From 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.
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Pigeons in flight- I want to see you tonight!*
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. :)
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Do you mind, I am smoking a fag!
A couple of years a go I attended a lecture by the seminal photographer Steve McCurry. He's the one that took the famous picture of the Afghan girl with the 'eyes'. To be honest the lecture was pretty dull - a sort of death by power point and greatest hits mixed together - but he did impart some advice that stuck with me; always have a recurrent theme. His was to photograph people sleeping in public ( whatever floats your boat I suppose...) and mine has ,by accident rather than design, been of people smoking. Rather than enter moral or medical arguments about the habit ( for the record I only smoke when I’m rubbed hard enough...), for me it offers a unique window in to the person and their life.
The broad spectrum of people is fascinating; from the cinematic cool looking youngsters to the older generations displaying its long term effects. The lack of public indoor smoking options means it's a great theme for street photography.
Huddled in shop doorways and shelters, the scenes can have a sense of street theatre to them; some dispossessed, rejected by the non smoking world feel to them, others ganged together, laughing and enjoying their nicotine fuelled time together.
Either way, I’m sticking to Steve McCurry’s advice and carrying on my theme, but avoiding people sleeping in public...for now.
Till next time...
Matt Peers