I've spent the last 15 years living and photographing in a small rural town which you could walk around in just a few hours.
When I first moved there, I found it inspiring for my street work. However, after just a few months I found that I was repeating myself - taking the same photos over and over. I knew that I had to find somewhere new and fresh.
But how different would street photography be in a city to a small town?
The city I chose was Liverpool. A wonderful place full of opportunities. The challenge was that I didn’t know the area which was problematic. I had to ask myself why I was struggling and the answer that I found was shocking to me at first. Then the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Small town life was simple and it gave me comfort whereas city life is overwhelming. To make matters worse I was in a city that I didn’t know!
Whenever I visited London or Cambridge for a day of street shooting I would make the most of it by spending over 5 hours on the streets. Mainly because I had to travel for over an hour just to get where I wanted to be and would only be able to visit maybe once or twice a week. So it wasn’t my photography that needed to change but my mindset. I’ve started to treat the city like a small town. When I would shoot in Bury it would only be for a couple of hours as I walked to and from the coffeehouse. I didn’t worry if I took many photos as there was always tomorrow. I never had to travel far in Bury and that’s the way I now think of Liverpool. Doing this has made me realise that small towns and big cities aren’t that different after all.
I never noticed just how much I had learnt from all my years shooting in a small town until I moved - I know this is going to help me now when shooting in the city.
Small town photography was always difficult because photographers stand out and most people don’t like their photos being taken. Many find it invasive and they’re not afraid to voice this opinion (sometimes so loud that others around them hear what’s being shouted). I’ve had more confrontations in my old hometown than I’ve ever had while shooting in a city. While this sounds like a negative I’ve always considered it to be positive. These confrontations have taught me how to handle upset people and its certainly helped me out of 1 or 2 sticky situations when shooting somewhere like London.
Unlike small towns which have limited areas that are worth shooting in, major cities have an abundance of centres, business districts, and entertainment areas to capture. Take Liverpool: there’s the old docks, museums, galleries, the city centre, parks and much more. I could be shooting here for the next 2 years and only see maybe 20% of what this city has to offer. I find this to be the biggest difference between small towns and cities.
Bury was limiting but it also gave my what I think is my best project: Starbucks and coffee culture. I doubt I could’ve done this project in a city coffeehouse.
Alas, small town life also seems to close down around 17:30 just after the shops have closed up for the day. Come 18:00 and the streets have deserted and yet I still managed to make this work for me. Especially in the winter months when the town would become foggy and creepy - perfect for my style of street shooting. Since moving to Liverpool I’ve had a few foggy mornings but in the city centre, it doesn’t have the same effect. A short walk to the riverfront is where the fog comes alive and looks like something out of a horror film. I plan to spend more time in Liverpool’s industrial areas when the fog rolls in where I’m sure I can get some wonderfully creepy photos.
