Finally, the penny has dropped…

There is something to be said for ambition.

Some of the most fantastic things in this world have happened because of ambition.

But sometimes, you have to admit that some things that you want to achieve cannot happen merely by ambition alone.

So the penny has finally dropped. And over the past few days, I have had to face that reality. At the outset of my final major college project, I had a plan. This plan was epic in its scale. Massive in its concept. Ambitious in its execution. But sadly, I have had to realise that because of a number of factors, my plan has now had to be scaled back to something more manageable; something you might call a little less ambitious.

As I mentioned in previous posts, my final picture is a landscape in the style of Gregory Crewdson. The final picture will still have a “Crewdson-esque” style to it – just not shot on the scale that I originally wanted. But do you know something? That’s ok with me. Of course, if I had a spare $20,000 lying around then sure, I’d hire a set designer and director of photography and shoot the picture on large format. But I don’t have that kind of cash. Believe me – I’ve checked down the back of the sofa and in those old shoe boxes in the attic and there ain’t nothin’ there!

During the planning for this picture I have come to realise that you can’t always get what you want. (And if you could, where would you put it?) Sometimes photography is about compromise and this project has taught me more about that than I was prepared to learn. When I’m out shooting street photography, if I don’t capture a certain image, I will nearly always have the chance to get another image with another person.

With this project it has been quite frustrating not being able to find a certain location or afford to hire a particular piece of equipment etc. but it has made me think about how these images are shot. And it has also given me a new-found appreciation for those photographers who work tirelessly to create such fantastic imagery. I love Gregory Crewdson’s work and am continually amazed at the sumptuous beauty and meticulous detail of his pictures.

I just hope that when it comes to shooting my picture, I can produce the image I want.

Gather around everyone…..time to channel my “inner Crewdson”…..

 

 

 

Summertime…..and the living is easy…

Ah yes….the summer. No college, no lessons, time to put my feet up and enjoy the glorious English summer. So there won’t be any further updates until further notice….

WHAT?!?

Photographers don’t take holidays!! We are 24/7 ! Well, that’s not entirely true. I don’t get up until 7am and am usually in bed by 10pm. So technically, I’m 14/7!

So yes, I’m finished with college until October but that doesn’t mean I’ve put my camera into storage, no sir! I’m out on the streets (and not in the prostitute sense) capturing life around town and present another instalment of my ‘Hidden Street Photography’ series.

It was a glorious day; the sun was shining, the town was busy and there were just enough interesting people to take pictures of so all of the ingredients were there to shoot some good pics.

My favourite from this set has to be the guy sitting on the steps. He was sat down, in his own little world, letting the world pass by.

I’m trying to add to the series as and when I can so keep checking back to my blog. But for now, here are the latest additions. Hope you like them.

Elegantly Wasted….

 

I believe it was that great poet Sir Elton of John that once wrote “It’s seven o’clock and I’m ready to rock”. Well Sir Elton, it was a quite a bit after seven and I was certainly not ready to rock but ready to shoot – photographs!

Yes chums, night photography was on the cards and what better place to capture the thrills and spills and bellyaches of the cream of society than Birmingham’s ‘premier’ nightspots. I was heading to Broad Street to “mix it up” (no, I don’t know what that means either – I had to ask someone far younger than myself to explain) with the fun seekers, the hen parties, the stag do’s and those with chronic alcoholism.

With little regard for safety, I wondered up and down this avenue of merriment like a kid in a sweet shop! It was a street photographers dream! Everywhere I looked, there was some poor soul in an ill-fitting party dress with a gaudy pink sash embellished with either “Bride To Be” or “Mother Of The Bride” or those who didn’t want to be specifically identified and wore those that simply read “Hen Party”. And of course there were those who, for every working week, there was Saturday night – the one night of the week where you can drink yourself into oblivion, to the point you cannot stand up under your own power or have control over your bodily functions and by that stage of the evening, your only dream in life is to down that last pint and not to defecate in the street.

