media, specialised in long term Reportage projects. I worked as a freelance, mostly for various magazines, and photography was just a backup. When I left journalism in 2008, I switched pen for a camera and tried to think visual, instead of words. The moment that in my mind, I “saw” photographs, composition and scenes, it was a trigger to give the camera the main role. In the written form I was trying to visualise my words, so you could picture the scene I wrote about. But, I found the reality of the visual experience of the frozen, captured moment in a frame, is the best and crucial way of storytelling with a narrative.

Watching street life with my own eyes and being able to capture then, has been a game changer. I was hooked & right into the deep end of the game and knew that there was no way back. And then came Anthropology, a cherry on the cake.

Did you cross from Anthropology into Street Photography?

I did not cross, Anthropology upgraded my Street Photography, gave me a wider picture of understanding the streets and it’s cultural, social background. It was a missing link that I was kind of searching for.

Anthropology and Street Photography are a perfect match, so deeply connected on many levels. Many street photographers are anthropologists too, Mary Ellen Mark, Jill Freedman, Martha Cooper…

What is “Visual Anthropology”?

In short, visual anthropology is a subfield of social and cultural anthropology. Visual anthropology encompasses all visual representations of visual arts, and the production of mass media. Photography is one of the most important parts of visual anthropology, the relationship of visual form and function. Street life is the best field work to understand Anthropology and Street Photography is one of the most important links to understand and observe Visual Anthropology.

Can Street Photography be taught? Can you become a Great street Photographer by going to workshops?

Workshops are helpful, for sure. Sometimes necessary. Someone started all this beautiful adventure, and the whole history behind it to learn about how street photography is actually rich and deep, one of the most important genre of Photography in its history. I run street photography masterclasses and workshops here in Belgrade, my goal is not to teach them just how to shoot and act on the street, but to introduce them to street photography straight from the roots. Street photography is one of the hardest types of photography to do, no doubt. during a masterclass and workshops I meet a lot of people who want to jump into street photography but they suffer from lack of self confidence and similar fears like how to approach to the people. They do not understand what exactly street photography is. It’s very important to be there for them, introduce them with the topics and be a psychological support in efforts to remove fear and prejudice from their mind. At the same time, I have met fantastic photographers, raw talents with a brilliant sense for details, wild and brave to ride the Street Photography mustang. You Definitely need to have the Mojo for Street Photography, with fire in the eyes, to understand the Street, otherwise, all the teaching and theory are pointless.

What Mind Set is a Must Have to be a Good Street Photographer ?

To be ready to feel, read and understand streets. To be without prejudice, fear and to be ready for thinking fast and react, to combine details and tell the story. To make a photograph that I would like, as a viewer, to be able to read and put myself back into the photograph, repeatedly. Whilst walking the streets from point A to point B, we often do not have too much time to look around, read the signs, combine the details, we are in a hurry to get back home tired, frustrated and life is too fast. If you slow down, and put on your anthropological and street photography glasses on, then you will dive into some other dimension, which is actually the true reality, full of life and unexpected moments with details. As a street photographer, you are in a Candy Store of life, able to pick up all the fruits and capture exciting, deep, unforgettable, and once in a lifetime moments. Observing is a must do, and clicking on a trigger is a reward. In the rush of the moment, if some desired detail passes you by, there will be another coming your way soon. Street is fluid and full of surprises. And those are the markers of good Street Photographers. To catch life and its upcoming surprises.

The “Trapped on The Balkan Route” has been mostly shot in open spaces & some on the Street & Clearly has a Documentary feel about it. Where/What is The Boundary line between what you’d call “Street Photography” & “Documentary” ?

Boundary is obvious, when you work on a long term project, Street Photography is documentary too, documenting a wide picture of street life with a narrative. Trapped on the Balkan route was an example of how documentary and engaged photography can change the situation, affect the masses to react in a positive way. I found migrants from Syria and Afghanistan hidden in dehumanised and abandoned warehouses in the city centre near the former Belgrade bus station. I witness a potential human crisis that is about to happen if someone does not react. I put my photos on my Facebook and Instagram pages and got over 2000 shares in the first couple of hours. Many volunteers from all over Europe start coming to Belgrade to help those people. And I was so proud that my photography was the trigger for digging them up from the bottom. It partially happened on the streets, but in other circumstances, out of this story, it could be seen as a street photography. Documentary and street photography are closest photography relatives. Documentary is focused on the matter, the street is looking wider and thinking out of the box, Its is a more creative and flexible way to upgrade documentary in many ways. Because street photographers are able to see and detect more detail that could fulfil the documentary point of view.

