Issue 7
3 Ideas for the Creative Mind
1.
Food speaks a universal language of company, care and help forge deep human bonds of trust & empathy. Once we have shared a meal and listened & talked with each other around a table.
2.
This is why food is a constant theme in my work. Wherever I travel – Europe, Africa or Asia – I always search out local food markets.
3.
London’s Borough market is a local favourite I often photograph. The number of images I have made here rank in the thousands and I am not done.
There are other markets in London. I particularly like the popup markets. They are informal, which seem to put people at ease such that they readily share anecdotes of their latest find.
One or two Quotes
1.
I watch cooking change the cook, just as it transforms the food.
2.
Food brings people together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and body; it’s truly love.
In the Spotlight
The Shucker… Burough Market, London.
This small merchant always does brisk trade, no matter the weather. Their produce is fresh and their staff friendly. By now I have a few versions of this image in my archive, but keep coming back as I do not think I have told the whole story, yet.
I love watching the light play over the customer’s faces as they watch their selection of oysters being prepared by the shucker. This is not easy work. The hours are long and it’s hard on the body.
Here I chose to shoot with the sun towards my back & right hand side from the vantage point of a customer, opting for a different pitch in the narrative. This choice maximised my ability to use the sun as a cross-light, at the cost a more complicated composition and light-setup.
I did not expose to protect the highlights as I judged the dynamic range of the light – the range between blacks and whites – to be within my camera’s limits. Rather, I burnt the highlights in post processing with a simple curve adjustment. This was not strictly required, but rendered an image that better reflect my aesthetics.
Finally, I made just two frames before I was satisfied with the composition. Any longer and my presence would influence the scene.
That’s it – thanks for reading! As always, please feel free to hit reply and exchange your thoughts or to just say “hi”.