Trevor - West Yorkshire, England

Camera One



"I received a little disposable camera in the post yesterday, containing actual black and white film. It's the first time I've held a film camera in my hands for many, many years. It felt good - especially when it came to winding on the film and how that motion betrays the physicality of the medium. I have to admit that it was a little unnerving knowing that I had just one shot to play with. It made me appreciate the luxury we now enjoy with our digital cameras, and also appreciate how much more in the moment you have to be when you haven't got that luxury. Time will tell whether I was or not - and how the film shot compares with this one.



With a portrait you are taking a landscape of the soul. And just like an environmental landscape where the light and sky and viewpoint are all utterly unique to that moment in place and time, a street portrait is unique in the same way, capturing a person in the available light and context of the location at which you find them. It's still a posed photograph but there is a spontaneity to it which somehow makes it far more intimate than a studio portrait can ever be. In my opinion anyway. That might be an interesting point around which to get some discussion going.



This is Trevor. He was supposed to be umpiring today at Olicanians, just up the road, but that match had been abandoned because the ground was simply too wet to play. He'd come down to Ben Rhydding to watch his former club play against us. After he retired from playing he found it difficult to watch from the boundary edge, so he took up umpiring so as to be more closely involved in the game. It's a unique position from which to follow a cricket match. He's been doing the job for 25 years now and still very much enjoying it. The umpires tend to come in for a lot of criticism, players and spectators alike often overlooking just how difficult a job it is. The concentration required is not really any different to that required for playing. Cricket matches couldn't happen without the umpires and I have enormous respect for the Trevors of the cricketing world who take the job on.



I told Trevor about this project and he was more than happy to oblige and pose for me. And talking to him was lovely. I'd say that around 8 out of 10 strangers I approach are happy to have a portrait taken. For those who think they would find this difficult I can only say that it was hard for me at first but in just a few months it's become second nature. I think the key to success is engagement. Strike up an conversation and develop a bit of a rapport with your subject. I like to think that in return for taking a photograph I am able to give back a little something, even if it's only to put a smile on their face and a little story to tell their friends or family at the end of the day."



Stranger by EarthDreamer