In amongst these ‘stags’ and ‘hens’ wandered men on stilts and hawkers with signs trying to entice the inebriated into their places with the promise of cheap alcohol and free admission. Some of the queue’s to get in these funhouses were long and this afforded me time to get some rather unflattering pics. Well, unflattering for them but photography gold for me. What I couldn’t believe was that so many women out that night wore such skimpy outfits! It was FREEZING out there but hey! What the hell – I’m wearing that top from Dorothy Perkins or I’ll get hypothermia; either way I’ll be blue and lookin’ good in the back of that ambulance….

Anyway chums, it was certainly an eye opener. Night photography is exciting, a little bit terrifying but certainly an experience. For me, I’ll definitely be doing it again.

To the revellers on Broad Street – I salute you! You have certainly given me a great set of images and I’m including them in this post below. Please have a look through them and leave a comment if you will – I do read them!

Thanks chums. Until next time!

Look at all that shines…

Bride to be

He’s a baby..

Ride ’em cowgirl

No entry..

Pink Lady..

LOL..

I’m so happy..

My girls…

I’m speechless..

Can I take your picture?

Classy…

Make mine a large one..

Romantic dinner for two

Have you had the last prawn ball..

The boys in red

You’re my best mate..

So that’s how you do it.

Walking tall

We’re ready for anything

I spy with my little eye….

…..something beginning with C…..

I’ll give you a clue.

It isn’t cabbage.

It’s covert. And more precisely, it’s the topic of my latest project. Called Covert: Hidden Street Photography, it is a series of images taken at close range and yes – the subjects have no idea they are being photographed.

Now before you say “Yeah right – you just used a zoom lens like you normally do!”, let me assure you chums, when you take a look at the pictures, you’ll realise they weren’t taken with a zoom lens. Especially when you see how close I got to some of the people! So close you can smell the fear!

It is the first of three projects I am currently doing; the other two being event and night photography. My inspiration for this particular topic though comes from two sources – the truly wonderful Vivian Maier and the quite brilliant Walker Evans. With Vivian, her images are just stunning and I sometimes find it hard to adequately describe my feelings when I see them. The remarkable work that John Maloof has done to process and release them is nothing short of miraculous given the amount of rolls of film he uncovered and still has to process.

Her street images are, in my opinion, in a class of their own. She has managed to capture the true beauty of the ordinary and make it art. Although it is incredibly hard to choose as I love them all, I think one of my favourite images has to be this one. It is incredibly detailed and looking at the image, you know there is a whole life in that single image.

I, along with many others, wonder if Vivian knew how good she was as a photographer. If pressed for an answer, I don’t think she knew. I think she would have only realised if she’d have had all of those rolls of film developed and could see what fantastic pictures she had made. In a strange way, her decision not to get them processed has benefitted the whole photographic community. Otherwise we would have never have seen the world she saw or ever heard the name Vivian Maier.

Walker Evans’ Subway images have also had an influence on my latest series, particularly the way in which he shot his pictures. A degree of subterfuge was required in order to get the reactions he received. Take a look at this image for example. Between 1938 and 1941, using a hidden camera, Evans photographed his subjects in their most unguarded moments. Later he wrote “The guard is down and the mask is off, even more than when in lone bedrooms. People’s faces are in naked repose down in the subway”.

With this inspiration, I set about my task to capture my subjects and after two separate shoots and long hours doing the edit, I am happy to say I have finally finished and am happy to now share with you, my lovely chums and subscribers. Look out for my other projects coming soon but for now, please enjoy this. The first of my three projects – Covert: Hidden Street Photography.

Enjoy.

This is Ravi. But to his parents he is always Ravindra. And they are proud of him. He has his own I.T. business supplying bespoke database software systems to private businesses. His parents don’t understand a single thing about it but they know he is successful and that is enough for them. When he was young, they wanted him to become a doctor or even a surgeon but Ravi couldn’t, and still can’t, stand the sight of blood. The last time he accidentally cut his finger whilst making a sandwich, he fainted onto the kitchen floor and an ambulance had to be called, as he couldn’t be brought around. But put him in front of a computer and he is like a child on Christmas Day morning. Numbers, code streams, data – it all makes perfect sense to him. Just don’t ask him to try and explain it to you.

