Street Photography
OK, it wasn't an exclusive 'hang out with Matt Stuart day' but the next best thing - a Street Photography workshop in conjunction with the Photographers Gallery in London. As postgraduate fees have gone through the roof, I've decided,for now at least, to keep my continual professional development to attending workshops and buying books. And what a valuable day of learning it was!
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To paraphrase the great David Bailey, we all have a truly great image in us, but the difference with him is he will have many, many more. It is rare to get as many great images in one life time as Bailey, but we can aim for more than just the one.
Read MoreFrom the Humans of New York to the discovered photographs of Vivian Maier it seems that more and more people are getting interested in Street Portraiture.
Read MoreSometimes the margin between success and perceived failure can be measured in 1/100s or even 1/1000s of a second. I was there like some visual gunslinger ready to draw and be ready for whatever little moment may present itself. And, then quick as a flash, it duly did.
However, I felt so annoyed that I missed this opportunity to make this image sharp and 'technically' perfect that I didn't look at it for months after. I keep it because I thought I may soften my feelings to it and, thankfully, I have. I may even go far to suggest that its imperfection actually adds rather than detracts from the final look and feel. There may also be an analogous lesson about being easier on yourself, accepting imperfections and realising things aren't as bad as first percieved...but I'll leave that to you.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
#1 of 5
I've avoided reviewing equipment or books, but recently I was reminded of the ideas, exercises and ways of thinking in the book, The Photographer's Playbook. It's a great book to get you thinking about the creative process of image making, rather than focusing on the how to, instruction type stuff. Anyway, on this particular occasion , I was drawn to a particular corner and patch of light in the city centre, but only had 5 minutes of spare time.
#2 of 5
Sometimes I have the luxury to spend hours, days or even weeks in a location to build a collection of images. Doing commercial and family portraiture you can easily take 100s of images to later whittle down to a small polished final collection. What though should you expect to get in 5 minutes from one street corner? Could I get 5 'keepers' in such a short time? As I started shooting I became far more focused and direct about what I wanted - so much so I started directing people " Could you just walk there? The light is fabulous that side...thanks".
#3 of 5
Overall people were very accommodating (or maybe slightly concerned about the manic look in my eye) and were willing to help out. Maybe working to tight schedules is the way forward as, overall, I'm quite pleased with how my 5 in 5 turned out.
#4 of 5
Till next time...
Matt Peers
The adverts on the side of my email and Facebook account are constantly filled with quick and easy solutions to complex problems. For some reason I'm stalked by the ' a simple trick to a flat belly' advert ( I have no idea why...?) and although eat less, do more is simple enough, I've yet to find a way round that simple rule.
Photography is no different. Composition, light and technique are all straight forward subjects, but they can only be improved with consistent learning and practice. There's no app, life hack or short cut tips that will change that.
But if I were to offer just one piece of advice above all, it would be to simply ask yourself:
" what do you want to say?"
I've used this question in academic terms over the years to untangle my thoughts when writing essays ( without it I would write fact upon fact without actually qualifying the point of them),and I think it is just as relevant for image making as it is for the written word.
On a trip to Alderburgh this year, I immediately felt there was an atmosphere - formal, familiar and sensible - but I was struggling to express it. Then reviewing some of my initial images, I knew what it was: the whole place felt like John Lewis. It was neat, orderly and a place where the population seem to occupy their own space rather than mixing and mucking in. If Alderburgh was John Lewis then by definition Blackpool is Primark.
But it's not only for artistic and academic situations this question is suited for; it can just as easily be applied to showing a good time had at a party. Wedding photographers for example are a good example of wanting to tell the viewer about the emotions and key events at one of the most important times in a couples life.
When I saw the proposal on top of the Rockefeller Centre in New York this summer, the answer to the question was clear; can I capture a true reflection of the proposal, it's location and impact? Without some questioning motive I could have easily just waited for a posed snapshot.
Capturing children and families can present a number of potential scenarios to question; from how to capture and naturally posed group shot to capturing the enjoyment of play. My favourites to look for are the quiet, 'in between' moments, when the camera has taken a seemingly unknown peek in to their inner thoughts.
What then, if your images don't match what you have attempted to say? It can be for a number of reasons depending on your image and what you want to say, but by having that idea in the first place, means you have taken the first step in exploring how it could be better next time.
* practice and time still required
Till next time...
