Welcome to the Slices of Time Street Photography podcast. Episode 16, hooray! Today, I’m joined by Darren Sacks, a street photographer from the UK. I discovered his vibrant and abstract photos during a Worldwide street photo exhibition in Amsterdam last month. So, hey Darren, how are you? Could you introduce yourself?
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- Website: https://www.darrensacks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacks
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Timestamps of this episode with Darren Sacks
00:00 Introduction to Street Photography and Abstract Style
03:03 The Evolution of Darren’s Photography Style
05:59 The Balance of Style and Experimentation
08:52 The Art of Waiting for the Perfect Shot
11:45 Exhibitions and the Creative Process
14:48 Selecting Photos for Exhibitions
18:05 The Role of Anonymity in Street Photography
20:54 Technical Aspects: Lenses and Equipment
27:19 Exploring Photography Gear and Preferences
30:06 Family Trip to Greece: Photography Opportunities
31:32 Reconnecting with Photography in the UK
34:16 The Evolution of Street Photography
37:16 Night Photography: Embracing the Darkness
40:19 Capturing Movement: The Velocity Series
43:57 The Art of Vertical Composition
48:02 The Hands Series: A Unique Perspective
48:54 Dream Destinations: Japan and Beyond
Thank you for listening to this conversation with Darren. Don’t forget to subscribe to be updated about upcoming episodes. Reach out via social media if you want to share any questions or ideas.
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Podcast Transcript
Frederic Paulussen (00:00)
So, welcome to the Slice of Time Street Photography Podcast, episode 16 already, so hooray for that. Today I’m joined by Darren Sacks, a street photographer from the UK. He discovered his vibrant and abstract photos during the Worldwide Street Photo exhibition in Amsterdam last month. So hey Darren, how are you? And could you introduce yourself for a second?
Darren (00:24)
Hey Frederick, thanks for having me on. It’s great to be here. Yeah, sure. I’m Darren. I’m a UK-based photographer. And yeah, I enjoy shooting abstract or layered type of photography. And it’s really something I enjoy, especially shooting around London.
and yeah I’m always kind of chasing that type of layered or light based colorful photos that you may have seen so yeah I’m just happy to be able to do that especially in London it’s a great city.
Frederic Paulussen (00:53)
Yeah.
Yeah,
been a while since I’ve been there but I can imagine it’s ⁓ a good city for it. And so I’m curious to what brought you to do more abstract photography rather than for example what some people do is more like story based or… ⁓ So what brought you to those colors and lights photography?
Darren (01:20)
Yeah, it’s a really interesting question. I think that often we’re always, well, I know when I first started taking photos, I was always wondering how people find their style, you know? And ⁓ you can, I think, sometimes feel like a pressure because you want to find that consistency in your work or, and I think…
through the time that I was taking photos, I went through many different things. was like there was details or there was ⁓ candid shots where I was really happy if I could get someone’s candid photo. And I think I went through those different stages and…
There was one stage where I was inspired to start looking at light and shadows and then I started noticing a lot of reflections and I think I got to a point where I started trying to combine those together and I started shooting more and more like that. ⁓ When I used to go take photos I used to realize and look for these like what’s happening there is there a reflection could I layer it with some light some colors maybe bring in a human
element and I just kind of started shooting more and more like that and I kind of I think that it was I started bringing all the elements from all the previous phases together and I think that’s where it’s interesting where you like kind of see that okay all those other phases that kind of laid up lay it up to to give me maybe how I shoot today so yeah that’s what I’m always searching for yeah
Frederic Paulussen (02:49)
That’s nice. Do
you have an idea when you started doing street photography and when you had that moment that you found your style?
Darren (03:03)
Yeah I mean and it’s interesting because I think that I would say our style even though like I do shoot in a particular way now I still find I think you would also maybe think that we always kind of evolving and I hope we are always evolving.
