Street Photography Edinburgh_06

There is something about walking at night in a city. The anatomy of the place seems different. The streets of Edinburgh are quite dark compared to other places i've known. It's also quite tarnished, kind of unwashed. I like to walk at night. I use it as a practice in mindfulness. I bring awareness to my feet hitting the path, to my breathing. l try to tune into the sounds of the city. Voices come from below the bridges. There are sirens, the cars hum, the buses shudder, sometimes there is singing. Now when I walk I bring a camera and the anatomy has transformed further. The eye searches for little islands of light and there are many and they have a certain magic about them. Windows. There are many windows. They glow and spill out into the darkness.

Edinburgh.2020

Taking shots at night is not easy. However, unlike the daytime, there is a kind of map that you can follow. These islands of light lead you along. You float from one to the next. Above was an attempt at abstraction and I know that it's too early for this. You must know the rules before breaking them etc. but with each click of the shutter you learn something. Especially with film. The image disappears from clear memory until you have it processed. You wait and in the waiting you gain some distance form the image.

Edinburgh.2020

People seem different at night also. I'm not sure why. I feel different too. Sometimes the night can usher you into a half dream state. So many nights I have seen off with drinking and music. Townes van Zandt had a perfect line in his song 'Rake'.

I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars,

Full of fire and forgetful.

Lately my head is clear at night. Well, it's less fuzzy. it's waking up again. I'm looking at these hours in a new way. I'm observing this time instead of swimming into it.

Edinburgh.2020

The reason I prefer black and white at the moment to colour is that I think it's good training for the eye. It reveals shapes and pattern in a more uniform way to colour. Colour can be distracting. It can overload the picture and draw the eye in all directions. Colour is hard to get right I think. In black and white the image is minimal and for someone starting out its allowing me to work on areas like composition and lighting. It also has a certain atmosphere. Perhaps this is because we see the world in colour so draining this from the image transports it into another realm.

Edinburgh. 2020.

Edinburgh.2020.

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Another discovery I found recently was a photographer called Bruce Gilden. His work hits you directly in the face. It's like a punch. it is aggressive, bold and strangely beautiful. The closeness to the subjects is almost like an invasion. I later discovered that his technique is exactly that. He launches forward at people in the street and pushes his camera into their personal space. He often uses a flash and has said in interview that he 'wants their soul'.

Bruce Gilden from 'Facing New York'.

This is not something I could see myself doing. I think there is something slightly wrong about it. However I can look at his work and see that the results are incredibly unique and powerful. I'm glad he has the courage and gall.

There is a question however in street photography surrounding this area and it is one that I'm sure everyone who's tried it has to think about. The person with the camera is taking pictures of people who did not request this. They are unawares or in the case of Gilden, they are pounced upon. The question is whether photographers have the right to just snap random strangers in the street. Perhaps it is about your intention. What is it that you are trying to capture? What do you intend to do with images? Surely there is responsibility involved here. I will come back to this again in later posts when I have thought about it further. For now here is another Gilden. This one cracks me up!!! 'Til next time...

Bruce Gilden.