Tag Archives: Sheldon Serkin

Photography and mindfulness

May
16
2017
by Brendan Ó Sé | Comments Off

Mindfulness.

Edinburgh: 2010 (Nikon D40)

Seems like we are missing out if we cannot tune out. We are always on.

I know my mind is a bit like a tumble dryer – always on – always spinning. Wish I could just switch it off – vacate the premises – leave no lights on. Just go!

The pip-pop life span of worries (Nikon D7000)

There is always something churning, something burning.  I do not neglect my worries. No, I tend to them carefully. One may slip off, but I can skilfully substitute. I might wake and feel all is right with the world and right with Brendan, but then I sense it. This hollow echo slowly vacuuming.  Then it returns. This slight uneasiness; a nagging knowingness that something is just not fully right.

Dublin. 2016 (Nikon D7000)

What utter nonsense it is to feel like this. I can rationalise it, intellectualise about it, but I cannot rid myself of it. I feel – on – all the time.

But do I?

Recent conversations I have had about photography with friends has gotten me thinking. First one was with Sheldon Serkin in Bangkok. He asked me what getting in the zone when shooting street meant to me. He was to give a talk the following morning about this at the 8 x 8 Street Photography Conference. About how when you are out shooting, that you get in the zone. Whatever that is. For different people it is different things.

I stopped and thought.

I think, I said, for me, it is switching off. I lose sense of my surroundings, of noises. Things become narrowed. I become super-focussed on my immediate environment, and the only distractions I have are visual ones.

Later, with more reflection, I told him – when I am out shooting and I zone out I am on an accelerated path, excited, exhilarated to be in the moment. Scenes, looks, people, flash and vanish. It is dreamlike. I am – off.

When I step out of this moment, I said, it is weird. Slowly, and then suddenly, noises, like traffic, people talking, rush in. I might find myself in the middle of the road, or down on my knees on the pavement, or pushed up against a wall and realise I need to move, to get back into the normal rhythm of things. I feel invigorated, exhilarated; alive! It is euphoric and addictive. Does it happen all the time. Hell, no! But when it does – wow!

He told me for him, when he gets in the zone,  he feels invincible, invisible. Instinct and intuition kick in and he feels on. Conversely I feel off. Freed. But I do agree with the instinct and intuition kicking in.

Delhi, 2016 (Nikon D7000)

Now, for me, I have tried mindfulness. I have laid on a bed in a dark room. Slowed my breathing, drew it into the depths of my tummy, held it there and then exhaled. Repeated and repeated. Tried this for days after days. Did I feel less stressed? Did my worries fall off my shoulders Did they fuck? I am too restless. I lie on the bed and try to free my mind; to just concentrate on my breathing. It works for a few minutes, but then slowly thoughts crowd in and I am not in the moment anymore. They tell you to embrace this, not to chase those thoughts away, that gradually a quietness will come. But I have never got beyond that, to be honest. When this happened, I just stopped.

But when I get in the zone on the streets, it is not a voluntary act or decision. Somehow I slip into this mode and all the noise just gets shut out. Nagging thoughts do not intrude. I am not even aware of this until I slip back out of the zone.

Hong Kong, 2014 (Nikon D7000)

Move on to the next conversation, one I had with my friend, Paul Moore at the excellent MojoCon conference last week. He was talking about how he likes to stay up late at night and work on his photos. He said for him it was a form of mindfulness. Now, I had never ever imagined that editing images could be a form of mindfulness. But once he said it, I banked the idea, and have returned to it over the past week or so, and I have to say he is right. Very right. It is a form of mindfulness. One that suits me. One that does bring me a calm. OK, lots of times it can be frustrating when you learn that your photo is crap. But while editing, I am immersed in the process – with each Lightroom slide, I am willing the photos to life, willing them to be right. And for those moments, I am back in zone, back out on the street and the emotion, the excitement, the connection and all-consuming immediacy of that moment is there with me again, but now it is calming, rather than exhilarating.

Berlin, 2015 (Nikon D7000)

The older I get, the more I realise how dumb I am. How unaware of it is what I do, the things that can make me happy, the things that just add to my stress.

Simple things like surrounding myself with positive people. Those who love grey skies, let the clouds hide them from my life. Be kind. Be kind to myself. From that it is much easier to be kind to others.

Can photography be a form of mindfulness? Do we make the mistake in thinking that mindfulness is only with your eyes closed, your breathing slowed and all the while crippling yourself in a lotus pose? I think I have.