Matt Peers
After spending my available time editing the images from a hugely enjoyable family photo-shoot, you realise that, like life, photography is really just about paying attention to the details...
Till next time,
Matt Peers
I think it is fair to say that I am not going to achieve a level of fame where the weekend paper life style sections want a pithy one page interview with me and thoughts on photography. But if they did, it would be something like this...
In other words, get to know their genre, current and back catalogue. It's not only enjoyable, it actually starts to feed in to and improve your own images. To get started, go through the Magnum photographers' galleries and feast your soul there. Alternatively, you could enjoy the images of musicians taken by John Morgan
Image courtesy of John Morgan
The majority of the images you look at will be on some sort of screen, which is understandable. A book however, gives you a tactile, closer relationship with the images the screen just can't match. A real beauty is the recent Martin Parr compendium if you want to put it to the test.
It's like going to see them live and listening to the CD later.
Or in this case just visit the exhibition...
I've spent so much time and money expanding my optical options only to come full circle and realise for street and portraiture work, I only need one lens - a 35mm prime. If I need to get closer or further away I now move my feet.
Two very different images but both taken with the same 35mm prime lens
To improve in any activity, practice, practice and more practice is required. It's heartening to read books like Matthew Syed's Bounce and Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers argue 10,000hours of practice leads to greatness rather than just innate talent. To practice more I needed to stop thinking photography as an appointment hobby , i.e. weekend after next I'm going out to use my camera, to one where a camera is with me most of the time. For some that might be a smart phone, for me it meant buying another camera small enough to carry but still high in image quality.
I've noticed for some people when they get in to photography they aim for techniques such as light trails and slow shutter wire wool burning shots for their wow factor ( I hold my hands up - I was no different). Yes, they can look spectacular, but after a while they just become , well, a bit boring really.
Can't tell which one of the 17 near identical images you like the most? Well, don't display them all for us to decide. Hard as it might be choose just the one, as for every near identical image you add the original impact decreases dramatically.
...its easy to spot and nobody leaves feeling great. An honest expression will always make for a better portrait compared to a forced grin.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
Coughing and spluttering with man- flu, I couldn't wait to drive home and crawl in to bed. And yet, the evening light was as good as I'd seen in a long while and tempting me to stay out. As some sort of compromise, I decided to drive the long way home, hopefully to spot some interesting photographic subjects bathed in this glorious light. I knew I didn't have the energy to be out for much longer, but there, like some kind of prayer being answered, I got my reward. Standing in such away that it looked like he was trying to open the graffiti car, I knew this was it.
And that's what I love that about street photography; sometimes you ask for something to happen and the Gods of Photography provide.
Till next time
Matt Peers
We all know the adage about not judging a book by its cover, but most of us regularly do, if we are honest. When I approach what I consider to be 'interesting people' for a street portrait, I can't help prejudging the reaction I'll get just before I approach them. Last week I approached two people in the city centre, the first was an old sea dog at a bus stop that had just started to smoke his pipe. World weariness and tales form the sea were deeply etched on to his face and ideal for a portrait. We chatted politely for a while,but at my request of a photograph his face contorted with rage - along with the demand of £100 and the threat of calling the police. Although I thought he was a shoe-in, all the Werther's originals and friendly banter in the world wasn't going to get me that portrait.
Four days later, when I saw this young Mum and her brood, I assumed it would be a flat 'no thank you'. I thought her alternative look, including facial piercings and tattoos, may leave her guarded about how she is perceived by the older generation. She was in fact by far the politest and most considerate person I met all week.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
There's an image by photographer Siegfried Hansen where white tape winds round a lamppost, blending perfectly with the white painted line on the road. It's a clever play on composition that, I argued in a group discussion, was definitely set up. Not that being set up is such a bad thing, but it does make you question as to what is real and what is constructed or digitally manipulated. The reason why it is so good, I was told, is the very fact it wasn't set up. Much as I still admired the image, I still would have bet the house it was set up - I mean, how often do you see things like that in the everyday world?
The very next day I was dining on humble pie, as I spotted this yellow tape and double yellow line combination in Shoreditch.
I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Siegfried's but maybe it's taught me not to be so cynical in the future.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
Summer's over and so is the travelling for another year. In the last of the New York blogs ( I promise, I promise) I wanted to share a type of image you may not always consider taking.
I've seen owners detach their rear wheel to deter thieves before, but I've never seen a selection 5 left waiting...?
