street photographer

Time for Change.

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If anything, these past 12 months have taught me to appreciate the small things. And that would include my photography.

Instead of looking for the things that I do not have, I have been grateful for the things I have now.

I have continued to look for photographic opportunities and used this time as a growth phase. It has slowed me down and made me look for new perspectives and try and see things in a different light.

Street Photography will always have its place, but I now understand it is not the be-all and end-all of my photographic journey.

Very soon I will be moving house. The area we are moving to will be closer to the countryside than the streets of Manchester. Plus, it will be a 30-minute journey to the coast. So as you can see, my progression is already there, and all I have to do is embrace the change. Change is good. It is the thinking that is overrated.

Keep the Faith

KV

Goodbye 2020

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Goodbye, 2020.

Here are my photographic highlights from the past 12 months.

Keep the Faith people as nothing lasts forever.

Like for Progress

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Like for Progress.

We can get bogged down with the constant barrage of images that we see online.

Instagram is a prime candidate for this. The more we look, the more we can become caught in the snowstorm of images.

We can look at the number of likes and see this as a success factor that has a knock-on effect on our progress. Our progress should not be graded on the number of likes we receive because that will always negatively affect us.

It was a conversation with a fellow photographer and a good friend who got me thinking about how we look at progress.

He was telling me about an image that he had taken and the thinking behind it. He explained the process and the way the composition came together. And to be fair, it is a decent enough image. The colour is spot on, the depth of the image is good, the technical aspects are all correct.

All in all, this is a successful image and one that he should and was proud of, but he based the success of that image on the number of likes he received. Reread it. He based the image's success not on the technical aspects of the fact that he had taken a decent photograph but also on the wider audience's engagement.

Social media is a game, and we are all being played off each other. Thankfully, I stepped out from that arena a long time ago.

Keep the Faith

KV

Northen Quarter , Manchester FujiFilm X100F

Woodland Walks.

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A few images from my recent walks around the local country parks.

All images were taken with my FujiFilm X100F using the Classic Chrome film simulation.

Somethings never change.

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With the lockdown restrictions beginning to ease, the homeless and the unfortunate are steadily returning to the city streets.

As a rule, I never photograph the homeless as they do not choose to be on the streets.

There was something about this scene that made me press the shutter button.

I could see some emotional upset and comforted each other; they are lost in that moment so much, so they do not even see me with the camera.

We will never know what was going on. It could be one of a hundred things.

Maybe it is the prospect of a night on the street or the realisation that they have no money for the simple things we take for granted like food and a warm bed. We will never know the truth.

This pandemic has changed the way we live our lives, but some things it seems will never change.

Street Photography is Weird.

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I wouldn’t say I like street photography – Not my words but the words from a friend.

At first, I was a little bit confused by this statement because I am a street photographer, and this is my thing, but then I realised it is not the like, but maybe its the understanding of street photography that he doesn’t understand.

Street photography from an outsider looking in can seem a little bit strange. We walk around open spaces and take pictures of strangers. Sounds weird.

Some use street photography for documentary purposes, and some use it to express their creative mind. 

To get a real understanding of street photography, we need to delve into the back catalogue of those that have gone before us. I have made it my business to study Gary Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz, Cartier-Bresson, Saul Leiter, Harry Gruyaert, Alex Webb, and Tony Ray-Jones, Ernst Haas and many more. It is not about emulating them. It is about seeing the possibilities.

What I love about street photography is not knowing what you will see. You cannot go out there and think I will get this or that because it does not work like that. You must go with the flow, and if it happens, then it happens.

I go out there with a blank canvas, and sometimes I will return with what I think is a masterpiece and then there are the days that I can come back with a bag of shit.

Slow down, take your time and get some decent footwear.

Keep the Faith

KV

FUJIFILM X100T CLASSIC CHROME -MANCHESTER

Shooting the Bride and Groom.

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One of our friends asked me if I could photograph their wedding, and they got a swift thanks but no thanks. When I was focused on my street work, and to be honest, I thought wedding photography was beneath me. Talk about being narrow-minded.

It was a decision that I soon regretted, and I would like to say sorry to my friends for that swift and final no. The wedding went ahead. We all had a great time but looking back, that was probably the push my photography needed. But hey, we live and learn.

Since turning down my friend’s offer, I have gone on to photograph numerous weddings either independently or as a 2nd photographer. So why the change of heart? It became noticeably clear that if I were to progress, I needed to challenge myself and see what I could do.

Once I broke through my own ignorance barriers, I started to open my mind to other photography work offers. All have had there own learning curves, and I have gained some valuable experience on the way.

There is something about the energy of the wedding day that gives me this buzz of excitement. Everything from the bridal prep to the first dance is pure energy, and we all get swept along on this wave of emotion, and I am there in the middle of it, trying my best to stay sharp and keep focused.

My coping mechanism for all this nervous energy is to stay tuned in to my environment, practice some mindfulness, and treat the day as one long street photography walk.