Cork, 2014 (Nikon D 7000)

So often in my photography I fear I will never get another good shot. I find it hard to motivate myself and I can become so self-critical. I feel I won’t rediscover that exhilarating feeling of being in the moment; in the zone. It’s like many things in life, you cannot force it. I cannot explain how it happens, how it comes. But it does come. Not often enough though. When it does, I just seem to slip into it. Feeling the freeing rush of the noise being blocked out in my head, I am in the moment. I don’t need to be in a darkened room. I don’t need to become conscious of my breathing and battle intruding thoughts. It is an intense awareness of what is happening around me and the opportunity to capture it in frames. It is my mindfulness.

Dublin, 2014 (D7000)

Posted in Brendan Ó Sé. Brendan Ó Sé photography, Inspiration, Street Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |

Bangkok – 8 x 8 – Street Photography Conference

May
04
2017
by Brendan Ó Sé | Comments Off

Curiosity, adventure, the unknown, the unexpected. All of these things, and more, got me excited about MonogramAsia’s (MGA) inaugural street photography conference in Bangkok – 8×8. And what will I take away from it all? Wonderful conversations with sensational people; conversations punctuated with beautiful visual distractions. 

Olly, Ben, Shel, Rammy, Chatchai, Paul, Ghatoe, Brendan, Take, Eric, Xyza

Olly, Ben, Shel, Rammy, Chatchai, Paul, Ghatoe, Brendan, Take, Eric, Xyza

Who were these people?

There were big names from the world of street photography presenting and leading photo walks at the event – people like Eric Kim, Take Kayo- a.k.a Big Head Taco, Xyza Cruz Bacani, Olly Lang, Bellamy Hunt, Sheldon Serkin, Ghatot Subroto, Paul Yan, and Rammy Narula.

Everyone knows ERIC KIM. Google knows him so well that when you put in Street Photography into its search engine, Eric pops up in number one position. Some people have a problem with this. They resent his presence. Feel it is unmerited.

Eric Kim and Shel Serkin

But here’s the thing about Eric.

He. Is. Doing. It.

He’s not sitting back and thinking: “Man, I would love to do that!” No! He is on it. He got into street photography, saw the information he wanted, the things he wanted to learn were not easily available online so he set about creating an online resource for people who shared his passion for street photography. And he worked it, creating one of the most influential platforms on the net; all the while sharing his passion for photography and if you read carefully enough – he is actually telling people over and over: this is how I have done it, YOU can do it too!

Meeting Eric is full on. The first thing he said (I mean asked – Eric loves questions) was: Tell me your life story? This was followed by: What’s your philosophy? Then: Why do you make photos? As I struggled to answer these I noticed he was already formulating the next questions from the answer I was structuring. And it is not inane. No, he truly wants to learn – and as he claims, he does truly want to empower people. 

For me, when I look at a photo, I want to see where the photographer is. Because the photographer is in every photo. It can be that you can imagine their physical position in relation to the subject, or more importantly, you can feel their emotion, sense their character, or connect with their curiosity in getting the shot. The photographer is always there. After our photo walk, we all met up for dinner. Eric sat next to me. Without asking he picked up my camera and began to swipe through my shots from the day. Ooh! Eric Kim reviewing my shots. I was nervous I can tell you. But he was inquisitive, sharp, and kind about my images. I asked then could I see his. Sure! We all know Eric is capable of creating arresting street images, but as I clicked through his shots from the day I saw visual images of abstract constructions. Beautiful ones. Photos I was not expecting to see.

Photo by Eric Kim

Another guy who you cannot help coming across online is Japan Camera Hunter, a.k.a Bellamy Hunt (or should that be the other way around?). I had the pleasure of sharing a taxi from the airport to the hotel with Bellamy and it was great to get to know him. Bellamy is interesting and engaging. His story of how he went from working in an office in Tokyo – being a salaryman – to being one of the world’s most renowned camera finders is fascinating. Over the few days with him I enjoyed his dry wit, his very British character, and his kindness too. He gave us a roll of his film and I am excited to try it out. I look forward to looking him up when I am next in Tokyo and shooting some street with him, or just having a nice cup of tea!

