Adios summer, for what you were.

Its nearing the end of September, summers a distant memory and we now enter into autumn.

It’s been a interesting 6 months, dealing with work, juggling home schooling and trying to fit in some photography to document these ‘crazy’ times.

I think I am writing this blogpost with the same mindset as you, that a second wave is coming, god knows what it will look like.

Inevitably, these times bring folk together, I have discovered an added depth to the relationship I have with my kids, also my photography has taken on a new dimension, both positives.

The negative is trying to manage wellbeing and ‘calorie intake’.

I would consider myself bookish, I enjoy a good read, but being a single parent, finding time for some exercise is non existent in my daily schedule.

So trying to plan some order in my day, I purchased a Schwinn IC8 Spinning Bike for the house, only owned it 4 days, but I’ve enjoyed 20 minute spinning sessions at the start or end of the day, courtesy of the Peloton app, its that more enjoyable that the family are also participating.

Man, you earn every calorie or inch travelled, no free wheeling like on a pushbike! It’s shocking how unfit I am / have become. That’s the Q4 2020 challenge set. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a clothes horse!

On the book front, I try to avoid typical self help books, as they are too broad brushed in their approach. I’m open to all genres. I finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig last week, nothing to demanding, quite a light hearted read but quite relevant in these times. I have enjoyed Haig’s work since picking up The Human’s a number of years ago. His books all have a slant towards mental health and positivity, he talks openly about his own struggles with mental health, his twitter stream is interesting.

On a final note, why don’t we push the clock forward 4 hours, rather than back 1, this will give us all a fighting chance over the winter.

Until next time, keep snapping.

Staycation 2020

A good friend of mine made an interesting statement about Covid19, back in May 2020.

He mentioned he was calling his girlfriend’s pug 'Covid' When I asked ‘why’? I was told, ‘its simple really…… it's stopping us going on holiday, we can't go out for an evening to the pub or restaurant and it poos everywhere'!

Both funny and apt.

I’m sat here writing this blog, returning back to work after my two weeks annual leave. No sun, sea or extravagant journeys unfortunately, lockdown in COVID-19 has kiboshed that.

I had some nice plans for 2020. April 2020 was supposed to be a trip to Istanbul with the kids. It was being billed as ‘kebabs and cameras’. I have been mesmerised by the street photography there for many years, in fact the tipping point was purchasing the excellent City of a hundred names, by Alex Webb last year. But alas not to be, this year at least.

Whilst this is depressing, it is providing me with some me time, catching up on photobooks, documentaries and also afforded me the opportunity to compliment my own body of work documenting these strange times.

It also provided a more grounded break with the kids, to have a couple of day trips.

First up was Broadstairs and Margate. I have always loved the allure of the British seaside town and all its kitsch foibles.

I hadn't been to Broadstairs before, and was given the nod by a work colleague. It was a lovely place with plenty of photo opportunities of the domestic holiday maker.

I wanted to take them to the Black Lives Matters exhibition at the Turner Contemporary Gallery, this was of interest to my daughter, who has taken an interest in the three marches that have been held Brighton over the summer, since the harrowing murder of George Flloyd by a police officer.

The exhibition detailed works evidencing black folks plight in the Deep South to get work through art and craft. It also had an excellent (albeit limited) collection of black and white civil rights photography front the 1960’s.

The Turner Contemporary Gallery is a stunning building situated to the east of the seafront, which also has an Anthony Gormley statue in the sea, at the rear of the gallery.

Whilst the town has regularly been voted the best seaside town in the UK to live, the remnants of the old Margate are omnipresent.

Arlington House is a beautiful brutalist residential high rise that dominates the skyline.

First completed in 1964 the site was advertised as “Britain’s first ‘park and buy’ shopping centre with luxury flats,” and marked the beginning of Margate’s redevelopment.

Arlington was designed by Russell Diplock Associates and built by Bernard Sunley and Sons, Originally the site was made up of 52 shops, a pub, a supermarket, a coach station, a filling station, a multi-storey car park and the 18-storey, 142-flat block.

I normally take the kids up to London for a day trip, but due to the depressed tourist market, we were fortunate to be able to book a 2 night stay at the Lancaster Gate Hotel, near Hyde Park. We snagged a bargain getting the room at 50% of the normal daily rate.

First up was West London, and Notting Hill / Portobello Road.

By daughter loves to see the whitewashed London terraced houses and flower lined mews.

For dinner we headed over to Tayyabs Restaurant for the mixed grill in Whitechapel, absolutely delicious. This place never seems to disappoint. I haven’t eaten here for nearly 10 years.

Day two was a mixture of shopping and sight seeing, we ended up heading over to Soho in the evening for a bite to eat at Bibimbap and to take some night photos of the lights in China Town.