This is Jack & Charlotte. They have just come out of Thomas Cook and are ‘mid-argument’. Charlotte has told Jack many times that if they don’t book their holiday soon, they’ll end up with some nasty hotel in the middle of nowhere in Tenerife. She wants to go back to Zanté but Jack wants to hold on because they might get a bargain closer to the time they want to go. Plus whilst Zanté was great, two of his friends are going to Malia this year and he quite fancies meeting up with them. He knows 100% that this won’t go down well with Charlotte but he’s playing it cool. If he could just maybe keep her hanging on for a few more weeks, he might just be able to swing this… Somehow, I don’t have the same faith as he does.

This is Olivia. She only came into town to get a few things today but has ended up running errands for her husband, her son, her mother and next door neighbour. She doesn’t mind really although it does stress her out. Now has she remembered everything – she’s been to the bank to pay David’s cheque in, ordered Michael’s school bag, got a birthday card for her mother’s friend…. Oh no – she’s forgotten to get that scarf from Marks & Spencer for her neighbour…she was hoping for a quiet day today. No chance of that. But she doesn’t mind really. Honestly she doesn’t.

This is Blake. He can’t stand around talking; he’s got to get the bus to the hospital. He’s going to see his grandma. She fell over last week and has broken her ankle. He knows he should have been to see her earlier and he knows when he gets there today, she’ll probably tell him off for exactly that reason! His grandma practically raised him and his little brother Andrew. They were always at her house during school holidays and at weekends right up until they became teenagers. He knows he should visit her more. She misses both of them but understands that young boys grow up and have to find their own paths in life. But that shouldn’t stop them for coming to see her now and again! And this time, he had better bring some flowers!

This is Yiyun. She is lost. She is supposed to be meeting her sister in town for lunch but can’t find the restaurant. Google Maps is no good either as it won’t recognise the name of the place. She’s not a big fan of technology. Her son got her that smartphone for her birthday and she still can’t figure out how to use it properly. Texts she can do but beyond that, it’s a technology no-go area. “Who is this Siri? And why does she keep shouting at me?” I’m not sure I have the heart to tell her there is a street map behind her….

This is Nayab and her daughter Afia. They are in town, shopping for Nayab’s younger sisters wedding dress. Traditionally, the Asian Muslim bride wears sparkling, bright clothes, with lots of jewellery and flowers so Nayab wants to get her something special. Afia is tired as this wedding shopping has now been going on for nearly three hours and she wants to go home. With the promise of “just a few more shops”, she agrees to carry on walking but she isn’t happy!

This is Cyril. He is a retired train driver. He’s on his way to New Street station to check on its progress. Cyril drove trains out of New Street after the station was rebuilt in the 1960s. He loves trains. Has done since he was a small boy. His dream was to drive trains so when he got the job with British Rail, he couldn’t have been more excited. There’s not much left of the station Cyril used to work at since the start of the new rebuild but he still goes to take a look. He goes more often though these days since Emily passed away. She was the love of his life but hated trains! She would tell him off when he got home how all she could smell was diesel wafting through the house! And he knew there would be hell to pay if he forgot to take his boots off before coming through the door. He says the new station looks like “a bloody spaceship”; but he’ll still come and take a look when it’s finally finished.

This is Magda. She’s supposed to be working this afternoon but she has called in sick so she can have a spot of retail therapy in the Bull Ring with her sister Nina. Trouble is though, Nina has just told her she thinks she has seen Magda’s supervisor coming out of the Hollister store. Magda is frantically scanning the crowd to see if it was her supervisor, as she knows that she will be in trouble if she is seen. Was it her? Is she going to be in trouble? This queue better move quickly so she can get inside and out of sight just in case.

This is Dean. He’s a student at the university. He is studying photography but today, strangely, he doesn’t have his camera with him. He normally goes everywhere with at least a point-and-shoot if not his D-SLR. Today he has more pressing things on his mind. He had a call from his boyfriend Shaun last night asking him to meet him in town today as he wanted to ask him something; something he couldn’t ask him on the phone. Dean can’t think what it is that Shaun wants to ask. They tell each other everything. They have been together for five years now and he can’t recall a time when this has happened before. He doesn’t know whether to be worried or excited. All he knows is that he has to be by the statue of the bull at one o’clock. It’s now five minutes to one. He had better hurry…

This is Sharon. She’s just come from a job interview for HSBC. She thinks it went really well although the guy on the three-person panel was a “bit of an idiot”. She answered all of their questions really well and thinks she made a good impression. She’ll hear from them in a couple of days. She really hopes she gets it so she can start saving for a house. Her and her partner Rob want to move next year to a bigger place. The flat they share at the moment isn’t big enough for them and after the news they received last Thursday they definitely need to move soon. She had already done one of those home pregnancy tests but wanted confirmation from her G.P so last Thursday, she made an appointment and they got the news – they are to become parents! They are both so excited! Rob’s family doesn’t know yet so they are going to tell them this weekend. Fingers crossed about that job Sharon!

