With my dad in Soho, London. He talks a lot, and manages not to be boring. Rare, I like that. Another thing I like is that if I have my camera he doesn’t mind me taking a picture. And another. …and another. This is also rare. I photographed him in some winter sun, near the corner of Greek Street and Bateman St. The low afternoon sun was glorious, and a reflection from a window picked him out against the background.

My best of the year so far.

I regularly come back to this thought: Do I have the courage to get a T-shirt printed with “I want to take your photo” and stand in a place like that all afternoon gathering any willing people, no charge – just for fun? Not yet.

London people are often very reserved. They can treat you like you’ve popped out of a spaceship just for making eye contact. But this is a good area at this time of year for a mix of really interesting people, for light and for capture. …Maybe one day I will get that T-shirt.

 

Dad in Shoreditch Sunlight, Tuesday 15th October.

I took some photos of my dad on Tuesday, he’s off to Scotland to be a hermit this winter. As he’s going through some kind of renaissance. He’s going to spend the time meditating, living simply and being close to nature.

Londoners live in a beautiful city. Most of us work here, some travel for hours just to get to their jobs. I don’t think we enjoy the city enough, we’re distracted by information, our worries, thoughts about our relationships and careers.

That’s how I felt before I decided to go back to University. And thats why I’m taking pictures of us Londoners in our busy lives. Consumed by our environment we travel like cells flowing through the beating heart of London, losing ourselves in our own thoughts, unaware of its almost organic nature, without witnessing it’s beauty.

There’s already an image from this project on here (winter light I) and large version of other pieces on the front page of my website. The people I have captured have been singled out by sunlight, illuminating their place in their relationship between them and this city. But its not a judgement on Londoners, (i don’t think its easy to be aware of your environment all the time in a city).