Bellamy Hunt

When Ben (MGA founder)and I were first discussing the possibility of an event like this and including mobile photographers in it, Olly Lang was one of the first names I thought of. I have followed Olly for a number of years. I like his photography, but what I got most from Olly was his thinking on where photography was and where it was heading. I had listened to him on the fabulous photography podcast – The Photography Show (go check it out – in fact you will find interviews with Bellamy, Eric on here too). Olly is a deep thinker and what he has to say always gets you thinking. He is also a funny guy. Very often, as you get to know people, you need to tune into to get their humour. Olly cracked me up at times with his dry delivery and ability to snap a comic twist on things.

Olly

They say you should not meet your heroes, and for the main part that is true. Sheldon Serkin is a hero of mine. He shoots on the streets of New York with an iPhone and produces these beautiful, revealing tender (and often humourous) candid moments. Sheldon’s work slows me down, draws me in and allows me to dream. Of all the people at the conference Sheldon was the one I was most excited to meet. And I was not disappointed. Over the five days we talked and talked and laughed and laughed so much. It was super cool to learn how much we have in common: Both English language teachers and both big Dead Kennedys fans. Oh, yeah!!!!

Shel Serkin

Photo by Sheldon Serkin

Gathot Subroto (Gathoe)- from Indonesia. I first met Gathoe when I was in Jakarta last year for a talk with MGA. I felt bad that day because once my talk was over I had to get in a taxi and get to the airport to fly home and I missed out on his talk. Gathoe is a photographer whose work I love. His colourful street work is constructed with care and precision (not an easy thing to achieve on the streets), and it has a beauty and at times a humour to it which is striking. One of the things I love about Ghatoe is his smile. What a beautiful smile! 

Gathoe

Photo by Gathoe

Take Kayo – Big Head Taco. Now, here is a gentleman. Here is a force of nature. When Take starts to talk clocks stop ticking. Take can talk, and talk, and talk. But he engages, and he wants to listen, and he wants to learn. I listened to a podcast with Take on my way to Bangkok (for me the best photography podcast out there is Ibarionex Perello‘s , and this was a great lead-in to getting to know the man behind the persona of Big Head Taco). I connected with Take. I liked his honesty. I liked his style and I liked the way he worked.

Take Kayo – a.k.a Big Head Taco

I am fortunate to get to shoot in amazing cities around the world. Tokyo will always be my favourite, but there is something special about Bangkok. To appreciate this you only have to look at the amazing street photography coming out of Thailand. Chatchai Boonyaprapatsara is the co-founder of Street Photo Thailand (stop reading and click now!). He presented his own work, which I love. and that of the other group members. People will know the work of Tavepong Pratoomwong, but others in the group are producing stellar photographs too. Have you clicked yet? No! Do it now!

Pho

Photo by Chatchai

Rammy Narula! Ben sent me a link to his work before coming to Bangkok and I remember sitting back in my chair and loudly exclaiming “Fuck!” as I clicked through his images. His stuff is good! Rammy is a cool guy. He has a cool beard and he wears cool caps.

He gave a great talk. Shared his process in getting his shots. The dedication to and the vision of what he wanted to create was impressive. He went to the main train station in Bangkok over six months to shoot in a window of light that lasted for 20 minutes on a platform. Six months work boiled down to 29 images. Photography is not about single images. It is about deselection. Killing your babies, as they say, to create something coherent, something cohesive, something with impact that the hits viewer and allows them to dream.

Rammy and Brendan

Photo by Rammy Narula

Paul Yan –  what a man! A rock star! A bass player – a record producer from Taiwan living in Beijing. Paul is fucking cool! He has style. His clothes, his jewellery all have personality. Paul puts his heart and soul into his work. I was going mad that I could not see his talk as it clashed with the review session from our photo walk. I had known Paul for sometime online, been a fan of his work, and now can appreciate it more that I know the man. Meeting him makes he want to get to Beijing to shoot street with him and listen to Tuesday Afternoon – the latest band Paul is producing.

Paul Yan – a.k.a Cresting Wave

Xyza Cruz Bacani . Of all the presentations at the conference, Xyza’s was the one that hit me most strongly. On the panel discussion the previous day she had talked of privilege of being able to shoot on the street and it was something I had not considered before. It got me thinking of responsibility; it got me thinking of how fortunate I am. Xyza’s work is on another level in terms of its quality, and in terms of its impact and message. She showed three videos of her work and in each I was quietened. As I said, I look for the photographer in their photographs and In the first video, photographs of couples in Hong Kong, I saw her. I saw her curiosity, maybe her longing, maybe envy, but her talent to observe and construct beauty and tenderness shines. In the others, I saw her ability to tell stories, to connect, to cross boundaries that only photographs have the power to do, and I felt challenged to think about what photography is and can be.

