Sometimes things just happen , no planning , serious intent or inspiration !
All I did was go for a walk on a wet misty morning and then serendipity took hold , I just rolled with it ?
One shot became two so on and so forth, eventually I ended up with a number of pics that belong together and live happily as neighbors , uniform light , consistent approach etc .
A successful personal photo shoot for me is usually one picture , admittedly I’m quite hard to please ! I do not expect one picture to inspire the next which in turn leads to more , I tend to see each picture individually , not as diptychs , triptychs or a polyptych ! Whatever they are ?
I have only just realised that the reason this happened when it did was due to a increased level of expectation, I went beyond the one shot at a time ethos / mentality !
I started seeing the shoot as “The Whole” rather than individual photographic fragments , I saw a opportunity !
I wouldn’t walk my dog in these conditions but I’m really looking forward to following up on these pictures from a dull Sunday morning , the consistency of light and approach really helps these frames relate to each other and helps them hang together !
I’m not pretending that these are individual masterpieces but they definitely draw a level of strength from each other , the take away point being “Fill Ya Boots” shoot what you can when you can before “GOOD” weather turns up and spoils things !
Let your last capture inspire the next !
Strange how the lockdown era has inspired me to shoot square again and investigate my neighborhood for “Old Skool” photographic subjects with a “Old Skool” approach , trying to create a some-thingness from the emptiness and nothingness of 2020 !
Reminds me of being 16 and trying to make photographic sense of a 1970’s Tyneside with my humble twin lens reflex , the good old days ?
Is it possible to shoot a short series before twelve noon on a Sunday morning ?
Maybe , maybe …
This grey oppressive light feels right for these unusual times , stay safe …..
Creating a some-thingness from the emptiness and nothingness of 2020 !
David Barrett is a former community photography project leader , commercial photographer and former Senior Shop Stewart with Unite The Union.
He is currently shooting the pandemic crisis from a personal perspective with the Testing Times project .
The unpublished State Of Britain series is now complete, it explores everyday life during the Brexit era and gives visual insights into British identity, aspirations and post-truth uncertainty .....
My next project is called “Track & Trace” it wont be very good but I expect it to receive substantial government funding !
He is based in the South West of England .