Today, I’m joined by Geit Eero, a street photographer from Tallinn. His work speaks to me because of the variety of subjects and the technology he uses.
Follow Geit Eero:
- Website: https://www.geiteero.com/pages/about-me
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geit.eero/
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You can follow me on several social media for updates about the episodes:
- BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/fredpaulussen.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredpaulussen/
- My website: www.fredericpaulussen.be
Timestamps of this episode with Geit Eero
00:00 Introduction to Street Photography and Geit Eero
03:06 The Essence of Photography
05:56 The Role of Gear in Photography
08:33 The Journey of a Thousand Moments
11:33 Creativity and Mental Health
14:22 The Impact of AI on Photography
17:35 Future Projects and Publications
20:41 Community and Collaboration in Photography
32:02 The Loneliness of Street Photography
32:23 The Birth of a Podcast
34:26 Observing Life on the Streets
35:29 Contrasting Moments in Street Life
36:41 The Kindness of Strangers
38:05 Capturing Joy in Street Photography
39:51 The Role of Music in Photography
41:39 Exploring Soundscapes of the City
45:01 Macro Photography: A New Perspective
51:22 Traveling for Inspiration
53:17 Finding Meaning in Photography
Photographers, resources, and gear mentioned in this episode:
- Henri-Cartier Bresson
- Burhan Ozbilici (World Press Photo 2017 winner)
- The photo is less blurry than I remembered
- Red Dead Redemption videogame street photography
- Brussels Street Photography Festival
- Bruce Gilden
- Nerdland
- Takeo “TKO” Suzuki
- Pentax 17
- Meaning in the Making
- Sean Tucker
Thank you for listening to this conversation with Geit. Don’t forget to subscribe to be updated about upcoming episodes. Feel free to reach out via social media if you have any questions or ideas you’d like to share.
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Podcast Transcript
Frederic Paulussen (00:01)
Welcome to the Slice of Time Street Photography Podcast, a podcast in which I explore the work of different street photographers across the world, genres and visions. And this, of course, exposes us to different ideas, ways of looking, and helping you form your own vision of street photography. And today I’m joined by ⁓ Geit Eero, street photographer from ⁓ Tallinn in Estonia. ⁓ and his work spoke to me because, well, he’s very varied in his subjects and also in like the the
Geit (00:04)
you
Frederic Paulussen (00:28)
technology he uses and the the humor that comes through. So hey Gate, could you perhaps introduce yourself?
Geit (00:35)
Hello, Frederic ⁓ You know, this podcast has been in the making for like two years now. You were the first person to ask me this. Is it a year? Because you were the first person to ask to make a podcast with me. But life has been complicated, so much has been happening and so on. So it’s been postponed, postponed. And now that I have finished my, ⁓ I call it like a lot of the rings saga, it’s like I haven’t…
Frederic Paulussen (00:43)
⁓ I think a year.
A year, I think, yeah.
Geit (01:04)
reached it to the end. It’s like I wanted this to be the first place where I speak in English. So first of all, I’d to apologize for my bad English. It’s bad. I know it. She and he are quite complicated concepts for me. It’s like in Estonian, we don’t have pronouns like this. It’s like a person is a person. It doesn’t matter the… So if I confuse them, don’t mind me.
Frederic Paulussen (01:14)
It’s great.
yeah, okay.
Geit (01:34)
And the other thing I’d like to apologize, I’m sick. I’m sneezing and coughing. So if you hear me like making weird or funny what noises, it’s who I am. right now. So I’m a street photographer. Yeah, street photographer from ⁓ Tallinn. At least I used to call myself a street photographer, but now I am just a photographer. I think I’m a photographer. I just like to take pictures of life that I observe around me.
Frederic Paulussen (01:34)
No worries.
That’s totally fine.
Geit (02:03)
My interest has gone beyond streets, mainly the street, but when I’m in nature, I take nature photos, when I see some small details, I like to take macro photos. so I think I am just a photographer who likes to take pictures of everything. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (02:24)
Hm.
Yeah. And so you you said like I I think I’m a photographer, so is is there like a reason why why you’re not sure or?
Geit (02:34)
I’m still trying to figure out what is a photo in essence, its roots. It’s like, if you start to think about it, a photo is, how do we say it? It’s kind of a deep thing. If I take a photo, I have stopped time. It’s like slice of time, as you said. It’s like, from the flow of life, we take out a slice that we can present. And we can never…
re-create it, It’s like so unique and so special and it’s like what is it? And since I don’t understand it fully, I’m just, I think I’m a photographer. It’s like what is a photographer? Like a…
Frederic Paulussen (03:20)
Okay.
Yeah, I think as soon as you you grab a camera and take a photo you’ve you’ve become a phot photographer, I think. And then of course from there on out you if if like do you make I think like you you evolve as a a better photographer if you you get like a vision or something or or have of like a a specific topic, but I think yeah, like photographer shouldn’t be too much of a a ⁓ a gate kept word, I think, or title.
So and you you mentioned and that’s that’s something I I enjoyed about your photography as well. So that you’re not necessarily a street photographer anymore, but more like a general photographer. Did you because you I think did you ever call yourself a street photographer or did you never really use that term?
Geit (04:09)
⁓ One thought before it leaves my mind because my head is bit messy. this thousand has been crazy on my mental health. It’s like it’s been ups and downs and everything. If let’s say what other word would you describe of a person who takes pictures besides photographer?
It’s of like open ended questions, there is no answer but what is he doing? What is she, he doing? It’s like, this is like, these questions bring us closer to the root idea of what is a photo.
Frederic Paulussen (04:30)
That’s a good question.
Street Flocks title, sorry.
