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Museum of Sydney

      Street Photography stories

      Man watching street photographer.

      A popular nuisance – controlling the street photographers

      By the mid-1930s the street photography ‘craze’ saw increasing numbers of photographers on Sydney’s streets – all competing for the best locations and the most promising marks.

      Thumbnail image of three people in street.

      City of a million faces

      The passing of years has given many street photographs greater significance than may have been anticipated when they were taken. Behind each image lies a complex history that we can only partially discover.
      Black and white street photograph of three women linking arms walking down the street.

      Family photo reunion

      Imagine visiting an exhibition and discovering a photograph of yourself and your family that you had never seen before.
      Black and white photograph of two adults and three children walking in a line holding hands in urban setting. This view is up Martin Place toward Macquarie Street, Sydney.

      Ikon Studio

      During the public call out for our Street Photography exhibition an extraordinarily rare collection of street photography negatives came to light.

      Close crop of two children's faces.

      Matching snapshots

      The names and stories behind street photographs are often lost with the passing of time, and we were unable to identify many of the people whose images are featured in the Street Photography exhibition. However, we’ve since learnt the moving story behind one image, of two curly-haired children.

      Sepia toned black and white photo of group in street.

      Signs of the times

      In the background of many street photos are glimpses of Sydney’s architecture, from still-recognisable locations to popular landmarks of the day. Many photos also show signs advertising businesses now long gone, including popular cafes like Repin’s and Sargents.

      Snapped! The Ikon Studio street photographer at work

      A remarkable acquisition of 5000 street snaps provides a lively and revealing record of one Sydney street in 1950 and offers a rare glimpse through the street photographer’s lens.

      Couple in front of ferry wharves and another woman in background, with Sydney Harbour Bridge as backdrop.

      Take a look at yourself

      What does the city of Sydney and its citizens look like today?
      Cropped photo of family group.

      The street snapshot craze

      Our exhibition at the Museum of Sydney explores the heyday of this once popular but now forgotten genre of photography.

      The exhibition

      Past

      Street Photography

      1930s - 1950s

      Sat 8 Dec 2018 - Sun 21 Jul 2019

      From the 1930s to the late 1950s commercial street photographers swarmed Sydney’s streets photographing everyday people in candid full-length portraits as they quickly passed by or stopped to pose.