Falling for Street Photography

I had never thought twice about street photography. Mountains, beaches, valleys, anything green without a city scape, that is what I wanted to capture.

But that changed when I moved to the UK.

The moment I stepped onto the cobblestone pavement, I fell in love with London. It's big, it's loud, it's full of people and yet there is something strangely beautiful about this city.

I've always admired the architecture and history but it wasn't until I started seeing London street photographers pop up on my Instagram, that I really started to see the real London.

The more of these London photographers I found, the more I became intrigued with street photography. These artists seemed to be able to create stories from moments captured, like stills from some cinematic movie. I was in awe, the emotion captured in a strangers face, a gentle hand hold between two lovers. These little moments in life that would have otherwise been overlooked, now suddenly staring in a movie of life. And beyond the stories of strangers, the atmosphere of a city, a town, the smell of the food, the music on the streets. Suddenly I was transported to these locations through the power of a set of still images.

I wanted to try this for myself. A new avenue of photography I never thought to explore. But you can't stay in your corner of the woods forever right?

I'm an introverted person by nature so the thought of intentionally aiming my lens toward a perfect stranger was a little unnerving. But when I set out onto the streets of London, day after day with my camera in hand I eventually realised that most people are so absorbed in their own world they really don't noticed what is happening around them.

And I began to blend into the background. I stepped away from my own little world and stopped to observe the greater picture around me. I started to notice the shadows thrown from building creating stark contrast on the streets below, pops of light down narrow lane ways, people standing on train platforms, walking down the street trying to get from A to B. I started looking at London differently, paying attention to the smaller details, the sounds, the smells, watching the light change throughout the day, learning where the light would bounce around the streets, watching the people and creating my own stories.

My own stills from a movie about life