Are we in the UK still obsessed with the archaic notion of class.Well yes and in the execution of this project I realise I probably have a more unhealthy obsession with it than I should but there is no getting away with it class or at least some sort of heirachy exsists and communities are often built around them.Quite often these communities are more polarised than they once were although I’m not suggesting by any means it wasn’t ever that way before.I would say however that there have been times when communities built around class were less polarised if only briefly.

For instance after WW2 in the UK with the setting up of the welfare state people from many backgrounds and in particular poorer,working class people were finally getting some of the things promised to them after the sacrifices and slaughter of WW1 which were only partially delivered. Apart from the NHS,better working conditions and support if they were out of work,due partly to the destruction of many houses a building boom assured for the first time for many a move to decent clean hygenic accomaodation,by the 1950s many of the houses unfit for purpose were replaced in the slum clearances by vast social or as they were called then council estates.There was many who did not want to go but the vast majority of people were over the moon with the running water and inside toilets,large swathes of people moved from places like the East End of London to huge new estates in Dagenham and the such like.These communities to begin with were designed by town planners with a worthy utopian dream in mind and to a large extent until the early 80s when they were sold off and left in disrepair to become a dystopian nightmare did just that. They were designed not to house problem families or the desperate,in fact there were very strict rules to make sure the houses were kept in good condition and nuisance neighbours were not tolorated.They were in demand.

The estates were designed to create a space where people from many backgrounds,proffesions and class lived and worked together. It was not unusual for a teacher of the local school or doctor of the GP practice to live on the same estate as the local shop owner, the milkman or policeman,it was a brief period from the mid 1960s through to the late 1970s.It did not last long but whilst it did it proved that communities do not have to be quite so disparate or consist of one demographic as a whole.

Belonging to a community or class can be a fabulous thing,throughout history it has shown to be vital in creating sustainable ways of living and social mobility.Groups of people working towards the same goals collectively can most often achieve thoese aims more succesfully than the individual,we as a species are a social beast,we rely on that to survive and thrive.We rely on it for our well being.

The problem with that is that it creates a hierachy,again this can when used correctly be a benifit,it is when that power is used not for the benefit of the whole group that problems occour,is ther emuch we can do about that,probably not but the extent of the issues it causes maybe can be addressed.

In the UK as with many other countries,the heirarchy is based upon power and the perpetuation and retaining of that power often built upon centuries of tradition and indoctrination,it becomes the norm.This is no different in smaller community groups where we accept these norms.

Rarely before have we seen the blurring of those lines around class and caste and although social mobility is on the wain class,accent and even to some extent race has allowed this to happen.Or has it really.

In the UK the most MPS are privately educated and middle -upper class,the present cabinet is the most elite in years.Most heads of big business,its the same even in what most might think of as the liberal arts such as the music industry,acting,media,tv even photography,these areas are disprortionatly represented by peopel from middle,upper and elite classes.

So what you may say,the politics of envy maybe.Well maybe but these are the people who shape the way we think and if the work being produced only reflects their life view how will the people they inform know what it is really like to not have those advantages,it’s dangerous for all society.

It perpetuates that myth that being poor is somehow “their” fault and not that of societies as a whole.It perpetuates the myth that all working class are lazy and stupid,of no use ,it creates an alienation that affects all society,a polarisation that is unhealthy and unsustainable.

It has not always been that way. In fact it was not that long ago that it may well have been celebrated.

I found this article from Vice magazine insightful and relatable. Also quite worryingly still a relevant topic of discussion.

I Never Worried About Being Working Class Until I Went to Art School

Growing up in Telford, social class was never a big deal. That all changed when I moved away for university.

BETH ASHLEY: “AT 18, I WASN’T CONSCIOUS OF MY SOCIAL CLASS.” 

“How are you getting eight grand a year while I’m getting nothing?” a flatmate asked me as our student loans rolled in, a day I’d impatiently anticipated while assigning which emergency can of soup I was going to crack open on which days. 

