street photography

Getting stuck

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Just a bit of a catch up on my thoughts..

Recently I’ve felt a little lost with where I am with my work. Yes, we all go through peaks and troughs of the creative cycle and I guess I’m just at the lower end of one at the moment. For no other reason than I’m looking for a new creative direction to go in and something to fire up my excitement. This doesn’t mean that I’m sat around not making any new work, in fact on the contrary. I know that my way through this little rut is to explore and see where I end up. I’m doing just that but there lays another issue; I feed my creativity with new material (mostly photographic books) and I get inspired by the works of others. This in turn then makes me want to go out and work like that individual. The frustration comes when I see myself doing this and I have to back track with the work I’m making. Why go backwards, well, I have to be careful that I don’t fall into the trap of simply copying these individuals. I have ventured out with my camera and produced images that aren’t really mine, obviously at best only copying others styles. I think any trained eye would spot this insincerity in my photography voice but worse, I know I’m not producing work that’s honest to me.

What am I thinking at the moment – I know I will find a new direction or excitement wrapped up in there somewhere and I just have to work through it to figure it out. Chances are its not going to be a game changer but rather something that compliments the gradual progression that everyone’s work goes through.

For now I am still working my way through my recent images from my trip to the Cornish coast. But as always, I keep an eye on the direction I’m heading in with the things I am shooting today. I’m sure that something will immerge soon and look like a nice continuation – but we know otherwise!.. all the work that goes on in the background is real

What’s your thoughts, and how do you get around those creative ruts? Always great hearing from you guys who take the time to read this, so I’d love to hear from you if you have time. I’m sure you know where to find me on Instagram.

keep creative and have fun (I’m also taking heed of this)

Dan

Risk and no reward

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Risk and no reward, a few thoughts on Instagram.

 

I find it interesting at times using Instagram as a means of getting my work out into the world. Other than posting work to my website (something I tend to do when it’s a little bit more polished and I have found a thread of something interesting to explore), I post images that I’m happy to share with the world onto Instagram. This is definitely the best way to get the work out there and in front of the eyes of the many - Well that’s the idea anyway. These aren’t always the images that are going to be going to be used within a body of work, but they are nice to share and give a flavour of direction I’m interested in.

This is where it starts to get interesting; If I post tried and tested types of images I will get a positive response. Instagram generally rewards images like this by showing them to more people once it gets initial interest. If however, I post images that are more experimental and perhaps explore a different avenue that I’m interested in, then I don’t always get that initial interest and we know how that plays out.     

 

Now the problem that we face is this – Do we just post images that have a higher chance of success or do we experiment?

But there’s a catch! (there always is). If we declare we are artists and we will follow the direction life takes us with our work. The work generated has great potential and could tread new ground but chances are we aren’t going to get any momentum. And no momentum equals that very few people are going to see it. Perhaps that’s not important and we make the work and its just for us –  and that’s fine.

Now if we post images that follow a pattern of greater success, yes there is a lot better chance the images will be seen and possibly well received, giving us access to a larger audience and in return opportunities to do things with our images. but that will be at the cost of no longer being free to produce the work you truly want to, you become trapped by your own success and end up following a narrow path.

What if there was a third option?

There are anyway more options - you just have to draw your own little option box and put a tick in it. I didn’t even bother to label it, just ticked it and that was enough. I guess if you did want to pencil in a label, it would probably say ‘Dan’.

So off I walk into the sunset doing my own thing (well twilight more often than not in my case) I produce work that comes from only pleasing my eye. I think I have travelled down a path that I see things in a certain way and can’t help but produce the images that fit me. I’m hoping this makes sense, I guess its like talking in your natural accent, you cant help but speak in that way. The important thing for me is not being afraid to just be me and continue to explore the possibilities. 

I do like to try a number of things out and constantly experiment with new ideas. They often fail but every soe often it leads me to a new place and thought process. I dare say this is why I photography the little fair ground on the beach so much. It teaches me that there’s has to be new ways of looking and working. 

 

I think I’ve been waffling on there. Back to the thoughts on Instagram; I think you have to be honest to yourself. What do you want from your work and the places you share it. If you want to feel success, then work at it – there are no short cuts. (I just want to say ‘success’ has many forms. My success is the enjoyment of what I do). I think its important to do what you love, especially if it’s a personal pursuit.  I am also pleasantly surprised form time to time with responses to my more experimental work. I think its important to try and stay fresh and keep your work moving. I try to find the edges of what my work can be, before it just becomes a mess of colour. Sometimes those experimental images set a bit of an unexpected spark.

Where do I need to be to take new images?

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Now the UK has started to ease on the latest lockdown, and we can start venturing out a little further, where do we go and what do we do?

