Saturday 18 June 2016

Through the eyes of Alex Webb

Yesterday evening we descended upon Leica City in the Royal Exchange to hear a talk by Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb on Street Photography and the Poetic Image. Polly's hero is Alex Webb, but she's also a massive fan of Matt Stuart whom I attended a Leica Street Photography workshop with a year or so ago. I offered to introduce them and she found it difficult to stop shaking his hand once she'd started. Actually, he didn't stay for the talk because he said he had to run home and be a daddy (not just that he was scared of Polly). After the talk, I mentioned to Alex our obsession with triangles because of his love of a triangular composition, and he looked as alarmed as Matt had earlier. He's just told us that he doesn't intellectualise have enough to, he leaves that you others (Polly).

 
 

Alex Webb is an intriguing Street photographer, he has a unique and distinctive style. I can admire much of his work but find some of his images too noisy, too busy and cluttered for my tastes. When I review my own street photography I prefer the images with cleaner lines, negative space and punches of color or all monochrome. I particularly struggle achieving photography calmness at a street market, especially Portabello Road market. So imagine my delight with today's London Street Photography Meetup challenge with channelling Alex Web and his style at Portobello Road Market.

 
 
 

I did find today's challenge difficult, as I suspected I would. I think I managed to locate some tenuous triangles. I rather liked the photo of the paparazzi descending on the extravagantly dressed Indian gentleman with silk flowers on his shoes, a multitude of vibrant scarves and his headdress adorned with plastic fruit. I left the nose in top right, I decided that it added to my attempt to channel Alex Webb. I don't know why, but in homage to him, I've opted to not intellectualise it!

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