I asked him why he didn’t get anything, wondering if he’d done his application wrong.

He said “for whatever reason” students with rich parents didn’t get maintenance loans. This made him, in his words, “fucked”.  

“Yeah, you seem really fucked with your brand new car and weekly Ocado deliveries pre-ordered by your mum,” I thought.  Politics

I Watched the Neighbourhood I Grew Up in Get Gentrified

MALAKAÏ SARGEANT12.7.19

Until then, at 18, I wasn’t conscious of my social class. This may sound ridiculous, especially as my single, teenage mother – who juggled college with two minimum wage jobs – shared a single bed with me in my nan’s house until she could afford to rent a council flat. 

I grew up in Telford, a mining town just west of the Black Country and bordering Wales. It’s diverse but sadly not integrated – one of those towns that’s bewilderingly Tory blue, where the poor have been gaslit into voting for parties that oppose their interests.

Most men work locally, while women marry young, have children and work part-time happily too. My life was mirrored by my friends and classmates. Our parents worked in shops and factories, and until my mum eventually graduated from university and became a support worker, I knew of few other occupations. I was aware of them, but they were the jobs you daydreamed about – not the jobs you actually applied for to pay the bills and keep your family afloat. 

Still, I dreamt big. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I discovered Roald Dahl and started folding stolen printer paper into “books” to document my “novels” in barely-legible crayon. I even forced my mum and my primary school teachers to write endorsements on the back: “You could write that it’s tea-spittingly funny,” I’d direct, copying a Stephen Fry quote from the local WH Smiths shopfront. Though my community upheld the unbreakable school-work-house-marriage-children formula, my family were encouraging – but I needed a “real job” to sustain my “hobby”, so I applied for a combined creative writing and journalism degree. 

BETH ASHLEY: “UNAWARE OF HOW OTHER PEOPLE LIVED, I NEVER FELT LIKE I MISSED OUT ON ANYTHING.”

I was quintessentially working class, but naivety had granted me blissful oblivion. Unaware of how other people lived, I never felt like I missed out on anything.

Going to art school in Surrey was the first place I mixed with people from other class backgrounds. That conversation with my flatmate wasn’t the only one causing division. Throughout freshers week, as we crawled pubs and played Never Have I Ever – the only ice breaker anyone actually likes – nonchalant comments about money, skiing trips, and even a family butler, left me feeling isolated. 

I’m not alone in this feeling. Ben Rogaly, a professor of human geography at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research, notes that spending time in typically middle-class spaces can be traumatic for some working-class people. “Teaching in a university, I sometimes see working-class students enter this middle-class environment and feel alienated, even experiencing mental health problems. They can accumulate a sense of exclusion, of otherness.”  

Though my flatmates were all genuine friends of mine, anger deriving from distinct class division became a theme of my student life. The rich had a very different transition into the art world to the few working-class students. Their families never questioned their career plan, and they arrived without the budget tracking sheets and tinned food our mums had tearily pressed into our arms. Some had never worried about money, and probably never would, which I found irritating and at times unbearable. Life

How Losing Your Regional Accent Affects Your Identity

GINA TONIC

The isolation was only exacerbated in my first media job. I found it through a diversity programme but was still surrounded by upper-middle-class people. Soon, co-workers started unrelatable conversations about their electric cars, holiday homes and nepotism-fueled career trajectories.

Colleagues found anecdotes about my life funny when they weren’t meant to be, savouring the dramatic elements like it was a soap opera. Eventually, I started dressing like them, diluted my accentto flow with theirs, and avoided discussing anything that was a class signifier – like my family home, my mum’s relative youth and the schools I attended. I was performing upper-class at work as a protective shield, then switching back to default at home, which was a £250pcm bedroom with someone else’s vomit on the walls.

