ArchitecturePeoplePhotographyStreetUrban

Streetscapes of Robotic Conformity by Streetmax 21

As a street photographer, Streetmax takes an observational view of how our present circumstances govern our behavior individually and in crowds. Progressively, we appear to interact with each other only on a synthetic basis. We attempt to mass connect with the aid of modern technology, but in so doing pay less attention to an individual connection. He thinks this is compounded by the increasingly designed environment we inhabit. The codes we see, hear and read within it impact our behavioral processes and ultimately isolate us.

Fenchurch Buildings by Streetmax

"StreetMax21 makes street photographs like nobody else, a truly original approach to recording public space, architecture and the flow of figures through it." Nick Turpin

Leadenhall by Streetmax

In developing scenes, I try to choose architectural backgrounds against which I can display separated figures, distributing or choreographing them across the frame. The architecture becomes incidental to a scene or situation that may or may not evolve within it. I tend to look for sites or places where people pass through without congregating. To begin with, if there is one figure or two or more figures who are positioned apart, I’ll wait until they’re joined by others in the hope that they’ll create a spatial and enigmatic dialogue.

Finsbury Square by Streetmax 21

The figures often take on the look of stressed automatons acting out prescribed scenes. At a time when it’s becoming harder to discern what is human and what isn’t, their isolation from each other serves to emphasize an unreal and machine-like formality. These isolated figures don’t have to be interesting in themselves, so long as they create a narrative tension with others. It’s important that there is an element of movement from the figures. Everything must appear to be changing and in flux at the same time as retaining a spatial integrity. In an age wracked with anxiety and uncertainty, there is still a challenge to inject a boisterous creativity into a streetscape of robotic conformity.

Dukes Head by Streetmax 21

“I have always taken photographs. I don't take the idea of being a photographer lightly and have always strived to break new ground aesthetically. Mediocrity appalls me.“
Awards / Exhibitions


2016

  • Finalist, LensCulture Street Photography Awards

2017

  • Finalist, Best Series, Streetfoto’17, San Francisco
  • PDN 7th annual Exposure Award winner
  • Juror’s Pick, LensCulture Street Photography Awards
  • Series Winner, PHoS Athens
  • Finalist, Miami Street Photography Festival
  • 2nd Place Winner, Chromatic Photo Awards

2018

  • Finalist, Italian Street Photography Festival, Rome
  • Projection, Voies Off Festival, Arles
  • Dom Literatury, Lodz, Poland (Urban Photo Awards)
  • LensCulture Network Gallery
  • 3rd place, Bronze Star Award, Neutral Density Awards (Street photography)
  • Finalist, Second Prize, Independent Street Photography Awards
  • Winning image (FenchurchBuildings161018), Street Life, Life Framer
  • 3 Honorable mentions, Chromatic Photo Awards

2019

  • ESPY photography award exhibition, Elysium Gallery, Swansea
  • Honorable mention, (OneShot) International Photography Awards
  • Winner, Best Series, Streetfoto’19, San Francisco
  • Series winner, Street Photography category (non-pro), 13th Pollux Awards
  • Honourable mention, Street Photography category, Minimalist Photography Awards
  • Series Finalist, Aussie Street 2019 International Street Photography Competition, Sydney
  • Category winner, Neutral Density Awards (Street photography)
  • Fotonostrum Gallery, Barcelona (13th Pollux Awards)
  • Vernissage, The 2019 Independent Photographer Awards Exhibition, Alalimon Galleria Barcelona, CLB Berlin
  • 3rd Place Winner, Chromatic Photo Awards
  • Honourable mention, 2019 Exibart Street Photography Competition
  • Honourable mention, Annual Photography Awards, Street category

2020

  • Series Finalist, Bangkok Street Photography Festival
  • Gold award, San Francisco Bay International Photography Awards
  • Member, iN-PUBLiC
  • Portfolio Award, San Francisco Bay International Photography Awards
  • Honourable mention, Street Photography category, Minimalist Photography Awards
  • Featured in “The Square Mile” iN-PUBLiC Online Exhibition
  • International Exhibition 2020, Glasgow Gallery of Photography
  • Jurors’ Pick, 2019/2020 Chelsea International Photography Competition, New York
  • Honourable mention, “Dis/harmony” Group Exhibition, PH21 Gallery, Budapest
  • Honourable mention, Special category, PX3 Prie de la Photographie Paris
  • First prize, “Street Photography” New York Center for Photographic Arts, New York
  • Shortlist, 212 Photography Competition, Istanbul
  • Honourable mention, Neutral Density Awards (Street photography)
  • Street Photography Exhibition, Dowtown Arts Collective, Orlando
  • 2 Honorable mentions, Chromatic Photo Awards
  • 3rd Place Winner, Annual Photography Awards, Street category

2021

  • Street Sans Frontières, Galerie Joseph Turenne, Paris
  • International Street Photography Exhibition, Glasgow Gallery of Photography
  • Photographic Visions – Winter 2021, PH21 Gallery, Budapest
  • The Poetry of the Ordinary, Photo Place Gallery, Middlebury, Vermont
  • Taking Pictures: 2021, Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon

Contact - Website - Social Media

I take street photographs. I operate under the 'nom de guerre' Streetmax21. I do this so as not to create suspicion amongst clients that I'm doing street photography on their dollar. I shoot architecture in large format also. I have been shooting street for over eight years and last year I was invited to join iN-PUBLiC.

My work is regarded as original: "StreetMax21 makes street photographs like nobody else, a truly original approach to recording public space, architecture and the flow of figures through it." Nick Turpin.

In the main, I work in London and particularly the City of London. My working method is encapsulated and best explained in the dialogue box beneath.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2017

  • Urban Street Dive
  • The Street Photographer Book Vol. 2
  • Interview – Streethunters, PHoS Athens
  • Chromatic Photo Awards Annual Book
  • The Best of LensCulture, Volume 1

2018

  • The Best of LensCulture, Volume 2

2019

  • World Street Photography 6: The Finest Photos in International Street Photography
  • Eyeshot Magazine, “Street Jungle” – Streetfoto ’19 Best series winner
  • The Independent Photographer: Talents of the Year 2018/2019
  • Chromatic Photo Awards Annual Book

2020

  • Feel the Street in Your Hands, The Street Photographers Book
  • Cities 7, Urban Visions by Italian Street Photography

2021 

  • SEEN Magazine, 050310-(150121continuing)
  • www.streetsstorytelling.com Gallery Collection
  • Street, Bokeh Bokeh Photo

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