As staycations go, it wasn’t bad, the kids and I remain healthy and well, so we can’t and shouldn’t complain.

Until next time, keep snapping.

A selection of the images within this article are available for sale on the Website or Etsy Store, if you would like to enquire about something else, please click the email icon at the foot of this page.

Take it to the streets………..

……………….. a saying people often use to encourage protest.

Last Saturday, whilst I was passing through Brighton, I came across a protest about #BLM (Black Lives Matter).

This was the 3rd protest that has happened locally, since the savage murder of George Floyd.

It’s not only the amount, but also the diversity of the protesters that seems to grow each time.

My kids and I also participated in the original march in June 2020.

Comparing to protests in London or America, the Brighton march seems almost sedate in comparison, but the message is clear, Its truly endearing to have and see the presence of youth and hear their voices.

While I was there I met many people including two of they guys who helped organise the protest (along with many others).

I was utterly mesmerised by their compassion and dedication to keep the momentum moving as a passive movement.

There has not been much coverage of this significant shift in this human rights movement, I am loathed to say this, but I think it largely hinges on the outcome of the American Presidential Campaign, which is due to be concluded on November 2020.

#BLM No Justice, No Peace.

A selection of the images within this article are available for sale on the Website or Etsy Store, if you would like to enquire about something else, please click the email icon at the foot of this page.

(Self) Reflection

Whilst I am one to (try and) consciously avoid GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), there are instances when this allows you to look at the same thing in a different light, to give a fresh perspective.

I say this as this is something that I had endured in the past. Chasing camera brands, lens, tripods, £££$$$!

I came across an interesting blog on Sean Tucker’s website, pre covid19 lockdown, which got me thinking about exploring other lens outside of my comfort zone, which is something that I have wanted to undertake for some time.

The above images was taken with an 85mm lens, as part of my COVID-19 ongoing project, documenting the impact on the virus on Brighton / East Sussex.

I love the content that Sean puts out, philosophical in nature, with a slant towards challenging the norm and pushing boundaries. He compared a variety of street photography lens, 50mm, 85mm, 35mm, in several blog posts a couple of years ago.

This idea is further visualised on Kai Wong’s YouTube post, with a comparison of the ‘staple’ 28mm vs 35mm vs 50mm lens.

Whilst the 85mm lens is typically aimed at portrait photographers, where the compression of the lens allows for backgrounds to be produce a natural bokeh, I think it gives an added dimension in street photography.

I discovered this creative side, as I started shooting images through the empty shops in Brighton whilst lockdown was in full effect. I quite like the abstract effect.

I never quite got the opportunity to explore the ‘nifty fifty’. I think this was possibly hindered by the fact that I had the 50mm on my Canon 7D, so whilst the lens rendered some beautiful photos, the bulk of the camera setup meant that I didn’t use it for street, it also had a crop factor sensor.

I started out originally taking street photography on my iPhone, which I understand was a 35mm equivalent, upgrading to the awesome Mark 1 Fuji x100 (also a 35mm), this was at the same time I switched to Android smartphones, which were all generally 28mm equivalent lens.

I felt obligated to shoot 28mm as this is considered a ‘purist’ street lens. The ‘tog has to get up real close and fill the frame. This is particularly the screens of the excellent Ricoh GR series of compact APS-c digital cameras. Nimble, stealthy and discreet.

I think my love for the grii is for another blog as is a comparison of the 35mm and 28mm.

I love the perspective of the 28mm ,but of late, I’m finding the ‘challenge’ of the 85mm, gives me a new leash of life with my street photography.

Whilst this won’t necessarily replace my core lens, its a necessary additional to the camera bag, that is a friendly GAS!

Until next time, keep snapping.

A selection of the images within this article are available for sale on the Website or Etsy Store, if you would like to enquire about something else, please click the email icon at the foot of this page.

Masking over the cracks

I’m sat here on Monday 27th July 2020 writing this blog post, after the announcement at the weekend on 24.07.20, when the government made the wearing of PPE / face covering, mandatory in England. That is, when visiting closed spaces such as supermarkets, petrol stations, retail shops etc, MASKS ON.

Although England has been late adopters to this next stage of addressing the pandemic, I suppose its ‘better late than never’.

I have found this whole COVID-19 pandemic to be very revealing and insightful, in regards to understanding the human psyche.

Largely folk are conformist / compliant towards adhering to these changes to societal customs, But I find the right to demonstrate, against such stances as lunacy, for example this MP recently in the Houses of Parliament spouting complete nonsense, as part of his constitutional right to debate.

Normal folk see sense.

What I am finding is that now masks are more common place, folk are more attuned to having their photograph taken, they are conscious about how they look. This change in mindset is making it difficult to catalogue my ongoing COVID-19 project, whilst I look to compile source photos for COVID-19 Volume II Zine.

