Distractions...

Sorry it's all gone a bit quiet lately - I've been tied up and distracted doing other things. Through the influence of another West Cumbrian "blogger" (yes you know who you are Marmalade!)I have rediscovered my love of photography and enrolled on the Street Photography Now project. Basically, every week a new brief is set and we have about six days to take and upload a single image that fulfills the brief. We're up to project 6 now and it should run until the end of the year (52 instructions over 52 weeks)... that is as long as people keep posting the project every week.

I've found it a real challenge though. When I was an angst ridden teenager at Art College in Stourbridge I wanted to become a photojournalist like George Rodger or record images of a torn and tory Great Britain in the style of Robert Frank and his vision of America. In later years I got into motorcycle photography after seeing Bob Magill's images in some old magazines given to me by a colleague in the USA. But I eventually realised that the requirement of supplying "nice images" that magazines would like and publish actually diluted my creative view and since then, my aspirations for photojournalism and documentary have slowly waned as work, motorbikes, bicycles, family and dealing with cancer became a bigger priority... that is until I came across Marmalde's excellent photography blog last summer.

This street photography is the new kid on the block for me and a whole new ball game. It's starting to become fun too... as soon as you lose the self conciousness of sticking a camera in somebody's face and taking candid photographs of them!

If you want to see more Street Photography and learn what it is all about here are a few links to help you understand the genre...

Street Photographers - The Art of Street Photography
Street Photography Now project
Street Photography of Artem Zhitenev

I was just shooting the bikes... by Bruce Gilden  (Magnum Photos)

Two Cars by Artem Zhitenev