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
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!