Shock horror , photographer makes new pictures !
I can’t believe it has taken until April for me to find my serious photographic sea legs and game head , unusual times !
I’ve been making pictures recently but my relationship with the work and life itself has been distant and passive , a mindset of self preservation, minimal expectations and lockdown uncertainty has led to few life opportunities and slim photographic pickings !
Those of you who read my last blog will be aware of my mindset before this weeks “Open Day” shoot.
My plan was to have no plan for my “Open Day” shoot , I was genuinely interested in discovering my photo-response to the streets that I worked for years before the lockdown layoff.
I was hoping to make some positive optimistic pictures to offset the creative decay of recent times , that is not how it turned out !
A new shot for my Testing Times Project , No 226 ,
This day certainly felt different , a level of apprehension hung in the air like a bad smell , todays everyday activities had not been “Everyday” for quiet some time , socially distant queues indicated where the treasures of “The New Normal” could be found , foreign fashions , US milk shakes and red hot steak-bakes appeared to be on many peoples post-lockdown bucket lists !
Truth be told my eye was taken by what was missing rather than what remained , I knew that many shops had not made it through but the loss of jobs and smaller independent traders irked !
A cultural revolution / evolution had taken place while we were locked in and locked down , the social landscape had been decimated & reshaped while no one was looking , I realised that many of my “Street” pictures (even the seconds) had now unintentionally evolved into significant social documents !
A emptiness was apparent on the streets and within me , this photo-shoot was not a jolly !
I found myself re-shooting locations that had featured in some of my favorite pictures , I’m not sure why , I think I knew that this day was a watershed moment , the end of a era and the beginning of a new one !
These portraits are part of my State Of Britain series, they were captured through the window of this charity shop on Royal Wedding day ,2017 , the price tags seem especially poignant now ! This shop will not open again …
My photographic response took on a aesthetic somewhere between a Doc / Street approach , the Covid-19 comeback is still the only subject I see on the streets right now , the happy go lucky approach I bring to my Street photography has not re-emerged within me , yet !
Once I got over the surprise of how quickly a small English City Centre could be hollowed out, I made the most of this sunny day but I felt a bit ring rusty. The shoot did not flow like I’d hoped it would, a couple of missed shots and reshoots reminded me that I was not connecting but at least I had taken the first steps of my personal lockdown comeback ! .
My aim was to make a couple of captures that made me smile , I definitely managed one and I’m entering the headline of this blog into the “Photo Headline Writer Of The Year Awards” too !
A seven out of ten performance for my shoot , could / should do better ?
Remember , a bad days photography is better than a good day stuck at home in lockdown , thanks for popping in , stay safe…
It’s nice when the wildlife colour coordinate and play ball !
David Barrett shot the pandemic crisis during 2020, The Testing Times project is in progress and can be seen by clicking above .
The State Of Britain series is complete, it explores everyday life during the Brexit era and gives visual insights into British identity, aspirations and post-truth uncertainty .....
Check out the new UK Street Shop on this site to buy Prints, Walks & More …
He is based in the South West of England .