I have had so many conversations with people, where they have said that they need to travel again, see new places and get some fresh air. For sure this is important, and something that I’m also very much looking forward to doing. Albeit within the UK for the foreseeable year but, it will be great to rediscover my own country. This got me thinking; what am I going to photograph when I get to these new locations?

The answer is, I really don’t know and that ok, it’s all part of the excitement for me. It’s the unknowing of what’s around the corner. I have a bag of tricks, and by that, I mean that I have been building my way of seeing locations. I have taken the time during lockdown to photograph one place constantly. That’s not without its challenges and like physical training, you become conditioned to the exercise. My exercise is to make new images from very little and try not to repeat myself. Indeed, this is hard and I’m far from perfect but that’s why we exercise. I keep working at it and finding new ways of approaching a problem. Sometimes when I’m lucky, I figure a new frame out.

My goal is to be able to take a photo anything and of anywhere but still in my own voice. What I must try and do, and this is the difficult part – finding the things that interest me. It sounds so simple but when we start traveling to new places everything becomes overwhelmingly interesting. The trick for me will be to start zeroing in on that thing that attracts me. That can be anything at all, but once I have found a little something, then I need to make a frame that speaks in my voice.  

I really don’t know what is going to happen but ill take my camera and capture what makes sense to me. Hopefully, this will lead to something creative.

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Have I got it all figured out?

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I have had a few conversations recently with different people that have mentioned that I seem to have got it all figured out with my photography and creative process.

Its interesting how people perceive my work from different perspectives, so let’s burst this bubble to get it out the way – I have very little figured out. I think Instagram has a lot to answer for on this misconception. Its easy to look at something online and draw conclusions based on your own thoughts, but this is often all they are.

Everyone’s process is different so there is no one size fits all when it comes to creativity. The only thing that seems to be a common thread when I’ve talking to other creatives, is taking your own path. This again is something different for everyone with a variety of starting points and different forks within it to navigate.

I have been taking photography somewhat serious for about 16 years now but its only in the last 4 years that I would say that I have got onto a path that I’m now enjoying. In these last few years, I have seen many people pick up a camera for the first time and get onto a path that has led to great places. But that is their journey and as tempting as it may be to try and replicate what they have done, it would not work. How do I know this, well trying to mimic would only get me so far faking it. The biggest realisation I had was that I had to produce the work that really excites me, it’s the images that I produce as a default setting. This doesn’t mean I don’t have to try, I have to put a lot of effort in, but I know I have to produce the images that satisfy my eye. This thought process was the start of the path that I’m now on – making the images that I care for and that aren’t reactions to what I think others might like.

Its seems that the genre of photography that I’m interested in has taken an exciting turn in the last few years and with that has come some approaches that I’m not a fan of. A competitive edge seems to have taken root and I see many feel the need to get onboard with that. For me, I’ve never really been that competitive, probably why I like photography. It’s a chance for me to walk out into the world and explore it with a camera. I very much enjoy the creative process and when I get into the flow of it, hours can pass by without me noticing. This is what drives and excites me, and probably the only thing that we can figure out. Once we know what we want to do, we have to put the work in to actually doing it. The more you work at it the more it pays off.

This is the lure of photography, it looks so simple, and yes, the mechanics of it are once you lean how to control your camera. The hard part is working out what to point the camera at and when to capture that moment. That has very little to do with the camera and all to do with what’s going on in your head.

So what do I know, what have I figured out?

Be honest with myself about the work I want to produce and produce it!

Take inspiration from others but don’t copy.

Be patient – 16 years and counting.

Turn my weaknesses into strengths – I don’t know what I want to photograph but I know what I don’t like, so I just please my own eye. (sometimes that leads to images that not many others like but that’s fine).

There are no short cuts so take the harder path and put the work in.

Take the rough with the smooth, there are many knock backs but learn to ride over them.

Most importantly, to enjoy what I do – otherwise why bother!

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Seaside street photo meet up

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Welcome to the great British seaside town of Cleethorpes.

I know it is late and I have been meaning to put this blog post together for months now but i’m going to blame this on COVID, it is probably not COVID but you know, its been a strange time. Last year (2020) I organised a street meet up from a small group of photographers, we all met here at the seaside town of Cleethorpes. I’d imagine most of you reading this will recognise this place from all of my own photos - it is pretty much the place I exclusively shoot, because this is my home.

It was great to meet other like minded individuals from different backgrounds and all with a passion for photography. It is always great to be around individuals like this, I rarely get chance to spend any time with other creatives, let alone a whole day with a bunch of them! This opportunity was as much for my benefit as it was for the others to make connections with one and other.

