Story behind the image – Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona

One of the benefits of shooting digital over film is summed up with this shot. Plaça Catalunya in the center of Barcelona is a tourist and pigeon mecca. I wanted to get a shot of the pigeons but down low with their view and ideally with a tourist outline in the back ground.

Using a Leica X1 compact camera (manual focus with rear synchronized flash) I spent the best part of an hour not getting anything remotely good. This was the best shot out of nearly 200 images which to be honest was very frustrating. Whilst getting this 1 shot with film capture is possible the thought of shooting 5 rolls of film to get it isn’t exactly viable financially.

I would have liked the pigeons feet in the frame at least but the pigeons had other ideas… mainly pecking seeds. I would have liked to have a tourist outline in the background but the ones who were in the background didn’t have the right pigeon pose… Pigeon photography is tough..

Pre visualizing an image is essential even if the image you have in mind doesn’t always work as you wanted but at least you try… every time.

 

Story behind the image – New York

Theres something very fortunate about this image I never saw when I took it. New York had recently banned smoking in bars, cafes and restaurants etc. and I was shooting a story for Katz Pictures to syndicate to magazines about smokers. Standing opposite the Rockefeller Center on West 49th Street I was first attracted by the American flag in the window and was standing around waiting for something to happen. This guy stopped a few feet away from me looking across the road so I moved sideways and asked if he would mind me taking a photo. He said “fine” so I snapped several shots and this is my favorite.

Why fortunate? Maybe its my imagination but this guy just looks so New York.. he’s a cliche of what I think people think New Yorkers should look like..

Does the viewer of the image understand what the photographer is trying to say or show? In fact does the photographer even know what they are photographing when they click the shutter or does what they have taken become apparent when editing?

Working out how the viewer feels about an image which is so personal to the creator takes practice and time to develop the skill when editing.

I didn’t really think much about the portrait immediately after I took it. I knew I thought he looked ‘cool’ and very American but it was only after I saw a print that I felt it was a strong image that summed up in a portrait the feeling of New York. Maybe I’m wrong and maybe for most viewers its just ok and they dont feel it like I do.

Try not to over think your images and go with your gut instincts and don’t try to 2nd guess what the viewer may think.

Story behind the image – Istanbul, Turkey

This is a Kıtalar Arası Derbi, 15th February 1998 at the Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium. Within the first few minutes of the football match between Galatasaray vs Fenerbahçe the match is stopped as Galatasary fans throw 100s of flares onto the pitch. Two teams with many years of intense rivalry and occasional violence on and off the pitch. Galatasaray is from the European side of Istanbul and Fenerbahce from the Asian side divided by the Bosphoros River. 

Tokyo Cinema

Story behind the image – Brighton Beach Lovers

“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” – Jay Maisel

Taken on Brighton beach as part of my long term photo series about the beach between two piers. It was just a very stormy day and had the idea to get some images of empty beaches. The couple were alone on the beach and oblivious to me, lost in their own world. The image came out exactly as I wanted it to, like a scene from a 50′s movie. Unexpected things always happen but you have to be there and more importantly know what to do when it happens in front of you.

Story behind the image – Utrecht, Holland

I found an old VW Beetle in the back streets of Utrecht but the lighting wasn’t what I wanted. Lighting makes all the difference to the impact of an image and thats why shooting either side of the day when the sun is low can make all the difference and creates images with greater impact because of the quality of light and the angle the scene is being lit at.

The sun was gone but I was intrigued by the idea of using car lights to light the scene. It was just a question of waiting for some light at the right angle. Always when your out shooting your looking not only at compositions but also ways to create images in a different way and that’s often by using the light in a different way.

Story behind the image – Paris 98′

This image was shot for Adidas during an under 14′s Football World Cup match prior to the France 98′ World Cup. Any event where emotions run high is the place capture raw emotion. Its the end of the final match between Poland and Germany and this young Polish boy couldn’t contain his despair after losing.

Putting yourself into an environment of high emotion will always give you opportunities to create images with impact. You also have the opportunity of documenting an event which creates a historical record, which is what photography is about.. capturing the moment for future generations to understand how we lived today.

Story behind the image – Semana Santa, Malaga

Semana Santa, Malaga and the procession of the Cofradia de la Esperanza.

How do you get a subject to pose naturally? Following on from the last post this image is similar inasmuch as the subjects appear natural with no facial tension or silly grin. Facial tension is an image killer unless the intension is to show the subject with tension caused by the camera.

These children were waiting to begin their walk around a central area in Malaga as part of Semana Santa. I was wondering around and came across them actually looking rather bored even though they were talking to each other. I rarely initially engage in conversation before I take street portraits. I knelt down in front of them to lower the camera level to their height and shot 5 images. I made no real eye contact or talked. I believe taking a portrait of a stranger successfully is as much to do with your relaxed energy that you give out and their willingness to participate even though no words have been spoken.

The point is that creating images as Ive said before is balancing the situation and using your instinct and feeling to judge the moment. This can be learnt and is harder for some than others. The only way to get better at this form of photography is to get out into the streets and practice.

Story behind the image – Street Portrait, Afghanistan

Some images are given more impact by someone else doing something you never anticipated. Down a side alley in Herat I came across a group of children playing with a ball. I framed this young girl who just stood there completely unfazed, smiled at me and I raised my camera and she just stood as she is in the image. I took 1 shot then the boy leaned into the frame and made what I envisaged into something even stronger. Even if the boy could speak English the chances of getting him posed as he is would have been difficult and would have looked unnatural. Sometimes you have to work hard at getting the image you see in your head but the best images with the most impact just unfold in front of you. The key is seeing the image before it occurs and accepting acts of random behaviour as they happen.

 

Story behind the image – Florence, Italy

In my career I seem to have created quite a collection of people kissing and Seagulls flying. It’s funny how over time photographers often create mini collections without realizing it.

Elliott Erwitt is one of my favorite photographers and I’ve always followed his career and he’s been a huge inspiration to me. His work is broad ranging but he’s best known for his series on dogs and an image of a kissing couple as a reflection in a car wing mirror and a superb portrait of Marilyn Monroe. He said in an interview with Professional Photographer magazine  ”I don’t know that I set out to take pictures of dogs; I have a lot of pictures of people and quite a few of cats. But dogs seem to be more sympathetic”.

I think every photographer drifts towards a subject without realizing it and sometimes the series becomes bigger than they first intended. The image above was taken whilst on assignment for a travel magazine in Florence in 2004. Taken on a Fuji GW679iii I spotted another person taking a photo of the kissing couple and I was attracted to the curve of his back for some reason. Years later I’m still collecting images of kissing couples..