The Idiosyncrasies Of Photographing Strangers
26/06/10 11:17 Post: Personal Work
I made my way towards the seafront with my camera this morning to catch the first rays of sun over Blackpool beach. It was an early start to the day and by 5am I’d already encountered the last of the Friday night revellers attempting to find their way home. Two young men (both clearly intoxicated, but [thankfully] only the one of them exposed bare-chested) approached me near Blackpool Tower to ask why and what I was photographing. I explained that I’d photographed Blackpool for a number of years and that it was simply something that I love to do. They didn’t quite understand my explanation or motive for taking photographs at this early hour of the day, but nonetheless they asked me if I’d take a picture of the two of them together. I obliged and continued my journey towards the beach. I knew that the photographs I’d taken of them weren’t really to my liking, but it certainly wasn’t an act of futility. These encounters with strangers on the street are nothing new to my photographic practice (it comes with the territory of being a documentary photographer) and each time I’m faced with this situation I usually find that its for the best to smile, take the photographs and depart on good terms.
The nearest public entrance directly onto the beach is currently to the right of Central Pier (due to the construction of the new seawall and promenade between Central and North Pier) and when I arrived there I began to setup my camera to record some HD video footage of the scene. It was low tide and there wasn’t a single soul on the beach. I had the whole place to myself. Ten minutes later, this all changed when a man and woman approached me to ask what I was doing. I showed them both the LCD screen at the back of my camera and said that I was just shooting footage to satisfy my own creative inclinations. They asked me what I usually photographed and I told them that I photographed all manner of subjects, but my favourite subject to photograph were starlings during the winter months. The woman insisted that I go to Fleetwood Docks to see them sometime and I duly noted this before they both headed towards the sea to paddle in the water and watch the sunrise.
An hour passed by as I relished the tranquility and quietness of the morning with my camera. By this point I was at South Pier and reasonably content with some of the photographs that I’d taken, but still not completely ready or willing to return home just yet. As I walked towards the steps of the seawall to find another vantage point, a man appeared from the direction of the promenade. He made his way down the steps towards me, but couldn’t go any further as there was a wide stream of water between the seawall and the beach that separated the two of us. The man shouted across this small estuary saying that I should take a photograph of the reflection of the pier in the water. I replied that I’d much rather take a photograph of him instead and asked him whether it would be okay to do so. He smiled and said that he didn’t mind. I quickly composed my shot and fired off few photographs as he semi-posed for the camera.
We spent the following forty-five minutes chatting across this small, yet significant, stretch of water about all manner of topics to do with technology, life and the future. 
Encounters With Strangers #1
Taken at 6:59am on Saturday 26th June 2010.
Throughout our conversation, I took his photograph sparsely and tried to capture him in a more natural way. I asked if he’d like me to include a quote from him if I decided to ever publish one of the photographs I’d taken. As he thought about what he wanted to say I took this photograph (above).
“If everybody agreed to the concept of time ‘a day in space is a year on Earth’ and if your day starts at 12am and your daily routine is that you fall asleep before 12pm, does that mean you fell asleep in yesterday to wake up in tomorrow; which in turn, is today?”
Now there’s something to think about...
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