• What: StreetFoto International Street Photography Festival
• Where: San Francisco at the Harvey Milk Photo Center
• When: June 4-10, 2018 (Contest Deadline: April 28th, 2018)

We’re coming closer to StreetFoto San Francisco’s 3rd annual international street photography festival. While the big event takes places June 4th-10th, the deadline for entering their contests is only days away on April 28th. I was honored to be a finalist both of the previous years, but this year I’ll actually be judging that same Single Image category for the festival. I’ll also be making my first visit to the StreetFoto festival. In anticipation of this year’s edition, I’ll include details and links for this year’s festival, along with some previous winning photos and a few questions with photographer and festival organizer, Ken Walton (from last year’s festival interview). 

StreetFoto 2018 Featured Guests and Judges:

Legendary New York street photographer Jeff Mermelstein will be headlining the festival this year as a special guest artist, speaker, judge, and workshop teacher. He doesn’t do something like this often, either, which makes it even more special. Full list of featured guests, speakers and judges are listed below.

Workshops:

• Jeff Mermelstein teaching workshop June 6-10
• Andy Kochanowski & TC Lin teaching 3-day Burn My Eye workshop June 3-5
• Full Frontal Flash Collective teaching workshop June 8-10
• Ibarionex Perello teaching workshop June 9-10

A few questions with StreetFoto organizer Ken Walton:

Since you’re the creator and organizer of StreetFoto San Francisco, tell us a little about yourself, including what attracted you to street photography.

I’m a single dad living in San Francisco. I left the video game industry a few years ago, had some time on my hands, and got obsessed with street photography after I watched the Vivian Maier documentary. I’d always had an artistic bent and an eye for design, and I felt like I found the perfect way to express it in photography. I’ve been at it non-stop since then.

Can you tell us the idea behind the festival and how creating an event like this started out?

After I fell in love with street photography I wanted to create something related to it that was bigger than just me. I didn’t want to just keep making and sharing my own photos, I wanted to build something more significant, and I decided a festival was a good way to foster community and contribute to the state of the art. My dream is for it to be come an enduring cultural institution. 

You’ve traveled and shot photography in a variety of places, what makes San Francisco a unique and special place to shoot in compared to other cities you’ve been?

San Francisco has good light, urban density, and a variety of types of people interacting in many different environments. But a lot of other cities have these things, right? I think what makes this place special is the fact that there are more oddballs here than just about anywhere else. There’s a surprise, or a surprising person, around every corner. A look at Troy Holden’s photos illustrates this well.

If someone was planning on traveling to this festival, what advice or tips would you give them?

Book early. Hotels here are expensive, so shop around, consider sharing, and remember Airbnb (or a friend’s couch) as options. A good, inexpensive hotel near the festival is Metro Hotel. If you can’t find a room available there for your whole stay, call then, as they may be able to let you switch rooms mid-way through your trip. Also, have Uber and Lyft installed on your phone, as they are good inexpensive alternatives to transit for getting around this city. Renting a car is probably not a good idea unless you’re planning to take long trips outside San Francisco.

And it’s free!

*Unless explicitly noted, all the events, exhibitions, photowalks, lectures, slideshows, and openings at StreetFoto are free, and do not require registration. We are able to put on this event due to the generosity of our sponsors, and all of those who enter the International Street Photography Awards.

For more info, click the links below, and don’t forget to enter your photos by April 28th, 2018.

Links:

Website: StreetFoto.org

Festival Info

2017 Finalists

Workshops

Enter Contests (Deadline: April 28th, 2018)

More Photos from Past StreetFoto Winners:

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