September 2026 Photo Contest Discussion Thread: "The Street as a Livelihood"

Good evening to all you photographers and photo enthusiasts on VF,

This is the place to exchange, debate, chat, philosophize, nitpick, ramble, bicker, and congratulate each other on this month’s theme: "The Street as a Livelihood."

Just a reminder that the photos expected in the contest thread should depict street scenes showing people using the street as a place to earn a living—whether it’s legal work, informal jobs, illegal activities, or begging. In the discussion thread, feel free to be much more open-ended.

You see, you won the contest! 😛😄 I'm so happy for you, and I love your theme—goes without saying 😉

Street as a livelihood: a Thai cop on the lookout for a little *bakshish*?

Totally valid.

I have a feeling the street’s gonna be Moroccan...😇

Others told me it was Thai, but not the cops 🤷

Thanks so much, Kate! I know I benefited from a contest with fewer entries and a good photo at the right time. But more than winning, it’s the unexpected chance to suggest a theme!

I’ve got a feeling this street’s gonna be Moroccan...😇

Not sure 😛😉

Congrats on your win!

This month, I’ll sit it out—I don’t think I have that kind of photo in stock... or maybe 1 or 2 buried among hundreds. But I’ll still follow along 😉

Thanks! Maybe one or two of these are worth presenting? And with a little shaking, we always find more.

Hi there, Congrats on winning first place in August—your photo was stunning! Will there be a slideshow in September? Voting’s way easier that way. JULIE

Love this theme, I'm so excited🙂🙂🙂. I *was* planning to stop entering the photo contest... well, that didn’t last. I’ll be spending ages digging through my hard drive for old-ish photos😉. I’ll definitely be revisiting Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, Morocco, and India—the first place that came to mind when I saw the theme. I can still picture the neighborhoods in New Delhi where it was nearly impossible to walk on the sidewalks... This theme is going to be so much more dynamic than the last one!

Hi Looking at your photo, it's hard to tell if it's happening on the street, inside a shop, or in a market or some other place...

Looking at your photo, it's hard to tell if it's happening on the street, inside a shop, or in a market or some other place...

For me, Pagal's photo was taken at the entrance of a market. I paid attention to that when I started looking for photos. Sometimes, the viewer might have doubts. You just have to trust the photographer 😛

Will there be a slideshow in September? Voting is easier that way. JULIE

You should volunteer, Julie 😉 You’re good at it and it’s well done. Once or twice you’ve shown us a slideshow with music—it was really nice. I should say that in the last contests, it wasn’t essential given how few photos were submitted...

Hey Jean-Michel,

It was right there in the street! It wasn’t even a proper market—just makeshift stalls along the road that ran beside the strait and the fishermen’s boats. For reference, it’s in Ndangane, in the Sine-Saloum region of Senegal.

I don’t have the skills or the time to put together a slideshow, but if anyone’s up for it... 😊

Like Muriel, this theme—which I think will be really rich in color and emotion—isn’t my thing at all 😅. But sometimes you’ve gotta step out of your comfort zone 😊.

Off-topic, we can only see the customers and not the "worker" (male or female) ...🤪😏

But in the Canary Islands, yes! 😛

Muriel and you should find plenty to enjoy at the markets, souvenir vendors, and food stalls. 😉

I don’t photograph people much, but I still have quite a few photos stocked up.

The issue is that these photos are already in other contest threads. 🤪

It’s tough to come up with something new!

I only photograph people if they’ve given their consent... seems obvious, right? But there are countries where people are happy to be photographed, so I take advantage of that. As for photos already published, I think they’re usually accepted unless they’ve already won a contest. Am I wrong?

Muriel and you should find what you're looking for at markets, souvenir vendors, and food stalls.😉

I rarely photograph people, but I still have quite a few photos in stock.

The issue is that these photos are already in other contest threads.🤪

Hard to come up with something new!

Yeah, but you’ll have to search, search... I hardly ever take this kind of photo, and even then, I don’t always keep them. 😅😊

I’m starting by taking the theme "literally" with bread vendors in Uzbekistan. In this country, just like in the days of the Silk Road, businesses are clustered in vast covered markets, with separate buildings for different products. The communists maintained this system, which helps regulate trade effectively. So, there are very few vendors on the sidewalks—except for the bread vendors, who set up almost everywhere with their carts.



Each vendor has their own mark in the center of the bread, made with a wooden stamp and metal needles—like the ones this man sells, also on a sidewalk. I bought a stamp from him, but I still haven’t made any bread.🤪

You’ll also find people selling a few products from their garden, especially carrots, which are the essential vegetable in the national dish, plov.





Another product sold on the sidewalks: small, hard, salty cheese balls—a snack much loved by Uzbeks.



And finally, broom sellers who also set up in the streets.

More to come from another country...

A bit like Isabelle (even though I definitely have fewer photos on my hard drive than she does 😏): I very rarely take photos of people, and even more rarely when they're earning a living 😕.

@Pagal, following Agnès's message: are market photos accepted (or only "street" ones)?

Muriel and you should find plenty of inspiration at markets, souvenir vendors, and food stalls.😉

Yeah, but it’ll take some hunting—I hardly ever take this kind of photo, and I don’t always keep them either 😅😊

It’s not just food vendors! Musicians, dancers, living statues, street portraitists, or other artists performing on the street. Santa Claus, costumed characters at fairs...

