This week I celebrated 5 years since my return to film photography in 2017 and a lot has happened in that time, the last two of which I have shared with you on this blog. I have gone from a total novice to being reasonably competent at this wonderful art and had my share of highs and lows along the way. I have grown as a photographer and my love of photography has grown too. The more I learn with each roll, the better I have come to understand how it all works. It's important to learn with each roll you shoot, it helps us improve, but I still have a long journey ahead of me.
I have spoken before about how a simple snapshot of a husky having a paddle in the fountain in Mesnes Park, Wigan gave me confidence I was doing the right thing. That moment in time has not been repeated despite my best lurking attempts when dogs are close by and it showed me more than anything else to capture the moment, seize the day. It doesn't always work out. As I have grown to understand about respecting the folk who use the park every day, one or two absolute bangers have eluded me.
One adorable scene last summer was one such banger of a wall hanger when a young child, probably only three years old, was feeding the pigeons with her mother close by. My photographers instinct had the aperture, shutter and iso all fixed in my mind, but my heart said no, not without the mother's permission. By the time I had made my way closer the moment had gone, but I still have that image in my mind.
Many of you might be thinking "why didn't you take the shot, you're in a public space?" You have a point, but ethics come into play. I don't carry business cards this is my hobby, I had nothing to give to the mother to reassure her I was a genuine chap and not "some creep with a camera." That view of photographers still exists in the public psyche despite the best efforts of the photography community to prove otherwise. I think this is an example of why I prefer architecture and landscape photography. I really enjoy street photography too because of that husky, but everyone has their own limits. Mine is people.
People often dont see me and carry on their daily business, others see me and don't really mind if they are in my shot. There are folk who will stop and wait for me to take my shot and others who walk right in front of me at the moment I release the shutter, going about their day in their own world totally unaware they have walked into mine. I have a few images of half a head obstructing the view I wanted to capture. Is this me not being mindful of the world around me and needing to pick my moments more carefully or have I perfected the art of being invisible and melting into the background?
It's been an interesting five years captured on film and digital and those are just a few examples of the new way of thinking I have developed since having to park my beloved motorcycle. I still have to make split second decisions like those I made during my biking days, but they no longer apply to the rules of the road. They now apply to my new sedentary life as a photographer and blogger, those split seconds are a bit longer now I have more time to think.
That's quite a profound shift in my psyche as I used to think about nothing else but going for a ride on my bike. Now I think about my blog and where I am going to shoot another roll of film. I went into this thinking "can you teach an old dog new tricks?" The answer is "apparently you can." Here's a few of my favourite images over the last five years, I hope you enjoy them.
My Flickr Account
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