what do they say?


main page > non-photography ? > what do they say






This photography site breaks all the conventional rules. Creative photog Nitsa doesn't worry about composition, framing, lenses, or filters. Instead, this lenswoman looks to simply capture natural settings as she sees them. Read her manifesto on "No Rules," and follow her recipe to snap a "non-photo." Although she claims to take pictures with "no regards to excellency," her photos are, in fact, quite excellent. Her gallery of "Fall in New York" is particularly compelling, and the black and white shots of street scenes are stunning. If breaking the rules is wrong, we don't want to be right.
Yahoo! Picks April 2002



Tenets of composition, exposure and other photographic rules are gleefully abandoned at a site rejoicing in a brand of picture taking dubbed 'non-photography.' Featured images convey a surprising sense of life and vibrancy seldom found in traditionally 'composed' shots.
USA Today/ Hot sites 04/15/2002



"The first non-photography site on the Internet" is how this creative, rule-ignoring site describes itself. Nitsa says her work is about portraying the streets as they are, without interference from filters, lenses, or herself. The photos are terrific.
Eblue, Sacra Blue News-Magazine Online







Forget all the rules when you take your next picture. Nitsa preaches paracticing "non-photography". It's about creating pictures while being free of a typical photographer's extra cargo of filters, lenses and other expensive equipment. Nitsa advises using a basic camera and all the creativity you have when taking photographs. Go through the gallery of pictures to see what can be done. There are extra darkroom techniques you can use to enhance your images.
kmsp TV



Intriguingly, this US originated site purports to showcase 'non photography' - including some digital imaging tutorials of course. Nitsa describes 'non photography' as photography "free of the photographers' extra cargo of filters, stylish lenses and other expensive equipment", adding that the non photographer's main tools are "enthusiasm, an open mind and hopefully some creativity". With typical irreverence, Nitsa adds that the non photographer has no use for instruction books ("too boring") or calculations ("too calculated"). Novices will find something to both provide interest and comfort here, while those with more experience - but not adverse to placing tongue firmly in cheek from time to time - will nod in amused agreement.
What Digital Camera imaging magazine



For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, at the high end of staged photography you've got heavyweights such as Diane Arbus, David Bailey and Ansel Adams (and I'm not knocking their craft). In the same way I can appreciate the richness of the Florida Orchestra, I can enjoy a jazz jam with rank amateurs. Street Photography is a visual jam session without the usual constraints of framing one's shot, focusing and so forth. Shocked as you may be, it works well indeed. Given the subject matter and flippant disregard for the rules of photography, it's not a huge shock to learn it's all based in New York. Areas of interest include the summer, night streets and more people than you can shake your lens at.
St. Petersburg Times June 2002



It's probably not quite what you think it is, but it's still awfully good. A collection of captured street life - fast, unfocused, weirdly composed (if composed at all). Atmosphere is everything.
Plasticbag.org



Nitsa uses color film to capture the incandescence of many scenes that other postcards and descriptions don't -- the glare of neon off the slick black surface of Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame, the glow when the sun has just slipped below the horizon at Marina del Rey.
Nonprofit Prism, News for Southern California Nonprofits



Behind this page there is the concept of non-photography. For the photographer Nitsa it means the purity of pictures making, without addition of lenses, filters and other photographic accessories. Enthusiasm, open senses (mind) and creativity are the exclusive tools of non-photography. The results are wonderful authentic pictures, full of energy.
Builder.de



No Rules Street Photography, a collection of images snapped in New York and L.A. by Nitsa, a photographer who is unschooled and doesn't care to be. Forget the rules, all who enter here. Non-photography, says Nitsa, is about energy without concern for excellence, about making pictures free of filters, lenses and f-stop calculations but loaded with enthusiasm to record "the natural pace of street life," including interiors and exteriors at night, near the water, in black and white, in color and enhanced with PhotoShop. A refreshing break for professional photographers and inspiration for beginners who long to color outside the lines.
The Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter Issue #191 4/25/02



And, finally, NB, your most surpiring discovery? It's “Non-photography” at streets.non.photography (www.skylightweb.com/imagine) nonphotographer Nitsa espouses a “no rules” approach that negates the need for correct exposure, proper composition, unexpected angles. She states “on many occasions while making street non-photos, there will be no time for bothering with all the usual photography routines, not even focusing. streets life has its own pace…” And her galleries of images prove her point. Her shots possess a sense of vitality and, often, a slice of some unknown story that leaves you aching to know it all.
The Spook issue #10 June 2002 (Photography on the web)



When is a photo not photography? When it not only breaks the rules but has none at No Rules Street Photography, where f-stops, apertures and composition are tossed out the window and point-and-shoot takes to the streets. The images here ignore "the usual photography routines" like focus to zero in on life on the streets at its own pace, using only enthusiasm, creativity, a Minolta SRT 101 and a simple digital camera. The Gallery offers spontaneous photos taken indoors, outdoors, in cities, at night, with music, in color and in black and white.
The Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter #226 12/26/2002



Nitsa, We, at photographyTips.com found your writing style to be somewhat radical, which seems to be in keeping with the atmosphere of your website and perhaps even with the philosophy of a dedicated street photographer. Please don't misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with being radical when the objective is change for the better or the creation of a style that draws attention to something worthy of being spotlighted…….
photographyTips.com