Bruce Gilden: When Street Photography Goes Too Far? 

Would you like to see more Bruce Gilden on the channel and if so what do you suggest?

I had the pleasure of meeting Bruce at a workshop in London in 2019. Although I don't always agree with his views and opinions, he has permanently changed the way I take photographs. I think that 80% of street photographers today are rather boring, most of them are in love with technology but very few dare to approach what makes street life special, the people... And let's be honest, you have to have a personality and have a character to recognize and photograph special people. And all within seconds. I think that Bruce Gilden embodies rock 'n roll in photography. You have to have balls to take such pictures over decades. No fear! And if you haven't tried to take photos like Bruce Gilden, with a camera, flash and 50cm distance, you can't have a say. I've tried it, it's not for me, but that has more to do with the fact that I treat others the way I would like to be treated. But I am very grateful for the great photos and books he produced. It's always inspiring to look at the photos. I hope he will be creative for a long time.

Brilliant work, T. To me, Gilden is like a photography version of Bukowski. His visceral photography captures the feeling of the street whilst often brings our eyes to societal truths we'd prefer to turn away from. It's paradoxically harsh in its approach and yet comes from a sensitivity to the environment and the need to document accurately the human condition. That's my take anyway! Thanks again for the vid!

His Haiti and New York work are some of my favs. It is incredible. Well done on the video btw. You breakdown artists in such a concise and thoughtful way. Always a treat when you make one!

I've recently have had the algorithm send me down the street photography youtube rabbit hole. And though I enjoy the walkie talkie videos overall. I think seeing something like this and imagining the Pre Cleanup New York street photography as having more grit, but seeing a lot of younger folks still clinging to the nostalgia of shooting the old hunting grounds... It's just not there anymore. Everyone has their own motivations clearly. But overall the sort of cultural density that came out of the grit of specific cities in the 60's-80's can't be replicated and carving that new path somewhere else with this sort of sincerity is tough. I do take a lot away from starting with what you know. I don't know what sorts of ins he had in Haiti, Portugal, Italy or Japan... but a NY cabbie from NY probably knew where to look for action and movement. That kind of intimate knowledge is priceless.

My initial reaction is negative, finding the approach disrespectful, aggressive and exploitative … but … as the work turns towards portraiture, I can see the inspiration and purpose. These images present a reality that needs to be seen and hopefully inspires compassion for our fellow down trodden humans. Thanks for this fine video. PS: Picture box merchants indeed … pitch perfect and too funny! Well done. At this rate you’ll soon be able to release a compilation of MPB shorts! 📷☕️😎

Interesting presentation of this work. The images are hard to consume and challenge the ideas of beauty that we hold. Both traits are worthy of respect in my eyes, especially within the context of his explanations. It’s also pretty interesting to me how quickly people are willing to close themselves off to this work, without any sort of curiosity towards it first.

THAAAAAAAAAAANK YOU! Im just starting to get into photography and im loving every single video on youtube that presents a photographer like you do. It makes my mind buzz with ideas.

I think you got the point here perfectly. I remember him descrinbing his father as a tough guy in his Brooklyn accent and so he was on the street. Cities change and so did he. His work definitely has its place in this era. And his younger work has as well.

Thank you, Tatiana. This was another interesting video. I really appreciate the effort and thought you put into your work. As for Gilden's work, I do like a lot of it, but I think the same thing can be said for him as some other photographers that he manipulates the scene to create an effect rather than capturing it as it is. His use of flash often does not capture people as they are, rather it forces a fight or flight reaction, which allows him to manipulate his subjects to try and catch some kind of specific reaction. Thank you!

This was beautyfull, and inspiring too. Thank you, for this @TatianaHopper :)

I mean... Bruce is such a force, and I'm not sure why so many people have a hard time dealing with his images. Is he exploiting his 'subjects'? Yes, a little, but I believe for Bruce it's always a win/win. It's almost like the closer and harder the light, the more cracks in the frame, the more broken teeth and bruises, the more Bruce has love for it. It is what it is.

Absolutely mind-blowing. Its not about the photo - its about the story. Thank you for creating this incredible video.

Very well presented. He is definitely a figure that has both fans and haters. His work is as much in your face as he is. His street portraits remind me of the work that Suzanne Stein does in Philadelphia. Although her approach is completely different. Thank you for sharing and for your hard work. ✌️❤️

Definitely!

Well done, T! Very inspiring!

It's nice to see a video on Gilden. The internet really dislikes him, but I find some of his work (the less in your face shots) to be raw excellent samples of street photography.

great video, thank u!

