Working The Streets

Hailing from the large and industrious city of Liverpool in the UK, throughout my youth, along with my mates, the city was my playground. it’s an environment I am comfortable in, its inhabitants, transiters and visitors fascinate me, each with their own individual story and purpose.  

As I continue on life’s path, I am now in the fortunate position of having completed my full-time working life, having endured 43 years’ service in the British and Australian Army. I have spent a lot of time deployed overseas, often in an urban environment where the observation of people was an integral requirement, unfortunately not with a camera.

I believe it’s because of the above, I am very comfortable on the streets with a camera. I find it therapeutic, being lost “In the moment’, observing actions, items, intricate places, colours, smells, shadows, reflections, merges, patterns etc. I embrace the positive mindfulness aspects, as well as the mental and physical health benefits, of my hobby (addiction) and often surprised and excited when a new creative idea is hatched.

I am inspired by many of the great street masters such as Cartier-Bresson, Winogrand, Maier etc. However, I continuously hunt out imagery by Fan Ho who explored the streets of Hong Kong, capturing imagery of everyday people and life. His ability to harvest the light, frame and capture the shadows, whilst meandering throughout the narrow laneways is mesmerising. It is incorrect to copy or imitate another artist’s style, however, I do find my more recent imagery being heavily influenced by Fan Ho, perhaps that is just wishful thinking!