Be A Decent Person !

Street photography is exploitative, that's a fact , however it is up to you to decide to what degree you exploit the situations and people you come across while out with your cameras.

During my trip up north last week I framed up a number of shots that I failed to pull the trigger on as I felt uncomfortable with the scene, in short I felt as if the images could be interpreted badly, they definitely did not show the various individuals I encountered in a positive light !

I would hate to think of my work being viewed in a gallery situation by a middle class educated audience that engage in a form of class tourism quaffing white wine and canapé as they go !

That is one of the reasons that the "Last Resort" pictures make me uncomfortable although I feel much better about Parr's mocking of the middle classes ?

I would imagine that most of the togs reading this are male and are no strangers to checking out functions and specifications of products before purchase. The question I would ask is how many of us have examined the function and motivation behind our own personal photography ?

This might seem like an abstract question at first but on further examination you might discover a little more about yourself and your work. The great thing about commercial photography is that the function is easy to understand, the selling of products and services is the sole function either directly or indirectly. The question when asked of Art Photography or Street Photography becomes more difficult to answer, some might argue that Art has no function, that's why its art ! The cynical might take the position that Arts function is to generate shit loads of cash while making ordinary folk feel inferior as they are unable to understand it  !

Whatever your point of view I think this question should be asked on a personal level and the answer might be that perhaps you need to become a better person before you can become a better Street Photographer ?

Keep it real !

Just Got Back

I have just returned from my mini road trip of northern coastal resorts and I must confess that it was a real eye-opener,  these resorts are struggling to maintain the interest of the Great British public in the twenty first century, the June weather I encountered for most of my trip helps to explain the demise of many of the seaside towns of the North that I have great memories of. 

All of the places I visited were very quiet with the elderly and local dog walkers making up the numbers in many of my pictures against a background of local traders with long faces. The English seaside holiday still exists in these places but I felt as if I was witnessing the demise of a disappearing tradition that is failing to change quickly enough to the aspirations of the current generation. The pictures I created in Majorca at the start of this series seem to take on a deeper meaning when seen alongside the images of these tired English seaside resorts.

The photography went well although I must admit that I ended up shooting with a cynical eye half of the time and with a heavy heart at other times.  The overwhelming memory I was left with is one of sadness as I revisited these cold locations that held warm memories for me..

On a positive note I found a number of moments that I am very pleased with and a number of scenarios that were exactly what I was hoping for when I set off on this trip. I also came across some that i could never of imagined, the real world never fails to surprise me !

I'm sure it will take a while for me to edit this shoot and even longer for me to decant the work before publication but I'm really looking forward to it,the pictures here are just here to illustrate this piece, my priority at the moment is to keep on shooting the English at play.

I would also like to pay tribute to all of the brave souls who are fighting to maintain the Great English seaside resort from Bed & Breakfast landlady's to candy floss and ice-cream vendors  your contribution does not go unnoticed by me , ultimately however it is up to us, the English people to decide if these essential links to the past will play any part in our children's future.

These places appear to be a real barometer of the effects of austerity on the family's of our country, it makes me wonder if the humble day off at the seaside is being sacrificed by many who are struggling just to make ends meet .

Buckets Without Spades

Keep it real !

Keeping it real !

The older I get the more I seem to be disappointed by people, that's not individuals you understand but people "plural", groups, crowds and yes quite often photographers and to be more specific street photographers the sense of community that we like to refer to is hard to find for most togs especially beginners, Street Photography appears to be becoming more and more elitist !

The help and support that we like to believe exists for newcomers is really only available at a price and that seems to be the problem, street photography is being exploited as a means of making money by togs who are not good enough to cut it in the commercial photography world or qualified enough to get a job teaching photography via one of our many universities.

Self proclaimed experts are everywhere you look on the internet on both sides of the Atlantic, as far as I can see their ability to use the social networks for self promotion eclipses any ability they might have with a camera. Its a shame because some of these folk are talented and might become as good as they think they are, if only they would focus on the photography rather than try to convince us of how great they are ! 

What we do is a very simple thing, we take modest photographic equipment onto the street and record everyday life in a way that has meaning to us and hopefully others. The subject is accessible to all and the kit can be as basic as the humble Olympus Trip film camera. Don't let the real democracy of street photography be corrupted by those who have sold out and choose to sell "the dream" to those who are to busy earning to do the real learning that street photography demands !

I would be grateful if all Street Photography experts could wear a badge or a silly hat just to help us lowly togs identify who you are, that way not only will we be able to avoid you but we will be able to sound the bullshit alarm and save others from your influence.

Street Photography is not a competitive Olympic event,however, it can be a very rewarding personal journey if your prepared to embrace your successes and failures equally !

Keep it real ! 

Ray -Jones, a subliminal influence ?

Its not very often that I enter a gallery and feel as if I am surrounded by my old friends, the iconic works of Tony Ray-Jones have been with me since 1980 when I came across "A Day Off" in a discount bookshop on Oxford St,  before then I  had been drip fed a meagre ration of TRJ via Creative Camera magazine and Album to be honest at that stage the teenage photographer  I was, was not seeing it !

At the age of 20 seeing the work as one,helped me understand it, I was riveted by his approach, the wit, humour and irony slowly emerged before my eyes. the more I looked the better it got, It was like watching my first 10 x 8 develop in a dish as the details emerged my understanding of my country and my photography started grow.

At the age of 20, I had completed my formal photography education and had worked as a commercial photographers assistant , I loved the Documentary approach that I was seeing at the Newcastle Side Gallery that introduced me to some of the greatest photographers that will ever live, although at that time I did not realise the privileged position I was in, Brandt, HCB, Weegee and many other giants of photography were delivered to me gift wrapped on Newcastle's Quayside every month and I soaked up these exhibitions like a sponge, remember this is the pre-internet era and looking back I now realise how lucky I was to have such a great free resource on my doorstep.

The thing that perplexed me was that interest in "my" Ray-Jones appeared to have fallen off the radar, I knew he had died young but why had the photographic establishment not given this great talent greater recognition ? How could I buy Another Day Off( new American first edition) for less than a fiver in England's capital only six years after the posthumous publication of what to me is the greatest photographic study of England ,ever !

I continued to pursue my commercial photography career which of course is a total contrast to the photography that had inspired me personally, I believed then that Art photography or Social Documentary was not going to allow me to sustain myself financially, I maintained my interest in what I thought of as proper photography while creating images, any images for cash.

This story then fast forwards to 2012 a time when my hamster wheel of commercial photography is behind me and the world is now embracing digital photography, I create an image on the holiday island of Majorca that awakens my interest in all things Ray Jones, the more I look at this pic the more I see how TRJ has influenced how I see !

This image reminded me of many of the little tricks TRJ introduced me to, the underwater child is almost a direct link to the surrealist Ray-Jones image captured in Clacton of the boy swimming towards the figure in front of the pool inspection window. The lady with the sunglasses appears to have fallen out of the Barry Island Caravan image 1967, I promise none of this was intentional at the time of capture but it does help me understand the source of many of my photographic triggers.

I have since spent the last four years trying to understand the influences of Ray-Jones on my personal photography and the work of others and have almost completed the journey and its great that I am able to visit a gallery in Liverpool and reacquaint myself with the work that helped shape my ideas of what is good photography and helped me see another England ! 

I wish he could have witnessed how his work has inspired most British photographers today although they might not be aware of it or choose to acknowledge it !

 Written originally in May 2015 and shared on Twitter again in October 2018 , this image was captured in 2012 and reignited my teenage interest in candid photography in public spaces .

Ask the question, take a risk !

The great thing about creating images for yourself is that no one has any expectations of you and you enjoy total creative control over the process, no client and no pressure to perform.

Many of us behave as if we must conform and meet the expectations of peer groups, on-line communities or quite often the photo press etc. Your photgraphy is exactly that "YOURS" and its important that you embrace the ownership of your own imagery as an expression of yourself !  

    Now and again we should ask the question "what happens if " and maybe explore the question deeper, a exploration of what is unknown to you is possibly more valuable than a demonstration of the knowledge you possess.

Yesterday I asked myself the question, What happens if I shoot with a underwater camera stored in a plastic bag full of water ?

The results were certainly unpredictable, I got some pretty straight looking shots, some very soft ethereal looking pix but I also got some distorted views that might be worth exploring further and trying to refine the technique although I must confess to loving the lack of control this approach offers, you don't even get to touch the camera during use !

I'm sure I'm not the first to try this method but its new to me and I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has "mastered" this underwater street photography.

This is my favourite shot from yesterday !

Does Your Work Have An Opinion !

Lets face it Street Photography is a very simple art form, one camera , one lens and a mindset to record the life and times we live in ! Job done !

Not quite , the problem with the above statement is that it does not include you, unless your views, personality and opinions are represented through your pictures the work is danger of becoming passive.

I was reminded of this principle this week when I created an image that really summed up how I was feeling following the result of the General Election, I spotted a scene that I had come across before but had never really appreciated the irony of the visual elements when they were unified.

Opinions can be difficult to express through photography and can easily be missed by many viewers or even worse misread, but that does not mean we should be afraid of expressing our thoughts and even concerns through our work, the picture below could easily be read as a patriotic jingoistic celebration of the UK.

It is not !

The Hospice Fundraising Shop 2015

"Another Day Off" almost done !

My another day off series will be completed soon, this will be the last summer to feature in this project and I already have a few ideas of what I want to shoot next.

In order to evaluate where the project is now I have created a dummy book to help me sequence the series and identify areas that need to be revisited in order for the pictures to communicate my original idea of showing a English nation at play in the 21st century.

