“Anonymous Citizens” are the humble, everyday people familiar to us all—those who happen to be walking along the streets of any town, just like the rest of us.
The individuals in my photographs can be described as anonymous, yet they are suspended in a deeper , more contemplative sense. The man on stilts and the man in the phone booth. The man exiting the coffee shop. An eye caught between two bored people in separate subway cars. The bocce ball court is timeless, The father and son holding hands, a couple embracing, as a man watches from above while eating his ice cream—all reflect this perspective.
We each already know places like these. Sometimes, we don’t need to know them personally to to find meaning in what they represent.
Photography is a system of visual editing. It involves surrounding a portion of one’s sharp vision within a frame—while standing in the right place at the right time.
Mike Ruggiero
The term “street photographer” most often is used to describe what I do, but it’s not
necessarily where I take my photographs. The pictures can be taken in a quarry mine, in a
public park, in a subway, or at a baseball game and so on. I think that photographers, like all
artists, choose their medium because it allows them the most truthful expression of their visual
perception of life around them. The majority of my work over the past 40 plus years can be
narrowed down to observing and reacting to life’s common circumstances - Inspired by many
photographers of my generation, such as Winogrand, Doineau, and Frank, I express what I see,
feel and imagine into a compelling visual form. I search for images that invite curiosity with a
narrative.
mkruggie.photoshelter.com
