Work Journal One
May 11, Brighton
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I had my first taste of street photography in Brighton in May 11.
I found a wonderful "one-hour rule" : from very shy and nervous holding the camera to take pictures of pedestrians, to enjoy watching every moment and expression of pedestrians for only one hour.
I enjoyed the anticipation of what would happen to them in the next second. On my first visit to UK, I couldn't stop clicking on the shutter to explore everything that could be happening on Brighton street.
Brighton, May 11
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Approaching to the Mother’s Day, there are many performances on the street and families hang out together. Some families were having picnics in the park. I suddenly would like to focus on families this time.
The rain was coming, and the dad was putting raincoats on the children.
In contrast to putting on his hat and letting his clothes get wet, he put a raincoat on his children. He did all he could to keep the child out of the rain. I tried to add a black and white filter to this photo, but in the end, I kept the color. In Bignell's Media Semiotics: An Introduction, he points out that in a photograph, the signifier is the color and shape of the surface. Although the black and white filter gives texture to the photos, I prefer to use bright colors to highlight the loving atmosphere in the family. This photo is the first family photo I captured in a street photograph. I have gained some experience that the essential thing in street photography is to wait for the right moment and anticipate the movement of pedestrians.
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Brighton, May 11
Brighton, May 11
I met many families on the street: a mother and babies, a father and sons, a family of three, grandparents and grandchildren. The most impressed family is a mother with her two babies. She was sitting outside a restaurant and nursing her baby. After asking her permission, I took this picture. Color as the signifier in photography is important, which can also be denoted as the iconic signs proposed by Bignell. The first time I saw this mother, the desire of taking this scene was because of the color consistency. Her hair, clothes, children's hats, and their clothes are blue, which echoes her kind expression.
I don't want to spend too many words on praising how great maternal love is, here I want to share my first mood after getting permission.
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Britain is a free and open-minded country. British people are not only friendly, but also very tolerant.
Instead of blaming, when the British find a camera is pointed at them, they will be perfectly attuned to your artistic and cool poses. The camera is the human eye, and capturing the most interesting people became my only idea when I was observing in the street.
“A set of iconic signs which already possess a meaning becomes the basis for the imposition of an important social message.”
——— Jonathan Bignell
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Parents’ friendly attitudes have become a sign of the changing times.
In the past, many parents paid great attention to protecting their children's privacy. In my own experience, they usually passed me by quickly and dodged the camera. When I took these pictures, the parents were very friendly and pointed at my lens to tell their children to look at me. I like these four photos because I am delighted to capture the picture of parents accompanying their children in their childhood.
Kinship has nothing to do with social class, poverty or wealth, race, color or gender.