News of a sunny spell would have excited me back in the day. It was the essential ingredient and stimulation for my photography.Now it's a cause for anxiety.
There's a terrible irony that while this is happening the bigger fear is the cost of living crisis or, more to the point, the cost of energy crisis this winter. The short term solutions are diverting attention from addressing the climate crisis itself.
These pictures, taken back to back, seem to capture the moment.
The sun's splitting the stones in London and I'm torn. Sun is the prime ingredient of my photography. So what's the problem? It's February and I'm out on the streets, a month ahead of schedule. That's the problem.
I confess I'm already uncomfortable with the environmental impact of using film. Now I'm facing up to fact I'm literally fiddling while the world burns. Movies set in the future but made in sixties had a big impression on me, especially, no surprises, ones set in London.
Now I'm wondering if my work is becoming more like a nature documentary. The sun is so strong yet still low in the sky. Shadows are still relatively cold. People wear sunglasses, shorts...and scarves. We're in the headlights. Transfixed by the sun, knowing the danger but compelled to stare.
Oh yes and London had a high pollution alert today. Apart from the risks posed by couriers, security guards and manhole covers I do wonder if particulate exposure is an occupational health hazard of street photography. That's if the sun doesn't get us first..
Stay safe.