So first started taking photos, I’d say. I mean, that story goes way back, but I think when I moved to London, I reconnected on like a meetup. I was like, wow, this would be a great place to take photos. And I remember that was around 2016, 2017. And there was a lot of like just trying to get candid photos of people and just pictures of London snaps maybe. And then…
I kind of think that from there I went through all those different stages that I spoke about over time and I think in the last two or three years I’d say I’ve started to shoot consistently I think a bit more consistently in the way that I’m shooting now so
Frederic Paulussen (04:08)
Okay, so 10 years of street or almost 10 years of street photography done already. That’s cool. Wow, that’s a long time. It adds up quickly. I can imagine that for you now it’s like, wow, it’s been that long already. And so have you always like had a feel for the abstract and do you because to me it kind of looks painterly as well. So is there like a connection there or is that just me?
Darren (04:13)
Yeah, it up quickly.
Well, yeah.
No, and thank you. It’s nice to hear it seems like that. ⁓ I mean, what I studied, I studied like art direction and know bit of graphic design. So I mean maybe some of that like maybe comes through in the photography which is nice if it does. ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (04:49)
Okay.
Darren (04:57)
I mean I remember when I was younger I always kind of had a camera with me. Even if it was like a little point and shoot and I was always wanting to capture moments or take photos, bit of architectural stuff. So I think I was always trying to take photos but I think that the abstract stuff really evolved from all those other phases that I explained about in recent times more.
Frederic Paulussen (05:24)
Okay, so before you were more like a… what’s the opposite of abstract of course but like more like the story and scene based person or… ⁓
Darren (05:36)
Yeah, yeah, I think so definitely. ⁓ I think I was, you know, as I said, I went through a time where I was doing a bit more like of buildings ⁓ and it wasn’t really like more abstract or using like vibrant colors with like just a bit of a human element. I think it was more of the other stuff. So it’s interesting that it has kind of landed up like this. So, yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (05:59)
Yeah,
that’s cool. I always like, I always find it one way I find super cool if someone has like a very particular style like yours, like it’s recognizable, it’s… ⁓
I’m not gonna say like lined off, there of course you can still experiment and do your thing, but it’s it’s there is a certain like definition to it or like recognisability. But do you find that for yourself restricting or liberating? Like do you notice that you’ve
Darren (06:35)
Yeah, that’s such an interesting question because there’s a lot of stuff that I shoot that I think to myself, is this, you know, does this kind of look like what I would normally take a photo of? And I think sometimes if I put it on Instagram, I really, I don’t shoot for Instagram. mean, I take photos of what is interesting for me, but.
Frederic Paulussen (06:47)
Mm.
Darren (06:59)
You’re right, because sometimes it can look like maybe I didn’t take that photo because it’s not like what you’re of used to taking photos of. And it’s important to remind yourself that, you know, if you want to take that photo or you’re attracted to taking that scene, to carry on doing that because it can push you in an interesting direction or stuff like that. So I think if you’re not aware of it, it can be restrictive.
I do shoot a lot of stuff which maybe is not always visible on my feed but some other things as well.
Frederic Paulussen (07:30)
Okay, so yeah, it’s more
Yeah, it’s more I’m not gonna say restricted restrictive, but It’s more restricted what you put out than what you shoot So you have like plenty of photos that are maybe not in this style, but are still interesting to you. Okay, right or yeah
Darren (07:47)
I
mean yeah but I mean like I think if you look through my feed like you might find like some daytime stuff maybe it still feels like that style which is good if it does but it maybe is just more daytime stuff or maybe it’s some detail stuff it might still have a bit of an abstract feel but maybe it just isn’t as prominent as some of the other stuff so I do try mix it up.
Frederic Paulussen (08:14)
Okay, maybe yeah. Yeah, that’s true.
I was on your website and now I’m looking through your Instagram. There’s some daytime stuff here and there, but it’s very much in your style. Also the hands thing, also very graphical and very abstract as well, even though it’s very recognizable that it’s hands. But there’s a very, how do you say, clean abstract.
Darren (08:30)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (08:46)
shape like you have this one photo of the woman with the hands behind her back holding a purse and her like her coat is very clean and it’s very monochromatic and it goes for the others as well so you really know which hands to pick is is that something do you for example with the hands is that something you particularly go out
Darren (08:52)
Yeah.
Yeah, thank you. Yeah
Frederic Paulussen (09:15)
for that walk for example you go out the door and say like today I’m doing hands or is it more something that happens in between the other kind of shots.
