Big City, Small World

During the Miami Street Photography Festival, I gave a guest artist talk covering my 100 major cities project. After the talk, I found that many people who’d been following my project work or the blog never really knew the extent of the actual project. So, I thought I’d share some of the details from that project talk here to provide a better understanding of it all. While I refer to it as the 100 City project on the blog for ease of following along, the actual tentative title of the full project is “Big City, Small World.” It’s a 5 year, 7 day a week, always on the road project. So, it truly is my life right now. Here’s more info so you can see what really goes into it. 

Project Basics:

Start Date: June 2015 (3 years down, 2 to go)

Time: 5 Years (4 years of mostly non-stop photography on the road, 1 year to finish and put it all together)

Place: Over 100 major cities across most major regions of the world 

What: Themes and observations connecting all life. Candid, daily life photographed in all parts of major cities, in all parts of the world. 

Distance Covered (walked): On foot, I average over 20 kilometers per day year-round (including travel days). So, after 4 years, a rough estimate will be 30,000 kilometers walked in city streets around the world, camera in hand. (20,000 miles)

Above, is the slide from my talk and tracking for the last full month of working on the project. While 20mi/30km per day is a little higher than average, below is from the current month and shows a more average month of 15mi/22km per day. Over 50km walked in one day is still my record, though (in City #60 Seoul, South Korea).

What does major cities mean?

For this project, I’m only focusing on major cities. A city qualifies if it meets one of the following three criteria (in order of importance to me):

1. It is the country’s largest city
2. It is the country’s capital
3. It has over 1 million people in the metropolitan area

If it meets more than one of those, even better, but I’m also trying to spread the cities out as much as I can to cover all major regions of the world. 

Why only major cities?

Maybe the most common question I get, especially from non-photographers, is “Why major cities? Why not the more interesting and beautiful places?” In general, big cities seem to get a bad reputation and most people don’t understand why I’d choose to photograph them. Well, that’s part of the reason right there, but here are the many reasons I chose to focus on major cities:

• They supply a wider variety of places and activity to photograph, with many layers of life to discover.
• I want this to be more about daily city life, not travel life. I find the complexity of big city life shows a variety of connections with less of a travel feel.
• I want more people to be able to recognize and connect with their city’s inclusion when viewing. Covering major cities connects more people worldwide. Even people who don’t live there have a better chance of knowing the place.
• Outside of the most famous big cities, a surprising amount of major cities haven’t been photographed very extensively over the years.
• I enjoy seeing old photos from big cities. Personally, I find the changes and differences more interesting in major cities.
• Big cities are challenging to capture with interest, especially on the surface. Unique interest doesn’t always jump out at you, as it does in exotic locations, but it’s there if you look for it.
• I’ve never seen a photo project of this scale focused on major cities. Most photographers choose to photograph the more picturesque or exotic destinations. While to the average viewer, this might be preferred, to me it can feel shallow and common. It’s been done so often, with photos that mostly look the same. Big cities have a depth you can really get inside and I want to attempt to photograph that.
• Many people think big cities are all the same, but they’re not. Many people also think they aren’t a “real” representation of the country, but they are.
• Everyone asks me, “Why major cities?” So, hopefully I can show them why.

“100 City Project” is not the project title, only a reference

I use “100 City Project” on the website as something easy for people to follow along. While photographing 100 major cities is a goal of the project, this only serves as the framework, or canvas, of the project. When finished, the actual book and focus will be more than that, with a title to match. While tentatively titled “Big City, Small World,” the title won’t be decided until the book is completed.

Travel or Street?

One important thing to me is that it doesn’t look or feel like travel photography. I’m traveling and photographing, but that’s not what my focus is on. It only serves as a way to cover the variety of life in big cities. I want candid, daily life. I want a street aesthetic mixed with a bit of documentary. I want my own style and interests to be seen and felt. I want the places and time to be present. I want authentic connections to be shown. And most importantly, I want it to convey my vision for the project. Travel photography is far from that vision.

Taking Risks

I try to visit a variety of areas in each city to get a full scope of life. This means I venture many places that aren’t as safe and don’t see outside visitors. It can be an interesting experience seeing reactions to a foreigner outside of the more touristic areas, but most of the time things go really well. I want to photograph areas that aren’t as seen and many times these neighborhoods have a more authentic and unpolished feeling, which I’m attracted to. It does mean I have to be extremely alert, though, as I’m always out with my camera alone. Fortunately, during the day, there’s a lot you can do minimize risks, but things still do happen and I’ve luckily gotten myself out a number of bad situations. In some cities and regions of the world, most of the city ends up being unsafe, but these places are also less photographed because of it. So, I want to take that risk as an opportunity. And many times, as a bit of an adventure too. 

Do I have as much fun as you think? (Not even close!)