It was such a great day and I certainly had a fantastic time shooting and witnessing how others worked my stretch of the beach. Something that I don’t often get to do as Cleethorpes is somewhat nestled away on the north east coast of the uk (for those of you that don’t venture to the north of England). It is always very interesting for me to see how others interact with the environment and what catches their eyes. I have become somewhat of a solitary photographer and as such find my own ways to photograph and make the most of situations. shooting with others and bouncing ideas was great and gives me a sense of what is going in my photographic peers.

A big thanks for those that came along and join in durrig the day, we did have a few others join us at various points through the day to take a few shots and to just say Hi. Below are the images form the guys that spend the full day shooting and sent me their favourite photographs.

Matt Feeney

Lewis Andrews

Mark Sugden

Michael Murray

Nina Weatherburn

Just to end…

Heres a few portraits if the guys that I quickly took whilst we stopped from some lunch.



New York in black & white

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I always end up being back to projects that I’ve shot. Although New York wasn’t really a project it was more of me just reacting to the sights and sounds of the city. Nonetheless I always head back from time to time to revisit the photos that I captured. I think it’s such an important process to revisit those images as time passes on they take on new meanings with more impact. As much as I love shooting in colour I started my photography practice in black-and-white. I am very fond of looking at black-and-white images and I think New York lends itself beautifully to the monochromatic look.
for me it’s such a therapeutic process to revisit these photographs and rediscover those moments I had forgotten. Reworking them into black-and-white images adds a new dimension and timeless aesthetic to these forgotten moments. So I thought I would share my recent re-discoveries of some forgotten images with you and also my rekindling with monochrome work.
these are just a few of the images that I have cherry picked and processed to black-and-white, I hope you enjoy them.

Shooting in London

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I have just been to see an image from my latest series exhibited as part of the Photography on a postcard, being shown at The Print Space – London.

Obviously the rest of the time was either spent drinking or street shooting, or my favourite – combining both drinks and photography. This always leads to some interesting / creative images (I’m not saying that they are all in focus but still interesting for me to look at later)

After arriving in London we soon met up with a friend and fellow street photographer; Dave ( @david_lindsley_street ) and spent some time catching up and walking the south bank snapping as we walked.

The rest of the time was spent mooching around the city and exploring the different little boroughs. I hadn’t really gone with anything in mind to shoot so just reacted to what I saw while I was there, like I normally do.. here’s the photos:

Dubrovnik - Croatia

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Street photography and travel complement each other, it gives me the chance to experience a whole new place and react to it in my own way. I’m not saying that to produce ‘street photography’ you need to travel, in fact producing images around your own environment I believe speaks more about your experience than traveling to a new place to speak from your own voice. On the other hand it’s always nice to get away and experience new things plus immerse yourself into a new situation and react to it with a creative process. And let’s not forget that if I travel to somewhere as beautiful as Croatia I’m defiantly going to react to it photographically.

I didn’t know what to expect from Dubrovnik other than a few people that had previously visited the region had expressed just how beautiful that they had found the city. I don’t tend to do too much research on a place like this before visiting as I don’t want to taint my view (photographically speaking) or take influence from what other photographers have produced, as then I start looking at a place from their perspective instead of my own. So having arrived on the shores of Dubrovnik I was first struck by the intensity of the light and then by the beauty of the historic walled old town that decorated the cliffs above the blue shimmering Mediterranean waters.

As we started exploring Dubrovnik I was drawn towards the historic charm of the place and much of the region had retained its roots without subsiding into today’s commercialism. I very much started to see the art of the city and allowed myself to become absorbed by the light has it ornamented the people and stone.

 

Too Hot

The weekend landed and so did the nice weather. It’s rare in the UK for the weekend to come along and also hit really nice weather but it’s happened and the temperature sored to a scorching 28°C. Too hot for some but for the others the beach was calling and I was also heading in the same direction. I would like to say that it was rich pickings for a street photographer shooting around a beach on a weekend like this but the truth was zeroing in on unique moments and details that caught my eye became a lot harder. Sometimes it can be nicer to shoot when there’s less going on to distract, other times I thrive on the hectic environment. I think it just depends on what mood I find myself in when shooting and possibly how much coffee I have drank!

Cleethorpes Seafront

Cleethorpes Seafront

Walking Clee

Working on a project requires dedication to the cause but that shouldn’t be seen as a laborious task, in fact if it’s something that you’re truly interested in then it’s part of what is enjoyable in your life. That’s not saying that there won’t be frustration but the pleasure will massively outweigh the pain. I find the joys and attraction to street photography are you never know what you are going to find. It’s a little like panning for gold at times; heading out to find something, having the drive and resilience to keep an open eye to situations. I find that images or scenes tend to happen in a very sporadic manor, they all seem to appear all at once or sometimes not at all. I don’t just say this because of my own experiences but also talking to many other photographers and looking at their working process. I also found looking at the Magnum Photos – Contact sheets book was also extremely insightful to the working process of those whom are considered the masters of photography. So I continue to walk the streets or in this case the seafront of my chosen location; Cleethorpes, in search of what is interesting.

