......... doing what people do.
This classic genre of candid photography, (think Lartigue, Cartier Bresson}, is getting more difficult with the rise of paparazzi and the Internet.
People's entitlment to privacy has outweighed the established historical record of street life through the ages. The camera has become a threat.
Pity.
These pictures were taken during assignments. They were grabbed when they happened, when I had my camera to hand. More than likely, the opportunity was gone in an instant. The wil o' the wisp. As Cartier Bresson described it, the "decisive moment". He always carried his Leica everywhere.
I am guilty of losing the image through lack of a camera. As my old grandad would say, "Isn't it amazing what you see when you haven't got your gun". At the time he was referring to hippies in the 1960's, followed by punks inj the 17970's.
The decisive moments are telling. They are the little moments that describe who we are as humans. We see ourselves.
But if people are self-conscious and see the camera as a threat, it becomes more difficult.
So, at an event, such as a wedding or a birthday, when people have dressed to look their best, and the photographer has been hired to reord the event, they are trusting and comfortable.
In many cases, other than the need to feed my family, I have taken on reportage assignments because I enjoy the hunt for images that are personal to me, that I can show in my portfolio.
I really enjoy photographing people/
I am drawn to empty places.
Why is that ?
Silent ? Other than the ticking of a clock, or distant birdsong.
Minimalist ? No clutter, no distraction.
Reflective ? Each one is like the abandoned stage in a theatre.
Sadness ? There is latent energy, especially to a photographer if it is bathed in a beautiful quality of light. It's a background crying for a subject......
These are places I would love to re-visit with a photogenic friend. To spend a day there, the camera on a stand framing our scene.
To let the ideas flow, shoot some interesting work, maybe some picture series. The first picture (inside the turret of an old Chateau in France) has a single hanging lightbulb that can be switched on.
The best pictures are always taken tomorrow.......
I find portraiture immensely challenging. It was alwayts considered one of the most difficult tasks of the painter. The camera is able to capture a fleeting thought and I like to hunt it, even to provoke it, a thought that will give the expression I want.
I like to establish a comfortable rapport and then to scrutenise. When I was a shy young man, it was a way to get close to people, especially lovely girls.
It's a privilege. And a great act of giving from the sitter to allow it. You would never let a stranger scrutinise you like that ! And yet, I am often the stranger.
The camera is a catalyst and a prop, an enabler. I can fiddle with the settings, and observe my sitter. If they fidget, great, they are getting comfortable, probably into a position that is right for them, that would be impossible to pose.
If the trust is there, the beautiful portrait can become a 50/50 collaboration.
I want my sitter to lose their self consciousness and insecurities.
With my words I gently try to encourage and connect.
I want to show human warmth, curiosity, interest, which are all invisible concepts. A small bit of fascination, some humour. I want it to be an event they remember. with a tiny frisson of excitement. The process can be surprisingly enjoyable. Any connection I can make, any personal insight, will be visible to anyone who studies the portrait.
If the session is going well, there is anticipation as the sitter picks up my excitement and is looking forward to seeing the results.
The classical theme.
It catches your eye as a photographer and your blood quickens.
"That's a picture, surely", says the little voice on your shoulder.
Grab it !
Generally, less is more.
The least staged the better.
These are various concepts and layouts, my own ideas to showcase my work or to introduce to a client a way of presentinmg the pictures. In many examples, my layouts have been used as the final work.
Always a classic theme for photographers.
Not something I've done a great deal of. but watch this space.
I fancy some early misty mornings on Dartmore for shooting some moody images.
Kids ought to be shot.
Spontaneous. Unashamed.
They're wildlife!!
Shoot them ! Just as they are. Forget the Sunday Best.
These precious moments are best captured while they last. It all goes so quickly ........
Architecture is frozen music.
I ilke that idea.
Everything that was ever built was planned......
.........Sometimes more aesthetically than others.
Even the most humble buildings have a story to tell, even a shepherd's hut.
