Magnum Contact Sheets

This time last year, I was in a self-imposed study lock-down in London trying to catch up with my research.  One of my days off was a mild late December day just before Christmas; and throughout November I was inspired by a book that sat on our coffee table which I browsed through during breaks. If you’re a photographer, you will know it and probably own a copy. If you’re not, you will know many of the iconic images it contains.  The book is a wonderful collection of images, printed on high quality paper and collated elegantly with just the right amount of commentary. It’s from the days of film and makes me respect the art form even more than I did. It aLao shows some of the great images that remained in the shadow of greater images. For me,  it’s best described by Scotland on Sunday: “Magnum Contact Sheets reveals the unseen pictures that led to the creation of some of the most iconic and historic images of the modern world, taken by photography’s top names.”.

Back to my day off. I had no camera, but I did have my phone and I took shots all day using one specific black-and-white setting on Hipstamatic. I was rewarded with a beautiful bright window overlooking Regent Street, with just enough space next to it to subtly hide without looking like an assassin. My subject was a lady with strong features having lunch with her daughter. I was so close to that window, you can see the reflection of my shoes in the photo on the right. I remained there for just over a minute and managed to get a few shots as the lady spoke and moved her hands. She remained still enough to get the shot, and moved enough to crelate different poses. I posted one of these images on Instagram back at the time but didn’t say anything about it. Some friends asked whether the photo was of a woman, or of a manakin. I was very pleased with the results, and more than that for going out on a photowalk during a busy time- something I need to do more of, and more often. Something we all need to do…

#window #magnum #book #photography #lady #london #hipstamatic #iphone