Tag Archives: documentary photography

{Travel} Not Your Average Holiday Part 2: Places & their faces

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For Part Two I thought I’d give you a mix from the rest of my boy & I’s American travels.

After New York, we swung by DC for 2 days to see my lovely friend Steph. I didn’t take many photos, partly due to devouring my own body weight in amazing Thai food the night we arrived and not being able to move far. We had an amazing week in San Francisco with a very pregnant Becky & dadda-to-be Rob and a few hot but wonderful days in Texas with super hostess Rebecca. We also visited North Carolina where I once studied. Partly due to too much fun with our amazing hosts Kristen & Thomas and partly because I was heavily dosed up on Benadryl as a result of the resident insects taking a liking to my blood, not many photos were taken.

I took “normal” photos of my friends and the sights but it’s specifically the street photography I wanted to share with you as it’s this approach to photography that’s very close to my heart and continues to teach me so much. It allows me to document the beauty in the mundane everydayness of life, which isn’t so ordinary after all. It’s even more fascinating when it’s a life very different to our own.

My absolute favourite thing about travelling is people watching. At home we sometimes people watch but soon it’s time to pick up the kids or run some errands and you’ve forgotten all about the really interesting man you talked to at the bus stop or the curious little girl making a daisy chain in the park.

It’s only when we are far away from home that we stop to take in our surroundings and really notice the people. I start by wondering what their story is…. where they’ve been and where they might be going. I wonder if they’re married yet … picture them on their wedding day, where they go on vacation and what they might do for a living. It’s a little bit crazy, some might say, but it’s fun and good for the imagination… y’know, that little thing that we use less and less that can create stories and other amazing ideas?

At university, I read a lot of Marcel Proust‘s writing. It was not only his moustache that was impressive and one thing he said that has always stayed with me is this:

 The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes

So I try to observe much more carefully. I discover new things every day that have been there for years but I’ve never seen before. The more years that pass the more I begin to form my own understanding of Proust’s words and how it applies to me and my life. It definitely makes me appreciate my own town so much more and realise that there is always beauty there, if you just choose to see it!

Now you have the challenge of figuring out where I was in each photo. Any one want to guess?

Lauren xxx

{Travel} Not Your Average Holiday Snaps- Part One: New York

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I’ve mentioned before on the blog that last year I went on an amazing trip to the US to teach photography. I had a real blast and picked up a few American sayings such as that along the way. After teaching, I went travelling with my fiance and we had the trip of a lifetime. During our travels I took lots of photos but it was only when showing them to my friends & family I realised that to the average person it might seem I make odd choices of what to photograph on holiday.

I’m okay with that but I thought it might be interesting to explain the method in the madness behind these images.

When we’re on holiday it’s easy peasy to take photos of things like tourist attractions, what you have to eat, famous buildings or superstores etc etc. The downside is that these are exactly the photos that every other tourist is likely to have and that is exactly what I don’t want.

Our experiences aren’t generic by any means so our photos shouldn’t be either. For me it was a once in a lifetime oh my goodness this place is amazing kind of experience, so I wanted to capture what it was like to be there and the way people live their every day lives.

This is why I chose to photograph things that were specific to the exact time and place. Things that can’t be repeated. I know New York has plenty of fast food vans, practically one on every block. But no one else will ever have the exact same photo I do of the man at the counter. Do you get what I mean?

If I was photographing the entrance to my hotel I might look for a couple or a family checking in/out and get an interesting shot of them unpacking their bags from a taxi or the taxi driver talking to the doorman. I would look for the beauty of a moment, both the extraordinary and the mundane. When I look back through these photos I can still feel what it was like to be there.

Here’s New York through my eyes. I hope you enjoy these and if you’ve ever been to New York I’d love to hear your stories and experiences in the comments …

Lauren xxx