Rogaly observes in his book that many people have mixed emotions about their identities. “The same person could feel pride and shame at their class background in one conversation, yet identify with it in another.” 

It’s hard to pinpoint when I stopped acting like my colleagues and actually became one of them. After a few years of hard work and promotions, I found myself living in one of the most affluent areas of Hampshire with a salary I never imagined I’d have. I only noticed the transition when a friend pointed out I was earning more than most of my family members – a realisation that brought a confusing mix of relief, guilt, and fear that I was a “class traitor”. 

For a long time I lived in a constant state of imposter syndrome. My colleagues never really bonded with me. But back home, the way I was seen, talked to (or about) had shifted. My family don’t always understand my career but they’re proud. Friends who remained in our hometown think I’ve abandoned our roots. 

Flippant jokes from friends about me having a New Yorker subscription and spending all my time in pretentious coffee shops (to be fair, I deserve this) had me wondering if I had abandoned my class, but I didn’t feel like I had. 

I’ve whined to my mum – who studied class mobility while trying to achieve it – about this confusion. She’s adamant a person can’t change their class once they’ve reached adulthood, because our identities, values and behaviours have already formed. “Even if you won the lottery, you’d still be a poor kid at heart.” I’m not sure if I agree, but at least she doesn’t think I’ve abandoned her. Money

We Need to Stop Assuming All Millennials Are Middle Class

HANNAH EWENS

There’s limited research on whether someone can entirely move from one class to another. I know because I’ve looked, extensively and nervously, as I frequently feel obliged to pick a side. It seems classist to dismiss my obtained wealth, but equally so to disregard my upbringing. Though I don’t have the insulation my new peers have long-held, I’m unsure of my place now that I’m financially comfortable and living in a middle-class bubble. There is one Oxford University study that defines social mobility as “someone landing an occupation of higher status than their father.” I never had the latter, so to quote Kanye: I guess we’ll never know.

I still feel like I’m in turmoil, but I’ve found comfort in that. As Rogaly says, discomfort can help “to challenge class inequality and speak about class in terms of the social relationships entailed – rather than trying to define what it means to be in a particular class”. It’s a privilege to have acquired my dream job and a comfortable home, but be grounded by the working-class values I was raised on. I didn’t believe I belonged because I hadn’t seen anyone else like me in the spaces I wanted to occupy, but I know now that the imposter syndrome I felt had little to do with me – it was a reverberation of deep-seated inequality.

After much too ing and fro ing I have decided to create an exhibition in a box.Thoughts have changed and had to be adapted many times during the course of my FMP,in fact during the whole MA. I think this ability to do so is a good and positive thing. With a end goal I like the idea that projects take on an organic form and are not rigid in their formation.

A real world exhibition was my plan,with a tradional publication such as a book or zine,the space is not a traditional gallery space but one within the club I have been working with mostly,in fact as part of the action I used to engage with the club I have been converting a disused room within to a gallery/workshop space which we hope future artists will use and so that we can become part of the local arts trail event.

Circumstances have forced a new way of thinking which in my mind is actually preferable and more in keeping than the original idea.

I am collaborating with Wayne Ford,who is a creative director,graphic designer and writer on photography.He has kindly agreed to help realise an idea to create an exhibition in a box,first brought to my attention via Photoworks who in similar circumstances created a festival in a box.

Similar to their one I will be producing a branded box with instructions that will be sent to various Working mens clubs including the one I have been working with. Within it will be a newspaper that opens up into prints,a dozen or so more precious/traditional Giclee prints some beer mats that double up as title tags,some pins/string or blu tac.

My intention is to send them out and ask for feed back.I’d like the recipients to show the work any way they like. Either by taking the time to put the work on the walls of the venues in anyway they see fit or to pass the work around,maybe leave it on the bar for everyone to take a look.I’m hoping the beer mats will become suitably stained with beer rings.

