Portraits of Ethiopia

April 7, 2019April 16, 2024 / mikeosbornphoto / 11 Comments

My visit to Ethiopia shattered the 1980s image of an impoverished nation wracked by famine. Today it’s a thriving, bustling place with a population in excess of 100 million people.

It’s very easy to make contact with Ethiopians as a Western visitor – they’re enthusiastic and want to talk to you. Kids are delighted when you take their photograph. Like Cuba, life is lived outdoors in the warm climate, so it’s easy to come away with candid shots.

They’re a proud bunch, with young people taking great pride in their appearance. Their elders are often serene with wisdom-etched faces. If, like me, you tend to shy away from capturing humans, Ethiopia may shift your focus.

Click first image to view the gallery

Cuban candids

December 16, 2018April 16, 2024 / mikeosbornphoto / 20 Comments

I’m a reluctant portrait and street photographer. But a recent trip to the revolutionary island of Cuba pushed me into unusual territory.

This Caribbean land mass has a large and engaging population. The warm climate means that life often takes place outdoors. People gather in city squares and on street corners, meaning it’s relatively easy to capture images.

My tips for remaining undetected are a good zoom lens and an ability to pretend that you’re taking a photograph of something else. As you can see with some of these images, that didn’t always work.

But if this gives just a hint of the Cuban people’s essence, it was worth the effort.

Click first image to see the gallery

The islanders

February 21, 2016April 25, 2021 / mikeosbornphoto / 14 Comments

The island of Sri Lanka is a country of great natural beauty. But it also bristles with life and people, particularly in its bustling cities and towns. During my recent trip, I found my camera turning towards its people. Some of them I met and asked to take their photographs, sending them copies of their portraits when I returned home.

There was Lala, a pleasant, polite man who showed me the local village and Mr Silva the sarong seller who looks careworn in his picture, but waved and smiled at me after our encounter. I didn’t meet the lady in white seen on Kandy’s main street – but she seemed to gaze straight into the lens.

Other Sri Lankans were observed and captured from a greater distance, while there was no shortage of street and crowd scenes on a busy festival day in Kandy. Sri Lanka also boasts a wide variety of animal life, from cheeky monkeys to a docile cow who watched the sunset on the beach and then lumbered away. Faces become even more fascinating when they’re less familiar…

Click first image to launch the gallery

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.

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.