Beyond the obvious

Stepping out on stage I’ve often thought of the street as a stage. It’s a place where life happens in front of your eyes. People go about their business, communicate with each other and generally keep moving to their destinations. The street is a place of transition. As a photographer you can set the scene, a blank stage and then wait for magic moments. That’s how I got this shot. The perfectly matching colours of his hat ribbon, the movement, the way things all align to create a colourful composition. If you’re a street photographer you’ll understand the joy of seeing an image come together, like this, in a fraction of a second, as you stand there camera in hand. Thanks for reading. Paul www.indigo2photography.com

I saw this long row of porters struggling under the weight of the heavy barrels on their backs. Every step seemed difficult. They were crossing a street next to the harbour in Istanbul. Each time a fellow porter would turn around and help the man behind him step up onto the pavement. Instantly I saw it as symbolic, this human gesture. I was a long way off and ran flat out to get closer. The porters in the photo were the last two in the row. I knew that if I didn't stop and take the shot I would miss it. So out of breath I screeched to halt, still quite a long way away and zoomed to 200mm, pressing the shutter to capture the moment they gripped each other hands. The picture is not perfect. I should have had more of the man foot and the pavement. But this is one of those examples where the emotion in the image is so powerful, it is not important. The image communicates something about the human condition. It one of those rare shots that stays in people's minds. It been p...

Two ladies pass on the street. Their hands, legs and expressions mirror each other. Both carry document folders, both are taking a step with their heel on the ground. They are unaware of each other. It's a perfect Cartier-Bresson style decisive moment. I believe that you make images, you don't take them. In photography, luck and serendipity always play their part. The unpredictability is what makes it so exciting. You never know exactly what you're going to get but you can plan and control a lot of elements that will help you make better images. Walking down the street looking for a background that could work as a 'stage' or canvas, I saw this interesting blue wall. I set up and waited for something to happen. Minutes went by. I waited. People passed but nothing caught my eye. I waited. Then I saw these two ladies approaching from opposite directions and I knew I had a potential image. The thing that struck me was how determined they both looked, striding purpos...

Some images earn a permanent place in your portfolio. Let's take a look at one of my favourites. In this image a couple react as a large wave crashes over the promenade. People often play this game with the waves. Sometimes with tragic consequences. I shot this on a Hasselblad, on film, using an 80mm lens. So I was close to the action. One chance. One exposure. I pressed the shutter button and just had time to spin around to protect the camera with my body, as the spray engulfed us. I had been waiting for a moment like this when all the elements would come together. The spray blurs because of the speed of movement. It reveals the force of the wave. Both the man and woman have a foot off the ground, giving the image a sense of urgency and action. I love the way the dog's ear is flying up and this movement is echoed by the lady's urgent hand gesture. That hand gesture is the essence of the image. It's an instant protective gesture, which says so much about th...

Joe McNally shares his photography story and offers insights into the challenges an editorial photographer faces. I hope you enjoy this video featuring one of my favourite photographers.   "Joe McNally is a 25-year contributor to National Geographic and a former staff photographer at LIFE. Working in 54 countries and all 50 states, he has photographed cover stories for virtually every significant magazine of our times. One of his best-known series of photographs is the Giant Polaroid Collection, known as “Faces of Ground Zero,” shot immediately after 9/11. He also photographed the first all-digital story in the history of National Geographic. This is Joe’s 11th year teaching at the Workshops. His web site is joemcnally.com ; his blog is joemcnally.com/blog ." I'll be back with more inspiration soon. Comments welcome. Paul www.indigo2photography.com

Jay Maisel has inspired and mentored many photographers. In this video he shares his story, how he started and more about how some of his famous images were created. He punctuates excellent advice and insight with dry humour. Like most great photographers, he follows a quest to find beauty in the world around us. If you want to feel good and feel inspired watch this... "Jay Maisel is known for color photography that uses light and gesture to create images for advertising, editorial, and corporate communications. His work also appears in books and in private and corporate collections. His honors include the American Society of Media Photographers’ Lifetime Achievement and Photographer of the Year awards, the International Center for Photography’s Infinity Award, and induction into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. A graduate of Cooper Union and Yale University, Jay continues his education by teaching. This is his 16th year teaching at the Workshops. His web site is jayma...

