I’ve been shooting the Evening Standard‘s “Spotlight” page for well over a year now. It’s a fantastic section to shoot for allowing me free reign to explore a particular enlave of my city.
Generally the best day to head out is a Saturday to catch the weekend markets & such, which means I often bring my family along for a day out.
My three year old son is always quizzical as to what daddy does, so I started giving him an older camera of mine (A lovely little Fuji X10) to wear around his neck & keep him entertained. He would often mirror me crouching when I crouched & attempting to photograph the same things I saw.
We’ve been doing this for many months now, but I never thought to look back at what he had shot. He’s now very comfortable using the camera & immerses himself in what he’s shooting. He will routinely part from my side to find his own stories to shoot. Here are some recent images from a shoot in Stokey (Stoke Newington).
Here he is in my shadow- the immense Nikon D800 in one hand & Manfrotto Stile shoulder bag in the other. This is my choice walkabout kit for these kinds of assignment. A perfect fit.
We started at Stoke Newington’s Farmer’s Market in the grounds of St. Paul’s Church & he was straight in there!
From his shorter vantage point, he was able to really pick up on some very interesting sights, things that even I hadn’t picked up on.
He gets a great reaction from most of the people we encounter.
Which is often great for me…
He will still shadow me, but it’s amazing looking back at his shots & seeing how different his little eyes are framing things & what he is seeing as interesting.
As mentioned, his unique shooting position worked out great for certain frames…
Although he did catch a few people a bit unawares!
We left the market behind us & headed towards Stoke Newington Church Street.
We met some great characters, which is fantastic for the page.
As well as the obligatory cool kids…
By the time we got down Church Street, Liam had ran out of steam a bit.
He’d pop off a frame here & there, but he didn’t have the concentration, or stamina bless him (he’s only three after all!). Shame really as there was a wedding at the Rose & Crown. He’d have had a ball with that…
His final frame of the afternoon dropped as we passed Clissold Park & the afternoon sun was setting.
It was a cracking afternoon’s shooting made all the better for stumbling across this set from my own boy’s eye- and I landed front page the following Wednesday!
*All imagery edited in line with the editorial code of practice. Cropping & basic corrections only.
My day-to-day snappery can be found on EyeEm. You can also follow my day-to-day activities on the Facebook & Twitter Channels…
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