Geit (04:43)
I think there’s
no answer right now. Everyone must find it’s his own answer. It’s what am I doing? I’m taking, I’m showing my perspective of the life and it’s like so many answers and then it’s like, yeah. Anyway, when I started this thousand, I was like, oh, okay, I’m gonna be a street photographer. Now I’m gonna zero to a hundred, make a lot of street photos and get really good at it and so on. But then I got.
bit tired of streets sometimes so I went to nature took some nature photos some landscapes and then I got this small green Pentax camera that is really good for macro photography and then I was like a new world opened up it’s like wow and now I just made a photo
Frederic Paulussen (05:30)
Okay. Yeah, and I think that’s that’s interesting because I think most street photographers eventually venture off into different aspects as well and don’t and they keep doing street photography but also try different things. so that’s that’s that’s nice. And I like how you you always use like ⁓ like various cameras and and never never the the the
The the most expensive newest ones. It’s always like a a funny old one or like a little ⁓ one. Is that something you enjoy more or is there a reason behind you using those cameras?
Geit (06:09)
I call it my public service in a ⁓ way. The reason I started this, I made like four reasons why I started this Instagram project. One of the reasons was that I was fed up with the content I saw on TikTok and on Instagram Reels, the short form content. It was full of…
Videos about gear if you don’t have the newest camera if you don’t have the longest lens you are nobody you can’t take good pictures and I was fed up with it because Gear Matters super rarely it’s like if you take maybe like super macro photos or like you try to take pictures of some distant black holes then gear matters, but most of the time No, it’s it’s like ⁓ gear is like secondary or third in the higher hierarchy of
taking pictures. So I was like, okay, I have this old Nikon DSLR. I’ll start make content with it. And it started to fly. People love that they use the old camera. And then I made a video with some point and shoot Nikon camera and the reception was so good. It’s like, I can take pictures with my grandma’s camera that’s collecting dust on the shelf. And then I understood it’s like
I have my ⁓ personal goals that I want to reach, ⁓ it seems I have to… ⁓
opportunity to, let’s say, kind of like inspire or show the fun side of taking photos as well. So I decided, okay, let’s just make show that every camera is capable of capturing life. And by this, I hope that people will be the courage to take photos and what’s the word?
Frederic Paulussen (07:52)
Yeah.
Geit (08:12)
the excitement of capturing life will come back. And I think it worked because I’ve seen so many people like imitating me and sending me like videos and pictures all around the world with weird cameras, but they’re having fun. They’re capturing life and it’s real. And I’m really happy about
And I think in terms of the picture quality, in the past 10 years, basically they’re all the same. There have been like the auto focus has gone a lot better and maybe some dynamic range a bit and ISOs have become cleaner, higher ISOs. But if we talk about like ISO 400, f8 and 50 mil lens, it’s maybe we will see some contrast differences or like color temperature.
color temperature differences but they’re all sharp, they’re all fine.
Frederic Paulussen (09:05)
Hmm.
Yeah, true. Yeah. And so to me it was funny because I I think I saw one of your reels like a a few years ago and I I remember you were like like at 8,000 followers or something. I was like, okay, this this because you you made a thing about ⁓ showing how you f so the the situation you make like the the funny sounds and the the hand gestures to show this is what I’m gonna do and then you show it and I was I found that a very interesting concept and I think
I’m not sure if you the you were the first one, but it I I I only saw it evolve in other people’s behind that. And afterwards I also like I think a few months ⁓ after the the eight thousand followers, I went to look back at your profile and all of a sudden you were like your account was blowing up. So the the the low-key cameras and the the fun of of just photographing and not talking about gearies is definitely something I think a lot of people ⁓ agree with ⁓ or
subscribe to at that point because otherwise yeah I don’t think they they would follow you. So I think that that’s really working.
Geit (10:09)
I think
one good push for me to show that gear doesn’t matter so much was when I visited Henry Cartier-Bresson’s exhibition in Finland. And it was a big exhibition throughout his life, photos and so on. And when I saw that half of his images were blurry, not sharp sharp, they were kinda okay-ish.
And the quality of the images was also okay-ish, know, not so like super fancy, extra good detail and so on. But what was inside the pictures mattered, you know? You see a blurry image, but the story or the point or the idea that this moment is presenting me was so unique that made me realize it’s like, okay, gear doesn’t matter. It’s like what’s inside the picture.
Frederic Paulussen (10:44)
Mm.
Geit (11:06)
What’s the picture matters? Let’s say if I show you a really awesome picture about ⁓ let’s say ambulance carrying away somebody and there’s some joy and happiness and sadness in that same picture, it doesn’t matter with what it was made. It’s the picture, it’s like, this picture moves me. There are still heroes in this world, you know?
Frederic Paulussen (11:09)
Hmm. True.
Yeah. Yeah, I’m thinking there’s like one photo, it it it won like the the the WordPress photo of the year a few years ago. And it’s a a blurry image of this guy holding a gun, shooting or like pointing it in the air at least, which was like made at ⁓ it was a guy who attacked I think he he shot some ambassador and a photographer took the photo, but it’s it’s like a blurry photo.
Geit (11:33)
So it’s intended.
Yeah, that was him.
It was, I think it won the best photo year award maybe, a years ago. And and this photo was unique because it was made the moments after the assassination. It’s like as present of that moment as possible. And it’s like a really sad moment, but a unique moment. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (11:55)
And and I think that’s a great photo, yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
It’s yeah, it’s an intense moment, but the photo is blurry as well because of well, you you couldn’t anticipate that
moment. and so it’s still a great photo, even though it’s kind of blurry. It’s still which maybe adds to the photo even that it’s blurry. ⁓ so yeah. That’s that’s that’s definitely
Geit (12:36)
It was
a blurry situation as well.
Frederic Paulussen (12:39)
I I’m sh
yeah, I wasn’t there, but I’m sure it it it was not the easiest situation to photograph. ⁓ and so you you were mentioning you were talking about the four reasons you started ⁓ Instagram, the first one being ⁓ not talking about gear, the second one showing ⁓ the joy of of photography again. ⁓ and and do you have three and four?
Geit (13:02)
The third one was my sort of small fight against AI. By showing that I make the picture. This is, here I am on this street and there is a shadow and I’m pointing to the shadow and now I’m taking the camera and I’m making the picture. It’s like a proof that it’s not an AI made image, it’s by a human made because there’s a video about it. It backfired a bit, I think.
Frederic Paulussen (13:13)
Yeah.
Yeah. Mm.
really?
