- Messages
- 151
- Name
- Rob
- Edit My Images
- No
Brighton seafront, April 1989, so these would have been on my F3 and a 35/2 (which I still have)... Ilford FP4
This guy was occasionally to be seen repairing his nets outside his archway, but I'd never got a decent photo of him as I invariably cycled past when I didn't have my camera. I didn't feel a covert snapshot or long-lens image would work, so this time when I was on foot, I spent ten or fifteen minutes talking to him before even lifting the camera up - he was quite open about what happened next:
"Lots of people see me and want to take a picture - most just point the camera and so I turn around or go inside to make a cup of tea or say 'you can pay me a fiver for a photo' and then turn my back. You talked to me first so you can take all the pictures you want; it's been nice talking..."
He then just carried on doing exactly what it was he'd been doing before I stopped him...
These 3 images from a sequence of 6 are still not as good as what I'd be trying for nowadays - I didn't get a good facial portrait of him looking up with good light to highlight those craggy features, which I'd be more determined to capture if I shot this sequence today and I didn't get any shots from the other side or any wide shots showing him in the broader context of his surroundings... I'd also shoot more than only 6 frames today!!!
But it still served as a good learning exercise in approaching strangers, winning thier trust and getting a more relaxed image that just ambushing someone without their knowledge...
This guy was occasionally to be seen repairing his nets outside his archway, but I'd never got a decent photo of him as I invariably cycled past when I didn't have my camera. I didn't feel a covert snapshot or long-lens image would work, so this time when I was on foot, I spent ten or fifteen minutes talking to him before even lifting the camera up - he was quite open about what happened next:
"Lots of people see me and want to take a picture - most just point the camera and so I turn around or go inside to make a cup of tea or say 'you can pay me a fiver for a photo' and then turn my back. You talked to me first so you can take all the pictures you want; it's been nice talking..."
He then just carried on doing exactly what it was he'd been doing before I stopped him...
These 3 images from a sequence of 6 are still not as good as what I'd be trying for nowadays - I didn't get a good facial portrait of him looking up with good light to highlight those craggy features, which I'd be more determined to capture if I shot this sequence today and I didn't get any shots from the other side or any wide shots showing him in the broader context of his surroundings... I'd also shoot more than only 6 frames today!!!
But it still served as a good learning exercise in approaching strangers, winning thier trust and getting a more relaxed image that just ambushing someone without their knowledge...
Last edited:
