Throughout my years of making photographs I have worked hard on forging my own style, taking a subject and putting my own stamp on it.
In the main my work is characterised by a few specific elements which tend to be black and white landscapes which have been taken with a 28mm lens which is a moderate wide angle.
Every now and then I try to mix things up. One area of photography which I enjoy immensely is street photography. This style of photography I find challenging and very much pushes me out of my comfort zone.
About 3 years ago I went to London for a day. Sebastiao Salgado had an exhibition of his latest work on at the Natural History Museum. I booked my time slot for an mid morning which then gave me a few hours in the afternoon to mooch about London taking photographs. For this trip I wanted to specifically shoot some street photography and I headed to the Southbank and Shoreditch areas.
When I’m looking for photographs I always want to find a different perspective and to try and be creative with a scene. I tried to stray away from photographs of people walking down the street holding shopping bags.
Whilst I was visiting a Shoreditch I came across a square which had lots of galleries and a camera fair (I didn’t buy anything!). It was quite late in the afternoon and the sun was starting to go down behind the tall buildings. I noticed the shadows on a wall of a couple of people who were chatting, I thought the shadows looked great on the wall and I moved in closer to frame them. I liked the separation of the people and I waited for a gesture which would give the photo more interest and if possible a perceived connection between the people.
Camera: Fuji X-Pro1
Lens: 60mm (35mm equivalent 90mm)
Aperture: f9
Shutter Speed: 1/1000th sec
ISO: 1600
The colour palette is quite minimal with only 2 colours being present. I feel the colours play an important part in this image, the yellows and blues are a perfect match and complement each other very well. I had my 60mm lens on my camera which is not a traditional street photography focal length, and is probably my least used lens.
For me this photograph is almost the complete opposite to my usual type of photography I create. By pushing myself out of my comfort I will hopefully be able to develop my skills and become a better photographer.