1- Are you a professional photographer? No, just a passionate amateur.
2- Why street photography? I’ve taken photographs for a number of years but tended, like many, to record the family, holidays and business trips. It was only when I came back from a holiday in Portugal that I realised to what extent I felt the need to photograph people. Not family, per se, just people! Strangers. I’ve always been fascinated by Social Psychology. I love body language, expressions. I was just drawn to Street. So... I got back from that holiday in November ‘17 and had to find an outlet. I’d taken hundreds of shots my family weren’t interested in. What the heck!? Who are they? So... I went online and posted in a Street Club. That Christmas I got a book on Garry Winogrand. Street captures the imagination, it excites me, it’s slices of life! We live on borrowed time; some shots help that time last just a little bit longer.
3- How would you describe your photography style? Wow, tough one. Not sure I have a style. I’m so new to this; I’m learning, learning, learning. You see light hunters, story tellers, portrait makers, juxta catchers....and more, so many more. If I had to be just one of those, I’d be a story teller but my style is evolving and not limited to just one sub-genre.
4- What makes a good picture from your point of view? What do you look for in an image? Sometimes I’ll see pictures by other photographers and think WOW! They might be deliberately blurred or grainy; exploding with colour; controlling the light; whatever. I’m willing to appreciate other styles and sometimes I think...”wish I’d taken that”. But one thing I know for sure...a picture must have soul for me to really appreciate it. Doesn’t matter how contorted someone was for 10 hours, waiting for the exact moment after a 1000 clicks with perfect settings. If it ain’t got soul, it’s lost on me. I know I harp on about ‘story’ but that does add soul for me.
5- How do you educate yourself to take better photos? Embarrassing really. I spent way too long using equipment I didn’t understand. Don’t profess to fully understand it now; I don’t get out enough. Anyway, I hate manuals and struggle to read them; I get a mental block. So much easier to talk with friends, vis-à-vis; talk it through in layman’s terms. Additionally, YouTube helps. Best education is practice. This I need more of.
PS. I’ve looked at so, so many shots of other people since realising Street photography was my genre...that’s helped immensely. Not only that...administrating in clubs and trying to encourage others also proves invaluable.
6- Where in the world would you most like to photograph? I so want to meet friends I’ve made in Street; shoot with them! That kind of dictates where I’d like to visit. So many places, including countries in every Continent. Long list, deep pockets. Can’t see me having the time or money to visit even half of them... but hey... we’ve all got our dreams, right?
7- Who would you most like to photograph and what kind of pictures do you avoid to shoot?I’d love to shoot a series of shots of people on an estate. Piece together lives. A pictorial social history. Shots I generally avoid are the homeless, needy and I don’t go for cheap, blatant sexual shots.
8- Have you been confronted by someone whose photo you took on the street? Yes, just the once really. It was very unpleasant. The beauty of digital technology is being able to delete something if someone, albeit unfairly, feels it is an invasion of their privacy. I know some photographers who would keep that shot on principal but I want positive vibes when I look through my stuff.
- What would be your advices how to avoid confrontation when doing Street Photography? Generally speaking, I don’t have many issues; even though my modus operandi is pretty direct. I try not to make eye contact; it can put me off and alert the subject’s attention even more. I live some 25km from my nearest decent town/city so it’s a special journey and there are days when it’s just not happening or the devil sits on my shoulder; telling me Street is wrong. It’s not wrong at all; I’m very respectful; it’s a legitimate art form. Betimes I have to go into what I ‘politely’ term “fuck it mode”. I give myself a good talking to: “I haven’t come all this way for nothing. Fuck it! I’m going to ignore the eyes; I’m going to shoot Street!” Then I get on with it and usually come back with something worth posting.
9- Your favourite street image of your own to date and why? Like most people, I guess, I’m very critical of my own work. So, after taking well over 10,000 Street shots there aren’t that many I’m truly happy with. However, a few resonate with me. The one I’d like to share is:
The boy with the invisible balloon.
I took this in Llandudno; a wonderful old style holiday town in North Wales. I love Beach Street. You can have so many families or groups compacted together but each acting as if there’s no one else around. It’s wonderful. On occasion, some of my shots have been likened to Martin Parr. That is a buzz; his stuff captures life with a twist of humour. That’s something I tended toward long before I realised my love for Street Photography and certainly before I even knew the names of some of the greats. Anyway, there were several groups doing their own thing, down by the shoreline, when this lad walks across my shot; looking like he was holding an invisible balloon. Dunno know what you think ..but this shot feels ‘timeless’ to me. It’s all old style activity...simple playthings and loaded imaginations. No gadgets. I like it.
10- Your favourite piece of equipment? Well...having just upgraded to a Nikon D7200 from a 3300...I guess it’s gotta be that; coupled with the 18-200 lens. This gives me the flexibility I like. I’m not keen on changing lenses whilst doing Street. That reminds me, I really must get out sometime and play with the 10-20 sometime; that will change how I see things.
11- What are your favorite settings (Aperture. Shutter Speed, ISO, White Balance, Focus, Manual/Auto, Image Format – RAW/JPEG) for Street Photography and why? I shoot in Aperture Priority. Checking my speed and adjusting ISO accordingly. Auto Focus naturally for Street. This way I feel reasonably in control of what I’m getting. Until I’ve sorted out my computer I will have to continue to shoot in JPEG for the sake of storage. Can’t wait to have a go with RAW.
12- Is photography art? Absolutely! With so much creativity and expression engendered, how could it not be?
13- Black And White or Colour? I really love b/w. Even as a teenager I was impressed by Brian Eno (of Roxy Music fame) saying that monochrome worked for him; leaving that something extra to the imagination. A b/w shot is far more likely to grab me than colour, but...I’m experimenting and adapting. Now I’ve got an outlet for my colour shots I’m happy with, I’m embracing it more and more. Gotta say though, I’m a bit OCD about some colours and can’t abide them clashing! Oops.
14-What are your thoughts on editing? Sometimes it’s a necessary evil; just a crop or tweak of contrasts hoping to stay true to the original image. Other times I love to play with shots ...for my Timeline rather than a group post. Fun sometimes just to get creative. My favourite image has to be SOOC though, or as near as I can get and achieve an end result I’m happy with. Depends on the mood I guess; it is nice to spice things up from time to time. If I play with colour shots though, I’m much more likely to play with the tones and warmth to emphasise a mood. I really don’t like colours being over saturated.
15- Why do you share to Progressive Street and who would you like to see showcased from Progressive Street? Now I’ve got some confidence in my shots I’m happy to share in a group where they are more open to critique. I like to share where the standard is reasonably high and I can learn from others. People are passionate here, without being up themselves; it feels good. Moreover, it’s not just highlighting ‘wow’ shots; overly-reliant on sunset or phenomenal architecture. It’s proper Street.