Darren (09:22)
So I don’t particularly.
leave home and say okay that’s what I’m doing. I think that sometimes like if I’m feeling a little bit slow on that day I could say like okay I’m going to start off just shooting red or I’m going to start off just you know looking for details or so sometimes as like a bit of a prompt if I haven’t shot in a while I might do that but as far as the hands it’s something I’m always aware of and looking for and like across a road sometimes I can see something like that and I’m like you know
Frederic Paulussen (09:28)
Okay.
Mm.
Darren (09:56)
It’s just something that I’m very aware of. As you say, like a clean coat or you know that interesting detail or gesture. So that is something I’m always aware of for that collection that I kind of find interesting.
Frederic Paulussen (10:09)
Yeah,
okay, that’s nice. Yeah, because it’s like there’s one here, another one on my screen now by accident of a lady with like a pink coat holding a lighter, I think it is. So yeah, that’s, that’s, it’s always very, there’s no, no, no messy clothes, no overly colors or like too many colors in the fabric.
Darren (10:24)
Yeah.
here.
Frederic Paulussen (10:38)
I feel like you’re more of a long lens, shooter, like 85mm or something, is that like true first of all?
Darren (10:45)
Yeah, yeah,
it’s interesting just to touch on what you were talking about just about style Just to go back. It’s interesting because I’ve recently moved out of London to put more to the coast and It’s interesting because that’s given me an opportunity to really try bring a bit of an abstract lens to like beachfront stuff. So I’ve got like a whole
Frederic Paulussen (11:09)
Okay.
Darren (11:13)
lot of photos that I haven’t even got to yet that are like a bit of a coastal series which I haven’t even looked through so yeah hopefully we’ll get to see some of those sometime
Frederic Paulussen (11:26)
Yeah
and like I find it interesting so you because for me it’s it’s I do my I make my photos and that day itself I ⁓ make my selection and I make my post-production for you apparently that’s totally different or
Darren (11:41)
Yeah.
Yeah, I I used to be good like that where I used to take the photos then on the train on the way home I still used to be like yeah like wow okay that one that one and I’ve gotten I don’t know I’ve gotten bad with it or just you know I think if I know that I’ve got like one or two then like yeah I’ll get home and see those immediately
But often I’ve got some memory cards here that I don’t… maybe don’t know what’s on them or I haven’t gone through them. It’s always nice to see though when I do get to them. But I think life has just been quite busy so getting to them is a little bit of a delay.
Frederic Paulussen (12:23)
Okay. Yeah, I don’t think there’s
a right or wrong in it. just think because I’ve heard other people there’s like, I forgot who, but there’s one photographer who I think was in a book maybe that I read it. And he makes a point of it of leaving the cards or the photos or whatever unseen for six months, I think. And then he goes seeing them with like a total fresh eye without any context. And I do understand.
Darren (12:44)
Wow.
Frederic Paulussen (12:52)
the idea behind it. But to me it’s like I’ve made them today. I’m more of a… I don’t want to have it hang above me. I want everything to be done. Maybe that says something about me. ⁓ So that’s why I wondered because you made the remark of having all these beach photos or beachfront photos. You haven’t seen it so I was thinking if it was maybe from a philosophy.
Darren (13:20)
No,
it’s not intentional. I know they’re there. I’m excited to get through them and cull them down. I’ve either shot more recently and then I’m like okay I’ll get to those. But I’m a few weeks behind things and I think the way you do it, you stay on top of it and the way I’m doing it, I am behind a bit. But I’m excited to see them. So when I do get to see them I’ll be quite happy.
Frederic Paulussen (13:23)
Okay.
yeah, okay.
Yeah, I mean
that’s nice way as well, like having the nostalgia of even if it’s not that long ago, but seeing it back. So you’re kind of a productive, busy shooter then?
Darren (14:05)
⁓ No, so this has just been like ⁓ trying to balance like work and like ⁓ you know I play tennis as well like as a hobby and then you know obviously important to carry on shooting as frequently as possible so it’s just been like just good busy but just like finding time to do all the things so yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (14:10)
Okay.
Yeah.
