My early representations were mostly about the city and its landscape within. Taken mostly in Manchester, close to where I grew up. With the advice of a friend I decided to stop taking these photographs for a while and to study more closely my reasons for having taken them in the first place. After a period of time I began to realise that my images were saying something about my feelings and values.
My first images are of mostly solitary individuals placed upon a stage (against a high wall of urban concrete) in a theatrical manner. They are usually single or small groups of people positioned against a neutral background bathed in direct sunlight. There is a strong use of shadow, which also emphasises the ephemeral and evanescent within the image. These photographs are very much about light and shade, how it can represent more solid objects in the camera’s eye such as shadows depicting a tram’s carriage, seeming to show people within.
Eventually I realised that my images depicted a kind of sadness with a sense of nostalgia. I had used strong colour to emphasis emotion with soft focusing to give a kind of love lost romance to the subjects. Size and scale were very noticeable, portraying a David and Goliath form of symbolism. Direct comparisons are made, sometimes evoking thoughts or feelings from my past.
Towards the middle of the project I was clearly focusing upon political issues. I attended several protests, rallies and demonstrations which brought about slightly contrived images. Despite trying to remain neutral I realised that no photographer can ever exist in a vacuum. I began to bond with the protestors. I had felt a strong connection with the students’ March about fees but it had seemed a lost cause. My images were showing glimpses of past history and links to the miners’ strikes with one image, ‘still not loving police.’ The photograph of the buskers with the man in black symbolises the European Union and immigration. The money on the ground represents our very different economies. Political views are certainly evident.
For my most recent set of photographs I situated myself at a café table and secretly tried to take shots of the various groups of people as they flowed in front of me going about their daily lives. They had evolved into much more populated images with people journeying in various directions. They are not as solitary as my earlier images though they are still about the human form with strong use of light and shade. I am still trying to incorporate much use of the strong sunlight. This I felt gave more emphasis with movement of the figures, rather like an artist doing strong charcoal images in rapid quick succession sketching the marks upon the page instantly, rather than a more time laboured drawing.
Bev's Photography 