What I will remember about Xyza is her sense of fun too. Together with Sheldon, Renzo, Olly and Yoko we hit the bars together and had the craic, as we say here in Ireland.

Selfie with Xyza

THE PHOTO WALK

One of the questions that arose on the final day for the panel was: Who do you think got more from the conference – the speakers or the participants? One of the easier questions to give a definitive answer to. For me, I got so much from the event. It pushed and pulled at how I think about photography, think about how I see, how I construct/deconstruct visually, how I present and share my work.

Hitting the streets with the participants

When we hit the streets with the participants on the photo walk it was so cool to see how my excitement to be shooting on the streets of their city transferred to them. Before the event I was thinking what I wanted to give the shooters on the photo walk, and I guess I was hoping I could give them inspiration to see things with fresh eyes. Over the course of three to four hours we got to know each other a little. A common question for people who are getting into street photography is how to get over their fears. One little piece of advice I give is to get the first shot in as soon as you can. It is like going to a party. If you sit in the corner waiting for people to come to chat with you, it gets harder and harder. But if you strike up a conversation with the first person you see, then it is so much easier to talk to the next person. It was like that on the walk. Seeing people getting braver and bolder in trying to get that shot was great. Hearing that they felt more confident, and got shots they would never have tried was really rewarding for me.

One of the funniest experiences was getting this shot. What could possibly happen when you get in close and shoot a sleeping, tattooed man who has a Stanley blade in his hand?

What could possibly happen?

The following day we had the review and critique of images shot. Epson, one of the main sponsors, printed the participants’ photos. What I loved about the photo walk is that we may all have walked along the same route but what we saw and how we saw was so different. I was really impressed by the photos they had made, and their ability to self-critique. I shared three of my own photos – none perfect – and it was refreshing to hear their feedback on my shots.

@kawinnie’s photo from the photo walk

I cannot end this without giving huge thanks to my friends in MGA whose hard work behind the scenes meant we could just get on with our roles as speakers/photographers. Everything was in place for us. There were no hiccups. It all ran so smoothly. Why? Because a team was put together that all pulled in the same direction. People who were prepared to do the hard work to get the job done. And it was done superbly.

Big thanks to Elfie – next time on the streets together shooting, my friend.

With my good friend Elfie

 To Victor – he must have a clone of himself sharing his workload.

Victor

To Billy – thanks for being so patient with me and having everything perfectly in line for my talk.

Billy

To Mo at the wonderful boutique hotel – Nandha – and his excellent staff.

Add in to this mix the opportunity to meet Renzo Grande – co-founder of the 24-hour project – who came along to the event, and Yoko – a really special person – who is so kind and fun to be with. On the final day, Sheldon, Renzo, Yoko and I had a fun time out exploring the streets of Bangkok. It was hot, it was humid, but it was memorable.

Renzo, Shel and myself

And Ben – Mr. MonogramAsia – my good friend! My fellow dreamer. Bangkok – 8×8 was a huge success. It’s done now. On to the next one.

Bigger, bolder, better!!!!

Mr. MonogramAsia – Ben

 

 

Posted in Brendan Ó Sé. Brendan Ó Sé photography, Inspiration, iPhone, iPhone photography, Photo Talks, Street Photography, Travel Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sheldon Serkin

Nov
18
2015
by Brendan Ó Sé | 7 Comments

This is the first in a series of interviews I am doing with photographers whose work I admire. To kick things off I did an interview with one of my favourite photographers: Sheldon Serkin.

Chloé

Chloé

When I read the tweet and learned that Sheldon Serkin had won the 2014 Mobile Photography Awards Grand Prize, I left a loud whoop out of me. I was delighted! For a long time, I had been following Shel’s work, both on Flickr and Instagram and had become a big admirer of his wonderful, humourous, emotive and tender portraits of New Yorkers on the go. That he had won the Grand Prize with such a wonderful submission of mobile street photography was something I was thrilled about.

It seems that nowadays anyone who picks up a camera wants to be a street photographer, and why not? It is a great hobby and I am a long-time believer that through street photography we can become more compassionate to each other and to ourselves. And this is where Sheldon excels. He has this ability to discover the surreal and beautiful among the daily grind of big city life in New York City. His images, while they allow us intimate glimpses of those he photographs, are never intrusive. There is a tenderness and a truth about them.