I found
a very nice distinction of the good busy because if someone tells me they’ve been busy I always ask like it has been good or has been like bad so it’s nice that you make that distinction immediately because there’s definitely several types of busy. I can imagine that the exhibition in Amsterdam was a part of the busyness as well or…
Darren (14:49)
yeah, that exhibition, I mean the guys did such an amazing job. You know, its put on by Seb and Peter. Also Adam who started Tokyo Streets, excuse me, they just did such a fantastic job firstly to put that exhibition together.
Frederic Paulussen (15:08)
Yeah.
Darren (15:10)
Yeah, I mean just putting a great vibe and a great bunch of, you know, everyone who exhibited there, just great talented photographers. And yeah, I was just really happy to be able to be a part in exhibits with great artists. So that was really nice.
Frederic Paulussen (15:25)
Yeah, did you get to go there or? Yeah, OK.
Darren (15:29)
Yes, so I actually got to
go and it was just so nice. As I said, was a great vibe amongst everybody. So that was part of the business, the good business. it was really good time.
Frederic Paulussen (15:39)
Yeah.
Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah, because they forgot his name now, but someone sent me like, hey, there’s that week in terms of an exhibition. But it was only like one week and like five days, like Thursday to Sunday, I think, or Wednesday to Sunday, maybe. So I was like, OK, I have to see which days I can go. But was really it was it was a very nice exhibition, like 10 or 15 photographers, I think, with most had four prints, I think.
Darren (16:07)
Yeah,
it was really good. So yeah, so you saw the space.
Frederic Paulussen (16:10)
Yeah, all styles and yeah. I
saw the space, it was a really nice space as well, So it wasn’t like massive, but it was everyone had their plenty of room, everyone had a great selection. And yeah, I remember like your prints, your photos are really, really colorful and really helps to see them on the wall.
Darren (16:17)
Very good.
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (16:38)
it was like i’m not sure the size like a bit bigger than a A4 paper so a decent size like four photos so how did you go about selecting those photos for the exhibition or was it because it was already a set series or
Darren (16:47)
clear.
It’s a really good question. I’m pleased you saw the place and you have an idea for how it was. It was very nice. So that set, there actually was six there. Yeah, so it six.
Frederic Paulussen (17:11)
I could be.
Darren (17:17)
Those were part of a set that was shown, I was lucky to be included in the Tokyo streets exhibition in Shibuya last year. Unfortunately I couldn’t go but it is a dream of mine to go to Japan. I would love to take photos there. ⁓ And then I wanted to keep the set as much as I could the same ⁓ in Amsterdam because it’s kind of part of like a…
Frederic Paulussen (17:25)
Okay, nice.
Darren (17:43)
It’s like a shadow silhouette set from London. So, you know, with vibrant colors. So it’s part of that series. yeah, so it was just nice. It was hard to choose two that I would cut out of that. But I’m trying to keep it as a cohesive collection that I will show. So, yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (18:05)
Okay
cool yeah and did you make like a selection based on… yeah like how did you make that selection because I’m sure you had like plenty of photos and also I’m sure they’re in like a specific order or something. How did that go for you?
Darren (18:21)
Yeah so I think anyone who takes photos will know how difficult it is to put their photos like somewhere either if you print them or digitally and you try to cut them down to what you’re going to show. so yeah I knew that I kind of wanted to show the silhouette work and then as far as I really went based on what I think my favorite pictures are so it was like
eight to ten favorites and then I went with like the colors so and that’s how I also displayed them so that like all the colors on the rows like weren’t taking too much attention away from the others and they balanced but it took a long time to get like the layout that I thought was the nicest so yeah I mean it was just based on personal ⁓ significance to me or whichever photos I like the most so
Frederic Paulussen (19:01)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay,
yeah, that’s nice because they’re also on your website, course, if people are curious to see ⁓ those photos. It’s the Nocturna series or like… Well, there’s more on your website, but there’s less. So six of them were printed on exhibition. So that’s very nice. ⁓
It’s of course still on the abstract part, but I noticed like none of your photos. I mean, you see one or two photos, no, three photos on your Instagram of people who are recognizable. So is it more because you prefer the abstract or is it like out of a privacy philosophy or do you…
Darren (20:09)
It’s such a good question and for me like I really do prefer just bringing the human element in through like where somebody isn’t really recognizable. I mean…
Frederic Paulussen (20:19)
Mm-hmm.
