5 of 2015

December 31, 2015 / mikeosbornphoto / 25 Comments

Another year of photography is drawing to a close. My camera and I have found new places to capture here in London, and travelled further afield on this island and beyond. I set myself the task of selecting just five shots that have stood out during 2015. Choosing the ‘winner’ is a job I’ll leave to your better judgement – please vote at the end of this post. Here’s to a productive year – Happy 2016 to you all.

TOWER DESCENT

This photograph was taken on a memorable visit to Sweden. We had clambered up the tower of Stockholm’s imposing city hall. My friend Annakaisa was positioned beautifully in this elegant clasp of brickwork on the trip back down. The shot was strong in colour and with more gravity in monochrome.

LOW TIDE LAND

This was captured at a wedding with a touch of magic at the Kent seaside resort of Whitstable. At low tide ‘the street’ revealed itself, allowing walkers to venture far from the shore. The figures in the frame add to this composition for me.

BROWNS

A simple pile of autumn leaves. I spent some time in studio shoots capturing a range of inanimate objects from kitchenware to summer fruits. The studio becomes your world – what happens there is down to you.

TULIP CIRCLE

A piece of architectural splendour I’d been meaning to capture for some time. The Tulip Staircase is in the Queen’s House at Greenwich, which contains a rich cluster of beautiful heritage buildings.

ILIAS

A recent portrait of my Greek friend Ilias, on an urban stroll around London’s Hoxton area. This was a pivotal moment when I made a concerted effort to place people at the centre of my photography. This sparked a germ of an idea which will hopefully feature in the coming year.

Towers of the east

December 13, 2015 / mikeosbornphoto / 15 Comments

When you stroll around the fashionable London districts of Hoxton and Shoreditch, you tend to look straight ahead to spot bijou little shops, high-class eateries – and hipsters sporting beards.

But this part of the city has more than its fair share of high-rise buildings, from very modern glass-clad affairs to the concrete bunkers from the 1960s. Futuristic or retro, these tall edifices are bursting with perspective. So if you pay a visit, take a few moments to stand still and look up.

Click first image to launch the gallery

Human interest

December 6, 2015 / mikeosbornphoto / 4 Comments

This photograph made me pause for thought. It is my Greek friend Ilias, taken on a city walk around Hoxton. I’d imagined taking a picture of him, and this was it. I happily gave a little direction to make it happen, and it was part of the process of photography.

It made me think of my self-confessed fear of people and portraits. But looking back over my archive, it becomes clear that this problem doesn’t really exist. I’ve captured a fair few people, some in plain sight and others while I simply observed them from afar. Perhaps I feel safer with the solid majesty of buildings or objects in the control of my studio space. But humans are interesting – and sometimes need not be feared.