I intend to produce enough sets to also send to potential interested parties such as publications,competitions as well as Art buyers and picture editors I know within my commercial practice. In doing so I hope that some will be happy to put the work on the walls of their agencies as is often the case as temporary exhibitions.

Having spent the past few months researching,getting to know the people and places of of my project I finally have some direction and a plan.All be it a fluid one due to restrictions in shooting due to Covid 19.

I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know the people of two working mens clubs,I’ve shot a fair amount of candid imagery, portraits and details,some of which may make the final edit some of which will remain reference material.My intention is to periodically collate the images and do prelimanary edits but it will not be until I either run out of time ! or preferably decide that I have what I need to tell the story,a story of belonging,community and my relationship with my Dad and working mens clubs.

In my research i’ve looked at the work of many photographers who’s work relates to my subject in some way or is of a similar aesthetic to that which I plan to use for example I’ve looked at the work of Mark Neville,with whom I also was able to have a conversation via email,Chris Coekin,who seems to have taken a similar path in terms of background and where he is now,he also questions his position within both worlds and explores it through his photography,Julien Germain looks at the family unit and that sense of belonging,where as with Rob Hornstra I’m looking at the aesthetics, in particular the series exploring the traditions and community illustrated by the Sochi Singers and of course there has to be Daniel Meadows,an influence on me for many years,In particular in reference to the social inclusion and interaction of his projects such as the Free Omnibus portrait project.

I will talk further about these people and their work outside of the methodology in my next post.

At the start of this project,I thought a more informal approach to the style of photography would suit me and the project best,within my research material you will see some of this.However as the project developed I could see it was not fulfilling my requirements,it did not tell the story.Part of this was due to the restrictive nature of the lockdown measures imposed on pubs and clubs,I was not able to fully engage with my subjects,some people felt uncomfortable with breaking the 2 metre rule and engaging in conversation and part of it was my own preference.I spend a lot of my time shooting environmental portraits,I like the way I can build a story with the surroundings so I decided to use the reference material and conversations I have had and invite sitters to a slightly more formal portrait session. Depending on these two elements I have sketched in my mind and sometimes on paper how and where I would like them to be.They will all be shot within the two clubs and reflect the people in them by using different parts of the clubs that I feel illustrate their personality best and celebrate their community and whilst this is my version,my take I will discuss the idea beforehand to make sure they are happy with my interpretation and comfortable with the idea.Often suggestions have been made that I have taken on board that improve the image,this only adds to the collaborative nature of the project. Whilst this may seem formulaic I have to work within the constraints of what is available to me at the clubs, It’s certainly not as grand a production as Gregory Crewsden may shoot but on a much smaller scale I am working to a narrative.However it is open to unexpected happy accidents much as it in my day to day practice making portraits for magazines,often without the advantage of actually seeing/knowing anything about the location or person. For example Alison and patch had just been for a dog walk and had their lovely dog with them,it obviously is something that bonds the relationship together so I included him in the shot and I think it was one of those happy accidents that made the shot more poignant.

In terms of style I have switched to a larger format camera on tripod,lending itself to a more considered,slower paced shoot. Although each shot will be lit to suit its individual needs I am adopting the traditions of very painterly lighting,with rich deep colours ,much used in the work of the Dutch masters with particular reference to Rembrandt.I want the style of the images to add gravitas to the story,to celebrate the people,to make them look and feel as important as the revered merchants Rembrandt painted,by shooting them this way the tradition with which we view this method,this way of seeing,our visual language here in the West will add to to the outcome I seek which is one of celebration and dignity.

I considered several approaches to the aesthetics,all of which would influence the way we see and interpret the images and the ideas I am trying to portray.I looked at shooting in Black and White,which is actually still an option at least for some of the images,I’m actually a believer in doing what is best for each individual image,which may be it looks and tells the story better in black and white,this of course can lead to problems when creating a set or series of images and will be something to consider at the edit.My reason for dismissing this as a whole is despite being aesthetically pleasing in some cases it can create a feeling of nostalgia.In the modern language of seeing especially with the advent of Instagram it can be used as a tool to reflect on the past,this technique is often used in movies or TV as a mechanism to take us back in time,to tell a story about the past and whilst there is a lot to be said for a beautifully printed black and white image I really want to avoid any idea that I may be looking back with rose tinted glasses, I want it to be a celebration of the now and future.It’s something i’m still very much debating internally.