Like the funnels of a pavement passenger liner, I love the way the third one is leaning in for a bit of support.
Manhattan is all about the skyline until you just look at the midline; then it can be just rows upon rows of vertical lines.
The big highlight for my eldest son this trip was to see the Statue of Liberty. Not for any historical or cultural reasons you understand, no; it's because it was a giant 'weeping angel' in his favourite Doctor Who episode. I'd discussed it and watched it so many times with him, that when I saw this knitwear dropped on 5th Avenue, I immediately thought of the iconic landmark.
Although this doesn't capture the grandeur of Grand Central Station, it is actually quite gloomily lit inside.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
To my shame, my trips to New York have focused on visiting Manhattan and the ‘burbs to visit family. It is easy to overlook other areas and surrounding states simply because it is a huge area to cover. However, this year I was determined to break this cycle and explore beyond the usual city haunts and visit Coney Island (If your New York geography needs refreshing, Coney Island is the coastal area situated off the district of Brooklyn).
Completely devastated by Hurricane Sandy ( I’m not an insurance company and so will call it by its true name), the boardwalk has only just been rebuilt, along with the inclusion of new fairground rides and the promise of an all new and improved Coney Island. I have to admit I was a tad worried that its infamous gritty look and atmosphere would be lost to corporate led gentrification.
I needn't have worried. With the imposing backdrop of the high rise 'projects' and an atmosphere of uncertain tension, I knew I was in for a good photographic afternoon. My only regret is I hadn't done this years ago.
Next time...the last from New York - abstracts.
Matt Peers
Thanks to an understanding and long suffering other half I was able to indulge my love of street photography within our recent family trip to New York. For me New York is the Mecca of street photography, with a look and a feel that is instantly recognisable. It doesn't matter how much of a fan you are, you can't just turn up to Lords or Wembley and decide to bowl a few overs or a have kick about, and yet wondering through the streets of Manhattan I always feel like I have been allowed on to the biggest, most famous photographic set of them all. The noise, smells, the light and energy of people create a place where it feels a great director from above has shouted 'Action!' and everyone is playing their part. Luckily, it is also saturated with camera toting tourists, making it one of if not the most easiest places to blend in and quietly get on with what you want to shoot.
I'm not keen on the 'mug shot' of thrusting a camera in unsuspecting face, but it amazed me how close you could get without a bat of an eye lid. Unusually for me, my black and white images were few and far between. New York for many photographers is the place where they convert to colour and away from black and white forever. I'm not sure I'm going that far, but that constant vibrancy of life and colour, I can certainly see why.
I've realised over the last year or so that the term and genre of street photography is a contentious one with forums overflowing with arguments about is or isn't included. If, however they provide a smell and a sense of the streets of New York, then I have at least in part succeeded.
Next time: This ain't Kansas now Dorothy... A brief trip, but very memorable trip to Coney Island.
Since writing the ‘Do you mind I am smoking a fag’ blog, I’ve gone through my images and realised that themes, rather than planned projects, bubble away somewhere in my subconscious. They must, I mean, I’m no twitcher, fancier or spirit channeller for Jack Duckworth, but pigeons seem to regularly appear in my images.
I’m not sure why, but maybe it's because they can add some drama, grace and even a little comedy to an image.
This, of course, might just be a passing flight of fancy, but you never know, it might just take off.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
* A Tracker bar is in the post to the first person to get the title reference. :)
Probably more often than some photographers would admit, the image you want to take doesn’t happen. Technical failure or good old fashioned human error, it doesn’t matter; it’s way off what you intended. Once you’ve noticed an error, it is very tempting to quickly delete it and move on. Indeed, you may be short of memory... but before you do, hold off and try and see what it looks like on a proper screen.
The small proportions and lower resolution of an in-camera screen is not as honest a reflection of the image as you may think, so you could well be throwing some pictural babies out with your digital bath water. Out of focus blurring, for example, can add rather than detract from the impact of the image. Would Robert Capa’s D Day landing image have the same impact if it was pin sharp?