This is Deana. She can’t stop to chat. She has literally minutes to catch her train and if she doesn’t get it, she’s going to be late home so that means she’s going to be late picking up her son from after-school club and she doesn’t want a repeat of what happened last time. Lucas hates it when his mom is late picking him up but hates after-school club even more. The toys are old and the classroom “smells funny”. Deana is doing her best though. She can’t be in two places at once. She can’t ask her mother to pick Lucas up fro school as she is housebound. And her husband is working till 7pm this week. So she really needs to catch this train. So if you wouldn’t mind getting out of the way? Thanks…

This is Jeremy. Today is not a good day. He is currently stuck ‘on hold’ to his bank after they called him to advise him his credit card had been used to make a substantial purchase in Dubai. Now this news didn’t come as a shock at first – he and his wife Debra were only in Dubai two weeks ago. It was their wedding anniversary and Jeremy arranged for them to fly out to Dubai for a romantic week in the sun. However, the bank has told him the purchase made on his credit card was made this morning. And Jeremy isn’t in Dubai. He’s in Birmingham – with his credit card. It appears that Jeremy’s card has been cloned and someone has spent £5000 on it this morning at the Dubai Mall. He’ll have to cancel his cards and get the money refunded. No, today is not a good day.

This is Amara. She is on her way to the train station to get a train to the airport. She’s meeting the rest of the girls at the airport and they are on their way to Dublin for Isha’s hen weekend. Not all of the office girls are going unfortunately. Maria from Accounts can’t make it as her mum is ill and Claire from H.R has another commitment. But it’s going to be fun. They are going to make sure Isha has a great time. Amara has known Isha for 10 years. They went to school together and now work for the same company. Isha got Amara the interview and they are pretty much inseparable. Although Amara is overjoyed that Isha is marrying Phil, she wonders how it’s going to change their friendship. Isha has talked about nothing else but the wedding and marriage and babies etc. for months now. Amara knows things will change. She hopes not too much though.

This is Tim. 40 years old, divorced with three kids. At university, he was the lead singer in a band called ‘Toxic Puke’. They based their style on the Sex Pistols but could never ever live up to their level of anarchy. They only managed to play a few gigs before they disbanded. Tim has never forgotten those days and still plays the guitar when he can. Even if it means embarrassing his three children when they come to stay. He still doesn’t fully understand why Christine left him. They were ok. Not great but they were ok. It just came out of the blue one day over dinner. The kids were upstairs and he had just got in from work – late as usual. Traffic was always bad especially at that time of night but what could he do? Head office chose to move to Coventry so he had to go with them. He had barely had time to digest his first mouthful of pork chop when she came out with it – “Tim, I want a divorce”. There it was, as plain as day. And from then on, things went from bad to worse. They get along now of course, for the sake of the kids. And now he has time to think, he’ll continue to remember the good days. And he’ll keep embarrassing his kids with his endless guitar solos.

This is Geoff. Today all Geoff wants to do is get home. He’s sick of the daily commute. Sick to death of squeezing into the over-crowded train carriage day-in, day-out. But at least he can look forward to a week off soon. His eldest son, James, has gone off to university and the house is empty. He and his wife Marie are going to the Lake District. Geoff used to go there when he was young with his dad. He can’t wait to show Marie where he used to go fishing. Marie’s not that keen but knows that Geoff needs the break. He works hard. She worries about him but will never tell him so. She knows he’ll just pass it off and tell her not to worry. But she does. They both need this break.

