This Fascinating Documentary Gets Under the Skin of Street Photography

A new feature-length documentary looking at street photography in London has been released today.

Everything Happens All The Time, directed by Simon King, uses 27 interviews, street footage, and photographs to explore the relationships among street photographers, their practice, and the community that has formed around the genre in the U.K. capital.

Street photography is a unique form of photography that requires patience, practice, and a keen eye for the unexpected.

“You’re not going to go out on your first day and see themes that you’re exploring in your life in your photos; it’s not going to happen,” says street photographer Cal Holland in the doc.

“You have to do it loads, and it’s a numbers game, and you train your eye for your subconscious to come through.”

In an article for British Cinematographer, King, who is a photographer himself, explains that the film “sort of made itself” and that he shot it on a camcorder.

“I needed something portable, that I could use alongside my main photography camera without getting in the way, that I could quickly use and grab shots, and use for interviews without being too intimidating or needing too much doing moment to moment to operate,” King writes.

“I found what I in hindsight believe to be an incredibly underestimated option: the camcorder. Specifically the Panasonic X1600E, with an approximately Super 8-sized sensor, 25-600mm equivalent lens, and all of the controls that would allow me to achieve the shots I was after, a built in mic port for plugging in my DJI wireless lav mics, and some handy threads for adding options like handles, Arca baseplates for a strap, and other accessories.”

King used a Spartan setup for the movie, using natural light only.

“I shot the vast majority at 24fps with a shutter angle of 1/48th, maintaining standard cinematic motion even when operating outside of traditional filmmaking environments,” King says.

“My exposure strategy was deliberately simple: I kept the camera’s gain at its lowest native setting to minimize noise and preserve dynamic range, and for the majority of the shoot I left the aperture in automatic, allowing the camera to react to changing light conditions faster than I could manually adjust.”

It’s a fascinating insight into the thoughts and strategies of photographers who are passionate about capturing the rhythm of life on the streets.