Like I have said before in my previous blogs, why be something I am not when its easier to be me.

In October, I will be shooting the wedding of Abbie and Matt. They are a wonderful couple, and I have known Matt for many years and regard him as a good friend. It will be an absolute pleasure to photograph their wedding, especially after everything that has gone on this year.

The wedding photography industry is a tough nut to crack, and there are thousands of photographers out there all chasing the same clients, breaking into the industry takes time and balls of steel.

Is Wedding Photography something I want to pursue as a full-time business? Maybe in the future, but I am simply happy being the street photographer who enjoys shooting the bride and groom.

Keep the Faith

KV

Lockdown Reflection

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As we slowly grind our way out of this never-ending lockdown, I have done a little bit of reflection on the past few months and tried to make sense of it all.

In the beginning, we witnessed the selfish and the self-centred of this world clear the supermarket shelves with no regard or thought for anyone except themselves. Greed was king as they believed this was the start of the apocalypse—shameful behaviour by people who should know better.

Early on, I decided to turn the news off and delete certain apps as my brain was melting with the constant bombardment of fear-driven information.

The Government failed to get a grip of the situation, which left many of us in limbo, and once the lockdown kicked in, it was too little too late. Granted, they have tried to keep business afloat with bucket loads of cash, but it will all need to pay back the taxpayer.

There have been some positives, especially our overdue appreciation towards the NHS and the overworked, underpaid key workers.

We have seen some beautiful acts of kindness from all walks of life, which have restored some of my faith in humanity.

Away from photography, my real job is Telecommunications, so I was classed as a key worker.

My colleagues and I had the task of “Keeping the UK Connected”,, and I am proud of what we achieved in these difficult times.

Its been a time for gratitude and being thankful for what I have.

There have been some tricky days, but we have come through this together and made our little unit a bit stronger as a family.

Photography wise I have used these strange days to start writing this blog which has given me some escape from the ongoing situation. I am fully aware that my writing skills are not that of Oscar Wilde or Shakespeare, but I have done this for me and my sanity, but if just one person gets something from what I have written, that will be a bonus.

Over these past months, I have delved deep into my back catalogue, and it has been pleasing to see some growth with my work. Progress, not perfection, is always key.

It will be a pleasure to see the streets of Manchester bustle with activity again as the one thing that I have missed is life itself.

Time to give 2020 a jump start.

Keep the Faith.

KV

CASTLEFIELDS MANCHESTER FUJIFILM X100F ACROS RED

Print your Work.

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It amazes me how many photographers do not print their work.

We spend hours perfecting our images for it to be uploaded on social media to be viewed for 5 seconds on a little screen!! The connection between us and the image is still not complete as we only see the digital copy. It is like downloading music. Yes, you have it, but you do not own it unless you are holding the CD or Vinyl in your hand.

Once we print our work, it then becomes a physical thing which in turn becomes more personal. We are then connected to our own work.

Now, I am not talking about printing huge gallery prints in gold frames, but small A4 prints or 6x4 ones; it does not really matter; at least we have that image in our hands.

This is a documentation of YOUR work which will be around a lot longer than storing them on a phone or a laptop. Basically, we are hiding them away in our little flies or uploading them into this imaginary cloud, and who knows what will happen to all that in the future.

We take the image, then edit the image we then present it to our audience, and the final stage of that image should be the printing of your work.

An online portfolio is good, but a portfolio than you can actually hold and see is priceless.

Keep the Faith

KV

Some of my recent prints.

Colour v Mono

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The colour v black & white debate is something that I had a good few years ago and I decide that colour was the way forward for me.

This was partially due to my purchase of the X100T. Once I set the camera to classic chrome and looked through the viewfinder it was like a switch going off in my head and I was sold, hook line, and sinker.

Black and white still have its place especially with my commissioned work like weddings and portraits but with street photography is was going to be colour. For me, it is the difficulty of the two as there is a lot more thinking required, as all the elements need to be spot on for colour to work on the street.

I am not disregarding BNW but there is always the temptation to cover up the faults of the image by clicking that black and white button in Lightroom. And I think we can all agree that you cannot polish a turd by switching it to BNW and pumping up the clarity.

This is not me saying all BNW street work is shit because that would not be right as there are some superb street photographers out there who are producing some beautiful images in black and white.

And this is the point that we go full circle. I recently acquired the Fuji Film X100F and I am in love with the Acros film simulation settings especially the Red & Yellow filters. It was like a déjà vu moment when I looked through the viewfinder and I was seeing this beautiful grainy BNW image.

It is just small steps back into the world of BNW, but I am enjoying the process, so much so that I have opened another Instagram account for my BNW work.

Have I missed working in black & white? Yes and no but if I can have a slice of both worlds than I am happy with that. At the end of the day it is all about doing the things that make you happy.

New Instagram Page - https://www.instagram.com/kv_mono/

Keep the Faith

KV

MANCHESTER - X100F ACROS+RED