The other main contender in terms of look was colour with a very stark almost on camera flash feel as adopted by many fashion photographers and colour documentorists such as Martin Parr and to a certain extent the afore mentioned Rob Hornstra. Whilst I think it has its place again I can’t help associating it with a certain agenda.This style as entered the lexicon of seeing as being brash,harsh,perhaps critical and mocking which is very much not the message I want to convey so once again despite a look I like I’m keen to dismiss any chance of misinterpretation.Instead by adopting the avenue I intend for the portraits it will reinforce the message give the project a central structure from which I intend to adopt a less rigid regime of complimentary styles for a series of interiors,details and exteriors using the influences of works by Alex Soth,Paul Graham in his A1 and Beyond Caring projects,Mark Neville’s Port Glasgow series,Chris Coekin,Bernd and Hiller Becher,Fergus Heron and of course the new topographic photographers,especially Stephen Shore.

Images shot by me during my research as reference,a small selection amongst many that may or may not make the final edit but definitely have helped the journey to where I am now.

Various influences including imagery by me,Rembrandt,Mark Neville,Chris Coekin,Julien Germain and Rob Hornstra.

The beginnings of the Work in Progress . Dean Belcher 2020/2021

I’m still having doubts as to the merits, imagination and potential to be something of interest but i’m pursuing and shooting as best I can in the restrictive circumstances.

I want to celebrate the WMC or at least the people involved,i’m struggling at times. In particular at the ex servicemen’s club some of the gestures such as the singing of land of Hope and Glory and the waving of Union Jacks to get attention of the bar staff,the lack of any diversity race wise does make me question some of my motives or beliefs in the people I am celebrating here. I think I may be over thinking it and reverting to media stereotypes of flag waving racists when in fact its an older generation who are actually just having a bit of fun in the traditions they have been brought up in. I have no reason to suspect they are at all antiquated with old fashion views that do not fit my metropolitan left leaning views,not once as racism raised its ugly head or even Brexit,I have no idea how any of the people voted and suspect even if the vast majority did once again it would have been reasons beyond racism,not all brexiteers are racist I know.I guess it just doesn’t sit well with my romantic idea of the progressive militant working class, why should it, most people are just trying to get on with their life the best they can and often that as been a struggle,to let loose with a few drinks and a sing song is part of that tradition associated with working mens clubs,I suppose I’m struggling to shake of my preconceptions formed back when I was in my late teens.

I’ve met so many wonderful people i’m almost part of the furniture in this club in particular,so much so I know most by name and they mine. I really do not want to betray this trust.

In contrast the more progressive club is harder to penetrate with a mixture of similar people to Leyton they also have a far more progressive membership that I think are still a little wary of my motives,saying that I do feel that it is moving forward and whilst I have taken less images there I have made great grounds in making contacts and provisionally made loose arrangements to reconnect in December when I plan to start shooting more there. They have abided much more by the covid rules so i feel obliged much more to keep contact to a minimum ,the older crowd have been much more receptive. 

I need to align myself with the younger members and in particular the gay and black members to try and get my message across.

One way I think may be best is to set up a shoot day or two and stay all afternoon once some normality comes back, if it does. Under normal circumstances I would have progressed much further and quicker with the process. This club in particular only opens for Friday and Saturday night events at the moment which usually involve loud music so conversations are strained and mixing between tables is discouraged.I’m now at a point where I think I’m well known enough to push this a little without upsetting the comittee.Which by the way I have been invited to join,I think I may be an asset .

