Well I gotta say it’s good to be back..and thanks to everyone who sent me a welcome back message..meant a lot to know you’re still out there. And apologies for the long absence..let’s just say it took me a little longer than expected. I’ve been on a hell of a journey..coincidentally to hell and back and when I’ve got the energy I’ll tell you all the gory details but basically I got a shit ton worse and was so bad I couldn’t leave my flat for months…which is a bit of drawback for a street photographer.
Oh, what do you do?
I’m a housebound street photographer
Oh, how does that work?
Umm, not very well to be honest..
(this is obviously an imagined conversation because I wasn’t meeting anyone between the bedroom and the living room)
I almost liked (almost being the operative word) the twister irony of being a housebound street photographer and did think of just posting pictures from my extensive archive but it felt a little disingenuous to be pretending to be out an about when I wasn’t. I also didn’t even have the energy to sit at the computer so that put a kibosh on that anyway.
So I’m pleased to say I’m back on the streets although still can’t go very far. These photographs were all taken within about 100 yards or so of my flat, but due to this restrictive element I realised that the smaller the world the more things are magnified. It is quite incredible. what you observe in a very short distance. Technically you see less but you actually see more. (stick that on a tea tag)
It will probably be mostly photos and not much chat for a bit whilst I settle in although I would like to say that I took the above photo to be an encouraging sign that art was on the streets (literally) and that was where I belonged. Hopefully I can get up to speed as I continue along this path to recovery…onwards!
This shot was taken at last year’s Notting Hill Carnival and is one of my all-time favourites, There is so much to look at but amidst it all dead centre is this couple having the most blissful moment together and it sums up the beautiful vibe. I never posted this shot then or was able to present my usual gallery of pictures as took a dive shortly after the event and have never quite had the capacity since to go through them. I am posting it now as was not well enough to be at carnival this year. For the first time ever. I was gutted I had to bail and it was really tough but I have been at enough and there will be many more.
I am still sadly not in good enough shape to resume service and not sure when I will be so thought I would share this shot and drop you a line to say hi…I really miss doing this blog but have to be patient and wait till I am truly fit and able…so I guess I will see you then…
Sorry folks for lack of transmission…took another dive so been recuperating…to be honest I haven’t really found my feet since the beginning of this year and have been mostly housebound but was determined to continue doing this blog as gave me a focus and a purpose and kept me connected to the outside world. And I managed to maintain for the most part..albeit in heavily restricted circumstance. Every day I try to get out of the house and go for a short walk, to stretch, to attempt the microscopic amount of exercise I can currently tolerate and to stop myself going bat shit crazy being stuck indoors 24/7.
So all photographs you have seen this year were taken within 1500 steps of my flat as that has been my total capacity for walking. And yet, as small as my world has shrunk I found I still had a vast array of material for observation, thanks largely to the teeming life present on Portobello Rd. And no matter how shit I felt I always saw something I wanted to try and photograph. And a lot slipped through my net but I still managed to capture some gems along the way. When I am out the other side of this thing my next photo book is going to be called 1500 steps and will show that even in the smallest of spaces there is always still so much to see…
But right now I need to focus on my recovery some more so am going to take an extended break..as my dedicated followers will know I always take off August anyway so have just started my summer hiatus a little early this year…
Caught on camera this week. Them by me and me by them.
I like the contrast in this shot above as she is pissed off about it but he seems chuffed.
They all feature in my ongoing series ‘dead in the mincers’ which is cockney rhyming slang for staring right at you…mincers = mince pies =eyes. Not really difficult to see why it’s a dying language.
Just a few street portraits this week. No theme as such. And not much chat either. You may have noticed a distinct lack of words from me of late..well, just to say I have been deep in the hole most of this year (will fill you in on the gory details at some point no doubt) so it’s been a bit of a skeleton service for a while and been letting the pictures speak for themselves as I haven’t quite been up to the task. But its not like I ain’t spouted a ton of verbals over the years so you are probably enjoying the respite…
