Choosing What to Shoot

Walking along my favourite streets, it could become monotonous. The same buildings, the same shops and trees. But it is never the same. Something is always slightly different. The way the shadows form, lengthening or deepening depending on the time of day and the weather. The way the signs catch the light. Inspiration is everywhere, if you see and not look.

What I ignore

I avoid large groups of people, there is so much chaos that cannot be simplified down. Simplicity is what I look for.

Clashing colours and busy patterns are distracting. They do have their place, and I am sure if you look through my work you will find examples of them, but that is not what catches my eye.

One of my favourite photos I have taken was of an orange impaled on a fence outside a church. I love the simplicity, the colours were all the same palette, from the orange itself to the warmth of the church wall, broken up by the black fence post.

So I strive for simplicity in my personal work. The world if complex enough.

What Makes me Pause

Anything, literally anything.

It could be a found still life of the orange on a fence, it could be a bit of graffiti or some stickers on a mirror. It is little details that catch my eye, something small that may not belong.

Or it could be textures. I love textures, especially those that show age or wear. I find them fascinating. They also provide interesting backdrops for portraits to provide a contrast to the person. The skill is matching the backdrop to the person.

The streets of Seville are full of these, the city is my studio with unlimited backdrops that I can choose from. But they need to be noticed first.

When I don’t take the photo

Painting is about addition, photography is about subtraction is a common saying.

Sometimes I see what should be the perfect composition. I recall one I took. It was near the river and included a bike and a moped. I liked the comparison between the 2 modes of trasport, the well used bike and the vintage looking moped. But one thing ruined it, a bin in the background.

Now I had 3 options, remove the bin in post, accept the bin or ditch the photo. I ditched it.

I realised it would never be what I wanted. Now I am more selective. I try to get everything I want in the composition and exclude the elements that I don’t at the moment of taking the shot.

Framing might take a little longer, or I may have to abandon a shot, but composing in camera feels more natural and honest to the location. I know I can remove elements in post, but that makes the photograph less real and less of a reflection of the place. If I can get it right in camera, I