2018 was year #4 on my Major City project, and my busiest year yet with 31 new major cities, as I really try to wrap things up. It was another non-stop year on the road without any breaks, which does takes its toll, especially living by the means I do and how much I put into the project every day. But we’re now at 97 major cities covered, so we’re finally closing in on my project goal of at least 100 major cities.
I started the year in Major City #66 Santiago, Chile and finished in #97 Yangon, Myanmar. So, with all those new cities explored and captured, which ones stood out more than others this year?
To give you a sneak peek of some of what’s coming here on Shooter Files (and in the future books), I’ll go over some highlight cities that stood out in 2018, including my top 5 for street photography from the year. Will any of these cities knock their way into my annually updated 10 favorite cities for street photography list? We’ll see next week, but for now let’s start with the past year’s city highlights.
Starting with a focus on street photography…
Top 5 Cities of 2018 for Street Photography
(in no particular order)
1. New York City, USA
2018 included a couple of the largest and most popular cities in the street photography genre so it’s not really a surprise they’re sitting atop this list. Still, hype can create disappointment, but that’s not really something that should happen in New York City with your camera. The place is just too special, unique and full of life and variety of neighborhoods to explore. There’s only a few cities in the world that can compare, in my opinion. A good photographer can find interest anywhere, but if we’re being honest, photographers living in New York City might have a bit of an easier time finding it. It surrounds you around every corner. It’s not a coincidence that this city has supplied so many great photographs and photographers.
There’s really no excuse to ever get bored with photography in New York City, as there are so many different places to explore, all with their own character and life. It’s a world’s supply of human interest packed into one city and five boroughs.
2. Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is another hyped big city on the street photography scene that doesn’t disappoint. A great thing about the two cities sitting atop this list is how great they both are for street photography, while bringing so many differences to the table. While both feel huge with endless places to explore and plenty of life, they contain very different atmospheres and character. Tokyo has this very unique tranquility somehow mixed into the most populated city in the world by metro area. Places like the famous Shibuya crossing, of course, are packed with chaos, but as a whole, it’s a relaxing experience shooting here in a city that is so big and full of life. I can’t think of another city that blends these usually contradicting feelings so well.
Another aspect I really enjoy about Tokyo, and Japan in general, is its uniqueness. The rich culture here supplies so much unique authenticity, that for anyone not from here, it’s a feast for the senses. It’s full of quirks and character. Tokyo is also an extremely easy city to shoot in due to safety and the friendliness of the people. The latter should be taken with the disclaimer that part of the photo friendliness comes from the culture and people being as polite as it gets. Even if they might not want to be photographed, they won’t be aggressive or vocal about it, which many might want to consider when out shooting, as to not take advantage of.
Major City #93 Tokyo, Japan
I also covered Osaka this year and while it’s hard to compare to Tokyo, it’s a great city for street photography as well. I enjoyed it quite a bit and it has some solid areas for exploring that bring a lot of what Tokyo brings, but with its own vibe and atmosphere mixed in. Osaka is a big city, but not like Tokyo, so it has its own charm that comes from that. It’s a little more gritty and less polished too, which brings its own appeal. Both have great nightlife for street photography too and many find that people in Osaka are a little less distant and reserved. Tokyo feels more modern, while Osaka feels a little more colorful, in my opinion.
3. Sao Paulo, Brazil
This is another city where there really should be no surprise it made the list from the year, but it might not be on everyone’s radar as much as New York City or Tokyo. When you think about it, though, São Paulo is not only the largest city in South America, but also its center on the street photography scene. Brazil as a whole, contains the most photographers, but no city on the continent contains a passion for street photography like Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo is also another city that contains a wide variety of neighborhoods to explore for photography, each containing its own unique character. Walking Paulista or exploring Bixiga and Liberdade, the city’s Italian and Japanese neighborhoods, were a few of my favorite spots and memories for photography. And while Brazil doesn’t have the best reputation for safety, Sao Paulo felt like it had more safe areas to explore for photography compared to Rio and Salvador when it comes to the major Brazilian cities I covered on the project. It’s definitely a city I’d like to return to for photography.
4. Lima, Peru
Lima may have been my best surprise among cities I already had high hopes for, meaning I knew Lima would be good, but it ended up probably being my second favorite city in South America for street photography. This could be partly due to my personal love for cities with life by the beach. Rio de Janeiro has the most famous big city beach life in South America, but Lima brings its own abundance of beach life with more of a local feeling and a bit more variety of character, in my opinion. For most, Rio’s beaches would probably get the edge because of their beauty, but I would put Lima right up there with it when it comes to street photography. It also has a long park above along the coastline for added street photography, and the downtown of Lima contains arguably more street photography opportunities in a safer package.