I still struggle with the idea of joining these images up with my story.I’m trying to explore more than anything social mobilty and my journey from a working class background through education and self learning to the lower middle class lifestyle and environment I find myself in now.How I am able to cross both divides and my relationship with both in terms of my own views and opinions and those I encounter and have left behind to a certain extent. Most importantly my relationship with my father,his with his and mine with my own son and my sons with his grandfather,all of which are very different but have a similarity in as much as they are all fraught with a tension apart that is the one between my son and I which I hope and it seems as broken the cycle. We are however all very similar in personality which is interesting.

With social mobility levelling out and possibly on the decline for the first time in decades i’m keen to explore how this as happened  and where all the opportunities have gone.Maybe they have not and we’ve just reached a natural plateau but with what seems like the polarisation of society on the rise in recent years i’m keen to look at it through my own experiences and that of my family.

My experiences are very different to those of similar youth growing up today some would argue the opportunities are more but if that is the case why are a growing and disproportionate amount of people from similar more wealthy backgrounds still more likely to be employed in the top earning professions such as law,journalism,politics,education,the arts,banking and TV.There are still many hurdles and gatekeepers that discriminate either actively or via ingrained stereotypes and traditions that are not being broken down.The so called meritocracy I would argue does not exist and if it ever did is on the decline once more as ways in are about the connections made through social standing either at school (usually paid for) or through parents in the same profession,who can realistically intern for a year in a major city for free without the outside help of others ?

According to Hashi Mohamed in his book People Like Us the gap between the standard of education of private schools and state schools as lessened,admittedly there are factors to take into consideration like the league tables which are easily skewed and schools with an entry exam in the case of some grammar and religious schools which whilst independent are still classed as state and do cream off the best talent.In contrast to which and usually to keep exam result tables at their best some state schools expel troublesome students who are proportionately less likely to attain good grades if any before they sit and in doing so bring the overall averages down.It is So why is it many families pay and in some cases struggle to pay to send their children to private schools ?

Why this huge investment when state schools are closing the gap academically and in some cases superseding them with exam results.The answer it seems is the social currency,it really is worth the money to instil not just that confidence and believe but also the ability to interact with the people from these backgrounds the top professions employ the most,that ability to engage in social situations and use those opportunities to expand the correct networks so allowing very little scope for someone without those connections to penetrate and on the off chance they do,once in to flourish.

There are many many areas to explore as to why and how social mobility does and does not work how it was once seen as a vulgar term or as a betrayal of ones roots,much of which I hope to explore in relation to my story.

Code editing is one of my favourite areas of research and in many ways relatable.Take most social,work or interview situations,without knowing someone’s name,background,social standing,job,schooling first impressions is a very important part of how we immediately evaluate someone’s suitability as a friend or employee or simply the person who we may be chatting to for the next 10 minutes.So apart from appearance such as dress codes the next is race,ethnicity,so lets say we can see past that the next is accent or vocabulary.A child of 6 from a wealthy background with access to books and who would most likely have the time given over to them to read and be read to has vocabulary of around 2600 expressive words and 20-24000 receptive words of vocabulary whereas a child from a poorer background who’s parents or parent are more likely to have less time and money or even the inclination to be able to provide this are substantially weaker in both areas often with a reading age of around 15 months leads to a perpetual game of catch up.Accent of course is a different matter and quite complex also,imagine if you are the child of a 1st generation or refugee family where English is not your first language, not only is their ethnicity,cultural and economical disadvantages at play there is also language and pronunciation. Even within groups of people born and bred in the UK for instance accent plays a huge part in how people perceive you and this is where code editing is very interesting.A lot of people have what they call their telephone voice usually an attempt at a clipped BBC queens English,code editing put simply is an ability to change ones accent ,to have a wide vocabulary and be able to use it to fit in within the current circumstances and surroundings this ability to do this is an important part of social mobility and creating the all important means of fitting in and opening up opportunities.