This is Jia. She’s a student at the university. She loves England but misses her family. She’s been in England for a few years now and has made a lot of friends. She thinks some of the English ways quite funny. Like the way English men wear socks with sandals in the summer. Or how the English national dish is a curry from India. She is studying medicine because she wants to be a doctor. Her father is a doctor in Singapore and is very proud of her. She cannot wait for her father to see her as a doctor and is sad that her mother is not alive to see it too. She knows that she would also be very proud of her.

This is Katsumi. She is late. She told her friends she would meet them at 3 o’clock and it’s already 3.15. But they aren’t concerned. Ever since they have known her, timekeeping has never been her strongest asset. Her best friend Reiko even bought her a new watch for her birthday last week but she hasn’t taken it out of the box yet. Katsumi knows she’ll be teased when she arrives but she is used to it. As soon as she walks in, they will all laugh and point to their wrists, she’ll laugh with them and all will be forgiven; until the next time. And with Katsumi – there’s always going to be a next time.

This is Kai. When he leaves school, he wants to be a mathematician. He is so good at mathematics that at aged ten his parents took him out of the school he was in because he was so far ahead of the other pupils. He now attends a private school where the teaching is much more suited to his learning capacity. It’s a mixed aged range in his class from 14 to 16. And that’s great for study but not so good for making friends. Kai is the youngest in his class and doesn’t make friends that easily. When the weekend comes, he rarely goes out. You’ll find him in his room reading about mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics without a Harry Potter book in sight. He wants to do well to please his parents. They have sacrificed so much to get him into the school and he loves it there. But there are times where he just wants to act like a kid. What’s wrong with that?

This is Amar. He’s on his way to catch a train to Leicester for his brothers wedding. Although, he’s really not that bothered about going. He doesn’t really get on with his brother. They haven’t seen each other for 3 years after they had a massive argument and his brother moved out of the family home. However, since the invite was addressed directly to him and not just a generic invite to the family, he feels he should go. Maybe this could be the start of reconciliation? Maybe enough water has passed under the bridge that they can get back onto speaking terms. And lets face it – Leicester isn’t a million miles away is it? If they manage to bury the past, they could see each other more often. Maybe this is going to far – we should get the wedding out of the way first and see what happens eh?

This is Eddie – or ‘Big Eddie’ as he is known down The White Swan where he and his mates drink. People who know Eddie would probably describe him as a ‘pussy cat with a big heart’. And he is. Last year, he did a sponsored walk for his local children’s hospice. He raised nearly £3000. Eddie likes to do his bit for charity but you’ll rarely hear him talk about it. About all you’ll get him to say on the matter is “As long as it helps some poor bugger in need, that’s enough for me” and that’ll be it, end of subject. He works hard for his family and they love him for it. He’s proud of his grandchildren too and loves spending anytime he can with them. All he wants out of life is his family’s love and a cold pint at the end of every day. He doesn’t think that’s too much to ask for.

From Street to Street, we pass each other….

So…..

We’ve known each other for a while now right? And I’d like to think we’ve got to know each other quite well. I’d like to think that when I post a new entry on my blog, you get the notification and think to yourself “Ah that’s cool. I’ll check that out, Wayne’s post’s are always a bit of a lark”. And let me tell you chums I’m really glad you think that (if you do think that of course; I realise I’m making a MASSIVE presumption on my part !).

Well, I’m going to do something slightly different for this post; a little bit “left field” as they say. I want to confess something to you. Something I’ve been wrestling with for a while now but I now feel comfortable enough with to share with you and that is…..

Are you ready….?

I AM A STREET PHOTOGRAPHER !!!!!

There. I said it. I’ve made my mind up. I’ve decided that is what I want to do with this fledgling career of mine. Not weddings, not landscapes, not commercial – STREET.

For those of you who know me personally, this may come as about as surprising as discovering when rain falls from the sky and you have no umbrella or raincoat, you get wet. Or that time your Mom told you that the Tooth Fairy forgot to leave you some money because “she had no change”. (I’m still no over than one…)

But on a more serious note chums, I don’t think I can honestly say that I am ever happier as a photographer than when I’m out there amongst the public with my camera, capturing candid moments, stolen glances or hidden smiles. The world around us is a fascinating place and if you stop and take a look once in a while, you see the most incredible faces, the most powerful souls and in a fraction of a second, you capture it. You capture it for the world to see. In colour, black & white, whatever your preference but the most important thing is you have captured it. That single, solitary moment never to be repeated.