I offer a handful of images that I have weeded out from my latest shoot and continue to pick out the successful photos from these visits to become part of my ongoing project – By the Sea.    

 

Another dash to the seaside - Scarborough

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As the English summer has started to dawn (and by that I mean a few nice days in a row before it clouds back over) I have made the most of it and headed to the coast with my girlfriend. Yes the coast is on our doorstep but we decided to travel a couple of hours further north to Scarborough for the change of scene.

As always I carry my Leica and take any opportunity to shoot whatever interests me and the English coast always provides a plethora of visual feasts to be had. So I have continued to shoot and I am starting to build a small collection of seaside images of surrounding coastal towns, like I have said in a previous blog post I am drawn towards the coast so it’s obvious that I am going to collect scenes from these places. Now at the same time I am shooting a project called by the sea ( www.danbaker.me/by-the-sea ) and was intending on producing images of the Cleethorpes seaside but after sharing these images with a friend and fellow street photography, he had suggested that they should be a part of my current project. I hadn’t really considered expanding the project to surround coastal towns but after thought it made sense.  

This is what I love about street photography and the creative process; having the opportunity to share and talk about images with others. I’m not only talking about my work but having the opportunity to see and discuss others work too. It’s always great to reach out and see what other photographers are doing and have going on in their lives. so thanks to those who have already got in touch!

I feel at this point I need to say that if anyone would like to talk about any work or ideas, or even just say hi, then feel free to reach out and get in touch, I would love to hear from you and I find the creative process really comes alive when you start exploring these new avenues with others.

I do like to be beside the sea

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I have been working on my new project looking at my surrounding area; the seaside (www.danbaker.me/by-the-sea ). I have always been drawn towards the coast as I’m sure many people are, it has a certain gravitation and as such proves to be a rich environment to photograph.

Not all the images that I shoot make it into my project but that doesn’t mean that I want to discard them, I simply have an idea of what I would like to include within my body of work. I still want to share some of the scenes that I find and obviously my blog is the perfect place to showcase them.

 

The lines of Leeds

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Street shooting in Leeds city centre

Shooting around a city always throws up some interesting situations to photograph, sometimes things stand out but other times the scenes take a little teasing out. I would like to say that the cities give different results but the truth of the matter is that it’s my perception that changes. Sometimes I hit the streets in a particular mind set and depending on this will dictate how receptive I am to the scenes around me. Leeds is a city that can throw me in a couple of directions; sometimes I can shoot and get a few results where as other times I can come away with nothing. Today I have come away with a few images which is always better than nothing but on reflection I always want to be more articulated with some of the images that I take. The trick is to keep shooting and keep practicing, so I continue to shoot and I’m always looking for that great image.

Taking a walk

I think that one of the most important things with street photography is just to get out and taking a walk. Things will happen around you or you will stumble upon scenes or situations that spark some sort of interest. I like to do this whenever I can, I don’t always find something that interests me, I think it depends how you are thinking about a situation or how receptive you are on a particular day.  I don’t always know what’s going to happen or what I’m going to find but that’s all part of the fun of street photography. There’s always that possibly that you’re going to find something that’s new and sets your thinking down a completely unexpected path. I normally like to shoot around places where there are a few people winding about, lately I have become more interest in places busier but when I last walked out and shot these images below I was without that audience to interact with. I still found these little scenes that interested me. I didn’t particularly think too much about these images while I was working other than I enjoyed shooting them and satisfied that creative process.

 

 

 
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Freeman street

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I had an interesting conversation with a friend today. Let me set the scene; we drove down a street that I hadn’t seen before and I was amazed at the amount that was on offer to photograph. It was one of those places where every few meters there was that magic where things were happening and teeming with life, even on this rainy day. To me it was like an epicentre of street scenes and I said how amazing and rich the street was. Sadly I was driving, I didn’t have time to park up walk and shoot the area.

My friend said that there seemed to be lots to photograph around this street that would make the place look bad, in the context that it would interest me.  I found this comment intriguing and replied with; how can I make the place look bad? Surely the place is ‘bad’ or undesirable and the photograph is a representation of what the place is, therefore the place ‘looks bad’ and I’m just capturing what I see. And this got me thinking too; everything is subjective and the place ‘looking bad’ is more of a comment from a perspective which as we know can vastly vary. 

I guess this leads me to the question, Am I making the places that I photograph look bad or is this just from a certain perspective. I don’t know, I mean I’m not intentionally going out thinking I want to take images of subjects that make them look bad or negative. I photograph things that interest me, yes I can show a frame of a situation but that image is of something real that is actually happening. I’m not making a judgement on that, I’m leaving that to the viewer.

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