Geit (13:28)
was
that yeah, last year or a year before it, when Instagram started to push, it’s some sort of they made a tool to mark all the videos that have been made by AI. So there was a tool that scans the video and if it thinks it’s AI made, it puts like a note on it that it’s made this video was made by AI. Of course, things don’t work in the beginning as they should. So all my videos got marked.
Frederic Paulussen (13:51)
yeah. Yeah yeah.
Geit (13:57)
made by A.I. and I was like what am I supposed to do now it’s like I’m showing you I’m making a picture but now there’s like this sign made by a machine that thinks it’s made by A.E.I. but now it’s now they got it fixed but it was a funny moment for me it’s like yeah and I think
Frederic Paulussen (14:15)
It’s crazy that it’s it’s that y you’re
fighting AI and then get gets labelled as AI. But yeah.
Geit (14:22)
AI is fighting back maybe, I don’t know. And the fourth reason was that the process of creativity in a sense is like a relationship with a bigger being, like some call it God, some call it the ultimate force, whatever you call it. I think there is a bigger force around us that
flows through us and we are sometimes the tool of it because I have made so many pictures where I’m not sure I can take the full owner rights from it. I’m on a situation and then some voice inside my head is like, okay, stay here. There’s about something nicer is about to happen. And I’m like looking around, there’s nothing. And I’m starting to move away and it’s, no, no, wait, please wait.
Be ready, is something’s going to happen and then I’m okay, what’s going to happen? And then there is some magic coincidence of, I don’t know, three, four elements in the same moment I click it and it’s like, was I the tool for some force for this moment to be preserved?
Frederic Paulussen (15:37)
Hm. Okay. That’s a a a a cool way to look at it.
Geit (15:39)
Yeah. ⁓
And it’s so often that I have to trust that force, that creative force. It comes upon me, it’s like, stay here, don’t move, be prepared. There is nothing here. There is absolutely nothing here. Be prepared. And of course, sometimes I walk away and when I look back, I see like the perfect moment happened. Somebody’s kissing somebody. When two birds are like flying and then there’s like some heart-shaped balloon is and then it’s like,
Frederic Paulussen (16:12)
Yeah. I’m I’m happy you have those moments too because for me like I’m not very patient so I wait like two three minutes and then I walk away and then the moment you s do like two steps what you want it to happen happens, yeah, and it’s it’s very frustrating. So are you you are you a patient person or is are you like me like two three minutes is already too much?
Geit (16:33)
Depends on my mental state.
Sometimes I’m, I can wait, I have waited hours for a moment. And sometimes when I’m overstimulated by coffee and nicotine, I am not patient at all. I run through the city, my camera is like hot in the hand. It’s like the sensor is working hard. It depends. Some days are chill and some are not. Maybe if we get older, we’ll get slower. I don’t know.
Frederic Paulussen (16:36)
But you can wait.
That’s yeah.
Who knows,
Geit (17:04)
Street photographers
tend to get slower when they get older.
Frederic Paulussen (17:08)
Yeah, maybe I’m yeah. I I have to still find find it out maybe. ⁓ but so like for example with with you making the video, do you do it for every photo you make or is it more you know when it it it might work on video to to make like a a ⁓ behind the scenes video or is it because I can imagine it takes some time to do s to to do so and to like I don’t I’m not sure how much you edits but
Geit (17:34)
It’s been 50-50. Sometimes I capture the moment before and then I’m like, okay, this is a good moment to capture to show that maybe somebody else can like learn from it and make a better moment. So I make a video afterwards. Sometimes the video captures the moment that’s shown in the end. And it’s been 50-50. And the funny thing is usually
Frederic Paulussen (17:42)
Mm.
Geit (18:05)
The most static moments I have captured before and made the video after, where there is no action, no decisive moments. And those decisive moments with us where somebody’s walking into the shadow in the perfect angle, those are captured in the video. You can’t see, it’s like, and it makes no sense for me. Why is it like this? I don’t know. But because it should be another way around, you know?
Frederic Paulussen (18:21)
Okay.
It it does feel like it should be the other way around, yeah. But I mean if it works it works. So that’s great. So and and ⁓ because let’s talk about the the thousand moments ⁓ like why did you decide it on I want to post one thousand moments and also now that you achieved it, what’s gonna be next? But maybe let’s let’s start with the the why.
Geit (18:34)
Yeah. Yeah.
I started with 366 movements, one year.
Frederic Paulussen (18:59)
Yeah, I
remember, yeah.
Geit (19:01)
And when I the 366th picture, I was kind of disappointed in myself because I had started to make videos with random cameras and more about others than myself. It was like…
I was focusing in bringing back the joy of taking pictures and kind of lost my initial plan to like capture life in Estonia and Tallinn and so on. there was one more goal that I had. I’ll tell it later. So since I was disappointed in myself, okay, I have to extend it because if I’m to make a book about all this journey of mine, it’s not gonna make sense because there are so many random camera pictures and…
and some simple shadow pictures and so on. So I was like, should I extend it for a year another? And then I was like, I have never heard some photographer make a thousand picture challenge in social media. So I was like, how hard can it be? know, those famous last words, how hard can it be? Damn, it was hard. It was a challenge. But I managed somehow to.
Frederic Paulussen (20:07)
Yeah.
Geit (20:16)
make it bend, but it’s been like crazy roller coaster ride. I suggest every creative to try it because you will find yourself so many times and you will have to overcome that self that you will find so many times. And in the end you’re not even sure what is that self that you have to overcome, but you keep on pushing. It’s like without those challenges, there is no reason to push oneself. And without pushing you can’t grow.
Frederic Paulussen (20:41)
Not true.
Geit (20:46)
So it’s like, it’s the easiest, the most hurtful way to grow. Just go crazy and find a way back from that craziness. then, know.
Frederic Paulussen (20:58)
Yeah. And so was it did you because you you also posted every day, I think, is it or like was that the moment and then I can imagine that you like go out on a Saturday and make like five posts maybe so you or five photos that you’re f moments that you’re happy with, so you have like or was it really like every day you made one moment?