And that, for me, is the essence of street photography. The characters and faces will change, of course they will, but the opportunity to record something magical, something that maybe no one else will see in that fleeting second is truly exciting.

The photographer Bruce Gilden once said “I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them.” I get that. I really do. The people you see in your viewfinder 99 times out of 100 are people you have never met before and will probably never meet again but when you visit and revisit the pictures of them you took, they become your friends and dare I say, your family. When I shot my first two street photography projects, I gave all my subjects names – I wasn’t brave enough to go up to them and ask their real names – and even now, when I refer to a certain picture, I’ll say “Oh you mean the ‘Ruby’ picture” or “You’re talking about my ‘Barbara’ image”.

If you’ve been here before, you might have wondered over to my Image Gallery and seen some of my street photography already and if you have, then I thank you for your curiosity. 

In preparation for this post, I have put together a new collection of street images that I have taken that are a little different from my usual style. They are a little bit more direct & up close. And maybe they are the future direction for me; time will tell. As for now, well, all I ask is that you take a look, enjoy them and if you feel like leaving a comment or two, please do so. I read every one of them and appreciate them even more.

Oh yes, before I go….for those who are worried this was a bit “normal”, fear not – general lunacy & irreverence will be resumed in the next post.

Thanks.

W.

A little thanks from me to you…

 

After launching my plea last week for your votes on your favourite images, you, my lovely subscribers, came through for me and voted. And I just want to say thank you. I now have a winner and with 50% of the vote, the winner is…..

 

….”Having a Break”

Having a Break

I must admit, I do love this picture too. I must tell you that the guy in this picture was one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever come across. Why? Well, between swigs of that can of lager, he would swing that tambourine in front of him and ask for money. Didn’t play any tune you would EVER recognise; he’d just swing that tambourine a couple of times and hold his hand out. It’s probably no surprise to you that he wasn’t making much money. It could explain the scowl on his face. Bad for him, yet good for me as it resulted in this image. He does look cool though doesn’t he? Like a Brummie Keith Richards….

Anyway, thank you once again for voting. I love you just that little bit more than I did yesterday..

Your attention please, your attention please…..

 

I NEED YOUR VOTES !!

I’m not running for your local council or the Presidency of the United States (although that would be a bit of a laugh wouldn’t it? Just imagine…me in charge of the free world…free giraffe’s for everyone and compulsory blueberry muffins on Fridays…)

So why do I need your votes? Well, I love my followers so much (I do you know!), I’d like your opinion on some of my images that I’m thinking of entering in a competition and I can’t decide on which one to submit. I’ve narrowed it down to a list of 10 so all I’m asking of you is to vote for your favourite.

Below are the images and underneath are the names of each one. The voting will be at the bottom so if you would be so kind, click on your favourite and I’ll just love you that little bit more than I do now…

The Queue

The Gentleman

Sign of the Times

Shadow Player

In Motion

Have a break

Balloon Man

Bench warmer

Having a bad day

Having a nap

“Don’t Stop Me Now…”

Not my words…

The title of the Queen song written by the late, great Freddie Mercury.

But I must admit chums, I think I might just bloomin’ well adopt it as my theme tune!

After yesterday’s photo shoot with the wonderful Talia White and model Hannah Gardner, I kind of feel like nothing can stop me!

The shoot went better than expected, I’m super pleased with my pictures and (so far) the editing is coming along very nicely thank you very much.

I’ve already uploaded some of the images into the Image Gallery – feel free to click and have a look. Oh, and if you could jot a few comments on them, I’d like that.

I must admit, I wasn’t looking forward to shooting fashion pictures yesterday, I really wasn’t. I couldn’t see how I was going to motivate myself to get through it but I guess when you’re presented with an opportunity like that, sometimes it can surprise you and give you a different outlook.

Up to this point, I would have chosen the ‘Street Photographer’ job title and painted all over me but shooting those pictures yesterday and looking them now in the cold light of day, I’m really not sure that I can take that job title and make it exclusive.

So I guess what I’m saying is keep an eye on my Image Gallery; there maybe more than just street pictures appearing in there over the coming months.

So in the words of the great man “Don’t stop me now,  I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball !”

Thanks Freddie…