His Haiti work is one of my favourites. Your video showed me a side I wasn't comfortable with but made me look through a different prism. Thank you for that.

That was a brilliant analysis and thank you for your comments on this challenging photographer!

Amazing video! Really cool to see videos like this. Bruce has an amazing work and has a boldness to his work that most photographers don’t. Maybe that is why they don’t get it, they can’t do it

Hello, Tatiana. I'm sorry you didn't respond to my last comment on the Fan Ho video. But now about this video. I'm not the Gilden type and don't like the way he works. That doesn't mean he's a bad photographer. There is a place for his way of working. I just don't know how long he can keep this up and how long it will be accepted. But you have done another nice piece of work. Another strong video with a lot of knowledge on the subject. You have to be open to everything about photography. Also for the work of Mister Gilden. It's not my way of working. Thank you for this video, I have started to look at him and his way of working differently. Antoine.

Gilden purposely makes people look worse than they are. He robs them of their dignity. Often these are people, that you can plainly see, have challenges in life. And he’s profited off it. I stand with Joel Meyerowitz on this one. Meyerowitz on Gilden - “He’s a f**king bully. I despise the work, I despise the attitude, he’s an aggressive bully and all the pictures look alike because he only has one idea - ‘I’m gonna embarrass you, I’m going to humiliate you.’ I’m sorry, but no.”

Starting like Tarantino and ending with the 2pac cover, coherently, like a boss! Gr8 video, love Bruce!

This was so thought provoking for me. Ideas for my photography. Thoughts about society and deep thinking about life in general and me innit. Your channel is just top tier. And yes more Bruce Gllden please.🙏

I love and respect your work so very much! Please keep doing what you do. We are all better for it. 😊

Tremendous and intelligent critique Tatiana. 👏

Dude where do you find this amazing music? its not even on RU-vid

I love his work, but I hate his process. I’ve always been more of a fan of Cartier-Bresson’s approach, of leaving a scene exactly how you found it. I don’t like making other people’s day shittier because I took their photo. No denying the quality of Gilden’s work though.

Well done, Tatiana. I could listen to you the whole day long. Peace.

I wasn’t aware of Gilden and his work. His images from Haiti hold personal significance and intrigue. Thanks @tatianahopper

Hi Tatiana, Been enjoying you videos, and this is no exception. It a refreshing stance of the topic of Photography. Congrats. Just curious about one thing, are you portuguese?

For some reason people got something to say about his work, but they seem to forget he was out there making work that defined a genre long before most of us were alive. Although I make images in a different way, I consider myself informed by is years of effort. Art invokes response.

Another pitch perfect presentation and eloquently done presentation. I have to confess I have never been much of a fan of Bruce Gilden, I sort of concur with some of the other comments that his work can come be perceived, for lack of a better word, as abusive. The B&W work, perhaps because it better falls into the street photography genre as we know it, seems to me more palatable. The color on the other had, is brutal. Interestingly, as I look at it I'm reminded of Katy Grannan's Boulevard series (which I assume came later) in its stark brightly lit faces, images that approximate photogrammetry more that photography.

You might want to close the comments section for this one.

That intro song is amazing! But I can’t find it anywhere online 😢

Whenever I see that scene at 1:28 I can't help but think how terrifying it would be to the average elderly person and I just want to punch the screen. And then on the other hand I think a lot of his images are amazing.

I look at Bruce Gilden as one of the true masters of stere photography, he has the ability to emphasize the street & people & make it all beautiful & interesting. I think you presented him very well 👍 .

his works inspire me to go beyond the impossible. something like take a huge risk or not at all. doing art to the point people wish death upon you* - like some on this blessed comment section - is true dedication not everyone can bestow. though i know exactly when to use flash, and it’s not outdoors *figuratively but there _is_ a heavy implication someone here does

Nobody on the street owes anybody a photograph. Someday, if it hasn't already happened, someone will punch him one. I find his 'technique' absolutely disgusting.

" In your face" - more like in their face.

Wow this was so good. I frankly went in to this without much interest in him and now I adore the man.

it's like car crash photography. you know you shouldn't be looking, but...

Thank you for presenting Gilden's work. He's done some great stuff, but I think you dodge the important question when you say, in essence, different strokes for different folks. That is, is his way of working ethical? I don't think I have the answer, but it strikes me as intrusive, demeaning and a kind of bullying. The idea that it is important as a social document seems thin.

Thank you for trying to understand Bruce. My wife and I have known Bruce for a number of years and her perspective on the work is simply, "This is the way humans look." Bruce may have a very specific thing in mind when he shoots, but this is honest humanity.

