Learning Lessons

I have been very fortunate in my life to learn my photography from a long line of “Old Skool” Pro photographers , lecturers , friends and colleagues on a one to one basis , live at the coal face . Although the photo technique , lighting skills and general survival skills within my photographic practice have been picked up along the way from folk I knew well , some of the more subtle hard to learn lessons were picked up from photographers I never got to meet !

The photographs of really good photographers can teach so much !

Photographs are a education within themselves if you know how to read them , you can read them on so many levels , in fact that is one of the most important lessons to learn and questions to ask , what is the purpose of the picture I’m consuming , what does it communicate to me and what can I take from it … ?

Clues to approach , technique , motivation , intent and a host of other clues live within the frame of a photograph awaiting the interpretation of sharp eyed students of photography & casual viewers alike and that is before the viewer engages with the narrative that the photographer deliberately intends us to read …

Consider viewpoint , exposure , lighting , timing , composition , materials , equipment , focal length , meaning etc, etc … Ask why ????

Put yourself in the photographers shoes , ( a good comfortable pair as Hurn recommends ) , if the picture really inspires you , try to recreate it yourself and discover the things you had not considered before you took on the “Imitation Photo Challenge” its not as easy as it first appears , in fact I have had clients ask me to reproduce / update pictures that I created only a year earlier and found it very difficult to copy myself ???

A few years ago I visited The Dickens Festival at Broadstairs as I wanted to shoot a event that Tony Ray Jones had shot 50 years previously , it was both a education and more than a little weird , try it , create a tribute to your favorite famous picture , its not plagerism if its for educational research and you credit the original source ….

Have a good weekend and remember to steal only the best ideas from the very best photographers …

Maintain the mindset of a student forever , ensure each day is a school day …

Dickens Festival , Broadstairs , 2016 , David Barrett

MORE…

If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…

Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …

Your History !

The sad events of recent days have helped me to realise that the pictures I make today possess layers of significance that reach far beyond my initial intentions or contemplation , whether we like it or not our pictures reflect the times and life we live , we might have editorial & creative control of what and where we shoot but we can not always predict what the future holds …

As a photographer who chronicles day to day life in Britain I feel a deep need to engage with the events of the here and now , I feel compelled to make images of what I recognise as historic events with a national , local and personal perspective , I want to make historic pictures in a quiet way , recording history with a small “h” for want of a better description , although it should be remembered that most of the population like me will experience these historic events quietly via the nations media , second hand …

It does not have to be like that , we can and should record our own personal local histories first hand , don’t let others speak photographically for you , find your voice and shout !

I made a picture yesterday because I needed too , I raised my game and did what I could to engage with and personally acknowledge the passing of The Queen , its not a sentimental picture as I’m a republican but it felt important for me to respond and react photographically to the nations sadness and make a picture with historic significance , even if no one else ever see’s it , it matters to me …

Try to interpret & respond to the important events in your life photographically , you can thank me in fifty years time …

Want to be a photographer , make pictures of today , today …


The Day After , 9th . September . 2022

Photo by David Barrett , Catering by Greggs , blog by yours truly …

All Rights David Barrett at ukstreet.photography

What Is Your Motivation ?

Photographic class tourism was discussed on the Its Nice That site recently in a interesting piece by Liz Gorny , Liz asked photographers …

Should only working-class photographers take pictures of working-class places?

The recent explosion in photography within public spaces has inspired a number of writers / photographers to revisit the “Class Tourism” question in the Twenty First Century , although the question is nothing new the responses are certainly evolving and addressing many of the concerns I have carried about with me for years , when is it okay to park up your comfortable middle class lifestyle and adopt a Pulp inspired “Common People” ethos .

You wanna live like common people
You wanna see whatever common people see

Common People , 1995 - PULP

Anyone can make exposures wherever they want within public places in the UK but that’s not the question , the question in my view is really about who is best placed to shape and create the significant social histories of working class life ?

My response is based on the assumption that we are referencing serious Documentary Photography / Post Documentary Photography here …

Ethical Doc photography requires deeper motivations than the pursuit of a few “likes” & print sales from a herd of passive onlookers on social media …

Beware of the online photographic audience , they appear to have a insatiable appetite for what the cynical might describe as “Poverty Porn” , The “Good” Old Days & “Class Safaris” , the representation of others is a complex issue that requires deep thought and understanding , questions of ethics , motivation and context should be examined deeply before judging photographers , photographs or photo books , everything is not always what it seems , money appears to mute famously sharp , cynical , critical eyes !

