Looking Beyond the Masters
A Contemporary Street Photography Quest
After years of studying and learning from the greats of photography, I felt the need to pause, look around, and ask:
What are my contemporaries creating right now that I might be overlooking?
I’ve spent so long admiring the same legends and classic styles that I realized I was unintentionally closing myself off to fresh voices. So I decided to go digging—seeking out new photographers who are working independently and creating work that is honest, bold, and uniquely their own.
🎯 What I Was Looking For
To keep the search focused, I set a few criteria:
They are currently active and under the age of 50(roughly)
They are not affiliated with large organizations like Magnum, VII, etc.
They are working on self-funded, long-term projects
Their work has a distinctive style, vision, and storytelling approach—not just good technique
The focus is primarily on street and documentary storytelling
This list is just the beginning. I’ll be sharing more in future posts, and I’d love for you to join me in this exploration. Share photographers you admire in the comments—I want to keep discovering.
Youcef Krache – Algeria
A self-taught photographer born in 1987 in Constantine and based in Algiers, Krache co-founded the influential Collective 220. His practice focuses on the interplay between urban spaces, architecture, signage, and the people who animate them. His grainy monochrome imagery brings out texture and raw emotion—immersing the viewer in the dense atmosphere of Algerian streets. Krache uses the street as a lens to reflect Algeria’s social fabric—its hopes, contradictions, and everyday rituals. His images aren’t just documentary—they’re emotionally charged snapshots that resonate long after you look. Free from institutional constraints, Krache crafts personal, long-term projects that engage deeply with his environment and people
His images are raw yet poetic, offering a quiet tension between the secular and the spiritual, the decayed and the enduring. He doesn’t just document a scene; he imbues it with presence.
Dhruv Malhotra – India
Dhruv’s photography style is rooted in slow observation, nocturnal quietude, and a lyrical exploration of urban India. He captures scenes that exist between wakefulness and sleep—moments most of us overlook because they happen when cities fall silent. His After Dark Trilogy features hauntingly still urban landscapes, sleeping figures, and neon-soaked stillness. I never used to connect with long-exposure photography—until Dhruv’s images showed me how stillness can be just as powerful as motion.
Dhruv captures India not through its chaos, but through its pauses. His nocturnal gaze offers a quiet counterpoint to the visual noise of typical urban photography—inviting viewers to contemplate what exists in the margins of time, space, and attention.
Projects to explore:
Yash Sheth – India
Yash’s photography is dynamic, poetic, and deeply rooted in Mumbai’s rhythm. He’s been photographing the city’s monsoon season for over five years—transforming mist, steam, and rain into visual poetry. His use of flash brings a theatrical quality to otherwise quiet street moments, revealing beauty in the everyday.
He works on long-term themes including:
Monsoon life in Mumbai
Nighttime street stories
Culturally diverse weddings
Uttan fishing village documentation
Rather than hunting for decisive moments, Yash immerses himself—shooting hundreds of frames until the feeling is right. His images are empathetic, quiet, and emotionally resonant.
Shin Noguchi – Japan
Noguchi’s style is subtle, lyrical, and deeply tied to Japanese culture. His street photography elevates the mundane, finding beauty in stillness, gestures, and visual gaps. He draws from the Japanese concept of ma—the space between things—creating emotional resonance through what’s unsaid.
Two personal projects that struck a chord with me:
1. Dad with Stage Four Lung Cancer
A deeply moving portrait series taken in and around his home as his father faced terminal illness. Quiet, evocative, and dignified.
2. As Yumeji Painted His Beloved Woman
A poetic photo series documenting his newborn daughter Hikono alongside photobooks from Japanese masters. The series is a loving meditation on fatherhood, art, and legacy.
Noguchi doesn’t chase drama—he waits for it to reveal itself in the smallest moments.
Ivan Kashinsky – Ecuador
Ivan’s work sits at the intersection of intimate documentary and urban storytelling. He’s not your conventional street photographer—his style is unvarnished and contemplative. His long-term project Mi Barrio documents the changing identity of his Quito neighborhood, as farmland gives way to highways and global brands.
What I admire about his style:
Natural, raw frames—no stylized flash or filters
Quiet moments—capturing people as they are, without spectacle
A focus on social transition—without being overtly political
He often uses his phone to photograph, proving that vision matters more than gear. His work reminds us that photojournalism can be deeply personal and emotionally precise.
📌 Final Thoughts
This is just a start. I plan to continue this journey and share more names that deserve the spotlight. Photography is a wide, living language—and these artists are expanding it in quiet, powerful ways.
Know someone whose work fits these values? Drop their name in the comments. I’d love to discover more.
Very interesting works featured here. Thanks for curating this Uday
Thank you for this amazing tour.