I try not to morally judge people's work. We can only judge the images as they are and not based on a photographer's method or intent. Having said that... The photographer I have a "moral" problem with is Joel Peter Witkin. Posing dead corpses in precarious positions is not something I will ever be OK with. That is the ultimate form of degradation and exploitation in my opinion.

Whenever I see that video of him flashing that poor woman in the face (@1:29), I lose a lot of respect for him. It was totally unnecessary, the shot isn't that good, and he could've hurt that woman. This is one of those gray areas of ethics - I've always wondered what happens when his flash goes off and induces a seizure in someone? I guess the photo must've be worth it then...

Bruce Gilden is actually a sociologist with a camera. His early work was especially brilliant because it's the perfect example of bypassing "the observer effecy" (where you simply observing something affects its behavior even though the observered isn't aware of being observed). He shot images in a way that captured the subject before it became affected by being observer. It resulted in hyper-realistc images.

Thank you Tatiana. I always liked Gilden's work, personally I can never see myself getting into someone's personal space with a camera and especially with a flash but he captures such candid expressions while doing it. He's definitely one of a kind in the world of photography. I really enjoyed watching this!

Very attractive video. I’m a dedicated “skimmer” It’s not about short attention span, more about a need when faced with so much information. A technique taught at my university library many years ago. I paid attention to this entire video. That’s good going for me, especially as I just don’t like flash on the streets, never have done. Not sure about the philosophical thread. There are plenty of Gods that do not have songs or photographs made about them and do not judge. Anyway, that’s my judgement, Bruce.

What song is playing in the intro?

Bruce Gilden is the Teddy Bear from the movie TED. 😂

I understand the photographers eye and adventerous search for the perfect image or emotion. But there is a difference between approach and privacy. People hired for studio photography work with appointments and agreement. These people in the streets dont have the choice to decide to be hang on the wall in some gallery and exposure, and not even get information where and how their photo will be used. They dont even get paid royalties.

An interesting mini documentary about this photographer. Not sure I heard of him before today.

My take on his work and street photography in general is that it’s a means to an end and if all street photographers were shy about shooting we would be missing a lot of our best photographs from history. Candid street photography is an incredible record of life as it actually is, unvarnished and unposed. We especially need it now in the age of the selfie. How else will the future people know what we were like? And if the worst thing that happens to a person in a day is they have their picture taken they’re doing pretty good.

Question to Tatiana: Is this selection taken from a specific book? A lot of Gilden-images I haven't seen before.

I have a really hard time with his photos of addicts... I spend over ten years on the streets amongst addicts so naturally I have very strong feelings and of course I don't know how other people perceive those photos, what goes through their minds etc., but I can't help it but think the way he photographs them makes them look really bad. Intentionally bad. Unnecessarily bad. The hopelessness in these pictures is overwhelming and overpowering in such a way that it seems to crush everything else and if that is his goal, then he really drove it to an extreme degree. Unfortunately this sense of hopelessness seems to rob the photos of everything else that was present. I would have loved to get to see more of that what was lost.

Bruce Gilden’s work is photojournalism and used as a Rorschach test for how we interpret our culture. The photojournalist’s work transcends perceived dogma.

Love or hate him, Gilden is one of the greats of our time.

What’s the song in the beginning?

Say what you will, you can't view one of his images without experiencing it, powerful stuff.

If he ever assaulted me by getting in my personal space and putting flash in my face that can cause seizures I would have defended myself from him and his camera, then taken him to court for assault and endangerment of my health and life. The flash is very dangerous because he photographs many elderly ppl, ppl who don't look healthy, or look like they are on drugs. Flash can induce seizures that can be life threatening, but he also assaulted ppl by getting in their personal space.