I remember the first time I came across his work seeing an image of some guy in New York doing something on the streets, I can’t remember what exactly, but what I do recall with clarity is that when I read the title and saw that it was a person’s actual name, it caused me to look at the image again. To my amazement, I realised I was beginning to see more in the image. My imagination was sparked. It was like I had been introduced to this person and we were on a first name basis. This was Morrie, Conrad and Sabrina. Sheldon’s images bring you in to meet the characters he photographs. He does the introductions and then leaves you to get to know one another.

I think Daniel Berman, of the Mobile Photography Awards, put it well when announcing Shel as the Grand Prize Winner for 2014:

“He rips out the truth, whereever he finds it, and kicks it around for a while. Gently. His work has the gift of being both funny and sad, simple and grand, complex and straight-forward. That’s what makes his images stand out. Truth. Honesty. Empathy. His work ultimately brings us closer to who we are as people.”

I could go on and on about Sheldon, but let’s hear from the man himself.

Waterton

Waterton

Sheldon, thanks for taking the time to do this interview and to share you work here.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi Brendan, thanks so much for this opportunity to speak with you! I was born and raised in Canada and I’ve been living in New York City for about 25 years. I first arrived to attend film school, and loved it so much I’ve continued on these many years. Currently I work in the non-profit world and live in Brooklyn with my wife, Tali, and our two children.

Tell us a little about your photography journey?

I’ve been obsessed by movies and filmmaking since I was very young (an obsession sealed by “Star Wars” in 1977) so always looked to film as a means of self-expression and an outlet for creativity. As I got older, my ambitions waned, whether as a result of incoming family, disenchantment with the film industry, or my own personal brain activity. For a long period of time I didn’t pursue any type of creative work in any medium. That all changed when I got my first iPhone five years ago. Within a week of getting the 3G, I was shooting every day on the streets and in the subways of NYC. The ease and inconspicuousness of the device opened the floodgates.

How long have you been shooting street?

I’ve been shooting for five years now, every day, obsessively.

What is it about street photography that appeals to you?

I have a love/hate relationship with people. On a personal level, I do experience some anxiety interacting with other humans – acquaintances, neighbors, etc. Shooting street allows me to get to know people, empathize with them, feel what they feel and experience what they experience without any messy interactions beyond their appearance in my lens. No interaction is key, I think, because it gives me the freedom to determine who they are and what they feel and shoot accordingly. For example, I may see a man on the train who seems sad; capturing them, I, and hopefully the viewer, can project whatever story or situation onto the subject that speaks to me, even though what’s really going through the subject’s mind in that instant is, “I need to pick up milk”.

Dudley

Dudley

Is it only with an iPhone that you shoot?

Yes, only iPhone. It feels comfortable in my hand, there’s no viewfinder, I can use it as a third eye and not need to look at the frame I’m capturing.

You present the streets of New York so well, but I wonder is there anywhere else in the world you would like to shoot?

I love shooting in NYC, and have loved shooting in Canada and Israel as well. I would LOVE to shoot in India, Mexico and Japan – your photos of Tokyo sealed that deal.

Do you have any projects in the pipeline?

No specific projects, though I keep hoping one will crystallize in my head. I plan to just keep shooting daily and enjoying the results.

Tell us a little about your workflow; do you tend to post photos immediately or let them marinate? Do you use many apps?

A combination of both, really. If I go out for the sole purpose of shooting, I tend to post one photo immediately, usually the one I think is the best. However, I’ve realized that 99% of the time my first instinct is wrong, and that there are others more successful or surprising images. I’ll go back a couple of weeks later to survey what else there is and if any of it is interesting. Sometimes a memory of a shot will pop into my head, and I’ll scurry to my camera roll to revisit it.

I shoot pretty much exclusively with Hipstamatic, which is both out of habit and because I have a few lens/film combinations that I love. I use a limited number of additional apps: Filterstorm, Snapseed, Enlight and Touch Retouch are go-to apps for me. I would love to use VSCO more, but haven’t had the patience to differentiate between the filters.

Elsa

Elsa

I was really pleased to see you win the Grand Prize in the 2014 Mobile Photography Awards. What did this mean to you personally?

Honestly, it meant the world to me. It has validated this craziness that has overtaken my life and provided encouragement to keep going.

If you had the opportunity to become a professional photographer, would it fill you with dread or with excitement? How important is the aspect of fun in what you do?

