Photography as a road hobby

Photography became a hobby for me when touring with The Frames and Josh Ritter, mostly in the United States, when I taught myself how to take photos with a 35mm film camera without a light meter, pre- smartphone. Part of the reason for starting the hobby was out of looking for something creative to do with my spare time. Also, It was great excuse for exploring new places as we travelled a quarter of a million miles around the US in a van. And it was great for getting exercise. I know I did drive the bands I was playing in crazy because my new obsession would often make me late for soundchecks or leaving hotels in time etc. so I do apologise for that. 

I knew how lucky I was, being on these travels, and wanted to capture the feel of each new place and their inhabitants; strange, beautiful, or ugly. I bought an old ‘Canonet’ 35mm film camera in Chicago, with a broken light meter, so I had to learn about light and correct exposure settings the hard way…by trial and error. *To see my favourite photo of Joe from The Frames from my first ever roll of film, sign up to this Patreon. I did pick up some tips in “Photography Monthly” where they’d take reader’s photos that had been sent in and would critique them. It was a rough schooling and I made many mistakes (which meant I learned a lot!). It’s easier now to take good photos with all the phones and digital editing, and therefore it’s more difficult to find new ways to catch the viewers eye and be unique. Here’s how I approach trying to get something usable and pleasing, and that stands out, in case it helps. 

1. Pay attention to the weather and light as this is the most important factor for outdoor shots. The ‘golden light’ is the first and last 2 hours of the day. Mist and Ice and rain can be beautiful weather elements.

2. Look for 2 (or more) complimentary ‘aspects’ that will make up the photo. For example a surfer or a sunset on its own may not be of interest but a surfer in a sunset can be really arresting.

3. Assess the potential of the environment quickly, finding something with good symmetry or geometry and, as Henri Cartier-Bresson describes it, just wait then for the right subject to emerge into the symmetry. Patience!

4. 'Look behind you!' It’s another 50% of possibilities.

5. Try to end up with something that captures a mood or a story of a moment in time and that has originality.

The photo above is me trying to be metaphoric. I walked around the little fishing pier in the late evening sun and was taking photos of boats and boat details and reflections and I noticed one of the fishing vessels was about to set off. I found a good scene/place and waited for the subject to arrive into the photo. The actual real photo (non-reflection version) wouldn’t have been interesting for me but this image is only the reflection underneath, inverted, and with just enough movement in the water to give an impressionistic/uncertain feel. I hope the photo asks a question….Is ‘small fishing’ a sinking industry? Have the bigger fishing fleets destroyed everything? The young man maybe looks out hopefully but is for me on the edge of something unstable.

Another challenge to the traditional fishermen of the world is pollution. I saw a quote on a harbour wall recently saying that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. We love to photograph and celebrate fishermen's hardiness and romantic image when travelling around the coasts all over the world, but the truth is that this particular species is also in danger of becoming extinct.