Street photographs can be often dull due to that reason: just nothing happens.
In general we try to find and catch the situations by one or other reason being interesting. Some argue photographs should tell a story. But there are a few other reasons to make a photograph interesting.
Sometimes the photographer is looking for those tricky situations when for instance foreground and background together result in an incongruous or funny situation. That can be a good point indeed. Or that other when people are acting in the street in a non conventional manner. Some photographers look for those situations and actually find them. Or people gestures suggesting psychological attitudes of citizens. In them there is a possibility for the viewer to turn on their imagination and make from them a story.
The use of light and shadow is another opportunity street photographers have to make a photograph success. It is a good one certainly. Same as the use of colours. Or perhaps the achieving of great compositional arrangements.
In general depicting street life without a particular clue results in dull pictures. Something like those people are there because belong to a street in a city. When only that happens it’s difficult to arose the viewer interest. Unless you’re a real master. It can also happen that a group of these kind of photographs bring a global idea about that particular place.
Of course numbering the different reasons why street photographs can bring a singular interest is also out of my purpose.
When said a photograph “works”, any photographer knows what is meant. But if you ask to explain the why of that, sometimes that’s not an easy task.
So, what happens when nothing happens. Which is many times the situation many street photographers have to afford in their attempts.
After hours strolling you have to sit for a snack. Nothing interesting!
Or perhaps you’re one of those photographers taking thousands of photographs, no matter whether good or bad.
But, no, don’t desperate
Look at this one for instance,
What’s the point of a skull on a T-shirt? You can wonder
Or, this one,… like, something must be happening, but not right there
No, no, no. That was not a good day. You keep on thinking
Never mind. Keep on smiling
With a background in photojournalism, my idols are the likes of W. Eugene Smith, Cartier-Bresson, Capa, and others who one may say invented the category of "street photography". I find it really difficult to make a good street photograph, and when I see one, I really appreciate it. And I appreciate what I see here. Good job!
I live in the suburbs, so I don't have the urban setting as "my backyard" to practice street photography, to try to getting better at it.