Yellow Vest movement in London

May 6, 2019

Street Photography in London

Myself and another photographer Graeme, had arranged to meet up in London for some street photography around the city… within an hour, that plan had changed.

After shooting around Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square warming up and getting the bad shots out of the way. A small group of Yellow Vests began to gather. The call was made to wait & see what was going on, and it was worth the small wait.

Covent Garden & Trafalgar Square

Yellow Vest Protest

The Yellow Vests had a planned protest/march down Whitehall heading to Parliament. What a stroke of luck that was! When we met up in the morning we were talking about, how you never know what you are going to get in London and always a chance of some kind of protest somewhere…

So there it was… Our day changed, and we followed the protest/march all the way to Parliament.

Good things come to those who wait

This couldn’t have been truer for this day. Had Graeme not noticed a few signs, I’d have carried on my way around London and probably been none the wiser.

Big thanks to Graeme for meeting up and educating me on what to look out for, much appreciated.

As a take away point. Don’t be impatient, it doesn’t hurt to wait around a location shooting for a while…. You never know what might happen, especially in a city like London.

Cheers!

Is Instagram right for you?

April 22, 2019

How do you find Instagram? Do you find it beneficial to your photography? Do you find new business through it?

I write this because I am about to delete my profile and leave it behind me. Since the ‘New Algorithm’ I Instagram is shit and I realize its not the place for me to show my work.

Photo’s that this time last year would have got a good 100+ likes, not only get 20 at a push! Now I don’t think it is all about the likes at all, but their algorithm is deciding weather your content is good enough to reach more people? Of course I understand that Instagram/Facebook is a business and they need to make money, but as a photographer who values real opinions on my work… Not a comment saying - “This is Great, maybe check my work and follow” after having not liked said picture that is great and haven’t followed me? This drives me crazy.

Instagram is a marketing platform at the end of the day. But I miss the days of everyone having a chance to see your work and not a computer algorithm deciding your worth…. Which moves me on to my main point.

Metrics and numbers on any ‘Social Media’ platform, do not and never will determine how good you are as a photographer or your self worth.

Platforms like Instagram can really have a profound effect on one’s mental health. I don’t think it has mine, but I don’t want to let it get to that point. I need clarity in my life and not an app determine who see’s my work.

Anyway, rant over!

If Instagram works for you, that’s great and wish you all the best on it.

If not….. Then maybe consider if its worth the time invested in it.

Cheers!

Street Photography in New Places

March 31, 2019

Hey guys!

I wanted to write this post on why I think travelling for street photography is a good thing to do. Last weekend I headed up to Henley-On-Thames to shoot some street photography with a friend.

It was my first time visiting and Henley, and a great visit it was! By chance the sun came out and made the day all the better. Henley is a beautiful little town, has a great deal of History and was a lovely place to shoot.

When I go to a new place to shoot, I always find a huge amount of inspiration from the new surroundings… I shoot in Windsor frequently and after a while, it gets boring and I more often or not feel uninspired to raise my camera. That’s not to say there aren’t interesting things to shoot, but having the inspiration and want to shoot really plays a part.

New places open your eyes to new pictures, scenes and people…. Mind goes in to overdrive and the camera is clicking the whole time there.