The psychiatrist from San Francisco Jack Simon started seriously shooting street scenes around the time of his death, and that was just when the digital age sped into high gear. “There are a lot more people taking street photos today,” says Simon, who has been a long-time lover of street photography, “but galleries or museums aren’t necessarily part of this new wave.”

To improve his skills, Simon frequents online discussion forums to improve his skills. “I’ve increased my knowledge and knowledge and gained knowledge about photography competitions and festivals to participate in,” he notes. “I joined the international group Burn My Eye and it’s now an integral part of my photography.”

Simon regularly update his Flickr feed, which is where the scene from May 2014 at right was first posted–and uses the platform to compete in and win numerous photography contests. “I’ve been interviewed on a number of websites,” he says, “which has increased my exposure. My video interview was watched in YouTube more than 60, 000 times.”

The Fujifilm X100S–“it’s lightweight, small and quiet,” Simon says. He relies on the spontaneity. “I don’t have a set concept or theme in mind of what I’m going to capture,” says Simon. “I am utilizing the street to search for complex, vivid and sometimes cinematic perspectives. I prefer it when the story is not clear, and it’s left to the viewer to create his or her own perspective of the situation.”

Melanie Einzig started shooting street photography when she was 15 “without having any idea that this was something I had been doing” the photographer says. After working with Joel Meyerowitz while in her 30s, she decided to “put an enormous amount of effort and time into making photographs in the streets.” She cites Diane Arbus, Ben Asen, Brassai, Helen Levitt, Raghubir Singh, Weegee as well as Garry Winogrand as influences.

Einzig isn’t one to shoot with preconceived notions of the subject she’s looking to photograph. “That’s when my photography starts to be slipping,” she says. “Enter with an curiosity to see what’s actually there, not just the things you’d like to be able to see or think you ought to observe.”

Einzig admits that conflicts happen “once at a time,” adding that “they’re not enjoyable and can be terrifying.” If her subjects are looking at her, she suggests they “look in a different direction as if you were not photographing them in any way. They then feel as if they might have thought that you took their photo.” If you’re confronted, be prepared to apologize and apologize, she suggests. “I’d prefer people to feel satisfied for me to have taken an interesting photograph of them.” Einzig relates that when she snapped a parking attendant, “he said to me in a completely charming way”You can upload this photo on YouTube and my tube or any other tube you like””

An ex-black-and-white buff, Einzig has been shooting in color since 1997. “Something with color just seems appealing to me, and so lively,” she says. She is using the Nikon D600 with a 35mm 2D f/2D Nikkor lens. She also has an Sony RX100 in her bag in case she doesn’t have the time to carry her large rig. “Choose the camera that you feel comfortable with,” she advises, “and depend more on your senses and your heart rather than every technology.”

In the 1980s, Richard Bram started shooting side scenes of business events which and was paid to take pictures of. Nowadays, he counts as one of his biggest influences colleagues from street photographer collective INF-PUBLIC. “People are emotionally involved with images that are based on reality,” Bram says, “and INF-PUBLIC is the standard for street photography in the present.”

Bram has mixed opinions about the current political climate. “Social media has brought attention to a many great street photographer,” Bram says. “There there is an appeal that street photography has today.” However, on the flip side the photographer says “It’s totally unfiltered. Images that are good are quickly hidden beneath the countless ordinary photographs.” To stand out from the clutter, Bram uses social media to connect with traditional curators as well as educators, publishers and gallery owners.

He also takes a lot of photos. “I always carry a camera in my bag, and that’s where the opportunity lies,” Bram says. “You are always searching at something, but you never realize what you’re searching for until it’s right there in front of you.” Bram typically carries an M9 from Leica with an ASPH 35mm f/2 Summicron lens, and an 24mm f/2.8 Elmar-M, or occasionally the 50mm Summicron-M at f/2. “Buy the most expensive lens you can afford, and with the smallest amount of shutter lag” Bram suggests. “Keep the basics in mind.”

On the streets, Bram tries to be “very swift and extremely silent. The public doesn’t know that I’ve taken a photo of them until they’ve done it. I almost never request permission since the outcome isn’t what attracted me initially.” The widespread use of digital cameras Bram says, has changed the way people view shutterbugs in the streets “more suspect than it was previously.” He avoids confrontations with “a quick smile and a modest manner.”