Geit (21:20)
Almost every day. I made no breaks. I posted every day And I photographed almost every day. I think in those thousand days maybe I had like
Frederic Paulussen (21:29)
Okay.
Geit (21:32)
20 days or so when I made the picture, when I had made the picture before. But for those thousand days I had camera on my hand every day. Wherever, if I was going shopping I had that, And it’s like, right now it’s kind of weird. I can go outside without my camera. It’s like, what the hell? This tool has become part of me. ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (21:42)
That’s crazy.
Okay, you’re taking a a a break then or?
Does it feel weird to not do it anymore then or?
Geit (22:00)
Yeah, super weird. Super weird. Not sure, but I need to quit because…
Frederic Paulussen (22:05)
And and do you
Geit (22:11)
A thousand days without a break or a vacation or a day off, it messes with the head real bad. It’s good that I have had some really dark holes that I have fallen into because in those holes I have had to ask myself questions. Who am I? What do want to do? Where am I going to go? What’s going to save me? How am going to find the light again? Because without those questions we could…
Frederic Paulussen (22:18)
Yeah, it’s crazy.
Geit (22:41)
The life will be like dull. And creativity stands out. So if anybody is struggling with some dark things around themselves right now, creativity will be the ladder with what you can climb out. If you’re a photographer, grab that camera and just go. If it’s hard to, know, just fucking go. Create, create, create.
Frederic Paulussen (23:03)
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that’s good advice.
Geit (23:08)
Creatives have to create their way out of the dark.
Frederic Paulussen (23:13)
And did you find that you during those darker moments that you changed your photograp or that your photography represented so that maybe you you chose different subjects, you photographed things differently, or or did that not really affect how you ⁓ shot
Geit (23:32)
Yeah, one thing that I started to notice was that every time I was in a slum in some darkness, I posted black and white pictures.
Frederic Paulussen (23:46)
Okay.
Geit (23:48)
And it started subconsciously, but then it started to make sense for me. Every time I post something black and white, I’m in a really bad place. And then it gets holofrode again, you know? And for me, it makes sense because if I’m in…
really depressed life becomes black and white there’s good and there’s bad and there’s more bad those thoughts and so on so I post I think I’m gonna make a black and white book as well about myself because one time when I was really really sad when I was really sad I was not able to find a way out I printed all my black and white pictures and I was like
This is a book about me. It somehow just happened. And when I spread those images on the floor and I looked at them, it’s like, okay, this is me. This makes sense. I have been through stuff. I’m still here. Okay, I’ll keep on going. So I made a book that I might publish in the future. It’s good to make like prototype books.
Frederic Paulussen (25:01)
cool.
Yeah.
And so is that is that like a a next project, like starting to to publish the the photos in a different way than Instagram? So for example, like you said, a book or or an exhibition or ⁓ I don’t I’m not sure like other ways, like a zine or whatever.
Geit (25:22)
I think I should make… No, not should, I must make. ⁓ How do I say it? I have been more productive in those thousand pictures that I have published. I have like a lot of pictures that I forget to publish or upload or whatever. It’s like, taking pictures every day, the catalog grows quite big. So last time I checked, I think I can make like one, two, three, four, five, six, six or seven books right now.
Frederic Paulussen (25:52)
Wow, okay.
Geit (25:53)
Yeah, and I have no idea how to publish or create a book, this will be my next journey. One book will be about myself, the Spar Black and White book. Then there’s a book about this song and dance festival that happened in Estonia that I was part of. Oh, that was crazy. I took in three weeks, every day from seven till 10 in the evenings, I think it was like 78,000 pictures. And now I need to find like, maybe like,
Frederic Paulussen (26:00)
Yeah.
Whoa.
Geit (26:22)
Hundreds that should I should put inside the book? And there is a book about Reflections I have a reflection thing going on anyway too much stuff to do and first I need to like rest play some video games and I don’t know chill in the forest and
Frederic Paulussen (26:26)
Yeah.
Yeah.
It’s I I I find those two very contrasty, like play video games or rest in a forrest but it’s they’re both great. Yeah. ⁓ so I’m curious which which video games you play.
Geit (26:54)
I have not played the video game for quite some time but I think I’d like to give a go for the Red Dead Redemption thing.
Frederic Paulussen (26:57)
Okay, so you have to yeah.
Okay, yeah. I haven’t played it but a a friend
of mine does and it’s it’s very fun, I think, yeah.
Geit (27:09)
And I saw there was a, I can’t remember her name, but there’s an artist who made a photo exhibition and all the photos are made inside the The Red Dead Redemption game.
Frederic Paulussen (27:21)
really?
Geit (27:22)
Yeah, and this was like…
It was the first time I saw a video reality photo exhibition and it was like all sorts of questions arise in my head and it’s like maybe I should delve into that more. Maybe there’s something there.
Frederic Paulussen (27:40)
Yeah. It can be interesting for sure, yeah. It’s it’s a a weird concept to because yeah. There there’s a lot to to think about when when doing some s something like that. And
Geit (27:52)
I think it makes sense in like MMOs, MMO RPGs more than in single player games because there is like alternate life happening in there and there are streets that then, you know, it’s like, I haven’t played World of Warcraft, but imagine having photos from World of Warcraft, like the high peak days where there are a lot of people playing and it’s like, it could be cool to like.
reflect on them, looking back. ⁓ these were the good old game days.
Frederic Paulussen (28:28)
Yeah, true. That’s in a way we we don’t have like a a virtual ⁓ photo album of ourselves, maybe, yeah, because and we spend a lot of time online. So yeah, makes could be interesting to to to think about. and so you you ⁓ you mentioned you have like a big catalogue of a lot of photos that you you made because of course every day you you went out. Was there
How did you decide which one to publish for for that day? Because I I can imagine you have like a big catalogue of photos and and sometimes maybe one is better but but maybe doesn’t work as a standalone. It would work better in a series or or was that daily choosing difficult?
Geit (29:14)
Yeah, sometimes it was a headache, but I solved it by splitting it into two categories. Pictures for me and pictures for the people. Pictures for the people are those pictures that get lots of likes, that usually I have videos on. It’s like, this is a shadow, there is some reflection, something simple on it. Something that is easy to enjoy because…
Frederic Paulussen (29:28)
Mm.