Speaking on behalf of others photographically is a dangerous game , the best representations of working class life are usually created by independent photographers who are already deeply embedded within their communities or locals as I call them , folk who are passing through motivated by cash & glory will always be seen for what they really are …

Photographers need to understand what they are photographing and why …

Togs should learn to interpret their own life / class photographically before becoming "class tourists" photograph the life you know , make sure you possess more than good indentations before trying to “Help” ! Photo : David Barrett

A culture of long term photographic engagement and trust is necessary to enable meaningful photographs and significant outcomes , a DIY ethos is preferable to disingenuous projects of working class life supported by trade union busting funding platforms and publishers who look the other way , facilitating local photographic activity through teaching , mentoring and community exhibitions is the only sustainable route to photographic authenticity and representation, let me be clear this vision involves pro photographers making a difference within communities and being paid , serious vision requires serious budgets, serious togs and a genuine commitment !

Significance can only be created by those who are already invested / connected within their communities , the views of locals are usually uncorrupted , sincere and informed , arm local folk with cameras , reward them , treat them with respect , light the touch paper and stand back …

These thoughts are not theoretical , I led a project where I grew up , we converted a old building into a community photography project , this model was not rare back then as a positive culture of community arts existed , it would not be that difficult to initiate and facilitate a community project with this ethos in the digital age, as darkrooms are no longer essential and phone cameras are common place …

The working class do not require book deals , permission or middle class approval to record their own social histories, initially they might require access to consistent funding and that’s the rub , public money often comes with unwritten editorial strings attached , critical pictures can be seen as biting the hand that feeds …

I once gave a group of unemployed youths cameras with the instruction to make pictures that reflected their lives , every one of them made a picture of the person they shared their camera / film with lying on the ground near a gravestone, with arms crossed , hands on shoulders and eyes closed , the sadness of this symbolism was not wasted on me , in fact I was secretly impressed but I could not share this story or their pictures with anyone until today , this was a publicly funded project ?

Remember the Ashington Group and the Workers Educational Association , legacy is a journey that starts with one step , where and when it ends is up to you …

Working class visual history is better when it is created by working class photographers , the same old middle class interlopers , voyeurs , speculators, spivs and spectators are no longer required , “Common People” can do it for themselves , given the chance and a little support …

Many thanks to Liz Gorny and It’s Nice That for inspiring this blog …

Heres the link https://bit.ly/3yYTEZm

The First Shoot Of Autumn

I’ve just got back from a spontaneous shoot that was inspired by the first autumnal mists of the year !

Having checked the weather through a gap in the blinds I was delighted to see the Gloucestershire mists rolling around the village , a quick coffee fed my optimism as I headed for the door and a as yet unidentified location, like all the best shoots I was winging it and planning to please myself , truth be told it was just a pleasure to be out and about locally with a camera …

I’m a big fan of atmospheric mists and the way they offer a graduated background to the most mundane of subjects , affording them a fictitious sense of graphic importance in a dreich dull landscape , I photographed this and I photographed that , photographed everything and photographed nothing before I finally revisited a location I always shoot on days like this and I think that location might of given up “the shot” at long last , more of that in a future blog , I can never tell so soon after a capture , some shots need time to decant , to see if they really live up to my “heavy “ expectations …

The take away from this short blog today is that its nice to get out in the local landscape before the world has woken up , the early photographic bird really does catch the proverbial worm , I’m writing this at 9.30 am having returned from my shoot , I’m drinking my second coffee of the day and I have a few shots in the bag , I’ll do it tomorrow too if the weather man delivers …

The pick of the early edit is this old horse box with pink string pic , it might not mean much to you but it has put a huge smile on this coffee drinking photographers face …

Shot done , blog done , kettle on … again !

Have a good weekend …

Old Horse Box With Pink String , September 2022 .

MORE…

If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…

Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …

Beat The Futility !

Can your personal photography help you to beat the futility ?

If your reading this today I assume you make photographs that reflect life , preferring to document more of the “ups” than the “downs” , its only natural to enhance the memories of our “Good Times” with tangible photographic evidence , everyone’s family photo-album is heavily populated with images of summer holidays , birthday cakes , grannies , pets ,children and Christmas trees , in fact many of the 35mm films developed in the UK back in the day would frequently feature a Christmas tree at each end of the film , from different years !

Thankfully things have moved on , personal photography has become part of almost eveyone’s everyday to the point that photography has reached saturation point …

This might sound harsh but photography by the masses for the masses has reached the “So What” moment in much the same way as any common language is taken for granted until “the poets” make us look twice at the beauty and significance of the words !

Is your photographic cat still sat on the mat or is it challenging you like Schroders hypothetical feline friend ?