This is the first time that the pictures have taken on the feel of being related to each other and I have to admit to being pleased with the project so far. The book only contains 24 images and I have written a introduction which although short and simple was almost more difficult to create than the 126 pictures that currently represent the series so far !

The novelty of seeing the work in print rather than on screen has been well worth the effort and has taught me a lot about my own work. this book has helped to motivate me for the final leg of my Another Day Off series which will be complete in September .

Keep it real !

http://www.photobox.co.uk/creation/3370268482

What Street Togs Can Learn from The Wizard of Oz !

Street Photography is often described as a personal journey, this got me thinking about all things yellow brick road, which is one of the greatest fictional journeys of all time. The solitary figure of Dorothy setting off on her great adventure to escape her real life troubles may well reflect the escapism SP brings to many of us but I believe other lessons can be found in this 1939 movie if we look for them.

The scarecrow in search of a brain is a great reminder that togs should try to bring a level of intelligence to the work that they create, the togs that have taken time out to think about approach and technique are quite often the most successful. The Tin Man in search of a Heart can be seen as a metaphor for bringing an emotional element to your Street Photography, this is a much overlooked element in my opinion but is the difference between good and great photographs.Its never a bad idea to shoot with your heart !

The Cowardly Lion can probably teach us most, his pursuit of courage underlines the importance of not shying away from getting the shot and making sure we get close enough to fill the frame with our wide angle lenses. Courage is also required to take on the challenges and obstacles Street Photography presents us with, not to mention the bravery required to follow your journey to the end and maintain the belief in your work to get you through the dark days when confidence and your mojo is low. 

 The revelation that the wizard is little more than a bogus old man using trickery to maintain  his perceived wisdom, has many parallels in the SP global community but  I'll leave it to you the reader to cast your own wizard as I believe there are many to choose from in the land of Street Photography.

Finally if you take only one thing away from this piece it should be that the journey is far more important than the destination and that the bauble that the wizard rewards you with is  not the real prize.

The real reward is the work you create and the life lessons you learn along the road, remember if you want to get off just click your heels and you'll be in Kansas !

There's no place like home, There's no place like home !

Keep it  real !

The journey is more important than the destination !

Counting Elephants !

Pinhole day has been and gone and what a great day it was, I always try to support this event as I believe pinhole photography is a much underestimated art form, but the best reason for shooting with film and a pinhole camera is that its great fun !

I had not used a tripod for some time or measured my exposure in "Elephants" for even longer  as I have been shooting street almost exclusively for what feels like ages.  I love the differences between Street and the slower methodical approach of pinhole photography, not having to focus due to the huge DOP is also a bonus.

I have posted off the film today and can't wait to see the results, I'm quite excited about a number of the frames I made, I have included a set up shot I made on Sunday with the pinhole although this is a digital camera version that I made to share here.

The picture below was possible due to the help of a passing young man who looked a little sceptical when he saw my camera but agreed to help me by posing for this shot anyway, a big thank you to him, sadly I did not get his name,  he managed to hold the pose for all of 3 elephants  (F120 ish)  on the pinhole shot, well done !

Developing Pangs of Guilt !

I recently read an article on another blog setting out solid arguments for developing "Gear Avoidance Syndrome", you're probably familiar with the thoughts so I won't echo them here Before I go any further let me add that I believe that this "G.A.S"  is a a piece of solid advice and I have suggested in the past that Art Photography books will probably influence your photography more than photographic ephemera. 

The confession I need to get off my chest today is that I have only ever sold 2 cameras in my life and regret parting with both of them ! I still own every camera I have ever bought (except 2) and thats a big number. The truth be told is that these cameras were only ever sold to help the folks who bought them rather than for the cash. I am not prepared to share a itinerary of kit, but will say that every photographic format is covered with at least two systems and thats before we get onto studio kit. The only defence I can offer is that I am emotionally connected to much of this kit and associate it with important images I have created in the past, I should also add that 95% of this gear has paid its way many times over.

Street photography does not demand heaps of kit, in fact it is the simplicity of both the approach and the equipment needed that makes it so attractive to many, including myself. 

It is a very strange state of affairs that makes me pick up Olympus Trip & XA cameras over more sophisticated 35mm cameras that I own and plastic Holgas with and without lenses instead of medium format film cameras that are held in much higher regard by many. I see pictures on the internet of film camera collections that have been built up by young people in a relatively short space of time and wonder if the creative potential of all this kit will ever be realised but it reassures me that the predictability of Digital and top quality film kit is becoming less appealing to a new generation of tog's who want to experience a photographic creative adventure and embrace a level of serendipity rather than follow the rules of the old guard.                               Long may it continue !

Speaking of serendipity, I must beat the drum one more time for World Pinhole Day on the 26th of April, I promise analogue pin hole pictures seem to contain elements of magic and we all need a little bit of magic in our lives.

Keep it real !