The mix of beach life, parks, urban city, grittiness and a variety of latin character in South America made Lima really enjoyable for street photography. It also is much more budget friendly after spending time in Brazil and more southern countries like Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.
5. China
While China obviously isn’t a city, I covered three of its major cities this year and decided to include it as a package deal sitting at #5 since it’s difficult to pick just one. If I had to choose just one city, though, I’d probably give Shanghai the edge, especially if you have time, because it gave the most variety and new places to explore for photography. Shanghai was a place that got better and better the more I explored with my camera.
Beijing and Chengdu both brought plenty of interest and unique character too, though. China has so much to offer street photographers with its abundance of interest and how its life is rarely boring, especially photographically. You’ll see a lot of things here that you won’t see anywhere else.
Honorable Mentions: Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya
I spent some of 2018 finishing off my major African cities for the project, in cities where photographers don’t go as often. I’m primarily not including them in the above list due to their difficulties and dangers that won’t be for most, but I personally found them as highlights of the year for shooting. I’ll admit part of my enjoyment is the challenge and because other photographers steer clear from these big, important cities, leaving them less photographed, especially for day-to-day life. When it comes to photos and memorable experiences, they were the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.
In Accra, I had to battle power hungry security guards, and sometimes police, almost every day. I was attacked once and aggressively surrounded multiple times. It was exhausting and takes a ton of confidence, persistence and know-how to handle these situations, especially day after day. It can depend where you go, though, and I really did go everywhere, including places outsiders don’t go, especially alone.
While this brings bad experiences, overall it actually brought a lot more positive ones, as the locals usually react with wonder and respect seeing a foreigner alone in their neighborhood. It was more smiles and fist bumps than anything. In Accra, this was especially clear, as most speak English so we could talk about it. They’d ask me what I’m doing there alone and I was told almost every day how they’d never seen a foreigner in their neighborhood alone, and some places never at all.
One thing I really loved about Nairobi was the people’s style. No where in Africa have I seen such an attractive mix of urban cosmopolitan style meets business meets Africa. You’ll see suits here more than anywhere in Africa, but they don’t just keep it boring black and white, they like color. And so do I.
Some Other More Memorable Cities from 2018
Montevideo, Uruguay was another one of my best surprises of the year, as it’s not the biggest city and gets labeled as a smaller Buenos Aires by many, but ended up packing plenty of unique interest into a smaller package perfect for walking. It was also the safest feeling major city in South America and I especially enjoyed walking La Rambla, the oceanside promenade, for photography. And who can not love their obsession with sipping mate all over the city.
San Salvador and Guatemala City were another couple happy surprises. They’re known as two of the more dangerous cities in the world, which scares most people away, but I found them doable, while packing in a ton of authentic interest for street photography. There’s a grittiness and character to their streets and while you do have to be street smart and observant, I actually found them safer and friendlier during the day for photography compared to some other cities I’ve been.
While I already mentioned New York City, 2018 was my first time on the project extensively covering a few major cities in my home country. I covered and taught a workshop in Las Vegas, covered San Francisco while guest speaking and judging at the StreetFoto Festival, and stopped to cover Los Angeles in between. Not being a foreigner in these cities ended up not making much of a difference for me when it came to photography, which was nice. I was able to shoot the same way without finding it any less interesting or more difficult than most cities elsewhere. Maybe it’s seeing so many different places now, but the exotic isn’t as impactful as it once was and while sometimes I miss that feeling of culture shock, for street photography I do think it’s helpful seeing past that where you see the basic life around you, not the flash veneer that travel magazines try to highlight.
Finishing off the year were a couple personal highlights. One, covering Taipei where I was graciously shown around by local photographer TC Lin and Chenbl Chen, and where I also gave a talk to their photography class. And in my last major city of the year, Sydney, I not only covered the city, but also co-lead a workshop with local photographer Sam Ferris for Aussie Street, which was a great experience.
I could honestly keep going and end up talking about things I liked about photographing all 31 major cities of 2018, but I’ve already gone on more than long enough. There’s always something special and unique about each city if you explore it enough your camera.
All of these cities, and more, from 2018 will bring posts, photography and guides in 2018 on the blog so stay tuned for that. And if you have a chance to visit any of them before I post guides, feel free to message me for some recommendations (you can always find an updated list of cities here).
Now, it’s time for 2019 where I hope to finish up on this 5 year major cities project. 97 major cities down, only 3+ to go, and possibly a few returns to earlier cities covered…
I have been to a number of those cities you went to this past year, and I must say you are one gutsy street photographer. Well done! Again, too bad I won’t be around to do your upcoming Saigon workshop in February as I would love to see you in action. Someday!