Behind the News

He stands in full sun, blazer buttoned, shirt crisp, mic in hand — delivering his segment with composure. It’s a classic image: the field reporter, live from the square, holding the line between chaos and clarity. But move the lens just a little wider, and the story changes.

Because behind the camera, a different truth unfolds.

The cameraman, sleeves rolled up, and the tourists slouched in the shade — legs stretched, sandals kicked off, hair tied up in the heat. They’re close enough to hear the words but completely removed from the illusion. And that’s the beauty of it: two realities, divided by a lens, staged in the same space.

This is what street photography is all about — not just catching what’s seen, but what’s just outside the frame. The tension between the version presented to the audience, and the broader, messier, funnier scene that surrounds it.

The journalist has to wear the uniform. The audience expects a certain seriousness. The tie. The formality. But no one watching the segment will see the sunburn forming under that collar, or the beads of sweat trickling down his back, or the woman in shorts behind the camera scrolling through her phone mid-monologue.

It’s theatre. But in the streets. And no one’s really lying — they’re all just doing their part.

The best street photography doesn’t interrupt this choreography. It respects it. And quietly pulls the frame just wide enough to let the truth slip in.