Some years ago, the well-known German street photographer Siegfried Hansen told me he walks around with about 70 visual cues in his head. I think 70 was a figurative expression, but the idea was that there are a lot of visual cues to get the photographic eye engaged on the street. Having them at the front of the mind is the quickest way to get the shutter finger operative.
Like many street photographers, I try to be aware of cues as they come into view, but I always wonder when a cue becomes a cliche. There are self-appointed gatekeepers in the street photography world who will denounce seemingly anything as a cliche — even if something I've never seen before. The long and short of it: I don't know whether the four pictures I'm showing here are cliches or a worthwhile theme that is revealing of one tiny aspect of the present way of life.
Here are four pictures that come under the heading of "photographing the phonographer". They represent some different aspects of why people make photos on the phone — and in this case, not simply selfies or what they are about to eat. (I've used a couple of them on this blog before, although for different purposes.)
The opening picture (above, from the Top of the Rock) shows the most traditional of uses for a camera — recording the experience of being in a wonderful location, even if you have to hold it as high as you can to get a view over the crowd.
Spring flowers, Embankment Gardens, April 2023
The second shows recording a lovely but transient sight: photographing a beautiful display of spring flowers.
Flowers for the Queen, September 2022
The third shows another transient sight, but this one is poignant and historic: the flowers laid as tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II, a memory you’d certainly want to preserve. These are all examples of the best camera being the one you have with you.
National Gallery, London, June 2023
The fourth is an example of something I find it hard to get my head around. Whenever I visit an art gallery these days, there are people who go around and photograph nearly every painting, scarcely stopping and certainly not trying to experience the painting itself. I don't get it because if you want nothing more than a digital image of a painting, you can find one on the Internet. Personally, I much prefer to experience the painting by stopping in front of it and looking at it with the mark one eyeball. But, hey ho... (And for the avoidance of doubt, I did put my own phone away having made this picture, and took time to absorb, for the nth time, van Gogh’s work.)
Update 2023-02-05 One more, just coz
Regent Street, Christmas decorations 2023