Urban & Street Fine Art Photography Collections

Martin Osner’s urban and street photography collections reveal the beauty and rhythm of city life through a fine art lens. Each body of work — from the spontaneous black-and-white images of On the Move to the vibrant energy of City Life — transforms everyday moments into timeless stories. These limited-edition collections reflect Osner’s fascination with human presence, architectural rhythm, and the art of observation.

On the Move

Created in 2007 during a Cape Town exhibition, On the Move is a black-and-white fine art photography collection by Martin Osner. The series captures spontaneous moments of urban life—people in motion, fleeting gestures, and quiet stories that unfold on the streets. What began as an unplanned creative response during an exhibition week became one of Osner’s most loved and enduring collections, celebrating the rhythm, emotion, and unpredictability of city life.

No Stopping

This black-and-white photograph, taken in Cape Town in 2007, portrays a man walking purposefully against a “One Way / No Stopping” sign—a visual metaphor for independence and persistence. It was one of the first images in the On the Move collection, marking the start of a series that explored human movement and circumstance.

Osner describes this moment as entirely spontaneous—a scene he observed from his hotel window while preparing for an exhibition at the Everard Read Gallery. The resulting photograph captures the subtle tension between structure and freedom, between the rules of the city and the quiet rebellion of everyday life.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 50 x 53 cm / 100 x 104 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 35 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

The Story Behind On the Move

On the Move is a reflective collection by Martin Osner that captures the rhythm of everyday life through moments of chance, movement, and observation. Created during a 2007 trip to Cape Town, the series draws inspiration from ordinary scenes that unfolded spontaneously around the artist — from harbour walkways and seaside promenades to quiet city streets. Each image transforms a fleeting instant into a meditation on rhythm, direction, and human presence.

Through these photographs, Osner invites the viewer to pause and see motion as both a metaphor and a mirror of our own journeys — a reminder that meaning often emerges not in the grand gestures, but in the passing moments between.

No Entry

Viewed from above, the composition captures an older man walking along the pavement beside a bold No Entry sign, while other figures blur in and out of the frame. The image plays with perspective, rhythm, and contrast — the stillness of the main subject countered by the fleeting motion of those around him.

This photograph was taken during a week-long stay in Cape Town while Osner was exhibiting at the Everard Read Gallery. Wandering the streets between exhibition preparations, he found himself drawn to the subtle choreography of people in motion. In No Entry, the tension between restriction and freedom becomes a recurring metaphor throughout the On the Move collection.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 50 x 53 cm / 100 x 104 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 35 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Camps Bay Rhythm

Taken on the promenade of Camps Bay, Cape Town. A street guitarist plays for tips just meters away from a pedestrian crossing. The scene reflects the energy and calm of urban seaside life: music, movement, architecture, and light converging in a single frame.

For Martin Osner, this image not only records a moment but also connects with a theme that runs throughout the On the Move collection — how everyday encounters in urban spaces reflect human impulse to move, pause, connect, and respond. The guitarist’s presence becomes a motif of rhythm in motion, while the architecture and surroundings provide structure and context.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 50 x 53 cm / 100 x 104 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 35 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Seaside Shower

Captured from above on a still afternoon in Cape Town, Seaside Shower frames the simple geometry of an outdoor shower with a single seagull cutting across the sky at just the right moment. The photograph transforms an ordinary scene into a minimalist study of balance, rhythm, and movement — a quiet contrast between man-made structure and the freedom of nature.

Osner recalls waiting patiently for the right element to complete the composition. No person ever entered the frame, but when the bird swept through, it provided exactly what was missing — a fleeting gesture of grace and spontaneity that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the On the Move collection.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 50 x 53 cm / 100 x 104 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 35 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Chasing Gulls

Taken on the harbour promenade at Hout Bay, Chasing Gulls captures a fleeting moment of pure childhood delight. A young girl runs after a scattering of seagulls, their wings tracing arcs of light through the misty air. The gentle haze softens the background, while her small figure and the birds share a sense of motion and freedom.

