Too Much Inspiration
When I first took up photography, I thought that it was all about capturing people. The first photographs I took were portraits of family and friends and important events.
And while I have a huge appreciation for great portrait photographers such as David Bailey, perfectly lit and composed studio portraits have never been for me. Instead I loved photographs of ‘real’ people and was fascinated by those photographers who were masters at capturing ordinary people going about their business, particularly Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau.
Looking at the work of Cartier-Bresson and Doisneau led me towards that of John Deakin, William Eggleston and more recently, Jon Naar.
These photographers are not just concerned with people but were, and are, masters at capturing the beauty that is to be found along any city street: the shapes and reflections of windows, shadows, faded lettering, graffiti, textures and signs of urban decay.
And this is where my biggest influence has come from.
“Windows, posters, signs, and writings on walls fascinate me.”
- Jon Naar
Studying photographers like Naar has given me a new way of watching the world. I look at my city through fresh eyes now and spot little abstracts of beauty. Pattern, textures and shapes that I might never have noticed before. I love to see the remnants of tattered posters, bill-boards and flyers; and faded lettering on brick buildings which give clues to the building’s former use. I have a whole new appreciation for graffiti and even tagging.
My photography has changed too, now when I shoot weddings, I try to capture as many details from my surroundings as I can. Old brick walls might become interesting backdrops and unusual windows and doorways might become frames for my subjects. I look for splashes of colour to add interest and diagonals and leading lines in buildings to enhance photographic compositions.
The downside perhaps, of this is that there is almost too much inspiration all around. I can’t switch off the viewfinder that has now become my eyes, and when I’m out I often lose track of what I’m saying because I’ve just spotted a new piece of graffiti, or a crack in the pavement which might just make a beautiful photo.
"In 1995, the New York State Museum was moving items out of the Willard Psychiatric Center in Willard, NY which was being closed by the State Office of Mental Health. It would eventually become a state-run drug rehabilitation center. Craig Williams and his staff became aware of an attic full of suitcases in the pathology lab building. The cases were put into storage when their owners were admitted to Willard sometime between 1910 and the 1960s. And since the facility was set up to help people with chronic mental illness, these folks never left. An exhibit of a small selection of the cases was produced by the Museum and was on display in Albany in 2003. It was very moving to read the stories of these people, and to see objects from their lives before they became residents of Willard."
