The South Bank, London, 16th September 2006

Detail shots in street photography tend to be very much overlooked as they usually deal with the minutiae of everyday life rather than any grand themes or dramatic lighting effects. In this picture of a street magician marking a playing card, the look of his assistant as I caught the shot is as important a part of the image as the main subject matter as his look reveals the thoughts of someone being discovered doing something a bit naughty. I wonder if he’d have looked at the camera in quite the same way, if at all, had the shutter on my D200 at the time been quite so noisy.

Duke Street, London, 7th October 2006

Most scaffolding is considered an eye-sore especially to tourists who must get really annoyed to find some of London’s many landmarks being blighted by these ugly steel poles, although my friend Nils Jorgensen has somehow managed to get scaffolding shots down to a fine art form. I noticed this huge wooden beam painted red and white and thought it would make a great focal point the way it was lit with much of the remainder of the composition held back in shadow. Then this sharply dressed guy in a mustard jacket came along and stood briefly on the corner in time for me snap this picture.

Image: Nils Jorgensen – London, 2006

Oxford Street, London, 30th September 2006

When people spot me taking their picture I usually stop, smile and move on as was the case with this picture of a girl counting money at the end of a days work. Many photojournalists in particular dislike people gazing into the lens as it betrays the photographer’s presence at the scene and compromises the objectivity they seek to portray. This is less so in the case of street and documentary photographers like in this example by Robert Frank where I think the glance of the woman in the coffee shop holds our attention and makes the viewer engage with her in a way that seems more personal. I never saw the girl at the exchange booth again.

Image: Robert Frank – Coffee shop, railway station, Indianapolis, 1956

Royal Exchange Buildings, City of London, 5th April 2005

This is one of those shots where I will notice a potential good shot and hope for other elements of the composition to complete the picture. The woman sitting down on the bench was my initial focal point and I had noticed the lone pigeon also walking around in the foreground. It was only the appearance of the two men in the centre of the frame when I felt the image had come together. The two lads wondering what the hell I’m taking a picture of were left in unintentionally but I think they add a humorous element to the overall composition as one of them kinda looks as though he wants to be in the picture too.

Church Lane, London, 20th August 2007

Finding unusual things happening is always a great pleasure and when I came across this man hitting a squash ball against a wall in the middle of the road, it immediately reminded me of the work of Roger Mayne. Gone are the days when you’ll seen children playing in the middle of the street, what with the excessive number of vehicles that now clog up our roads and make them more dangerous. I’ve since seen him hit his ball here on a number of occasions so he might just get good enough for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics.

Image: Roger Mayne – Street Cricket, Clarendon Crescent, 1957