Hello New York

26.3.2016

Brooklyn, street photography, strangers, new york, portrait

I’m well aware that I’ve been really terrible with posting – I had a goal to become more active with my blogging and post often, but then the day to day got in the way and before I knew it the blog was once again, one of the last things on my mind.

I touched down in New York on Thursday morning after a really long and exhausting flight, I got into a cab and made my way to Greenpoint. As we got closer I started to recognise the roads, the corner stores, the familiarity of it all.

I got settled into Jake’s apartment, washed the flight off and went for a walk. I made it about 800m down the road when it hit me, the noise, the culture diversity, the locals crowding the streets, dogs being walked, cars hooting – I was happy. A smile had crept onto my face, one that was real, one that didn’t feel forced, a smile that made me feel alive, like my creative well was slowly getting a refill.

It was just me, my camera and the streets – it was perfect.

I’ve missed this, I’ve missed New York, I’ve missed the people – It’s good to be back, to be home. (Away from home)

street photography, black and white, cityscape, new york city street food, vendor, street vendor new york city, street vendor, manhattan, stranger in new york Street photography, strangers, portraits Central Park, autumn, landscape, trees, nature

 

On Film

14.11.2015

Landscape, ilford, black and white, nature, fiilm

I finally had a roll of film developed that’s been sitting in an old Nikon EM that I got from a friends dad ages ago. I completely forgot what I shot on there – along with forgetting about that lucky packet excitement you get when you just got a roll back. Turns out it was shots from a December holiday about two years ago. They aren’t the best shots, but they have a lot of nostalgic value – that’s the beauty of film, it has an authenticity to it, a way of taking you back to a raw unedited moment in time.

My dad gave me his Pentax ME Super years ago, and I used it all the time before I got my DSLR. Film makes you think on your feet, makes you consider the shot much faster and more thoroughly because you are limited in the amount of shots. It makes you take in the moment because there’s no playback. It slows you down. There’s a beauty to it that I have forgotten about and can’t wait to rediscover. It’s completely different to the digital experience that I’ve become so accustomed to – so all in all it should be a pretty exciting experiment.

Side Note: I’ve also watched two documentaries that I think every single person who has a passion for photography, and mostly street photography, should watch. The first being ‘Everybody Street’ and the second being ‘Finding Vivian Maier’. It’s been a while since I have watched something that has left me feeling so inspired. They both resonate so strongly with my love for street photography and finding captivating moments amongst the chaos of everyday life. Highly recommend that you give it watch!

Landscape, back and white, ilford, film photography Portrait, film photography, ilford, black and white

A shift in perspective

7.11.2015

london, china town, people, travl, strangers, portraits

I’ve been asking myself lately what makes me truly happy? What gets me excited and makes me tick? Perhaps it’s that time of the year again, where everything starts to feel a bit dense, a bit monotonous, but that’s irrelevant really because the question still stands.

The answer is simple; photography. That’s what makes me happy. To pack a bag, to grab my camera and to go everywhere and nowhere in particular, to explore and observe.

I have a fascination with the way people live. With the way people move amongst each other on earth. Some with the dream of being noticed and others who are so blissfully content with simply being that it makes the wandering eye envious.

I want to spend my days capturing moments that come and go in a heartbeat. Moments that tells us  stories of happiness and sadness, of lives we may never live, but can become intertwined with for a brief period in time.

Photography has an alluring power which draws me to the medium as a form of expression. It’s embedded in the ability to be able to capture, for instance, a moment of melancholy as it washes over a face while the owner is unaware of its audience, or the moment of pure elation when everything falls away and the subject forgets about the watching eyes because at that point in time nothing else matters. It’s embedded in the ability to attempt to capture the raw unequivocal sense of what it is to be human, to be fragile, to be beautifully vulnerable.

That’s the magic of photography and it’s not only captivating, but addictive.

I grew up looking through National geographic magazines. I remember being filled with excitement every month when the new issue arrived. I would grab the package, rip open the yellow paper bag and plonk down on the couch. Looking at every page, reading, being mesmerised by the articles and photography that lived between its covers. That’s where my love for photography started, right there, in front of the copious amounts of Nat Geo’s that my Dad had collected over many decades. It’s a love that has grown more and more restless of late, and one that I feel I aught to explore. What this mean for me? To be frank – It’s somewhat terrifying and overwhelming, a shift in perspective, but I’m working on a plan – and that’s a start!

Side Note: Fresh shots of Cape Town are en route.

new york, america, times square, people, travl, strangers, portraits

new york, america, times square, people, travl, strangers, portraits, photography

new york, america, times square, people, travl, strangers, portraits

For a Moment

4.7.2015

woodstock, beach road, cape town, mist, fog, street photography street photography, city life, street life, sea point main road, south africa, city streets, people walking on streets, cape town in the rain, street in the rain woodstock, beach road, cape town, mist, fog city, cape town, south africa, sea point, builidings in fog, mist, winter in cape town cpae town, street photography, buildings in cape town, city centremist, fog, buildings, city under fog street photography, city life, street life, sea point main road, south africa, city streets, people walking on streets

There is a calmness that washes over the city, it arrives with the rain. The hustle slows just ever so slightly as the early morning commute starts by dragging its feet.

The air smells of tar infused damp and the touch of the fog makes my skin tingle as I open my front door and step outside. For a brief moment, when I close my eyes, everything pauses and I can’t help but smile.

Cape Town – Winter ’15