January was a real treat for me as I got to go back to one of my favourite cities, Edinburgh. The first time I was here was with my family and I found it tricky to do street photography, this was likely a combination of wanting to spend time with family and being in a new city where the best spots were still unknown to me.
As most street photographers will tell you each location has it’s own unique vibe and bringing out what makes that city alive through your photos takes time, patience and an ability to be able to tune in to the essence and heartbeat of that city; otherwise, the images have no soul, which is the position I found myself in on my first visit to Edinburgh.
I can equate my initial visit to this beautiful city to getting to know a lifelong friend. It has had a rocky start but then again some of the strongest friendships begin this way. I absolutely fell in love with Edinburgh but it was not prepared to give up secrets easily. Like all good things I knew I needed to work hard if I was going to produce any meaningful images that were worthy of this great city.
For my second visit, I spent a week in Edinburgh, 2 days running a workshop and the other 5 days were set aside so I could cultivate my relationship with this majestic place. The weather in Scotland is very changeable and I was not concerned about the wintery conditions I found myself most of the time. In fact, snow was on my wish list which was granted for a very short 15-minute window (photos below).
The city is divided between new and old, with each providing different challenges, the new side of the city lacks character and feels like most modern cities, great for generic street photos, but provided little context as to the location due to the number of retail outlets littering the high street.
The old part of the city is where its heartbeat lies with its arteries being the narrow cobbled streets that wind themselves through this area. As a street photographer, the lifeblood of the city is its people. Photographing them using these streets, stairways and courtyards make for the best compositions. The reflections coming off of the well-worn cobbles in the rain show just how much foot traffic they have had over the centuries and for this me this is what makes a compelling story.
The new part of the city is not without its charm, however. As street photographers, we need to work with the available opportunities that are presented to us. For instance after dark in the rain Princes Street comes alive as the neons lights from the shops make the path glow, with the reflections on the wet sidewalk provide a glimpse into an almost magical world which is a stark contrast to its dull daytime counterpart. It is these very same lights that attract me to the polished street just as they attract the volume of consumers like magpies to anything shiny.
The lion’s share of the photos was taken in the old part of the city. I was drawn to its character and uniqueness. This was not easy pickings, however, as there were many challenges to translating what I was seeing into my images. I found that the charm of the streets was hidden in their narrow offerings. I found myself camping out a lot waiting for moments to come to me. The tight quarters meant that I was forced to focus on one subject when it was presented rather than having the bounty of moments that I would be able to choose from in cities such as London and Cambridge.
When I’m in London I love shooting at the Tate Modern I won’t go into how special this place is for me within this blog, but please feel free to check out my Tate Modern blog (Read here) as it provides insight into how I like to use the space. The National Museum of Scotland for me is Edinburgh’s answer to the Tate Modern. Thank you so much to Simone (@all_hail_the_white_rabbit) for introducing me to this amazing space. The Earth and Space exhibition became my photographic playground, I was inspired by the light, which as every photographer knows is the essence of any good photo.
Shooting in the Museum gave me an opportunity to be creative and start shooting with my Ricoh GR, this is a beautiful camera and its wide 28mm lens was perfect to capture the grandeur of the exhibition while allowing me to take environmental street photos, it really is about having the best tool for the job and I was itching to use this camera ever since I crossed the Scottish border.
Taken with Ricoh GRII
Taken with Ricoh GRII
Taken with Ricoh GRII
Taken with Ricoh GRII
Taken with Ricoh GRII
I’d like to give a shoutout to my friend Tom Jeavons who helped me write this blog, I can’t thank him enough for his help. More photos to follow in my next blog