"The Great Londoners", a series of black and white street photography work was exhibited three months for the opening of the Hoxton Hotel Holborn. The exhibition was supported and sponsored by Olympus UK and was featured in the Evening Standard as well as the Kentishtowner, a popular local magazine of the area these were shot in.
Here's how it all came to life...
I took a few shots here and there as I normally do but this time they curiously linked to one another through very similar aesthetic yet remaining individual and unique. All were shot from the same low angle, with a very wide aperture (f0.95 to f1.4), in black & white and somehow the focus was only (mainly) on one individual, often highlighting solitude and being lost in thoughts. I had a solid body of work in the making.
The result achieved was a cinematic style street photography but with a real intimate feel. I was photographing Londoners lost in their thoughts, not smiling or posing, simply walking and being their true self. And importantly I shot them very close. Beautiful people although not in a conventional way. The shallow depth of field helped isolate the subject and made the background less distracting. Avoiding having other people in the shot also was crucial.
I invite you to browse the current collection of "The Great Londoners" to see the full collection.
Let me know what you think of them by leaving a comment!
Nico