I know many people think I’m living the dream, but while I am working towards that when it comes to goals, I’m far from living the dream when it comes to “fun” right now. Honestly, I don’t have time, or money, for much fun at all. It’s all about the project.

While I am traveling the world, I’m not traveling in the way people imagine. It’s all work and no play. I never do touristy things, make time to relax on the beach, or let myself be very social. I live by the lowest/cheapest means possible. Everything is focused on completing the project and working on this website.

During the day, I’m out hitting the streets, focused completely on photography and exploring a variety of the city life. During the night, I’m on the computer working. 8 hours on the streets, 8 hours on the computer, Sleep around 6 hours. Researching cities, writing posts (guides takes the longest), interviewing others (sometimes being interviewed myself), going through photos, answering emails and questions from readers, working on other parts of the blog, teaching workshops, making money where I can, and handling the many problems that come up from living on the road. It takes up my time more than any 9-5 job ever did. Alone on the road, moving somewhere new nearly every week with no time for anything else other than the project gets old. And depressing at times. The number of times I’ve wanted to quit is countless. But it’s all for a goal I started and something I believe in finishing. I don’t like to quit anything and when it comes to this, I haven’t given myself much choice now. I’ve put myself all in on this one.

How do I do it?

Another common question is how am I able to do this project, especially when it comes to cost. Sacrifice is the main answer. I had to quit my career, leave my home, sell most of my belongings, and say goodbye to family, friends and relationships, losing many in the process. I had to give up any comforts and risk it all for something that has no guarantees. I also have to live by minimal means. I have few belongings and rarely buy anything other than basic food. At best, I stay in hostels. At times, I may sleep in a tent outside in Port-au-prince, Haiti or a public bathroom in Berlin, Germany (not proud of that last one :) ). Even then, I’ve gone from very comfortable to very broke. Make no mistakes, I won’t be making any posts about how to get rich off photography anytime soon.

My Major City Approach:

Physical:

• I research places to shoot before and make a list of areas and spots of interest.
• I explore each place on the list, while trying to walk everywhere and find new places on my own. 
• After exploring everywhere, I finish my time going back to the places I found the most interesting, or that can best add to the project.
• Walk, walk, and walk some more.

Mental:

• I approach each city the same, almost as if they are the same place. I want no preconceived ideas of the people or place changing my approach. I want to treat them all the same with my camera. I’m looking for the basic components of all people and daily life, no matter their situation and environment. While things might look different, we’re actually not all that much different. 
• I do try to get a feel for the place, though. Find what interests me and what stands out. I want the place and time to make its way into the picture too and find the little things that make each place special.
• I’m not looking for photos to go along with my specific themes. I want them all to come naturally. Still, over time I notice what stands out to me.

Will I have any side projects during this time?

Yes. The largest side project I have going is titled “Oddyssey” (Yes, it’s spelled with two “d’s” on purpose). I’m often attracted to the strange when it comes to photography and “Oddyssey” will showcase the many odd scenes I see around the world during my travels. I plan on printing a zine/paperback book for the first volume this summer.

I also have other smaller, ongoing series, including “Cell” and “Havana Colors,” which you can find on my personal website. With all the photos I take, more series will likely be realized in the future too.

Common themes and observations of life

While the outline of the project is photographing 100 major cities across all major regions, the content and substance will be more than that. This won’t be a travel photography book showcasing photos from each city. I will try to include photos from most cities and show the range of life the scope of the project provided, but following a themed approach and story will be what the final book will be most focused on.

When starting this project, I wanted to find common connections found in all people, places, life and cultures. The things that make us all human, no matter the environment and background. Daily life is where you see these basic connections the most so that’s where I wanted to look for it all. Over time, I noticed certain things everywhere I photographed life. Of course, some common connections can come from my personal vision and interests, but overall I feel there are certain basics you see everywhere among people. Within these common connection themes, I also want there to be a connected story. The book will be divided into chapters covering these observation themes and stories. 

Now, that I’m over two-thirds of the way into shooting this project, my common themes of life are mostly locked in, but there still could always be some change and I might narrow/combine them down to five. Here’s where they’re currently at, though:

Themes & Observations of Daily Life:

1. City Environment: Mood/Atmosphere/Color
2. Busyness/Monotony
3. Humor/Strange
4. Mystery/Surreal
5. Edge/Danger
6. Love/Relationships
7. Age/Stages of Life

Here’s a few sample photos that could fit into my different themes…

Environment: Mood/Atmosphere/Color

Busyness/Monotony

Humor/Strange

Mystery/Surreal

Edge/Danger

Love/Relationships

Age/Stages of Life

70 Major Cities Down, 30 To Go…

So, there you have it, a little more info behind this long-term project. It’s been a roller coaster, but I hope to be finished by early 2019. With 30 more major cities to go, be sure to click the full map below to see where I’ve photographed and what’s coming. As far as the blog and photography goes, most work is yet to come out too. So, stay tuned for a whole lot more here.