If you’ve ever shot a street photograph, you probably would have believed that it was something new, something barely realized, because it seems so exciting and contemporary. But street photography is hardly new. It’s been with us since at least Henri Carter-Bresson. Yet something that goes even further back is polemic writing. That has been with us for centuries, and I would have never thought these two things would merge and that I would write about it. But it has and here I am writing about it.

But I’m also being dramatic. Alex Coghe recently released Art of Seeing: A Guide to Street Photography isn’t polemic, completely. I just think it could be. And it almost is, but it’s really a training ebook. Street photography doesn’t have many, so it’s great having another one. Still, it’s much more exciting to call it a street photography polemic manifesto than anything else. Not doing so would ignore what it’s about. This ebook is about understanding and declaring what street photography stands for — and shredding what isn’t.

It reads like an early 20th century political tract. Something that Manuel Maples Arce or F.T. Marinetti would write (don’t worry, it’s not sexist nor fascist). It’s both a philosophical study and an edgy critique. If you’re a photographer of your experience, not a student of genre, then this ebook is definitely worth your time.

Click here to see the work of Alex Coghe!