Observe (collective)

Photography group

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Observe is an international collective of street photographers. Established in June 2013, it brings together photographers who share the same principles, views and interests to produce projects, exhibitions, publications and events.[1][2] Although mainly focusing on street photography, it is not limited to one specific genre and its members explore various genres and methods of photographic practice.

## Manifesto[edit]

Observe’s mission statement on its website reads as follows:

“OBSERVE is an international photography collective focused primarily on the practice of candid street photography. Spanning four continents we are united by a common fascination with watching and documenting the diverse humanity that surrounds us. While acknowledging that photography is at its core an individual pursuit, our membership finds benefit in mutual curation and support, discussion, and other collaborative interactions.”

## Members[edit]

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### Current members[edit]

* Greg Allikas
* David Horton
* Marcelo Argolo
* Danielle Houghton[3]
* Fadi BouKaram [4]
* Michael May
* Ronen Berka
* Guille Ibañez
* Larry Cohen [5]
* Ilya Shtutsa
* Chris Farling
* Kristin Van den Eede
* Larry Hallegua
* Tom Young

### Past members[edit]

* Antonis Damolis
* Simone Fisher
* Christos Kapatos
* Oguz Ozkan
* Tavepong Pratoomwong
* Jason Reed

## Exhibitions and festivals[edit]

In 2014, Observe was a Featured Collective at the Miami Street Photography Festival, and Chris Farling and Danielle Houghton were part of the jury for its competition.[6][7]

From 12 June to 26 July 2015, Observe held its first group exhibition at the Staedtische Galerie in Iserlohn, Germany.[8][9][10] The exhibition was linked to an international contest, themed Under Construction.[11][12][13]

Two years later, the same gallery organised its first international street photography festival in collaboration with Observe, Observations 2017.[14] The festival took place from 14–23 July and included various exhibitions at seven separate locations in Iserlohn.[15] One of the exhibitions included the finalists of the 2017 Down by the River Competition, while another included the work of Observe members.[16][17]

In August 2017, Observe's Jason Reed, Nick Turpin from In-Public, and Hoxton Mini Press organised Street London, a street photography symposium in London.[18][19] The festival included talks by Siegfried Hansen, David Gibson and Dougie Wallace.

In September 2019, Observe was a featured collective at the Aussie Street Photography Festival in Sydney, Australia. In addition to a dedicated exhibition, four members of Observe (Danielle Houghton, Guille Ibanez, Kirstin van den Eede and Tom Young) acted as judges for the open call competition.[20]

## Publications[edit]

Observe has published four magazines with work by its members:

* Observations Vol.1 n°1 (2016): Personal Reflections on Photography
* Observations Vol.1 n°2 (2016): Personal Reflections on Fear
* Observations Vol.2 n°1 (2017): Personal Reflections on Home
* Observations Vol.3 n°1 (2018): Personal Reflections on Faith
* Observations Vol.4 n°1 (2019): Personal Reflections on Nostalgia

In 2017, the work of Ronen Berka, Ilya Shtutsa, Danielle Houghton, and former member Tavepong Pratoomwong was included in 100 Great Street Photographs, edited by David Gibson.[21]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Goodden, Nicolas. "The Street Photography of International Collective Observe". Street Photography London. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
2. ^ "The Evelyn Burrow Museum presents "Out of the Depths" in new exhibition". Wallace State News. n.d. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
3. ^ Miller, Frank (2015-07-05). "Irish Times Amateur Photographer of the Year: the winners". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
4. ^ "Lebanese photographer made Lebanon, USA, his mission". NPR. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
5. ^ Sham, John (2015-12-14). "Theresa Keil & Larry Cohen, Baltimore street photographers". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
6. ^ "MSPF 2014 Finalists". Miami Street Photography Festival. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
7. ^ Observe Collective (2015-02-12). Observe Collective - Miami Street Photography Festival slideshow (video slideshow). Observe Collective. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
8. ^ "Observe Collective: Eine Fotografenvereinigung". Stadt Iserlohn. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
9. ^ "Street Photography: Was der Rinnstein hergibt". Stern. 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
10. ^ "Fotostudio Tölle unterstützt Observe Collective" [Photostudio Tölle Supports Observe Collective]. Tölle. 2016-07-06. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
11. ^ Pütter, Thomas (2015-07-29). "Über 1500 Besucher sahen "Observe Collective"" [Over 1500 Visitors for the Observe Collective]. IKZ Online (in German). Iserlohn. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
12. ^ "Observe Collective: Internationale Straßenfotografie in der Städtischen Galerie Iserlohn" [Observe Collective: International Street Photography in the Städtischen Galerie Iserlohn]. Zirbes (in German). Iserlohn. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
13. ^ May, Michael (2015-06-26). ""Observe Collective": Eine Ausstellung mit Motiven von der Strasse in der Städtischen Galerie Iserlohn. Thomas Brenck spricht mit Michael May, der an der Ausstellung teilnimmt, in der Sendung "KulturZeit MK" am Freitag, dem 26.Juni 2015, ab 21.04 Uhr". Radio Iserlohn (Interview). Interviewed by Thomas Brenck. Iserlohn. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
14. ^ Schneider, Andrea (2017-07-08). "Erstes Straßenfotografie-Festival in Iserlohn" [First Street Photography Festival in Iserlohn]. WochenKurier (in German). Iserlohn. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
15. ^ "Observations 2017". Stadt Iserlohn. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
16. ^ "Observe Collective". Stadt Iserlohn. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
17. ^ ""Observations 2017": Straßenfotografie in Iserlohn" [Observations 2017: Street Photography in Iserlohn]. Westfalium. Iserlohn. 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
18. ^ Smyth, Diane (2017-08-17). "20% off Street London symposium for BJP readers". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
19. ^ "Jason Reed". STEEET London. n.d. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
20. ^ Aussie Street
21. ^ Gibson, David (2017). 100 Great Street Photographs. Munich, London, New York: Prestel. ISBN 978-3791383132.

## External links[edit]

* Official website