Now that the submissions period for our international contests has closed (the San Francisco Blitz will be in June), I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated.

One of my goals when I launched this festival was to show the world why we do what we do. Why we spend every spare moment shooting on the streets and editing late into the evening. Why we invest so much time and effort and energy into making these pictures.

To do this, I needed an exhibition that would showcase how extraordinary street photography can be. I wanted to display a collection of work that would be so striking, so meaningful, and so memorable that no one would leave the hall without being moved in some way – an exhibit that would make it obvious that the reason we make these photos is because they are not just photos, they are art.  And sometimes they are great art.

I’ve only had time to look at a small percentage of the submissions, but I can tell already that the work of our finalists is going to create this sort of exhibit. I’m humbled by the high quality of your entries.

And of course, your submissions also help cover the rental of venues, the cost of printing and hanging of hundreds of photos, and reimbersing expenses for a small army of volunteers. The participation level of this year’s contest makes a bigger and better 2017 festival a virtual certainty. We’ll be back.

And so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this festival a reality. And also for making it extraordinary. You’re the best.

Sincerely,
Ken Walton
Founder, StreetFoto San Francisco
http://photography.kenwalton.com