I am sure things will settle down as masks become the accepted norm, as they have in the Far East.

Whilst I finish of this blog, the radio has had several articles today regarding Boris Johnson’s next government campaign with the fight against obesity. If this is a success, no doubt he will start offering marriage guidance classes.

Until next time, Keep snapping.

A selection of the images within this article are available for sale on the Website or Etsy Store, if you would like to enquire about something else, please click the email icon at the foot of this page.

Sublime online

I'm writing this blog, some 24 hours after going live selling my #02 Zine - 12 mths with the GRii.

In three weeks time, its the first anniversary of setting up my website.

After pondering on setting up the print and zine store, I finally went live some 3 months ago. It's crazy that the catalyst to get this sorted was the boredom of the COVID-19 lockdown.

I have no idea why it's taken so long, but I can say that it's been a real labour of love.

Lockdown has afforded me the opportunity to ‘marinade' some images and projects, whilst jettison others. I have found this part of the process to be really cathartic.

The steep learning curve was getting to grips with MailChimp (for marketing), squarespace (commerce on the site) and finding suitable professional printing houses to print my work. Whilst the stumbling blocks were several, they were not insurmountable, it's also a process that you really need to go through to understand your prospective customers and business model.

I watch quite a few photography YouTube videos, whether these are POV street photowalks, discussion groups or influencers, which I have found highly informative during this journey.

I think it will be helpful to share this reference list in an upcoming blog post, so watch this space.

A recent post by Ted Forbes on the excellent The Art of Photography YouTube channel, pretty much sums it.

We get too hung up on buying gear, testing lens, tinkering with post production (Lightroom / Photoshop), we all need to be producing our work. Whether this is printing postcards or prints for family and friends, or prints or zines for our website stores, we must take our photos off the hard drive and print into a physical object, to hang it on a wall, put into a picture frame or a zine on a coffee table.

Whilst I would be a little happier if my print sales were a little more active, during this initial period, I'm really enjoying the activity surrounding the zine sales and after all, this is a marathon not a sprint. I also want to cultivate a steady and loyal following of clients, who want to enjoy this journey with me.

I have received some lovely feedback from customers on their purchases so far, so it's also been rewarding.

For those pondering this side of their photography, i urge you to take a leap of faith and go for it!, you (like myself) will be surprised and enjoy your journey!

Until next time. keep snapping.

Photobooks, the pond and telling a story

Here’s an update on my photobook’s series.

The intention is to buy a photobook per month. These are generally themed around streetphotography or portraiture, but I have recently added a documentary / photojournalism book to the library.

North of the Dixie by Mark Spelz was recommended as part of a #BlackLivesMatter post on social media, outlining recommended reading following the recent heartbreaking events that occurred in Minnesota, when George Floyd was killed by a Police Officer.

This is something that is front and centre as a discussion point with both of my kids.

I have founding it challenging to fully articulate the longstanding ingrained racism and hardship black folk have and do experience, so I thought this book (aswell as watching films and documentaries) would be a good resource for us all.

The book has some very powerful images and also referenced notes for further reading.

I had an interesting discussion with a client a couple of week ago, who mentioned the irony that this year has seen unprecedented change or realignment of the norm. All in the year 2020, or what is normally perceived as perfect clarity.

This discussion was before the terrible news from Minnesota.

What I found particularly harrowing was the content on Twitter under the hashtag #policebrutalitypandemic.

I don't think the width of the Atlantic Ocean has ever been so narrow, or met the definition of ‘the pond' better. We share so such commonality with our American cousins demonstrating the Black Lives Matters movement.

There is a #BLM march here in Brighton this coming weekend and its something that the kids have asked to go on, I know this is against a backdrop of COVID-19, but these are indeed changing times.

Black folk have had immense influence on our Culture, Media, Sports, Politics, etc. They have an uncanny knack of reinventing the perceived norm, for the betterment of everyone.

No doubt this same level of persistence and influence will bear fruit to deal with these hardships.

Lockdown

Decided to pop into town for an end of the day meander.

Seeing first hand the sheer quietness of COVID-19 and the impact of the lockdown on the city, is dystopian.

This period has also led to some interesting discussions with my kids.

What their generation have lost with the exclusion from their peers and friends in the school environment, they have made up with their ability to understand and adapt to these changing times.

What I did notice tonight was a little change.

Whether it was shop owners painting their shopfronts, signs on windows stating 'Opening soon' or owners dusting down counters, there is a sense of change in the air.

This is a once in a lifetime event, I'm so glad that I decided to document it.

You can see the COVID-19 project here.

As this is an ongoing project, I decided to make this into my first zine, Volume I - COVID-19, which will go live this weekend.

Exciting times

A selection of the images within this article are available for sale on the Website or Etsy Store, if you would like to enquire about something else, please click the email icon at the foot of this page.