I have always tried to keep a decent camera close to hand. Back in my news days I was seeking my fortune, I remember reading that one of my favourite photographers Sebastião Salgado having photographed the assassination attempt on president Reagan in 1981 made enough money from the picture sales to give up day to day news assignments and ultimately concentrate on the amazing feature work he is now renown for.
Salgado was on a story covering the president's first 100 days in office. Reagan was speaking at a hotel in Washington. Because Salgado had eight pages to fill and needed lots of different shots he left the hotel just before the speech finished to capture Reagan leaving the building - 200 other photographers stayed inside the hall and got pictures of him smiling and shaking hands. "I started to take pictures just as the man [John Hinckley] started shooting," says Salgado. "Because I was on this story for the New York Times I had been driven to the hotel with security men, so they knew who I was, and I was actually standing inside the security ring when it happened." But he doesn't like showing the pictures or talking about them too much. "It gets so much attention that I could become just the photographer who took the pictures of the assassination attempt on President Reagan. (exert from Guardian newspaper article)
Read the full article by clicking here well worth it.
I can't ever remember shooting anything on the tiny pocket sized and decent Olympus XA I kept in the car glove box ready loaded with Fuji 400 but the thought was there.
I did also keep my favourite ever film SLR the Nikon FM with a small 50mm and a roll of Ilford FP4 as close to hand as I could during this time, this was was for opportune street pictures or 'snaps' as Elliot Erwitt describes the breath taking images he shoots between photography assignments and better things. Since 2000 I have shot a lot of these 'snaps' and although I have yet to make my fortune selling any of them, that is unless you count the framed print I sold to the sponsor of an exhibition I had in 2002 for £200. I think his wife wanted the 20 x 30 framed, mounted hand print of a Venice street scene as a splash back for her hob!
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| Baby on Charge, Northampton 2002 Picture by Matt Gore |
The baby was photographed in the reception of the paper I worked at, I always used the visitors car park instead of the main staff car park as it was right next to the building and subsequently the dev machine (yes we worked film in 2002 and used developer and stuff) and I needed to get my pictures in. For some unfathomable reason the photographers car parking was always allocated at the back of the very large car park, a good 400 metre walk past all the office bound editors, assistant editors, sub editors and reporters cars.
Nowadays I have gone digital with my 'snaps' camera, admittedly with mixed results. For some reason digital doesn't feel right with this type of work, I can't explain why. I think reading other keen street photographers such as in-public founder and serial street shooter Nick Turpin's blog the Leica M9 seems to get it right but it's pricey and I like to chuck my street camera around. At £7000 with a lens attached I'm not sure I would ever feel comfortable.
At present I'm trying out the Olympus Pen EP-2 I have the viewfinder attachment and the 17mm pancake lens. It's the modern equivalent of the secondhand XA I used to run around with 10 years ago.
Here's me at work with it a few months ago. The heavens are about to open, me and the camera are about to get drenched so good job it wasn't £7000 worth!
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| Olympus PEN EP-2 with 17mm Pancake Lens by Matt Gore |
I encourage any photographer or visual communicator whatever the media to go out into the street and shoot what attracts the eye, finding order and symmetry in the chaos is challenging and difficult but highly rewarding and has real sense of achievement. I feel the work I do on the street has a positive effect on my commercial work and portraiture. Recently my commercial photography has involved more and more production, lighting, set up, technique etc it's a refreshing change to strip that back and work with a single lens, ambient light and timing. One of my all time favourite quotes that's key in the approach to street photography is by the fantastic William Klein 'I photograph things to see what they look like photographed' say's it all really.
I will be posting more street photography in the future, plus any thoughts or comments I have on the olympus PEN ep-2 camera and it's uses for this type of photography.
Image left - Photographed by Matt Gore using the Olympus PEN EP2 camera 17mm Pancake Lens and VF-2 Viewfinder. Ramsgate Beach, kent, UK
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| Cardiff Museum, Voitlander Bessa R with 50mm lens by Matt Gore |
Above Cardiff Museum kids playing hide and seek shot on the glorious and fantastic value for money Voitlander Bessa R with 50mm lens. Below 'tits' written in weed killer Abington park, Northampton.
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| Nikon D100 SLR, 35-80 F2.8 lens, by Matt Gore |
