Our city’s high-street is always a hive of activity, filled with hustle and bustle, quirks and sights to behold. That’s certainly the case for the street photographer Stuart Woods who is always on the lookout for the Characters of Canterbury.
CommunityAd had a snappy chat with the happy snapper.
So firstly, what makes Canterbury such a goldmine for street photography?
Canterbury has such an eclectic and variable stream of people around pretty much all the time. You have the regular Canterbury characters who you see often, the huge mix of students, and the ever-present throng of tourists most of the year. There are also some extremes of personalities and modes of dress. Also, the streets make it interesting as well.
What sort of qualities or characteristics are you searching for when you’re shooting the ‘characters of Canterbury’?
Mostly I’m looking for interesting people who have something about them, or there is something around them that makes them stand out. Maybe the location, a sign or a reflection of them in a window. I won’t photograph anyone who is clearly ‘not in the best situation’ so to speak. Quite often in my photographs, there is something else apart from the main character/s.
I will often approach someone who is clearly a ‘stand-out’ character and ask them if I can take a quick snap once I’ve explained what I’m doing; most people are more than happy to oblige. It took quite a while to get into Street Photography as you feel that at first, you are intruding or being ‘voyeuristic’, but you get used to it. People are sometimes too busy going about their business that they don’t even notice.
I love the black and white; why do you shoot in this style?
Black & White or Monochrome is one of the most common forms of Street Photography, and many of the great classic photographers who only had B&W film set the bar for this. Monochrome can be more vivid, and make characters and clothing stand out more, but I do snap the occasional colour photo. A famous photographer called Ted Grant said – “When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes, but when you photograph someone in Black & White, you photograph their souls” – which I find to be true.
For a city it’s got a friendly vibe, hasn’t it?
Yes definitely; it’s generally a friendly happy place with a good vibe, and most people don’t mind having a chat.