“I have no ethics” -Bruce Gilden

Listen Bruce, I love most of it, and to everyone, you do not have to like him, me, nor the next person because most of us do not pay each other's bills. There is a real world out here, yet today, people want to pretend to be annoyed and offended by everything THEY do not agree with. In other words, if you're 500 lbs, you ARE fat, obese ,huge, phat, or whatever you choose to call it, yet the FACT is, you are too big. Now we live in a word where people are fine with calling others narcissists, men/women haters, toxic, and MOST of them have NO qualifications nor an accurate understanding of those words. Now we have women calling themselves queens with no castle in sight, just a rental apartment. Now we have men saying they are kings, NO castle, NO subjects, no royalty, yet feel offended if you do not agree with them. Now perception is reality even though it's redundant garbage with no logic/facts. Now I do live in NYC and shoot in the streets and most of the time if I want to get really close, I ask. I am not so worried about what other shooters think, yet i am thoughtful that the person can jump up, kick me in the face,.stomp me, shoot me, and piss on my dead body as they walk away with my camera. Knowing that fact I shoot with no fear, and defy the stoopid RU-vid notion that you have to carry a small camera to do street photography. I shoot Pentax full frame, no flash, no tripod, one lens, and I shoot as efficiently as possible. Ironically, total strangers ask to pose and want to talk, and I even had this guy ask me at a donut shop to shoot him each time he saw me, for free..In the middle of the platform this woman demands I take her pictures and posed like we were working a Vanity shoot. So here's the deal, the reason I like Bruce's work because if I see another damn redundant landscape, pet, tree, or makeup laced model, I might wanna scream. I want to see someone who gets in the mud, the grit, and the sweat of NYC like Bruce, like Meier because that's what NYC is, for real. So I do go outside skating and on the way home at 2am, I am shooting someone's roses, some random person in the subway, or some colorful pile of trash. My home life was off the beaten path as well, and I learned if you do not master things in life, they will master you. People ask me why O shoot Pentax FF and Canon film, and say, because care NOTHNG about specs,I care about it works and the results. Oh and street shooters do not do dumb things like drop cameras changing lenses, because broken cameras do not take great pictures. It's called a STRAP>>>>>>>>>>.. By the way, for you hypocrites..How is it ok to shoot video and stills just about EVERYWHERE in the public with camera phones, yet you have some ILC/point and shoots???? have NEVER seen someone wth a smartphone ask anyone for permisson,and the PROOF is all the videos/pics on sites since the Worldstar days ..Yes, that is a hypocrite

His earlier work when shoving a flash into a person’s face, basically scaring the hell out of the subject is and was not my cup of tea. He does show the raw underbelly of parts of our society good and bad. Now a days being aggressive on the streets with a camera isn’t that well accepted and could get you hurt.

Awesome. If you don't want your picture taken . Don't go out. Just wish i had a tenth of hic courage.

"Only god can judge me", I think some of his subjects would differ with that rationalization.

I've always had mixed feelings towards Gilden. I somewhat agree with Meyerowitz about Gilden being a bully but, as unpleasant and exploitative his photography may seem on the surface, his work is very New York, very raw and is a valid form of social commentary, whether one likes it or not. While I'm not particularly a fan of Gilden's aesthetic, as street photography (a term I dislike), his work is a lot more interesting than 90% of what passes for the genre today. Martin Parr works in a similar territory to Gilden (also using a flash) but he's nowhere near as intrusive and is much more respectful to his subjects. Oh, there is a video or documentary somewhere on RU-vid of Gilden being attacked by a woman who he photographed while totally in her face!

My favs were the ones of the women in Miami. That's a harsh reality that all the world should adress. I don't know the answer but I hope that people could get warm relationships to no turn in drugs when the hard times comes 😢

I find many of his images very interesting. BUT... I don't see his images as unique as his "style of shooting", which proves his agressive invasion is not necessary to achieve images like his. I'm surprised he lived for a long time before being beaten by someone who was not on a good mood...

I met him on a plane to NYC in 2022 and he's unlike his photographer persona that you see in all the videos of him in action. A great captivating story teller and very interesting character.

For antidote to gilden see Gregory Crewdson

Not my cup of tea, but still interesting to see and try to understand.

I have mixed feelings, there is a need to show the rougher edges of society to the complacent but the people should be treated with dignity and respect. Showing the rougher edges is great but how you do it is important also.

I condemn the method, bit I can't argue with the result

Weegee comes to mind. Not all photography is intended to be beautiful. There are other kinds of significance.

Good for you Hopper! Of course I'll look at Gilden pictures any time, any place. &BTW, great commercial! I quite enjoyed it!

I mean people can hate or criticize, his art is fantastic, i mean look at thoses pics and dare say they dont raise any feeling of contemplation deep down

Oh we’re getting to controversial land… buckle your seatbelts people!

I like Bruce’s work but yeah his approach was a bit over the top. Thanks for this.

His biggest flaw is his lack of care he puts into his composition. No context/missing context makes it look like he’s merely shooting from the hip where he occasionally gets lucky.

