I don’t play enough.
By that I mean that, lately, I’ve really neglected taking my camera out and just shoot for the fun of it. Something I loved to do.
Somewhere between work, hustling for work, emails, the constant guilty feeling of “not being productive enough” and not feeling like I’m doing enough in general, I’ve lost my creative spark, the fun I used to have. I remember taking my camera out and just spend time observing people, observing light and shadows, seeking out interesting buildings, just feel more curious overall. And now I’m asking myself: what happened, where has that person disappeared to? Part of it, I have to admit, also has to do with the fact that I do tend to hibernate in winter. Yorkshire winters feel particularly dark and long which doesn’t help my motivation. I’ve been out on a few occasions to capture the snow, but that was on the odd sunny day.
But now it’s spring! Allegedly… The last few weeks have been absolutely glorious and complete with blue skies, warm sunshine and nature doing all its spring-y things. So when I spotted a Street Photography Walk organised by York Photographers, I figured it would be a fun way to rekindle my curiosity, my creative spark. It was going to be a wonderful event with the city bathed in that warm evening glow, masses of people out and about enjoying the new season and ample opportunities, subjects and - my favourite - light and shadows for some fab shots.
Only it didn’t work out like that…
After weeks of beautiful weather, yesterday was a complete washout. I had been prepared (and dressed) for cooler temperatures, but didn’t expect just how bad it was. Grey skies, some light rain in the afternoon, and an icy wind that would see me shivering throughout the day and the photo walk. There are a few things that really put a damper on me feeling relaxed and with that creative: being cold, needing to pee, being overly hungry. So walking around freezing really didn’t help. The weather didn’t help with the light (best way to describe it would be “meh”) and clearly had an effect how many people were out and about. Meaning: not many. The streets were near-on deserted after 6pm and finding interesting subjects was proving quite challenging. Now, it has to be said that many years in London have rather spoilt me when it comes to “interesting characters”, so maybe I’m being a little harsh…
Our guide/tutor/all round great documentary photographer Gianluca tried to stay positive and upbeat, but despite his best efforts, I think the combination of crap weather, meh light and lack of people even had him defeated. So we ended up in a fab pub for a nice chat (not actually my pint!). And you know what, I still enjoyed the whole experience (apart from the freezing!!!) and would do it again. Meeting some new people with the same interests, taking photos just for the fun of it, just taking time to play - it was totally worth it.
I’ll leave you with some shots from the walk. They might not be up there with the street photography greats, but are - in a manner of speaking - pleasant enough I guess…
PS: guess what: today the sun’s back out and the temperatures back up. Meh!!!
