I was photographing a man with his dog at the beach when my son playfully put his hand in front of the camera. What initially seemed like it would ruin the image ended up giving it a touch of magic.

Photographing is also about being ready to embrace the unexpected, without trying to overly control the image. In fact, it’s more than that. Much of the beauty of street and documentary photography comes from the fortuitous, from what erupts in that specific moment, from the encounter between different elements, from the way the light hits, which cannot be repeated. Or rather, the beauty of street photography (and perhaps of life itself) lies in the combination of what repeats (the places, the routines, the scenes) and the uncontrollable chance that traverses the everyday.

© Ana Cichowicz