I'll be the first to admit that street photography is my nemesis. I am normally a lightpainter and a taker of photographs in the dark; it's how I'm wired. So to keep me on my toes and keep it fresh, I like to live outside of my comfort zone every once in a while.
I live near Sheffield and I've visited so many times over the years it's difficult to photograph the place with a fresh pair of eyes. I see another photographer shoot something so apparently mundane because I've seen the scene a thousand times before.
So this afternoon, I paid a small fortune to park in a car park I swore I'd never visit and practice black and white street photography.
MC Escher was having a good day
I parked on the 10th floor of the car park I swore I'd never visit and instead of going down to ground level in the lifts, I used the stairs. I'm a big fan of MC Escher, a graphic artist known for turning perspective on it's head and these stairs were manna from heaven to me! And would you believe I saw a YouTube street photographer who completely bypassed these stairs and never shot them? What was he thinking?!
Street photography, my nemesis
Around the St.Pauls area of Sheffield are several modern buildings where I knew that the sun would create this shaft of light. The aim here was to shoot a passing figure in the highlights but with it being a Sunday, there weren't many people around to shoot! I spent ages waiting to capture someone feeling like a sniper! This is about the best I got.
The Street Sweeper Street Photograph
Another version of the above but this time with a street sweeper with his cart. I had a little chat with him for about 10 minutes and he seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing but I suspect he was skiving from doing his actual job!
The Obligatory Looky Uppy Shot
I can't visit a city centre and not take a photograph without looking upwards!
That Damned Expensive Car Park
There's quite a few modern looking car parks in Sheffield and I feel I'm paying for the whole damned building when I park in these things!
It's an uphill struggle
Probably a metaphor for the rising gas and electricity prices we are all faced with due to some lunatic president in a backwards country using energy as a weapon!
Work in progress
Like I said I've visited Sheffield a thousand times before so when I see new construction works, I have to take a look. Not sure what's going on here but half a building has been demolished. It's also not the safest thing to do in Sheffield as they keep finding unexploded WW2 bombs in the city!
This stop is not in use
Sheffield currently feels like one big building site just now and half the bus routes have been moved away from the centre. The grime on the roof of this bus stop was impressive....
Wheel Chair
Not sure of the story behind this wheel chair left looking abandoned outside an apartment block in the city centre. I'm wondering if the person was so disabled, how on earth did he or she get where they were going?!
Waiting for the Ghost Train
I often visit Sheffield at night. In fact more often than during the day. Here I've partially exposed for the tram which after a few seconds I knew was about to depart. The scene behind the tram previously obscured then exposes on the camera sensor.
I love making this sort of image although I do feel like a trainspotter hanging around tram stations!
Back to my Comfort Zone
Now I've had a day out in the sun shooting street photography, I can return to my comfort zone and shoot urbex. Here's one I prepared earlier!
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/fastchrisuk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastchris/
