What street photography is teaching me this year
Anyone who knows me will be familiar that at the heart of my photography is a love of people. Yes, even in this questionable time in human history when we are witnessing untold division and polarity in society. In an increasingly digital world, I still love being with people and watching their behaviour whether in an intimate one to one setting in a portrait, stepping into brand new world for a few hours at an event or shooting on set. So it would seem natural that street photography would be a natural progression for me. And yet it took a workshop with the renowned Street Photographer Dawn Eagleton that gave me the push to give it a proper go.
Dawn chatting us through her process!
Dawn Eagleton helping us see what she sees when she’s shooting on the street!
Dawn’s story is fascinating. She used inheritance money when her parents passed away to buy her first camera and vowed to do something creative with it (what a legacy!). So, whilst still living in Devon, she would photograph people in the city, in coffee shops, in natural moments. Her signature style is the commitment to observe and document other humans in their natural state before knowing they are being photographed. To her there is a deep connection in the true honesty of that moment, something that we can relate to through every emotion. When we headed on the streets on a wet Friday afternoon (trialling a Fujifilm camera!) it was incredible to witness Dawn’s ease with this and her quick intuitive decision making. Maybe it was using a new camera and my wet fingers that was a challenge on this particular day but I was really inspired to make even more of the natural people-watching opportunities when I’m out and about in London (or anywhere really).
Alongside this I have also been going on really fun colour hunts headed up by the very wonderful and creative Becky Wood and a group of other female photographers (I enjoy the chats as much as the photo-taking!) We meet at a location in London for coffee and spin a wheel to receive our colour for the day. Then for the next couple of hours we only take photos capturing that colour with the view of creating a grid of 9 photos that sit together. It’s proven that restricting your creative parameters really enhances imagination and in this case that was definitely true!
Green on spring morning on Marylebone High Street
Red in Borough Market on a gloomy February day
This brings me to the five things that I believe street photography has shown me which may just impact my actual photography work as well as bring me a new joy to those on between moments of my day. I have really enjoying playing again and learning through experimenting - my inner child is really loving it! So here’s is what I’m re(learning)…
Quick intuitive thinking
By the time you deliberate over whether it’s a good shot or not, the moment has passed. That lime bike has zoomed past you or the person has noticed you. In street photography you don’t really have a goal (unless you give yourself one) so it’s harder to know whether you are on the right track and how to be decisive. This is where your gut-feeling and intuition comes in. You start realising that there are beautiful interesting moments and relationships around you, all the time! And you start to hone into the nice composure of the architecture and lighting around you and how that frames the human in your viewfinder. Whatever interests you personally, what intrigues you and catches your curiosity. This looking in itself is the joy and also leads you to things that you didn’t expect to when you set out.
Having this heightened focus on the everyday helps you see thing you wouldn’t normally notice. One of the biggest upsides of this new way of observing is finding beauty in the everyday. Whether kindess in strangers or a tender moment between a mother and child. It’s a bit like when you tune into birdsong you realised there is a whole ecosystem communicating, telling each other important things in their beautiful melodic language and it’s just been there all along!
2. Know your tech
This might sounds obvious but my downfall here was doing a new type of photography on a camera I have never used before. It was tricky! On the photo walk I did with Dawn I was battling both wet weather and kit I and it was testing. I wasn’t ready for the moments that appeared and missed quite a few that I wanted to get. I was so grateful for the Fujifilm product team being there on hand but once I slipped into my old camera again - I was able to work at speed.
Also, in order to remain unobtrusive and unseen, having a zoom or wide angle lens is your friend here. But even more important than that you must know your kit and focussing options on the camera as well as using a higher f-stop to help with that too. It’s also helpful to have your camera at the belly and use the back-screen to frame up. You can think and respond quickly without drawing attention to yourself - a tilting back screen or top-down viewfinder is your friend here. Otherwise you’re going to need true Jedi powers!
3. LEARNING TO WAIT
This somewhat contradicts earlier point but sometimes waiting for a moment to happen has a special joy. Once you’ve discovered your desired composition, it’s great to wait and let the scene play out, whether it’s for the right person to enter or for something unexpected to happen. This slowing down is quite meditative and the shot sometimes designs itself and comes to you. In my professional work there is always a guide or intention to the shots in collaboration with the client (whether an event or the actual sitter) but here you are just collaborating with the moment. It really brings a different kind of delight and is such a beautiful way to interact with the world.
Below I had just finished shooting an event near Bank and the light on the tube exit really caught my eye. So I sat near the ground for a good twenty minutes seeing who would emerge and loved seeing people cross paths in their diffeernt rhythms. During that whole time no one noticed me. I was hiding in plain view…
4. Connection
This is where street photographers can differ, but for me a portrait is about really knowing the other person. It’s a collaboration and a creative duet rather than an observation. In the past when I have done street portraits with strangers, it was such a joy to meet and receive consent from each participant. It makes the images more meaningful to me personally and I think is the I am such a lover of portraiture. The depth of that interaction is where the photograph emerges, not merely on aesthetics or composition. The portrait really does happen on either side of the camera. I think for me, this is why I take photos and love portariture so much.
5. PLAY AND BE BRAVE!
When I’m working for a client I’ll do whatever it takes to get the shot, but when you’re out on the street minding your own business, it can feel so much more threatening to stop a stranger and convince them that the light is lovely and you’d like to gift them a portrait! But it is so worth it. And practising this risk hones that confidence to help a stranger in need or give that compliment on the tube. (Science is showing that these stranger interactions are really good for us!)
Another playful risk you can take is shooting on film! On a few of the shoots mentioned here I took both my Mamiya 120mm and my 35mm Canon AE1. Some shots turned out amazingly, others didn’t come out at all and were underexposed. But here is the joy of shooting analogue, the waiting and the surprise when you get your scans back and have a little handful of memories of moments that felt worthy of spending your money on (turned out about 50p per image!). Lay on the ground. Set up camp for the whole afternoon in one spot. Or restrict yourself to only shooting certain relationships being played out in front of you like father/daughter interactions or even youth culture! I would love to fly to a new European city for one night by myself and see where my curiosity and play takes me!
Photography is healing for me. Being present, really looking. Connecting to others. As well as the play with light, colour and composition. It’s a way of seeing that keeps evolving and keeps me on my toes. I’m never anxious with my camera in hand. It resets and grounds me.
My recent street photography experiences help me to be even more present when I’m out and about in the city and when camera is in hand and ready for those moments that appear before me. London is a remarkable place brimming with so much diversity and creativity. The play of light between the buildings and the characters you see on every train journey keep me entertained! And I think these new experiences may just impact my actual photography work as well as bring me a new joy to those on between moments of my day.
I’m hoping to update my kit soon so stay tuned for that. And in the meantime head over to a recent photo essay The House That Remembers or check out my Instagram.