What is “Street Photography” ? Is anything shot on the streets Street Photography?

To be honest, street photography is one of the hardest fields of photography to define. Working on the streets, Reportage Photographers, Photo journalists , documentary photographers, wedding photographers, stock photographers are each focused on a relevant theme and subjects. They are captured in predefined rules. Street photographers are thinking and playing out of the box. That is why me and many other street photographers consider street photography as jazz. Street photographers are capable of using all of these genres and converting them into street photography. To tell the story in a creative, profound way.

And of course, you are not a street photographer if you just go to the streets and shoot snapshots. And cliché details. Like, man is going down the street without any visual sense and story behind, or if you make random snapshots of people as a mass and crowd or something like that.

Any thoughts of The Digital age? Has it been good for Street Photography?

Digital age is our reality. And life is much faster than in the analog period. Nowadays we need to be fast as much as the street is. That way, digital photography is necessary. And digital gear is good for street photography the same as analog Leica was good back in the sixties and seventies. Plus now, we have mobile phones that can be useful in some situations. My own Camera setting is usually aperture priority, but there are often moments when I play and enjoy totally in manual mode. That is like a zen experience in street chaos. In the end, all that is just gear. Your eyes and mind are actually the best cameras you will ever use.

Any side effects of Social Media ? Good or Bad.

Well, that is a tricky situation. Social media is helpful and is not. Facebook and instagram are helpful, They are sometimes the main platforms to promote a photographer’s work. In my case, on my recent profiles, before they were hacked and gone forever, Instagram and Facebook were very helpful. Thanks to social media, I have sold my street photography book ,“Subversive street aesthetics” in Serbian language in over sixteen countries. “Karaburma my ghetto” was sold out in a few days promoting the book only via Instagram. But both of those platforms suffer from random censorship, sometimes so meaningless that it can cause serious problems from very stupid reasons covered in some fake morality. But yes, photographers need to use those platforms, if you are not on line, you do not exist. Personally, I prefer Websites over Social Media platforms. That is the place of your comfort zone where you can be truly yourself. Nobody controls you and your work.

What is your favourite or current gear?

The best camera is the one you have in your hands. I like the story, the moments, I’m not addicted to gear. I shot street with Nikon D3, first Canon 5d, loud and heavy as a machine from WWII, and I got pretty good results. I liked the Fuji x100 so much, the first, initial model. Now I use Nikon df and Nikon 50 d 1.4. mostly. I’m a man of one lens. Nikon df is great with an upper command that gives you a feeling of old film cameras and really joy of photography with astonishing results in terms of details, sharpness, quality pictures in general. And all Fuji cameras are great.

“Streets of Belgrade” are all shot in colour. Is there anything to be said about shooting on the streets in Colour or B & W ?

It’s the photographer’s choice. “Streets of Belgrade” I saw in colour from the first moment because of a bunch of details. On the other hand “Karaburma my ghetto”, which is a Belgrade tough neighbourhood, I saw it in mono, because of its realistic aesthetics. Both are good, I would not make boundaries between colour and mono as long as the story works.

Is there a Favourite Image or Street Story that stands out in your memory?

The “Streets of Belgrade”. Belgrade is a two million almost metropolis with constant changes, 24 hours live city with its turbulent history, and a gold mine for pure and raw street photography, often called The New York of the Balkans. I Never get tired of Belgrade.

Any advice / Guidance for New Comers ? Or in general.

Be patient, be original and never, never give up. Do not have your head in the clouds, keep your feet on the ground. Throw away any ego. Life is there for you. Feel the street and just, grab it! Enjoy the light! Use just one camera and one lens, that is enough. And “DANCE” instead of using Tele-lenses.

To Learn More About IGOR & His Books Visit His website

And Follow Him On Instagram

Johnny Mobasher Johnny Mobasher, The Site Founder & a Street Photography Enthusiast!

IGOR ČOKO : STREET PHOTOGRAPHY & VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

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