If you want your photography to be all “Christmas trees & Grannies” that is up to you but your photography can become so much more , identifying what you want your photography to be is the first step towards ownership of your photography rather than a wholesale acceptance of your membership of the generic photographic herd , we are living through extraordinary times , life is not all waterfalls , sunsets and kittens , your camera has the potential to become a powerful voice , try to interpret your everyday photographically , show and shoot life how you see it and how you feel about it ,shoot it like it is !

Keep it local , keep it personal and keep it real , your photography could help you feel empowered as you express yourself and push back photographically !

The established masters of photography are either very old or dead , it’s time for todays serious photographers to step up and record their own here and now , the UK has become a social landscape of lower living standards , industrial disputes and rampant inflation , we are all involved and have become part of this ever changing chaotic evolving narrative , like it or not !

Uncertainty is the only certainty right now , photographers can beat the futility by engaging with their own everyday challenges and injustices photographically , tomorrows archives need to be created today , a long walk starts with one step , don’t be a bystander …

You may not be able to change the the world but you can become a witness and show others what is happening now …

Beat the futility , become a poet , find significance in the ongoing chaos …

Don’t whinge about it , photograph it …

MORE…

If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…

Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …

Total "Control" Within The Frame ???

I came across this futuristic , surreal view this week and have to confess to liking its quiet , ambiguous qualities , everything appears to be unified and together , even the birds are complicit in this illusion of togetherness within this “Well Organised” calm frame …

No sooner was this frame in the bag and a alternative “Photo-Opp” fleetingly presented itself to me , my highly developed photo instincts kicked in immediately and my lightning quick reactions bagged this special moment without hesitation !

In short , I got lucky and grabbed this , this shot was so fleeting I photographed it but barely had time to see it …

I’ve written before about leaving space within the frame for serendipitous events to occur but this feels like more than that , strange how these gatecrashing birds seem to possess a well developed sense of composition, timing and a astute understanding of the rule of thirds ?

More proof if proof were needed that we are all gifted the pictures that are meant for us and that life the universe and everything does conspire to throw us the elusive street photography “bones” we crave , we just have to be ready to catch them …

Be lucky, its much more fun than being good …

Don't Be A Grinning Fool ?

Has Street Photography lost its mojo and inner smile in recent times ?

Happy photographers make happy pictures , shoot with a smile on your face , get in touch with your inner positivity blah , blah , blah …

We ‘ve heard all this “Top Advice” before , in fact I have reiterated most of these truisms on this blog myself and look forward to finding this “Happy Place” within my life and pictures again , sadly few of us in the UK are living our best lives right now and that’s the problem !

When life’s optimism & positivity diminishes where should “Street” togs look for their visual kicks and inspiration ?

I’m a big fan of the inner smile ethos but I’m struggling to get there at the moment , I wonder if these “Happy / Smiley” guidelines we have adopted in the past need adjustment / modification during life’s uncertain times …

I wonder if looking inwardly will enable us to see the reality of our times , warts and all ,producing work with sincerity that reflects our feelings is the only place left , Street Photography does not have to be upbeat , it does not require a inane fixed permanent grin !

When the world Zigs , it might be time to Zag ?

When society Zigs is it time to Zag ?

I wonder if the established up-beat generic colourful Street Photography approach remains relevant in a down-beat world that appears to be going to hell in a hand cart , Street Photography has a opportunity to reset and lose its disingenuous crazed smile , “Street” could become a more reflective serious medium that creates a deeper narrative of everyday life.

A voice that contributes to a serious creative visual conversation !

I’m seeing posts on social media from photographers who have lost their “Street” mojo in the current climate of uncertainty , in short their photographic get up and go has got up and gone , is the “Here & Now” a time for Street Photography adjustment , we need to adapt photographically to what is being described as the “New Normal” ?

Lets be honest our familiar super saturated visual “Street Photography Solutions” are looking a bit tired in a world that does not feel as jolly as it it once did …

I understand that “Street” offers a creative escape from dark days but I do wonder if we should look inside ourselves more and react to whatever we find in there, especially when the inner smile is hard to find !

Responding with sincerity to how we feel will help us to recover our missing mojo , in short , we need to get in touch with ourselves , we do not have to become disingenuous grinning photo - fools , unless that is who we are …

Good luck to those of you who are still able to find that “Happy Place” , I hope to join you soon …

Should you choose to reflect a world with a more critical , cynical or sarcastic eye be careful , its easy to get it wrong but hugely satisfying when you get it right , beauty can still be found in unlikely places…

A smile is not always necessary , reflect your feelings in the frame …

Keep it real …

Get in touch with yourself , I wonder if the established up-beat generic colourful Street Photography approach remains relevant in a down-beat world that appears to be going to hell in a hand cart …


MORE…

If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…

Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …

"PROPER" Street Photography ?