As photographers we are always looking. Then something catches our eye. Our brain tells us that there's something interesting. This is the moment the photographer needs to pause and figure out what exactly it is that caught their attention. Here it was obvious. The hair, the lipstick, the colours and their personalities. So I asked these young ladies and they kindly agreed to pose for a portrait. Often photographers will take a picture without thinking about what the exact element is that got their attention. The result is a photo that's not close enough. As Robert Capa said, “If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough.” He meant that the reason for taking the picture has to fill the frame. In this case it was colourful makeup, hair and style. I cropped in tight to emphasise these elements. Their expressions convey their different personalities. We have a moment here, in Jay Maisel's words, where "light, colour and gesture" ...

Seeking serendipity It's true. Photographers see the world differently. It's hard to explain how we see things. The example above together with the explanation below may help to understand what goes on in my brain when making an image. The wall with it's artwork set the stage. People passed by. I took several images. Then this guy paused for awhile with his tablet. I thought it would be cool if I could link him, compositionally, to someone passing in the sunlight in the background. Then along came this lady. She shaded her eyes looking for someone up the street. I waited and pressed the shutter, and every element came together in the frame. The woodwork forms frames within the frame. The tail shadows and alignment of feathers of the parrot echo the light and angle of the lady's leg. There's an interesting dynamic and angles around the man and the lady. They are together and yet separate. Even the butterfly painted on the wall behind the man's head crea...

As I look through our photos each one brings back a treasured memory. We capture so much of our lives in images. When I look through my archives long forgotten moments come back to life. They truly are a diary of our lives. Risky business. Memories of being under sail on a great ship in the North Sea. Some of these images are photographically not the greatest pictures on earth. Not every click is a masterpiece. Each image has a personal value and then there are images which have something more, the power to communicate an idea and emotionally engage an audience. One of the greatest lessons I have learnt over the years is to take pictures for myself first.  Every image I make is personal work. Some images are taken just to capture a memory, just for me. These days everyone's a photographer. People share their photographs on the internet and many people call themselves amateur photographers. In other words they are interested in photography as a hobby and want to learn to...

An insightful video interview with Tom Stoddart, one of the world’s most respected photojournalists. Tom talks about his work, how he became a photojournalist and how he uses photography to tell the story. Please watch in HD. Tom Stoddart from Neale James on Vimeo . Credits: Film by Neale James Photography by Tom Stoddart Music licensing by Audio Jungle and Triple Scoop Further information: neale@breathepictures.com Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Till soon, Paul www.indigo2photography.co.uk

Black and white photography is powerful. Pick up a book and look at the grainy, high contrast images shot on Kodak Tri-X 400 film by masters like Cartier Bresson, Don McCullen and Sebastião Salgado, they've lost nothing of their impact. Today's super high resolution, fantastic colour, high dynamic range digital cameras enable faithful, ultra-real reproduction of the world. This way of rendering reality in exquisite detail does not however add emotion, a sense of the moment and gesture to an image. The gritty black and white images created by the masters abstract reality, distilling it into the essential ingredients that connect with us through the history of photography. They represent a way we have learned to read history. We subconsciously attribute a sense of authenticity to these images. This is why a photographer like Salgado insists his prints, although shot on the best DSLRs available look like the were photographed on film. He is conscious of his aestheti...

One of my favourite National Geographic photographers, William Albert Allard, tells it like it is in this video. Watch and learn. Till soon, Paul www.indigo2photography.co.uk

He was sitting in a wheelchair next to the yacht basin in Oostende. With his peaked cap, pipe in hand and white beard he looked quite nautical.  After a brief chat I asked if he would mind me making a portrait. A nod of agreement.  I shot a few frames and he stared out from behind his glasses with a look that tells his story.  It's such a gift when people open up to us photographers and give their time and their faces to share with the world. Till soon, Paul www.indigo2photography.co.uk

We walked into the cafe at Salts Mill and immediately I spotted this gentleman reading his paper. It felt like an electric current had been switched on in my blood. Light, colour and gesture, the three key elements of a good image, all resonated together. When these elements come together they are a serendipitous gift to the alert photographer. Man reading paper With a tingling feeling running from the back of my neck to the tips of my fingers I carefully chose a seat at an adjoining table, hoping that he would continue to read his paper and not change his body position. I quickly composed the shot and pressed the shutter. If I had approached him before taking the shot I am sure this unselfconscious moment would have been lost. See how the colours of his pocket handkerchief, his shirt, t-shirt and hat are echoed in the environment around him. The light is lovely, etching him out of the background.  His relaxed natural pose fills the frame with dynamic angles. A man reading h...

Browsing social photography websites like Flickr and 500px is a frustrating experience. Overall the quality of photography is horrible. Home truths. Straight from the horse's mouth Nobody dares say anything negative. Often votes and comments are motivated by a desire for reciprocation rather than because the viewer actually likes the image. Many people spend less than a second viewing an image. It's so easy to click the fave icon on a page of thumbnails. People that receive a lot of votes/likes/favs are either good photographers or just good at playing the social game. This has all been said before and I really am not bothered by the social side. The thing that bothers me is the lack of interest, effort and passion for their images among so many photographers. Do they not see that when they push the saturation slider out near the maximum that the colours look awful, unnatural and garish? Do they not see that when they over-sharpen or over-use the clarity tool that...

Technique can be learnt but there are two other vital ingredients in an artist's makeup that you're born with, one of which is easily lost along long hard road of life. Flemish artist Willem Vermandere Creativity is something we all have in us. Some people are born more creative than others. There's a range but how creative we actually are depends on the third ingredient and that's passion. Without passion there is no drive, no new work, we become stale, copying our past successes with nothing fresh to show. I'm fortunate enough to know two living artists with real passion; Willem Vermandere and Magda Indigo . Both are absolutely driven to create new work every minute of every day. Naturally they do the things we all do, going to a restaurant, shopping and so on but all the time you know that what they really want to be doing is creating new work. They have a grand obsession in their lives. On the other side of coin you have artists who get off to flyin...

A classic view of Brugge at night. Millions of photos have been taken from where I stood, but I still think this image has something special. During the day Bruges is filled with tourists and nearly every one of them has a camera of some description. The trick is to find a different way to photograph a place. I'm not saying nobody has shot this scene at night but it is certainly a more rare and special view. The dramatic lighting makes it stand out and a good image is all about special light. I'm happy with the result and it will always bring back a fond memory of standing there with my wife in one of my favourite cities in the world. Sometimes we photograph to sell to clients, other times for our own artistic endevours and always to preserve those precious memories. Our photographs have become our diaries. Till soon, Paul www.paulindigo.co.uk

A tourist poses for a self portrait using his selfie-stick.  His selfie will probably be posted straight to a social media site; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any number of others with a caption along the lines, "Look how much fun I'm having in Bruges." In 2015 we noticed lots of people doing the selfie-on-a-stick thing  in Brugge. When people pose for these selfies their smiles often look forced. Or they pull weird expressions. They appear oblivious to the world around them, all attention focused on the small smartphone screen. Getting creative with a high viewpoint. And some people do it the old fashioned way, holding their smartphones. Three young ladies get ready to pose for a group selfie in Brugge. Are people becoming selfie-obsessed? Is it a good or a bad thing, or doesn't it matter? I remember when most of us would stop a friendly looking passer-by and ask them if they would mind taking a picture of us. Usually there was a bit of banter...

What does it take to make the gold standard images we see in National Geographic magazine and what type of photographer does it take to get the job done? Since I was a kid, curled up on the sofa, with a copy of National Geographic, I've admired the beautiful, informative images on the pages of my favourite magazine. The photographers follow strict ethical guidelines forbidding any overt manipulation. This means that you can trust what you see in the magazine. The images accurately represent what the photographer saw. The photographer is our witness on the spot transporting us to exotic locations, adding a visual story to the well researched articles by National Geographic's writers. The video below offers a fascinating and inspirational insight. The video features the following photographers: Lynsey Addario William Albert Allard James Balog Marcus Bleasdale Jodi Cobb David Doubilet David Guttenfelder David Alan Harvey Aaron Huey Lynn Johnson Ed Kashi Ti...

Launched in September 2014, still in beta, Immersive is an online platform designed to help individual storytellers create and publish beautiful, visually rich stories. I published my first story on the platform and I must say I think it looks good. It's optimised for mobile and tablet too and supports stills and video. Spanish fishing nets. Image from my photo story, Catch of the Day. Overall Immersive is easy to use. Some buttons are hidden, revealing themselves when you hover over an area on the screen. But I got to grips with the system quite quickly. Check out my photo story Catch of the day , about the local fishing industry in Spain. Till soon, Paul www.indigo2photography.co.uk