In practical terms and going back to my methodology I think the only way to get the portraits I want is to set up several portrait days similar to Daniel Meadows did with the Photographic omnibus and offer free prints in return for time to talk and take the images set up in the environment and lit how U see them in my head,very much based on what I have seen in the club and more in keeping with my usual method and practice of environmental portraiture. I just need to convince the committee !

Other areas  I have discussed and need to clarify going forward is how I link this work to my own story. One idea I have is to photograph myself my dad and my son all in a similar way and produce a single triptych that connects us all in one image.

Me in the middle one either side like this image I produced earlier this year.

I’m also toying with mixing black and white with colour images,i’m not sure wh,aestheically I prefer in B/W and some in colour,is that a good enough reason.Perhaps I could use it as a tool to play with ideas around the past and present with some of the b/w being mostly shot in the club that is becoming apparent is a bit stuck in the past and concentrating my efforts to produce the colour portraits in thre more progressive club. 

On Another note I have been thinking of alternative projects just in case, maybe that is a mistake but I always have more than one project on the go as a rule in  any case.

One that may work is a series of portraits of on the ground revolutionaries  and key people important in bringing change via grass roots organisations.

I am very friendly and familiar with Red Saunders who along with Roger Huddle ,SYd Shelton and Ruth Gregory,(also fiends)set up and organised Rock Against Racism, a group that was instrumental in combating and actually stopping the rise of the NF and BNP in the UK at a time when they were on the rise and gaining seats in local elections.

I have many more similar people i’d like to photograph and have access to them through various connections.

During the covid restrictions I thought I might go for a walk and record their story then photograph them again in an environmental portrait setting and style outside.

I first came across the work of Chris Coekin via my tutor Wendy Mc Murdo.It’s been a real help in shaping the methodology of my FMP. I was starting to doubt the viability and validity of the subject and how relevant it was to the story I want to tell.

His work around Working Mens Clubs Knock Three Times in particular resonated with me.I don’t have years to acquaint myself with the members but having become a member I am finding the process of getting to know people quite easy now and find they are interested and supportive of the idea, what it is for or will end up seems to be the main concern, once that is explained they open up and seem to be very accepting so far.

I mentioned before that I wanted to do a short presentation to the members but it seems Julia the Club president is not keen. Although she as been reasonably co-operative I believe I have some way to go before she is totally convinced of the project and motives.I think she wants me to bring something more quicker.I’ll work on it.!

In light of this and the responses I’m getting it’s now time to spend some time actually shooting more than just some of the found images. I’m sure I will use some of these but as a tool to get to know people they have been of most use.My friend Peter Dench who is a renowned documentary photographer explains that many times he as wasted frames and rolls of film getting to know people, people in charge asking to be photographed,people who perhaps are not relevant to the story, that will never be seen but by doing so sets them at ease.I have had to employ this method myself before and I see it as part of the process until you are accepted, the real project becomes apparent people understand and start to forget about you being there.Becoming part of the furniture.Often recommending other useful people and places.

It’s true to say that by being upfront and close you often blend in and become just there by being honest and open as opposed to trying to sneak shots or use long lenses, often by doing this I find you become much more visible, the images say very little and there is no relationship between the subject and photographer.

Daniel Meadows has a good set of rules which I think are very helpful.

So getting back to my methodology. I will continue to photograph found/reportage/candid images and alongside that as planned I am starting to formulate the ideas around some set up environmental portraits, some influenced by the candid images much like Chris Coekins set up images but in my case it will be less about recreating them as he did and more about using them to influence a portrait with some elements included.In doing this I will be giving my interpretation of how I see the subject.

The next time I plan to go is this weekend where I will continue to meet new people and also speak to the people I have already met and start arranging times to sit down and talk to them,record the conversation and get started on the portraits. Once I start this point I know it will encourage me to continue and the project will start to flow. My doubts I’m sure abated.