LNDNWLK | Tom Welland

I recently attending a workshop and meet up of like minded individuals in London. The day was hosted by Johnny Patience and his wife Rebecca. It was not only a great chance to learn but also to meet people I knew of from the internet (Stranger Danger). We all met for a workshop in the morning at Stephen Bartels Gallery and were treated to not only goodies from Kodak but Richards Photo Lab

For the next hour Johnny talked us through his theory on film photography and his image methodology. This was very well pitched as the audience was made up of great photographers and there was little point teaching someones granny to suck eggs. I found it really worthwhile and made me take my approach to photography more seriously. This is not a bad thing, it is still enjoyable but you take time out to learn what you have done wrong and right. Also it was great to hear terms you may not have properly understood taken apart and clarified.

We then were treated to a private viewing in the gallery. This was particularly interesting as it prompted people to discuss what they liked and didn’t like in a photo. Stephen was particularly charming and was eager to teach us more about the art market.

After some refreshments we were joined by more photographers and descended on London armed with all kinds of cameras. Basically we were a muggers dream with the amount of red dots and MF gear. There was a lot of GAS going on.

I found it tricky to shoot when conversation was flowing. It was a pleasure to speak to people and not be limited by characters. It was also good to observe peoples shooting stances, there was a lot of great poses going on! It was evident that everyone shoots at different rates and different angles. It was surprising to see what some people would consider a worthwhile shot and what others don’t.

I am finding myself drawn into street photography more and more and this was a nice excuse to try my hand and also the safety in numbers factor helped. I was fairly pleased with my results (developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab) considering I only shot 28 shots.

I was really pushing myself to get closer. Not an easy task with a 50mm lens. I could feeling myself gaining in confidence after being surrounded by professionals. It was interesting to chat to everyone and what support network they have in terms of photography. Many only have twitter as an outlet for geeking out about photography so it was not only great for us but presumably our partners.