Ha! Love this question. A mixture of both. Excitement that I can spend even more time shooting, dread that I now have to produce for someone other than myself, someone who’s paying for results! The aspect of fun is very important to what I do, whether it be from shooting with like-minded people to the joys of a great capture. I would fear that the pressure to produce in a professional context may rob the process this sense of fun.

Moshe

Moshe

What do you consider to be the biggest mistake you learnt from in photography?

Make sure the flash is off and the sound is muted when shooting street! Also, always be ready – a sad camera is a camera in your pocket.

Is there still a mistake you make?

Yes, I still curse myself when I shoot too soon, before the moment is ripe.

Kingpin

Kingpin

What do you feel you want or need to learn to improve in your photography?

I’m really a point-and-shoot kinda guy. I would love to get a better handle on the tech aspects of photography, so I can maybe expand a bit on the tools at my disposal. I would also love to be more aware of light when shooting – I look mainly for interesting subjects when I’m out, and am sure I miss many opportunities to make use of great light or lighting situations.

What do you look for in a scene?

What compels me to shoot is clear emotion, a distinct character or personality, and humor. Rare to get all three, but it’s happened.

How important is a human element in your photos?

Vital. Humans are what interest me. I really have no interest or demonstrated aptitude in other genres – landscape, still life, app-stacking, etc. Your question reminded me of the TV show that Woody Allen’s character writes for in Manhattan: “Human Beings, Wow!” That expresses how I feel about the human element very nicely.

Do you have boundaries in terms of the type of people or scenes that you shoot?

The only rule I have that I never follow is to not shoot people on their smartphones. There is something intrinsically aesthetically un-pleasing to me. That being said, I shoot them all the time and even post them if I like the shot.

Some people have the opinion that photographing people in public is intrusion. What’s your take on this?

It is perceived as an intrusion if the subject is aware and you are shooting without permission. I’ve noticed people shooting images that I am clearly a part of and it most certainly felt intrusive. It took all I had not to confront the shooters.

This gets to the heart of why I’m a mobile photographer – I don’t think I have either the courage or the stealth to shoot with anything but my iPhone. As long as the subject is unaware, I don’t feel it intrusive – what you don’t know can’t hurt you. It doesn’t, however, stop me from feeling creepy sometimes when shooting!

Karina

Karina

For many people, candid street photography can be hard as they fear the reaction people might have to being photographed. What has your experience of this been like?

I’ve been shooting for five years and, while I suspect many of my subjects see me shooting, I’ve only been confronted twice – once by a woman whose picture I was not taking (but was sure too after the accusation) and, more recently, by a very muscular, drunk parade-goer at the Puerto Rican parade. He accused me of shooting video, and when I explained that I was just taking photos, he backed down a bit. He still yelled insults at me, but the threats to kill me stopped. I found it odd that video was more egregious to him!

Now that I think about it, there was a third instance: the naked cowgirl in Times Square once called me an asshole.

What do you feel has helped you most to develop as a photographer?

Shooting every day, good or bad. Shooting all the time, every chance I get. The thousands of bad photos on my hard drive are a testament to any discernible development over the past five years. You can even see it in my flickr stream. I had started to delete old embarrassing photos I had uploaded but soon stopped because I realized that the stream really works as a timeline that charts my development as a photographer. I still have a long way to go, and hopefully five years from now I’ll look back at the images I post this year and cringe.

What advice would you give to an aspiring street photographer?

Have no expectations. Make sure your camera is ready to go at all times. Develop your awareness of what’s going on all around you. Stand on a street corner and see what comes to you. Walk aimlessly and see what you come across. Watch for behaviors that repeat, patterns in people’s movements. Project yourself into the immediate future, predict what comes next in the scene unfolding before you, and get ready to capture it. Have fun!

Adele

Adele

Who are the photographers you admire?

Diane Arbus, Bruce Gilden, Elliot Erwitt, Helen Leavitt, Vivian Maier, Saul Leiter, Arthur Tress. There are also many many mobile street photographers whose work I admire tremendously and seek out every day.

Where can people find your work?

I’m on Instagram, eyeem, 500px and twitter. I’m also on Flickr and Tumblr:  

Is there something I have not asked that you would like me to ask you?

Yes, “Why the hell did it take so long for you to finish this interview?”

The best things in life are worth waiting for, Shel. Thanks so much for doing this interview, sharing your work and stopping me in my tracks when I look at it. 

Stanley

Stanley

 

Posted in Interviews, iPhone, photograph posts, Street Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , |