Q: What are the differences between photojournalism and street photography for you?
A: I find when I go to an event, or rather to cover an event, it’s a lot like street photography to me just with massive amounts of people in one place. I treat it the same way to be completely honest, waiting to capture those perfect moments of some significance.
Q: Do you think your approach changes when you are doing photojournalism? And is street photography a useful approach when you are doing photojournalistic work?
A: No, not at all. Well maybe a little. It kind of gives you this rush; I can’t really describe it. It’s almost like you’ve had three cups of coffee just before heading out. Street photography is definitely a huge help if someone is trying to lean into photojournalistic work.
Q: How much luck does a photographer need?
A: I was about to say I really dislike the word luck, but I guess there is some chance or luck involved in street. The way I look at it is you have to pay your dues.  If a photographer is out all the time shooting as much as possible, every day things will start happening. I mean, there are some days where I’ve gone out and have not taken a single frame, and then go out the next day and only take three, and some days where I almost fill a roll with frames. That’s the part I mean about paying your dues, things will happen with time. You just have to be patient.
Q: What are you trying to say with your photography?
A: I just look to a capture a moment of significance to me, personally. I guess you could say I’m trying to tell a story, but I leave that up to the viewer. That’s the beauty of street photography. People can look at a photograph and all have different views or feelings on how it appeals to them.
Q: Why is Leica so special to you?
A: When I first started shooting street I shot with a Fuji X100, and at that time a lot of my friends were shooting traditional 35 mm film. One of my friends had an M6, and let me put a roll through it while he tried my X100. I absolutely loved it! I think what got me was the feel of it in my hands, a nice solid piece of machinery. The rangefinder focus was interesting to me, as I had never had the chance to really try it out before. A month or so after that I put my X100 up for sale and I bought myself my first M, the Canadian built Leica M4-2.

Q: What equipment are you using now?
A: Currently I am using the same Leica M4-2 with a Voigtlander 35 mm f/2.5 Color Skopar pancake lens, and from time to time I dust off my Yashica Mat 124G. I am a basic necessities person so I don’t feel the need for all the latest and greatest. As long as it’s cheap and works, I’ll use it. I’d like to dip into a digital M down the road though, that’s something I am working towards in the near future.
Q: I want to talk with you about Vancouver (all the images you see in this post were taken there) and NYC, where you also take pictures. Is it difficult shooting in the streets of your city? There are rumours about a certain closure toward street photographers in the French part of Canada and what is the difference in NYC?
A: To be honest, I felt New York to be a lot like Vancouver; as a whole it felt very similar to me. If I am caught making a frame of someone, I find that people are generally very accepting in both cities. New York though was a much busier atmosphere for me; even in the cab to the hotel I hung my camera out the window and was making frames. I was just blown away by New York from nearly the second we got off the plane.
Coming back to Vancouver took me honestly a few months to wind down again and respect the atmosphere of our city for what it was. I feel in Vancouver you have to be a little more aware of your surroundings than in New York because I mean things are happening all the time there, on every corner. When I was on the East Coast, it was the Jewish holiday for Sukkoth, so down at Coney Island and in Brooklyn there were an abundance of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews about the city, which is unheard of in Vancouver. Walking through Manhattan, you can turn a corner and there is a huge Korean parade. Hit the next corner, there’s four fire trucks and a ton of firemen putting out a fire. New York is crazy like that, how every corner has an event going on. Vancouver I feel provides a greater sense of patience, as our streets aren’t nearly as busy as they are there in NYC.

Q: You had the amazing opportunity to meet Joel Meyerowitz and learn from this street photography icon. Do you want to share with us your thoughts about this master?
A: I had the pleasure of meeting with both Howard Greenberg and Joel Meyerowitz not even a few hours after landing in New York. I was signed up by a friend of mine for a reality television show called “Operation: Vacation” which airs on the LOGO Network in the U.S, and was surprised at work with a trip down to NYC for a week, based strictly on what the producers saw in my photography.
I was taken to the Howard Greenberg Gallery, which at the time had an exhibition for Gordon Parks on. Howard showed us around the gallery explaining in great detail the work of Mr. Parks, an amazing photographer as well. Joel had an exhibit scheduled to go up a few weeks after our visit, but Howard led us to a back office for a sneak peak of what was going up in the upcoming Meyerowitz showing. Joel has long been my favorite photographer, and I definitely look up to his attitude and impressive body of work. I had no idea he was going to be showing up at the gallery to meet with me, it was an amazing surprise that I will always hold close to my heart.  One of those moments in life that you just can’t forget.
Joel came in, introduced himself to me, and asked if we would be interested in going out to shoot with him around his favorite spot in the city on Fifth Ave. Even jet lagged and running on little sleep, the experience was simply exhilarating, and woke me right up. Just listening to what Joel had to say while we were out making photographs was just how I pictured him to be. Just the way he moved out on the street was incredible. So soft-spoken, knowledgeable, and informative. Like anyone who meets someone they look up to, it was an amazing experience that I won’t ever forget.
Q: And what about William Eggleston? Looking at your work it is impossible for me to not think of the singer of banal. Do you think there is still a motivation for new topography?
A: William Eggleston is an absolute genius. I do believe there is still motivation for new topography, as times will always be changing. I just want to show life today.

Q: I am perfectly tuned with your vision, so I am really curious. For me, there is a clear preference in photographing old cars. I find those ‘70s cars  fantastic . Old car vs. new car, there is no comparison behind a camera.
A: I do enjoy finding and photographing old cars that I find on my journeys as one thing. I believe, and at least for now there is a comparison for me between old and new. I honestly can’t be bothered photographing new cars, but old cars just have a sense of style. It’s almost like a forgotten memory.
Q: How do you see the future of photojournalism? And what is your wish instead?
A: Well that’s a good question. It’s definitely not what it looked like in the past and I guess we can thank technology for that.  Everyone that has a phone has a camera, and with Instagram being used by photojournalists now it kind of puts a damper on the genre. It will be interesting to see what the future holds, that is for sure. If I had one wish, it would be to lose the Instagram.
Q: I have one final question for you. I’ve noticed you’ve printed your first copy of your first book. What are your plans with your book moving forward from now?
A: I have, yes. I just recently printed a one-off copy as a template to see how things were going to look. I am still unsure if I would like to present my work to local publishers or to take a look at organizing a Kickstarter campaign. Either way I am in no rush at this point, but you can see a preview of it here.
Thank you for your time, Bryan!
– Leica Internet Team
See more of Bryan’s work on his website and Tumblr.
Alex Coghe is an Italian photojournalist currently based in Mexico City whose professional activity ranges from editorial photography to events. Learn more about Alex’s nasty project on his website, Tumblr, YouTube and download his books on iTunes. He is also a member of the international photography collective, noise. Check out their work on Tumblr, Facebook and Blurb.