photo by Chris Moxey, admin of Double X

Siri: It's quite surprising if you think that so many female photographers have made a huge contribution to the history of photography (Helen Levitt, Vivian Maier, Diane Arbus, Mary Ellen Mark) but you rarely see female photographers included in conversations about street photography.



Do you think female photographers are largely invisible to their male counterparts?

Charlotte: Perhaps for some. However, I don't believe it's so hard to find female photographers and painters, poets, writers etc etc, if one's interested and goes looking. When just starting out exploring a medium like photography it's common to skim the surface and just view the masters or popular who dominate these introductory steps. However when delving into what resonates with you, it can lead to pathways that bring lesser known or promoted artists (be they male or female) to inspire you. It's a case of the learner being proactive and digging deeper.



Chris Moxey: I wish I had an answer to this. While I don’t think of street photography as a male domain – I do think the cult of street photography is male-dominated. When I first started – 11 years ago now – there weren’t perhaps as many street photographers of either gender as there are now. There were still fewer women doing it than men but maybe because it was a smaller circle we were a little more visible then. Of course I can only say how it felt in London – and as a participant on flickr – because that’s where I hung out. In recent years I’ve seen a lot more photographers on the street who are clearly not tourists.





Didi: Women rarely toot their own horns. It's somewhat ingrained for us to wait for others to champion a woman's oeuvre. Then too women should never be seen as too strong, too strident or too confident! That's a surefire way to get knocked down a peg or five. Easier to be a nanny and do your work freely whenever you are able, but without expectations that the rest of the world will take any notice of what you are expressing or achieving during your lifetime.



Yes, my sarcasm filter is firmly on in that last sentence. I don't want to read about any other absent 'Vivian Maiers' in the future who are currently at work now, but we miss the enrichment of their photos until some guys finally do give them the thumbs-up (and simultaneously establish their own careers based on their discovery). We can fill that vacuum in the proper way and for the rightful beneficiaries of the work if we make it a collective goal.