Geit (29:44)
I understood that I have some sort of obligation by life to be the guy who makes sounds and inspires others to take pictures. I’ll honor that obligation and I’ll do my best and I’ll do some simple pictures and so on. And then there are those pictures that I like a lot that usually get no likes. And it’s like, this is life, I guess.
There are some weird pictures of a hand holding a plastic bag and for me it’s like, oh, plastic bag. It’s like a symbol of some sort of culture. in my head, it’s like a crazy story behind it. But everybody’s like, it’s a hand holding a plastic bag. But it’s fine. It’s I think it’s same with musicians as well. Sometimes you have to play some covers. For example, Beatles as well. Beatles started by playing cover music and so on.
I have and I think it’s good that every photographer has the skill to make those classical nice pictures because through that it’s easier to find their own style and what they personally like. ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (30:53)
Yeah.
Yeah, makes makes total sense. And now now I’m very curious curious to those photos for you, if you ever publish them, how how ⁓ like more complicated they they are maybe then. ⁓ and then because yeah, Instagram isn’t always the best platform I think for photos. And as you said, like sometimes it’s there’s like a a specific ⁓ type of photos people want there, but it’s it’s yeah. ⁓ and so do you ⁓
to to to go back maybe to Tallinn and and is there a big photography community and especially street photography community in in Tallinn or is it more like low keys
Geit (31:36)
I think our community is in the okay-ish size. There are a lot of people interested in, but we don’t gather around and take photos together and so on. I think it’s same in other parts of the world as well, because street photography is a bit of a lonely art form. Taking photos with friends or let’s say five…
Why street photographers gather on a corner and then it’s like it looks weird from other side and same from you know it’s like what’s going on here unless they all play like foreign tourists it’s like we’re exploring new city then it might work but it’s a lonesome thing this street photography
Frederic Paulussen (32:08)
Yeah.
Mostly, yeah, true. That’s why I I started this podcast for because it’s I think having conversations but also just hearing conversations can make you learn a lot.
because often for me for me it what it came from a from a point that I I started like listing questions that I had. I had like a document on my phone with all these I have them ⁓ in front of me because I still sometimes use them. For for example, it’s it’s like ⁓ do you listen to music or or not while you you you walk outside? Because to me it was it was something that I was questioning, like is it okay for me to listen to music while I’m out on the street or should I be able to hear what’s happening?
Geit (32:34)
Mm-hmm.
Frederic Paulussen (33:03)
so it was like okay I I should be able to ask these two people or ⁓ is it okay to to often go to the same sp ⁓ spots or do you always have to change? ⁓
la what else like what how many photos are do you keep that are actually good and how many do you throw away. It was all these questions that I started listening listing up and because I didn’t have like much reference because I couldn’t really talk to others because I was doing street photography alone, I decided like okay I should start having this podcast. I also have like a community here in Antwerp with with fifteen of us who meet more or less every month for a co just for like like a coffee and you can just like talk.
⁓ so it it’s it’s it’s nice because it is very lonely street photography, but the same time it’s fun to sometime be able to talk to someone about it. ⁓ and now in Brussels at this point, the day of the recording, it’s not the day of the publishing, but it’s Brussels Street Photography Festival. ⁓ so it’s like four days or f or five days of like a lot of street photographers joining in and I think it’s it’s very helpful to just talk and and enjoy. So ⁓ yeah.
Geit (34:12)
Yeah, what you are doing is amazing. I like to listen to your podcast as well. You’re doing a great job. Keep on doing it. It’s yeah, it’s awesome. And it’s rare. It’s like, well.
Frederic Paulussen (34:18)
Thank you.
And so
Yeah, because I think for
Geit (34:26)
I’ve been thinking,
why are street photography, why is it so lonesome way of life? think if we take streets as bloodlines in human body, street photographers in a sense are like the observers inside that bloodline. We’re not going anywhere, exactly. We don’t have a purpose. Now I have to go to job or now I have to…
Frederic Paulussen (34:34)
Mm.
Geit (34:54)
go to this market and go back home. It’s like we don’t have a goal. We’re like observers inside of that plot now and then capturing it.
Frederic Paulussen (35:03)
Yeah. Maybe yeah. Yeah. It
Geit (35:06)
Kind of
like white blood cells. It’s like we’re observing everything and what’s going on? How is life happening around me? Because I think we see, what’s the slice of life, how the life is progressing around us. How is society doing right now? And yeah.
You see, it’s been interesting. But sometimes it’s weird as well. Sometimes it’s really hard to handle what life throws at you. I remember one moment. was… I think it was like a bus stop or tram stop and somebody got stabbed. And there was blood and there was police running. And I was standing there on my left side. saw the stabbing. I didn’t see the stabbing, but I saw the blood and the medical and so on.
Frederic Paulussen (35:29)
Yeah.
Yeah, to me it’s it’s
Geit (35:57)
And on my right side there was this couple having their first kiss. And I was in the middle and I was like, okay, how, What, how am I supposed to like understand life now? It’s like, what’s going on? One is going away, they are making another one soon. What the hell? It’s like, it messes with the head real bad sometimes. But it is life, it is life in this.
Frederic Paulussen (36:23)
Yeah, it’s it’s that’s a very contrasty scene.
Geit (36:26)
It’s the life in its essence. It’s like birth and death and everything is happening at the same time. it’s like, now be in it, observe it, capture moments, show it. And…
Frederic Paulussen (36:41)
true. And it’s it’s yeah. I think when you you start going out as a street photographer, you notice all these things happening and to me like yesterday I said to a friend, that street photography taught me that most people are okay. Like most people are good because you y you just start noticing how how people interact and even if the news says a lot about violence and war and all this kind of stuff, if you just go out and and and notice people then often it’s it’s
Geit (36:43)
Hello.
Yeah, people are good. If you don’t know, ask street photographers. Most people are kind, good. The same example I did, I said before, of that stabbing. After it happened, there were already people helping, doing their best to keep that guy alive and so on. it’s like, if a situation emerges, the kindness is there. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (37:09)
Pretty okay. Yeah.