The composition draws attention to innocence and rhythm rather than structure. Light, space, and movement come together in a quiet harmony that echoes throughout the On the Move collection. It is a photograph about joy — about seeing the world not as it stands still, but as it dances before our eyes.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 50 x 53 cm / 100 x 104 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 35 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Friends

Photographed at the Gordon’s Bay harbour jetty, Friends captures a carefree moment shared between a group of young boys returning from a day of fishing. Walking barefoot along the concrete wall, one of them carries a hand line with his catch — a small fish swinging gently beside him. The light glints off the water, adding warmth to a scene filled with laughter and quiet companionship.

The image conveys a sense of timeless simplicity, where friendship and freedom define the story rather than setting or circumstance. It closes the On the Move collection with an affirmation of connection and youthful spirit — an unguarded celebration of life as it unfolds along the shoreline.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 50 x 53 cm / 100 x 104 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 35 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

The City Life Collection

Created in the early 2000s, City Life captures the vibrant rhythm and visual tension of Johannesburg streets. Shot in 2004, these early works by Martin Osner explore the collision between people and their environment — where human stories unfold against walls layered with graffiti, texture, and history.

Each photograph is a study in movement and contrast, revealing moments of humour, grit, and quiet introspection within the city’s pulse. The collection reflects Osner’s emerging fascination with narrative photography — finding poetry in the ordinary and uncovering beauty in the raw, unpolished surfaces of urban life.

Look Up

Photographed in Johannesburg in 2004, Look Up captures a playful and uplifting encounter between life and art. A schoolgirl strides past a graffiti mural of a schoolboy cartoon figure, whose raised hand seems to command her attention — a silent message to "look up" to keep her chin up, study hard, and move forward with confidence. Her light step and bright energy complete the unspoken exchange as she accepts his encouragement.

Through this symbolic yet straightforward interaction, Osner celebrates the resilience and optimism found in everyday city life. Look Up reflects the humour, hope, and humanity that pulse through the streets of Johannesburg, where even graffiti becomes a voice of motivation and joy.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 80 x 58 cm / 110 x 78 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 20 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Yesterdays News

Photographed in the Brixton area of Johannesburg, Yesterday’s News captures a fleeting moment of quiet humour and curiosity. A man stands absorbed in a discarded newspaper he has retrieved from a nearby bin, while beside him, a painted graffiti figure stretches out an eager hand, as if wanting to snatch the paper to catch up on the headlines himself.

The interaction between the two — one real, one imagined — creates a whimsical dialogue about knowledge, relevance, and connection. Within the textured walls and layered graffiti, Osner finds the poetry of everyday city life, where even the smallest gestures reflect the shared human desire to stay informed, engaged, and part of the world around us.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 80 x 58 cm / 110 x 78 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 20 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Rock & Roll China

Captured in Johannesburg, Rock and Roll China finds humour and rhythm in a fleeting city moment. On a graffiti-covered wall, a sketched figure raises his hand in a classic rock and roll gesture — an enthusiastic salute to the world passing by. In the same instant, a pedestrian strides past, unaware of the playful exchange waiting to unfold behind him.

Through this blend of motion and stillness, Osner reveals the unspoken dialogue between street art and urban life. The photograph becomes a celebration of everyday energy — a beat of the city that keeps moving, laughing, and expressing itself, one wall at a time.

Artwork Details:

• Medium: Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper

• Size Options: 80 x 58 cm / 110 x 78 cm (Unframed)

• Edition: 20 (Regardless of size)

• Availability: View on our Online Gallery

Stories Written in Light and Shadow

The Monochrome Rhythms of the City collection captures the energy, solitude, and poetry of urban life—told through the timeless language of black and white. Each photograph invites you to pause and feel the rhythm of streets, architecture, and fleeting human moments where motion meets stillness.

Created by Martin Osner, this collection includes the On The Move and City Life series, each exploring the tension between light and shadow, structure and spontaneity. The result is a study of contrasts—both visual and emotional—celebrating the art of urban street photography.

We invite you to explore these works, discover the stories they tell, or revisit On The Move and City Life to experience the city’s rhythm from new perspectives.