Hi Muriel,

No, it really has to be the street—otherwise, we broaden the theme too much. I’m okay with it if it’s a somewhat improvised or informal market along the side of a street, yes, we’ll have to see. A bit like the photo from Senegal I posted as an example, where stalls are set up on the side of the road and the vendors use the street to lay out their equipment and work on the fish. In the end, it forms a kind of informal market, but it’s not a dedicated market square—it’s truly the street.

Don’t worry, even though I suggested the theme, I myself have very few photos that fit it. Still, that’s the goal: to challenge participants a little, move away from still lifes, and focus on the gesture and interaction. But I’m convinced this will be a favorite theme for some—I can just see Kate capturing some sharp glances and interactions, or Raga pulling out a few original slices of life from her collection.

It's not just about the food vendors!

Absolutely, let's not limit ourselves to food stalls (which are, of course, totally on theme), but don't forget beggars, artists, everything Kate mentioned, Attila's Thai cop, and so much more... Scrolling through our albums, I'm sure some of you will find shots you hadn't even thought of.

I can totally see Kate capturing some really meaningful looks and interactions, or Raga having a few original slices of life up his sleeve.

I realize most of my shots are of vegetable vendors or street food stalls. I’d have loved to post a beautiful photo of an artist—dancer or musician—like this one, which ultimately only shows an instrument with no interaction at all.

but don’t forget beggars

I don’t photograph them, or if I do, I keep the picture to myself. It makes me uncomfortable to show people in such unflattering situations. There are still tempting shots to take: kids, sex workers, homeless folks... But I’m not a photojournalist 😉

a beautiful photo of an artist, dancer, or musician, like this one that ultimately only shows an instrument, with no interaction

But there’s the gesture, the skill to earn a living on the street!

I don’t photograph them, or if I do, I keep the image to myself. It makes me uncomfortable to show people in unflattering situations. There are still tempting photos to take: children, sex workers, homeless people... But I’m not a photojournalist.

There’s definitely a real ethical question in photography when it comes to photographing people. But in some situations related to this theme, there can also be a deliberate, even ostentatious desire to display oneself to the public (maybe some will share such shots), because it’s precisely this voluntary over-the-top exhibition of injury, disability, or physical peculiarity that is their "professional skill." It’s more problematic when someone is captured unawares in an unflattering situation.

Anyway, everyone has to set their own limits. Obviously, if a photo were too degrading or immoral, it wouldn’t be accepted.

Yes, already published photos are accepted, but I feel like we’re just going in circles then!

Same goes for the side thread, by the way.

Is it okay if we could see the cook at my food truck?

This kind of food truck operates on all the beaches in Mauritius. It's not a "ventouse" truck.

I’d say yes, street food fits the theme if there’s a person in the shot.

It's not just food vendors! Musicians, dancers, living statues, portrait artists, or various performers who take to the streets. Santa Claus, costumed characters at fairs...

Not me, even though I’d love to, but most of the time, I don’t dare 😅

In New York, chess players sell a quick game with them 😄





Well, I didn’t have a choice here... I was in New York for a photography internship called "Street Photography" 😊

A few oldies that might already be in some old contest threads:

Earning a living by dancing tango in the streets of Buenos Aires after the terrible 2001 crisis (film photo)



Charming snakes in the streets of Jaipur to earn a few rupees from tourists (making sure every photographer has paid their share while keeping an eye on the cobra can’t be easy!)



Carrying people up to the top of Palitana with sheer physical strength



Transporting people with a magnificent moto-taxi (still in India)



Selling camel rides on the beaches (a sandy "street"... ) of Gujarat (I guess the Blue Flag certification wasn’t awarded to this very popular local swimming spot...)



Selling corn on the cob on the beaches of Mumbai (didn’t see a Blue Flag there either...)



Playing cat and mouse with the police to sell a few "Made in China" Eiffel Tower souvenirs to tourists

Sorry, the first horizontal photo replaced your intro photo.

I’d already noticed this— the forum’s programming favors horizontal photos over vertical ones when choosing a thread’s cover image.

Hi KATE, Hope Raga isn’t gonna bring up that street-food place with the infamous dog being carved up again—VF’s old-timers are still traumatized. JULIE PS: I still have the photo VF censored, but it’ll stay on my hard drive. 😛 JULIE

Sorry, the first horizontal photo replaced your intro photo.

No problem at all for me!

The photo you mentioned is still on VF ;P

The photo you mentioned is still on VF 😛

... and it suggests more than it shows.

I really love this photo:

I had no idea you had to pay to play a game of chess on the street in New York 😲

Agnès reminded me of this... but it's still way off-topic 😏 (you can only see the vendor's arm on the steering wheel!)

In the same vein (off-topic, but I don’t have much better) A gas station in Bali (Amed) ... with no attendant

Or a phone operator with only the customer (Rangoon)

Here you can really see we're in the street ;) In Rangoon.

In a Saxon village in Transylvania, one way for the Roma to earn a little money is by guiding tourists around.

I really love this photo:



Thanks Muriel, one of the few portraits I’ve taken 😊

I didn’t know you had to pay to play chess on the street in New York 😲

It’s their livelihood. Normally, photos are forbidden, but we paid a little extra to take this one 😅

It’s literally their livelihood in more ways than one.

Delivery driver in Kathmandu