I don't see any purpose to Gilden's work beyond the surface level observations anyone can make. He's the photographic equivalent of a jump scare; he treads the motions and beats required to elicit a particular response, but is ultimately substanceless. You don't have to tell a joke to make people laugh, you just have to use the intonation that implies a joke has been told. Gilden just borrows beats from the rhythm of photography, but never writes anything to it. There's a voyeuristic perversion some people adopt as a photographic style. It allows photographers to appear to be making some point about a socioeconomic struggle. It's the same narrative arc every teenager thinks they've discovered when they take photos of homeless people. Climbing a paper mountain of moral superiority and photographing those you see below you does nothing but embue the photographer with an unearned veil of ego that blinds them to nuance and consideration. A photograph is three constituent parts: the photographer; the subject; and the space between them. Despite his insistence, Gilden respects only the former, robbing the viewer or any meaningful experience they may otherwise have with his art. "Only God Can Judge Me" as a Bruce Gilden photo book has a kind of narcissistic irony to it. Truly the perfect title. Memorising every word in the dictionary doesn't make you an orator, and developing your photographic vocabulary doesn't make you a photographer if you have nothing to say. His invasion of people's personal space is similarly vaccuous. There's no point to it, only effect. Gilden is all dazzle, no brilliance.

I like these later portraits much more than the earlier street photography. Although there are some great photos, i find that particular style of street photography ultimately pointless. You might as well just randomly punch or kick people and photograph them grimacing and writhing in pain. The reaction is authentic but the situation is orchestrated, for me anyway. The later portraits of ‘outcasts’ I relate to more. We see people in stress and distress in places that aren’t part of a war zone, or living in an environment that no longer supports life due to natural disasters or climate change. They are somehow a product of societies that have been held up to its citizens and the world, as ideal models for the world to follow. Not just the USA, the so-called, developed world. Somehow i think it is harder to ‘see’ this, than what we see and hear and read about in the rest of the world. I think they are very brave and he is very brave. Let the record show what is there to be seen, not just what we are comfortable with. I don’t think it’s exploitation. It’s simply a record, like a book of biographies of ordinary people. There are no ordinary people.

I do street photography. I appreciate Bruce Gilden's work, except for the flash photography. Either keep your distance and take candids or ask if you want to get in close. Unfortunately he seems to be hooked on photographing people from the 'unfortunate' side of town and I think that's as limiting as only shooting the 'beautiful' people. Eventually it becomes visually tiresome to look at the same thing over and over again.

am i the only one who doesn't skip Tatiana mpb sponsor segments

Gracias Guapa¡¡

People need to relax! This idea of perfect street photography etiquette is ridiculous. News flash: your favorite photographer has taken photos that make *someone* uncomfortable. That's just part of game. Gilden has some great photos. Some aren't so great. Take the best and leave the rest.

He just seems unethical. The flash makes it worse.

This guy sure does love talking about his own personal experience. It's almost like he can't see outside of himself and is very selfish. See a girl suffering on the corner? Photo op! Job done, time to go home, it's cool because I had just as hard a life in MY eyes. You know how I define good art? It doesn't hurt others to get its message across. It has empathy. This guy lacks that. I'm sure he's cool to edgy art school kids, but take away the camera and you'll realize part of the human experience is quietly bonding with strangers rather than seeing them as art pieces.

I have to disagree with your take on Gilden. While I was once a great fan I have over time begun to really reassess my view of his work as being aggressive and exploitative and in the final analysis a threat to street photography. Many see him as a mentor or at least they think his work gives them licence to be really sh*tty human beings while taking images in public. This will create a backlash that damages all of us who love the genre.

You’re on video 24/7 if you’re worried about Bruce I think you need a reality check

Judge it? Like or dislike it? Just go out and try it. It's photography. God has already judged that there are none righteous, and concluded that all are in unbelief...that He might have mercy on all. So, by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection anyone can receive His payment for all their sin by simply believing He did it for them. He promises the gift of eternal life to whosoever believes.

He's a one-trick pony.

Isn't that the guy who appears to not know how to use a camera :D

I’ve been a big supporter of your channel for a long time now, but can’t agree with you about Gilden. I think the man is a visual thug whose tool of exploitation is a camera and flash. His methodology might be legal, but where is his sense of morality? Sure, he had a tough childhood, but the cycle of cruelty has to stop somewhere. Please, no more publicity for this soul-bruising brute.

I don't like his style. It deliberately degrades humanity by exaggerating expressions and mocks what ordinary people do in everyday life.

Waiting for the day someone doesn’t take Bruce gildens annoying bullshit…. 😉

As a photographer, he made me hate street photography. Especially his kind of street photography.

This is why most people hate street photographers.

Player "Bruce Gilden" is like a Competitive Ranked Photographer with about 60% win rate in an S-rank tier