New Light / Old Subject

Sometimes it's difficult to make time for the things that that you love. Recently I have been working so much that trying to find a spare hour or so to get out with my camera. Although I have been producing some commercial work nothing excites me more than spare time and my home town of Newcastle to explore.

View Tyne Bridge on my flickr page here © Anthony Dorman

I ventured into the city very early in the morning and was mesmerised by the winter light. I hardly ever take photographs of the Tyne Bridge as it's done to death. Don't get me wrong its an amazing iconic bridge synonymous with Newcastle but there are too many standard images of it around. Saying all that I simply could not help myself, the light was too nice. I have to say that I do like the image, although it's square format it feels cinematic to me and I am always drawn to images that could be movie stills. I posted the image on flickr and it had a great response. 

View Breathe on my flickr page here © Anthony Dorman 

As the morning was getting later the and the light was becoming stronger I saw a young guy about to light up. I watched him for a short while to see how the smoke would show up in the sunlight. Deciding that it looked great I walked up to him and told him I wanted to photograph him. Like a lot of people in my city he was quite relaxed and said 'OK'. I told him to forget I was there and just enjoy his smoke. The way the sunlight, smoke and hair looked in the contrasting light suggested black and white was the way to go. I quite often set my camera to B&W when shooting as I like to read the image in its highlights and shadows. I always shoot RAW just in case I am wrong and want colour.

I'm still struggling with time to shoot what I want but will hopefully be out and about with my camera soon including two location model shoots which I'm planning.

Good Times Lie Ahead

Today I reached the halfway point of my 100 Strangers Project. I was passing through the underpass at Swan House Roundabout today which has some very atmospheric light. Thanks to my 50th 100 Stranger for agreeing to having his portrait taken.

view this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

I was in Glasgow last year and I had been on my feet all day taking photographs all over the city and getting a mixed bag of results. It was getting late and I was dead on my feet when I passed a group of young guys playing basketball under the bizarre street lights that feature in parts of the city center. I must of walked past them about three times before the compulsion to as I call it "shoot strangers" kicked in. Now for me this was a city that I don't know well and I am asking a group of strange young guys if I can take their photo. Something must have told me that they were a good group of guys and indeed they were. After the initial awkwardness they really seemed to be at ease in front of the camera. Indeed one of these photos is probably my favourite photo that I have taken. When I look at them I am reminded that I am not a kid anymore but it allows me to see their story unfold with the knowledge that the time they have now is fantastic and to be enjoyed to the maximum. I recently watched a film called "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" which is an all time favourite of mine. When I watched the film it reminded me of this set of images. When these guys are older with families and history I hope they will look back and remember the days and nights they had together as friends and all the crazy stuff that you do which shapes you forever.

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View the image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

Glasgow People and Places

On a weekend visit to my girlfriends family in Falkirk we took a day trip into Glasgow. For my girlfriend and her mum that meant shopping and then the theater. For me it meant a chance to wonder the streets of one of Britain's greatest cities with my camera. My first port of call was a quick bus ride to Parkhead which is the area surrounding Glasgow Celtic's football stadium. I had once taken a wrong turn into Glasgow and discovered an area so run down that it was quite beautiful. I know that sounds strange but some of the old abandoned buildings had layers of peeling paint and amazing colours and textures.

Glasgow Parkhead

   See the high resolution image on my flickr page  © Anthony Dorman

After quite a few hours wondering around some of the more colourful areas on the outside of the city I decided to head back into the center. On Buchanan Street I saw the lady below with a group of her friends and knew that I wanted her in my 100 Strangers Project. Although they all had a a great look and I photographed all of them my stranger below really stood out. Later she contacted me and said how much she liked the photo which was nice.

"Glasgow Girl" 22/100 "100 Strangers"

view the high resolution image here on my flickr page © Anthony Dorman

Later that night I met four more interesting strangers who I will post on this blog at a later date. My day in Glasgow turned out to be very fruitful.