Exactly, yeah. Yeah.
Geit (37:35)
But kindness doesn’t sell, happiness doesn’t sell. You’re not gonna click a news that says, life is good now. We’re gonna click a thumbnail that says, it’s bad now. What is bad now? How am I supposed to prepare for this badness? In that sense, I’d like to see more street photographers show joy. I understand it’s easy to take pictures of drama and…
Frederic Paulussen (37:42)
No, unfortunately not, that’s true.
Yeah, no true.
Geit (38:05)
sadness and despair and conflict on the streets but show kindness as well. Try. It’s harder to capture it because it’s so invisible but it’s there. It’s like somebody’s head is resting on somebody’s shoulder and so on. We should show more kindness as well,
It’s easy to get… You will get more likes for a picture that has somebody fighting with somebody and screaming and so on. It’s like lots of emotions, but I think we sort of have an obligation by life to show kindness as well. That I learned from Bruce Gilden. ⁓ He had his exhibition in Estonia. I didn’t meet him.
This is one of the guys I’d really love to meet, just to shake hand. Because he told in one ⁓ interview a few years ago, when somebody asked, why do you take flash photos so close and it’s like aggressive and so on. And he was like, I’m not aggressive, I’m using all my light and all my skill to show people who are invisible.
It’s the kindest thing, you know? I’m using the most light to bring out the most invisible. Fucking hell. This is like… I think he’s the kindest and the biggest, hardest guy in photography right now. But he is like… He seems like all aggressive and so on because he has to protect it. In my opinion, his heart. But it’s like… Using the best ways to bring out the invisible. Holy shit. That’s awesome.
That’s inspirational.
No.
Frederic Paulussen (39:51)
Yeah, that’s I I I never like ⁓
dove into his ⁓ interviews actually. Like I I know his work. ⁓ mostly the the the photos ⁓ you’re referring to with the the the the wide angle lens with f big a big flash in in people’s face. and I it’s yeah, to me it’s it’s not I’m not a flash photographer, but ⁓
And it’s funny because I I wouldn’t see his work a as an inspiration in your photos, I think maybe. But it’s still yeah, interesting because it it sometimes goes deeper than just looking at someone’s photos and b getting inspired that way and more listening to people, which is silly because I have podcasts so that should be the way to go for me. But to listen to people and and more like get the ideas more abstractly and then
put it in practice. So yeah, that’s that’s cool. And do you often read interviews from from other photographers then or or listen to interviews?
Geit (40:54)
I tried to, but it’s not been easy because working the streets and listen to podcasts, it’s not for me. I can’t. It’s like somebody speaking in my head and I’m trying to be creative. It’s not working. Music, okay, it can get me into a flow state and I’m going to like ride on that wave. But hopefully now that I’m going to finish this thousand and three, not thousand, but I extended it by three days. ⁓
⁓ I’ll have more time to listen.
Frederic Paulussen (41:29)
Yeah. And do you is there like a specific type type of music you enjoy the most during your walks or is it more at random?
Geit (41:39)
Music is a tool for me. So it depends on the mood I am in. If I need to get my butt kicked and body moving, it’s like some sort of black death metal or some German techno music or something that’s high energy. like, go, go, go, go, And if I need some mellow things, I go to ambient stuff and some classical stuff. So basically almost everything. And it’s fun to…
Frederic Paulussen (42:06)
Okay.
Geit (42:07)
experiment with music as well because it sort of
creates a sort of mental state. If I put on some African music or reggae music that is this uplifting chill…
Those pictures that come out are also those uplifting. there’s a flower here and there’s some, you know, but if I go to like really aggressive music, those pictures come out aggressive as well. So it’s good to use music as a tool, I think.
Frederic Paulussen (42:35)
That’s interesting, yeah. Yeah. To me I’ve I’ve been I I used to listen to like kind of mellow house music because it it it would keep some like brain noise out out, so to speak, but but wouldn’t be too aggressive to to ⁓ take my focus away from the street and but now I just do nothing, but yeah it’s it’s interesting to to have it like as a mood enhancer or or
Geit (42:50)
Mm-hmm.
Frederic Paulussen (43:05)
way to to steer your vision ⁓ one way or the other.
So do you often or do you also do like sometimes no music or?
Geit (43:16)
Lately it’s been 50-50 or so. I used to listen to a lot of music to just get the noise out of my head and around me and focus only the visual. Because when you listen to the music you cut off like half of the reality, the sound aspect of it. So you can only concentrate on the visual. But I’m slowly starting to enjoy the sounds of the city a lot. Sometimes you hear people talking about…
their life and it’s like you’re just an observer you heard you know there should be like a street there are street photographs and maybe there should be like street sound recorders as well it’s like somebody silently recording a conversation honey do you still love me no
Frederic Paulussen (43:56)
It’s so funny because I
I I was it it it’s super random, but yesterday I was walking in ⁓ a city I wasn’t haven’t been in much to be honest. But there was this kid singing like the Umpa Loompa song from from Charlie and Chocolate Factory. And for me, because it it was like on ⁓ a shopping street, so you had like the singing and there was like some noise and it was very like even though she sh sang it kind of annoyingly, but it was very soothing in a way. So it and it’s funny because I was thinking about ⁓
Geit (44:11)
Mm-hmm.
Frederic Paulussen (44:25)
street photograph videography more or maybe sound as you said now could be become a thing, yeah. But of course it’s maybe weird to to record conversations, but in a way like the ambient sounds might be very interesting, yeah.
Geit (44:37)
Is it weird to take pictures
of people on the streets? It’s the same, you know? Because right now, the thing with street photos is that it’s kind of like wine. I don’t know much about wine, but I know that it gets better with time. So if I take a photo on the streets today that…
Frederic Paulussen (44:44)
Very good c very good point, yeah.
Geit (45:01)
might not be appropriate to publish right away because it might harm somebody’s reputation or feelings or create some issues, But if I upload that picture maybe 20 years later, it has a different meaning. It has more value, I think. So we like to look at pictures of past street photographers as well. It’s like, life was different then. So in that sense, think recording sounds as well.