I don’t want to fully open the Street Photography “Definition” can of worms today but I thought we might open the lid slightly & slowly and take a peek inside !

The accepted SP description is both confusing and not really definitive , my takeaway from the definition is that SP is a reactive , spontaneous form of photography that is made in public spaces with artistic intent as apposed to making planned pictures to document scenes for historical purposes .

“INTENT” appears to be the key word here and the source of much ambiguity , it might be true to say that one persons “Street” pic is another persons document , in fact just to confuse things a little more, photographers should consider the existence of “Street” pictures that are made with artistic intent and unintentionally possess historical value too , this Street Photography definition really is a greasy, slippery pig !

In my view the most important thing is that photographers have at least a fundamental idea of what their personal values of Street Photography are , I’m frequently surprised by “Street Photographs” created by others that are created with a different set of values to my own but that is how it is , no problem ! I’m much more interested in the creative value of the pictures than the politics of process , some of the worlds largest Documentry / News Agencies became especially agile in the re-branding of their historical documentary archives into world class “Street Photography” when SP was on trend , the fact that this “Doc / news” photography was created by photographers working to a brief while on assignment was conveniently forgotten as a new market emerged ?

The one certainty in my mind is that this “Definition” hill is not one that I am prepared to die on and would encourage others to invest their emotional energies into establishing personal manifestoes of what Street Photography means to them rather than fight definition battles , the foundations of integrity , truth and creativity are not a bad place to start , photography that connects you to your everyday life creatively and emotionally might not be a bad destination …

What do you want your Street Photography to be ?

Like I said initially , I only want to lift the lid slightly on the SP definition today and hopefully provoke thought & debate , on a personal level I quite like the fact that the “Slippery Pig” escapes now and then and forces us to “Look Again” and ask new visual questions , I don’t want to join the Photography Police or put the creative cuffs on anyone , how you describe your photography is down to you , conversely how others view your work is down to them , we are all grown ups here …

The purists are important players within what is the broad church of Street Photography although I’m not sure that “definition evangelism” is a worthy pursuit , a strong sense of direction and personal values will serve most togs very well but I would be loathed to carve my values in stone as its a ever changing world out there …

I value authenticity in Street Photography above everything , this local super market car park picture has more relevance to my life than one hundred disingenuous views of Times Square …

Holiday snaps are great for those who are passing through and want to shoot within the SP style but good Street Photography is more than a style or a aesthetic , great Street Photography is a creative voice that connects the photographer with his / her life , time and place …

No balloons , no shadows , no colour , is this doc photography or Street Photography for the grown ups ?

MORE…

If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…

Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …

The Art Of Furniture Making ...

Pull up a pew , take a seat , this short blog might be the most important Photo-Blog you will ever read , then again it might just fly over your head as you continue to continue …

Imagine that you have decided to make a chair , walk through the mental process of creating a chair !

Plan your chair , how will it look , how will you construct it , does it have to look good , what colour will it be , how comfortable does it need to be , what materials will you need , what tools do you need , how much research will you undertake , how much time & money do you have to create your chair , do you possess the necessary skills and finally what exactly do you want your chair to do ?

Is it just for your use during the quite moments in your shed or do you want others to admire the design and craftsmen ship of your skillfully crafted chair , is your chair available for resale or is it just a personal project made by you for you , the list of thoughts , plans aims and objectives for your chair could be and should be almost endless , at the end of this thought process you should have a very good understanding of what will eventually become " Your Chair ” …

The question is how much of yourself will you invest into your next “chair project” ?

You could just pull up the nearest “thing” , box, barrel or log and sit on that , anything will do if you just want to take the weight off for a while , especially if you don’t care about how it looks or expect others to admire it …

I know from experience that bad chairs become uncomfortable very quickly , be careful what you make , you will have to sit on it for a long time and others will have to look at it …

You could buy a chair , a ready made tried and tested comfortable design but that would leave you much poorer , in more ways than one , the chair would be generic , a mass produced product ! It would be a very quick and easy seating solution !

You could “borrow” a established design and make it yourself …

Its important to understand & manage your motivations and expectations when making furniture , making a good chair is hard work that requires a established skill set …

Do you really need a chair or are you seeking the experience of creating a chair ?

You don’t necessarily have to make a chair at all , you could just sit on your arse and enjoy doing nowt ?

Will you consider how it was made or just sit on it …

MORE…

If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…

Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …