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There’s a fine Japanese short story by Mori Ogai called “Fushinchu” (“Under Reconstruction,” 1910) which describes the discomfort of living in the city when it’s being extensively re-built. I was reminded of this story on a recent walk around London. Everywhere I went there seemed to be men in yellow jackets: knocking down buildings, unloading … Read more

Can you do street photography on rivers and canals? I don’t see why not. The only difference between the waterway and the street is the obligation to use a boat for transport, rather than your feet. Yes, I admit that’s a major difference, because the knock-on effect is the lack of pedestrians. Without passers-by, the … Read more

The civic authorities in Bangkok are beginning to outlaw the sale of fastfood on certain streets, especially those in trendy, up-and-coming areas like Thonglor. Not everyone is happy about it. After all, street food is trendy too. Bangkok is unique in having the world’s most elaborate street food culture. A lot of vendors specialise in … Read more

When William Eggleston said “I am at war with the obvious” I don’t think he was recommending the deliberate embrace of obscurity. Yet it’s a measure of how far we’ve come that today a photographer can offer complex images with hidden meanings and unusual compositions — a long way from the “rectangle with an object … Read more

If you’ve just built a hide in the woods and bought a 600mm lens, please stop reading now. This morning I looked out of my bedroom window and snapped a baby goldcrest with my Canon 5DIII and 40mm lens, using settings unchanged from the night before. The fact is: I didn’t have time to change … Read more