Frederic Paulussen (45:16)
Mm.
Geit (45:28)
Imagine listening to some street gossip from 40 years ago.
Frederic Paulussen (45:34)
That’s very true. That’s yeah, that’s that’s a good point. ⁓ and same with with like different sounds as well, like the the ⁓ I don’t know if you have like the the little boxes on on traffic lights who make noise for when you can ⁓ walk. Yeah, so I think like maybe
Geit (45:47)
Mm-hmm, cross the street.
Frederic Paulussen (45:51)
One day they they might sound different as well. So it it could be interesting to have those sounds. Or even so here in in Antwerp and in ⁓ in Brussels, which is only 30 minutes away, the ambulances sound very differently. The ones in ⁓ in Brussels have like a there’s like a wobble to the the the sound and it sounds like spooky, like woo which I find terribly funny for for an ambulance, but it’s it’s one of those things that I cant explain to people who haven’t been to Brussels.
how funny those ambulances sound because it’s not all all of them, it’s like one in three of or of them sounds like that. And it could be funny, yeah, to to to ⁓ to have that recorded somewhere, yeah.
Geit (46:30)
I’ve been thinking about and I think, I think, I don’t know how to make it or we should make it or who should make it or how it’s going to be made. But there should be like an anatomical view of the street, what streets consist of. I started to think about it. It’s like taking photos with like, as we take photos usually 35, 28, 50 mil.
But when I got that Pentax point and shoot that takes macro pictures, I’ve been wondering what are those details that I can use macro camera to capture streets? Like street details, street macro. What is a street macro photography? Is it like a cigarette spot or like a used condom or what are the small details that the street consists of? I’m still trying to figure it out, but it’s, they’re there. Those details are there.
Frederic Paulussen (47:17)
Yeah.
Geit (47:23)
We know that this detail belongs to the street, it’s part of the street life. ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (47:27)
Yeah. No, it’s true.
I think yeah, mac macro street photography is definitely a ⁓ a niche that hasn’t been explored properly yet. Or at all even. But yeah, y y you could like the cigarette butt, like the the bubblegum against the wall, ⁓ I think there’s a lot of details to to be shot, yeah.
Geit (47:50)
This is some next challenge.
Frederic Paulussen (47:54)
Yeah, and I think every
everyone he everyone has seen like cigarette butts or bubblegum on the wall or broken glass or whatever. So it it could be yeah, I think it it’s it’s in a way it’s very recognizable.
Geit (48:08)
And I think it’s going to change over time as well, those details. We might not see cigarette butts in 20 years. And same way, if we think back like maybe 30 years ago, what were those details that the street consisted of?
Frederic Paulussen (48:14)
True. That’s actually a a good point, yeah.
Geit (48:25)
I don’t know, but they were probably different. There were probably more coins. People are not using cash anymore and that’s all.
Frederic Paulussen (48:26)
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly. And and less cars, but that’s of course not a small detail. But yeah, the co the coins is e it’s a very good one actually. Because yeah, I don’t use ⁓ use them anymore, so I you I as a kid you used to find them a lot on the street it seems and now they’re they’re maybe I don’t pay attention enough but
Geit (48:49)
Yeah. There
was a lot of dog shit around everywhere.
Frederic Paulussen (48:55)
Ha ha
Geit (48:56)
And this is now in the past. There is no like those gray dog.
Frederic Paulussen (49:00)
Yeah.
I yeah I do see them still too much. I still see them too much I think, but it’s it’s e I would I would like to see an exhibition of just dog shit, yeah. That would be a very funny one.
Geit (49:04)
sculptures on the grass anymore.
around the world, you know?
It’s like a global exhibition of dog shit around the world. It’ll be interesting.
Frederic Paulussen (49:23)
Yeah, the the the the dog shit in India looks different l than the dog shit in the US. Yeah. Or maybe it doesn’t, yeah, and that’s yeah. That’s
Geit (49:27)
Maybe it does, maybe it does, you know? Maybe the spiral goes another way. Maybe like in the
Australian dog shit, you know, it’s usually it’s in a spiral. Maybe the spiral goes the other way because of, you know, the gravitational pull or whatever.
Frederic Paulussen (49:46)
It’s it’s a totally random fact, but there’s something very funny about ⁓ wombat shit in ⁓ so that it’s like the the a wombat which from Australia they shits cubes. Just a total random yeah, just a total random fact for what some reason they’re the only species that shoot cubes.
Geit (49:46)
you
Really?
That’s…
this is interesting because the form of a cube is really rare in nature in general. You can’t see cubes. There are some like gemstones that form cubes but cube is rare. This wombat shit is rare shit. ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (50:11)
Yeah.
Yeah, it’s it’s really weird. ⁓
it’s and and I know there’s this one so there’s this this podcast in Belgium called Nerdland, which is about like the the the scientific news ⁓ every month. So it’s it’s like a two hour short about everything in space or in tag and and blah blah blah blah. And one of those guys actually collected one bad shits from a zoo here b to have in his freezer for like they have a festival to to to show it to people, to say like it’s actually this way, so it’s yeah. It is a thing.
but anyway that’s that’s not really ⁓ a very street ⁓ I haven’t I’ve never seen any wombats in the street, to be honest. ⁓ so
Geit (51:02)
Yeah, same same.
We can’t say they are not there but it will be interesting to see a bumper on the street.
Frederic Paulussen (51:09)
Yeah, maybe like a a project for in Australia. On on that note, by the way, do you ever go outside of of Tallinn or Estonia for your photography or is that not not really something you’re you’re interested in?
Geit (51:22)
I haven’t done it in this thousand project. I went to Finland once and Sweden once, but ⁓ I wanted this thousand and three to be centered around Estonia. Tallinn and other cities as well. But now I want to travel a bit. I want to go to France. I want to go to the place where the first photo ever was taken. I want to visit some historical places that are important for photography. I want to visit the Leitz Museum in Germany.
Frederic Paulussen (51:34)
Hmm.
