Street photography Edinburgh_02

When we start something new, like a hobby, the initial motivation can often die off after the first flush of excitement. I am still very new to taking photographs with intention but for some reason I found that after a week or so of doing this, it became like a minor obsession. Perhaps this is because it came at a time when I have been trying to change a number of things in my life. This included taking a long needed hiatus from my consumption of alcohol. I won't go into detail about this choice but lets say it has been a welcome break.

It also came at a time when I felt the need to pause and look at myself and how I had been living. Mentally and physically I was not in the best of shape. I was burnt out, emotionally drained and my health was suffering. Creatively I felt little to no spark. Everyone can suffer dark periods with hugely varying intensities and circumstances. Our reality is our reality however and we all feel at the centre of our own dramas for the most part. Sometimes your body will tell you when you are at a breaking point of sorts. And you can either choose to listen or carry on. I listened this time.

Instead of ruminating on my own issues, taking photographs pushed me to look again at what I was surrounded by; Life, in its ongoing presence. We wake and it is already moving all around us. People are living. People are suffering. People are joyful. Walking out into the street and looking closely at people, at buildings, at the sky, observing how the light changes, began to revitalise my senses. There was beauty in the street.

Edinburgh. 2020

Edinburgh. 2020

Edinburgh. 2020.

The images above were taken with a Canon 7D which I had on loan. Its a decent DSLR camera and intuitive to use but I'm not mad on its rendering. Film seemed to apply more depth and atmosphere to the photo. The images below, although noisy as they were shot in low light, seemed more tactile to me.

Edinburgh. 2020

Edinburgh.2020

Edinburgh.2020

Edinburgh.2020

Edinburgh.2020

Each time I ventured out to take photos I only realised afterwards that for this period of time, my mind had been almost completely clear. Taking photos was bringing me very close to being in the present moment. There is a zen-like quality to this practice once you start moving and observing. I was glad for this as it gave me extra motivation to continue. The quality of the photo's didn't matter so much in these early stages. The practice was more important.

I continued digging through work of the past and came across the American photographer Saul Leiter. His abstract approach was stunning. Below is a good example I believe of a highly developed eye. The photographer here, is gifting us with their own, authentic vision. To me, Leiter is as present in the image as the figure we see obscured by glass. This was hugely inspiring and reinforced my belief that street photography, that candid pictures of fleeting moments could be an art form. There is so much to see and so many ways to look at things. And in this practice we may unearth something about ourselves.

Saul Leiter. 'Snow'. (1960)