Of course many mistakes aren't worth recovering, but once you rescue a beauty, what then? Have a look at the image meta data - i.e. what was the aperture, exposure time, lens focal length? By understanding that and what went wrong you could now have a technique to add to your repertoire that you can explore again and again. However, If you can't for the life of you fathom how it was done ...well, just put it down to kismet and enjoy the results.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
I suppose the sensible advice is to not get your camera out in the rain or wait till it stops. Trouble is that makes for a very short and boring blog. What then of the situation where you have planned to take pictures, but the heavens have opened for the day? It happened to me very recently; a much needed day off was booked, my gear packed, batteries charged, train ticket purchased and a day of wandering in London with my camera was all going to plan...except for the weather. Usually I'm considering the quality and direction of light, but for most of that day I wasn't even able bring the camera up to eye level for a couple of seconds without my lens being soaked.
Even if I was a glass half empty type of person, the rain would have filled to the top... so the question was, how can I use the conditions creatively and not bemoan a lost opportunity? I simply looked down.
Ok, with this one I was able to look up for a moment.
Hopefully you'll agree it paid off. As my dear old mother used to say, if you make the best of a bad situation, you might just be pleasantly surprised.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
Going in close... I wasn't really going to be hit...honestly.
....Gilden. A few weeks ago I was lucky to see a talk by the Magnum celebrated street photographer Bruce Gilden. Not only was the event inspirational, it was held in the lovely new Library of Birmingham, through their photographic enterprise GRAIN and cost the unbelievable amount of £3! His work focuses on the people he finds ‘interesting’; many are on the margins of ’normal’ society, and his work is often considered shocking for the in your face confrontational style. Ironically, for a man who has traded blows on the tough streets of New York, taken candid images of real Russian and Japanese gangsters and witnessed voodoo rituals in Haiti, the people that scared him most were the ones he met on the West Bromwich high street!
Did he or did he not play football for West Bromwich Albion in the late 70s? The Secret Footballer by Me and I Photography
What struck me most about his talk was not his desire of the dangerous or the exploitation of the certain members of society, but to talk to people and listen to their stories. In doing so, his images are challenging, thought provoking and at times, down right hilarious.
Walking past a city centre building site presented me with a marvellous portrait opportunity.
Permission was granted before this shot was taken.
There are a growing number of online photographic and sociologic projects such a people of new york and the people of soho , capturing real people and their stories. Now, I can only dream that my efforts one day get close to Mr. Gilden’s work, but I’ll continue to talk to people and hopefully take a good image or two...
The lit advertising board was a great impromptu lighting set up.
In the food Market by the Festival Hall, South Bank, I looked like any other tourist with a camera.
For some reason it's aways easy to get a portrait by the National Portrait Gallery...
His eyes seemed to look straight in to my non religious soul.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
One of the biggest for photographers is the fear of a lack of inspiration and boredom with what they are doing. Many put this down to being in the same place for too long and not being stimulated by the challenge of somewhere new - preferably exotic. In the late 90s I attempted to hold on to my youth and decided to go around Australia till my money ran out ( I know, it was a cliche even then). Sitting in a pub in the middle of the outback, I shared life stories with a leather faced, alcohol fuelled local. As a rural Aussie born and bred, he thought my living in London was the height of adventure. I ,on the other hand, revelling in the outdoor life of hiking, campfires and dawn till dusk sunshine would have happily swapped my rain filled, cramped commuting life at the drop of a hat. The reality, of course, is the grass always looks greener - or in this case, outback orange.
There is an inherent danger in the desire for the new, as it can stop you looking at what is around you in your everyday life. Think of that car journey you do over and over again.The monotonous routine can regularly leave you unable to remember any significant details of it. This state of mind is the photographers' enemy and to combat it last year I started a project that focuses my attention on the mundane elements of life, in particular the building where I work . There's nothing particularly special about it, in fact the building is a poor example of 1960s architecture - all brutal and without the drama and retrospective cool of the period. And yet, like people it has good and bad days, can be full of light and shade and even a touch mysterious. So, here’s to Baker Building; my portrait of a place and to continually looking.
Till next time...
Matt Peers
My two boys are now at an age where they want to reenact their favourite TV shows and football matches and it is, noise and all, a joy to watch. Whilst in Cornwall for a half term break I was inspired by their play and imagination to emulate the work of one of my favourite photographers, Tony Ray Jones. In the 1960s he returned to the UK from the studying in US and, taking his experience of New York street photography embarked on a project to show the culture, traditions and changes of the people of England. So, when I had a stolen hour on holiday, I decide to just sit, watch the beach tell the stories and pretended to be Tony Ray Jones.
Till next time.
Matt Peers
