Streets Without People

This assignment is about exploring the urban environment when it’s empty of human presence, but full of evidence of people. It’s a creative challenge to see the street in a new way.

What do we want to see?

A street or documentary photograph that captures the atmosphere of the city or town without a single person in the frame. That doesn’t mean your photo has to be empty it just means you'll have to think differently about what you include.

This could be architecture, objects left behind, signage, worn surfaces, shadows, or reflections, anything that hints at life.

This could be a great assignment for any community members from smaller towns or more rural environments.

Tips for the assignment:

• List item Look for human traces: Footprints, litter, street furniture, graffiti, or modes of transport.

• List item Shoot early or late: Quiet times can help you avoid people in the frame and focus on mood.

• List item Study the mundane: a beam of light through a coffee shop window, the texture of a bus stop pane of glass, how can you transform mundane everyday scenes into a compelling photograph

• List item Embrace mood and stillness: Use light, shadow, weather, and composition to build a sense of calm, tension, or mystery.

• List item Think graphically: With people out of the picture, lean into strong shapes, lines, colors, and textures to hold the frame together.

• List item Light - can you tell a story using only light? How will you use colour?