Geit (51:52)
and I wanna take a bird photo with a Hasselblad camera because it was made for bird photography in the beginning and hopefully we visit Japan as well. I wanna check the guy, Takeo “TKO” Suzuki TKO is the guy who we mentioned, the lead guy for Pentax, 17 and other awesome looking cameras. like living legend in my opinion. So there are places I wanna like…
Frederic Paulussen (52:17)
Yeah.
Geit (52:21)
visit that are kind of important for me.
Frederic Paulussen (52:25)
Yeah, and to me it’s it’s funny because usually when I ask about places is because people would think they’re be interesting to to photograph, but for you it’s totally different so because it’s for you it’s it’s for their historic value or for the to meet certain people. So that’s that’s an interesting way that you ⁓ answered that question actually.
Geit (52:47)
I try to live like this that whatever I do, has some sort of meaning attached to it. If I take pictures, if people ask me, it’s aren’t you afraid of conflict on the streets when somebody’s like, why are you taking a picture of me? I think if one has a deep understanding and reason why he’s making those photos, it’s no problem. It’s like I’m trying to document life through how I observe it.
Frederic Paulussen (52:47)
Because it’s
Hm. Yeah.
Geit (53:17)
It’s fine. But if one gets like super nervous, it’s like, I don’t know why I’m living here, why I’m existing. Then it’s like, please don’t take pictures of me then. Get your head straight. It’s like have a good reason and believe in that reason.
Frederic Paulussen (53:28)
Yeah.
Geit (53:35)
And this solves a lot of problems.
Frederic Paulussen (53:35)
Yeah, that’s
I think ⁓ I feel like you you might have read it. It’s like a book Meaning in the Making Meaning in the Making by Sean Tucker, which is a good book about it’s it’s a photographer from the UK who talks about finding the meaning in well in your art. Mostly has ph photography examples obviously, but it’s it’s it works in general.
So it’s a that’s a a book I feels like you you might have read it, but it’s yeah, definitely something that ⁓
Geit (54:06)
Nope,
I have not read it but I think I must read it now. Thank you for sharing.
Frederic Paulussen (54:10)
It’s an interesting one,
yeah. It’s a very interesting one. I I’ve read it s twice already now. So it’s one of those books that I think
Geit (54:16)
And you
good reason is I’m just experimenting and playing with the camera as well. It’s still an honest and good reason, but you need to have some sort of reason if there is a conflict arises. It’s why are you taking pictures of me? Because I’m testing my camera. I’m trying to understand how that focusing thing works. It’s good reason as well, but you have to believe in that reason. And that makes you confident and that solves a lot of problems.
Frederic Paulussen (54:22)
Yeah.
Yeah, true, exactly.
Yeah. So let’s leave it there. I think we can do like a a no an entire different episode about several topics we ⁓ we we touched on. But let’s leave it there. So thank you Geit for your time and insights. ⁓ and of course if anyone wants to follow him sorry, yeah?
Geit (55:00)
We finally did it! It took so many tries to make this podcast. It was like, I think, third or fourth time and I was like, this must be done. This must be done. It’s like…
Frederic Paulussen (55:02)
We finally did it.
So have a look to see our first DM
Geit (55:13)
Some things in life take time, but one mo-
Frederic Paulussen (55:13)
I texted you are you’re right, it’s two years ago.
Geit (55:16)
Was it two years ago?
Frederic Paulussen (55:18)
Yeah, it’s I my first DM to you was ⁓ the ⁓ I’m thinking is this okay, this is American date.
Geit (55:25)
But I remember, I think it was,
you were starting to make podcasts and you wanted me to be your first. But…
Frederic Paulussen (55:33)
⁓ it’s before the first
published, yeah wait.
No, but we yeah, we we started DMing before the first podcast. ⁓ so ⁓ it’s it’s been two years. Yeah. That’s funny. I thought I w I I was maybe already doing the podcast before I texted you.
But I mean we we did it we we did make it work and so for the other people who who would like to ⁓ follow Geit of course follow his ⁓ Instagram which will be in the the links will be in the description. You can also buy some of his prints by the way on his website, also linked in the description. ⁓ and of course feel free to share this ⁓ episode. Don’t buy your prints.
Geit (56:05)
No, don’t buy my prints. Don’t buy my prints.
No, this is not… I have to make a new website and make everything nicer and prettier. These are old photos there and I’m not happy about it so… Yeah. I have to… Now that I finished this project, first I have to find all those files, those original images and cut…
Frederic Paulussen (56:19)
Okay.
Geit (56:34)
put them inside one folder of 1,003 Geit photos and I have created quite a mess in my life and now I have to somehow structure it because I haven’t structured it. I have no idea where some of my files are. It’s like, Not the wise thing to do. Not the wise thing to do.
Frederic Paulussen (56:53)
Yeah, it’s it’s n
No, I I thought I had it structured but this week I followed like a a webinar about ⁓ Lightroom catalog catalogs. And now it’s I’m restructuring everything because yeah, it’s it’s there’s so much possibilities to do but yeah, it’s
Geit (57:12)
You know what you should do. ⁓ It will be really awesome if you could get somebody who is really good at file organizing in general. It doesn’t need to be in photography like a section of life, but like in general, who somebody is good at file handling, file organizing, somebody who is like specialized in organizing stuff and how we as a photographer should organize our photos. What’s the best way to do it? Because everybody’s trying their own way.
I do it by date or by year or by catalog or by event or maybe there’s maybe there’s some really good way that let’s say data people are using already we should adopt to it.
Frederic Paulussen (57:49)
Yeah.
So it yeah it’s it’s it’s so the the webinar was by a photographer, but she used to be a librarian, so she had like this entire system. Yeah, so it was now now it’s yeah. Yeah, it’s a good combination I think for for this subject. So it’s but anyway I’m gonna stop the recording because I I think otherwise we’ll we’ll be ⁓ starting a second hour. So thank you Geit for your time. ⁓ and of course to the people listening follow him.
Geit (58:05)
Super good combination.
Yeah, it was awesome
to talk to you. Thank you, Frederic.