Oddly, while I find my own aging appearance less than appealing, as a keen street/candid photographer I’m often drawn to older people. And especially for monochrome photography. The character in these faces really suits that medium; or does the medium suit the character?
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Travelling teaches us that people around the world have more in common than we sometimes realise. People everywhere laugh, cry, worry, and hope for the same basic things. And when good things happen, we celebrate. There are small family celebrations: a new baby, a wedding, a birthday. And then there are the celebrations that bring people together on a much bigger scale. A national holiday, a religious festival, a sporting success …
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It goes without saying that cities and towns are built by and for people. Yet so often when we photograph buildings we wait until the scene is clear before pressing the shutter. But what is a city without its people? Including them in your shots brings the city to life, showing how these buildings create the backdrop for daily life.
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Why, when we see the world in colour, do we often find black and white portraits so engaging? With the distraction of colours stripped away we are driven to focus on elements such as the direction of a gaze, skin texture and the interplay of light and shadow on the face. Elements such as clothing and jewellery fade into the background and the expression on the face takes centre stage.
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Hull has had something of a poor reputation in England in recent years, but that seems to be changing. A city voted the ‘worst place to live in the UK’ in 2005 became the country’s City of Culture in 2017 and last year its city centre was named one of the coolest places to live by the Sunday Times. From worst to coolest; that’s quite a turnaround!
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For many years the northern region of Sri Lanka was the stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, usually abbreviated to LTTE and better known as the Tamil Tigers. But when the civil war hostilities ceased in 2009 visiting the region again became a possibility. It’s a long drive north, but well worth it to see a different side of this island.
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The Regents Canal links the Grand Union Canal in Paddington with the Thames in east London, via the Limehouse Basin. It is 8.6 miles (13.8 kilometres) long and like most canals has a towpath. These towpaths were originally used by horses to pull barges but today are popular places for walking, jogging and cycling (where wide enough).
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In the past there were two options. Carry a camera if you were actively out taking photos or leave it at home and risk missing a serendipitous shot. These days we don’t have to choose. We can leave our heavy camera gear at home and still grab those unexpected moments with our phones.
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How often in this busy world do we take the time to just sit? Sitting to enjoy a view, to take a pause from all the activity that fills our days, to simply relax? And if we do, are we 'wasting time' or are we using it wisely to recharge our batteries?
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What do you do if you love to visit far-flung locations but are fed up with long haul flights and nights spent trying to sleep on a plane? You could splurge on business class to make your night more comfortable. But no amount of splurging will help with jet-lag, and however comfortable the sleeping arrangements your night will still be disturbed by noise from turbulence and your fellow passengers.