Darren (20:24)
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong because most of street photography is done where the person is recognizable and there are when I’ll see a really interesting character and I’ll take the photo and that’s awesome but just for me I really do enjoy that anonymous aspect I just couldn’t get that word.
Frederic Paulussen (20:31)
Yeah.
Yeah,
I’m thinking how the words should be but I can’t remember it now as well.
Darren (20:49)
Yeah, I just
can’t place the letters but I prefer that anonymous aspect. I’ve had some great conversations with subjects when I’ve taken their shot and then often I go show them the photos so it’s been fantastic but I do actually like the anonymous side of it and it brings a bit of mystery to the work I think which I kind of enjoy seeing as well.
Frederic Paulussen (20:54)
Yeah.
I think so, it does
work now that you mention it. And so you mentioned you go to show the photos. Is that something you do routinely, like when you are able to catch them or?
Darren (21:25)
Yeah so you know the thing is that if I take you know obviously when I’m taking photos I sometimes stand somewhere for 20, 30, 40 minutes for a shot once I’ve got a composition that I know I like because I’m waiting for like the layers or the colors or the right subject into the frame. So often I can be standing somewhere for a really long time and if I do see somebody that
and I’m not doing like an anonymous shot, say I do see somebody and I take that picture and that person has noticed. ⁓
I’m quite happy to and they then wonder why I’ve taken their shot. Afterwards I’m quite happy to go up to them and say hey I thought you had really cool jacket or the light was hitting your face in a really nice way and show them the picture you know because sometimes a person wonders like ⁓ what were they taking the photo and you know you always I have a really either like a smile or something you know and it’s it’s cool so for me that’s just a different way that I use
Frederic Paulussen (22:18)
Yeah.
Darren (22:32)
approach it. Either it’s like I just put a smile or thumbs up or even if there’s an interaction opportunity that’s also cool. So yeah I’ve had some nice conversations that way.
Frederic Paulussen (22:41)
That’s
cool, yeah. So you’re a very patient person then, if you can sit for that long waiting for it. So if I understand you correctly, you see your scene, like for example the color background, you see the layers that could be in front, like a window that’s maybe interesting or something, and then you stake out and wait until a person passes or? ⁓
Darren (23:06)
Yeah, security really loves me buildings and stuff like that but it’s funny yeah because if I’m ever like going on a walk with some photo friends they know that I’ll walk with them for 10 minutes and then I’m like all right guys I’ll see you in half an hour because I’m going to stand here and yeah so I’ll see like a reflection ⁓ and then I’ll start and say like okay
Frederic Paulussen (23:09)
you
Yeah.
Darren (23:31)
if that reflection is interesting then maybe I could layer it up in this way and then I’ll walk up it around and then I’ll think like what could make the scene ideal like if I could really get what I wanted from this what would be the best so I’ll kind of like then I’ll look at it from all angles and then I’ll often wait a while and often I don’t get what I was wanting that day so I’m back another day
Frederic Paulussen (23:56)
Yeah, yeah, that,
of course that happens very often because like there’s one, I’m looking for it, it’s with the glasses hanging. So is that then a person that was inside then and you just wait for the right person to be on the right spot or were you inside, was it the other way around? No.
Darren (24:19)
So which, I don’t know which.
Frederic Paulussen (24:21)
Sorry, yeah, there’s
like one photo, it’s bright orange, you see like a silhouette of a man and you have like all the glasses, like all the wine glasses,
Darren (24:26)
⁓ yes, the wine glasses, sorry yes.
So that one, ⁓ it’s a bar in London and I was actually, and you were talking about a long lens so we can segue into that, let’s see if it’s good for you, but ⁓ I was like a pavement, this was taken quite far off because
Frederic Paulussen (24:42)
Yeah. Sure, yeah.
Darren (24:52)
He’s a bartender inside the restaurant. So when I walked past this restaurant, I saw this amazing bar with this very bright orange backlighting. And I could see the bartenders walking in front of it were creating this amazing silhouettes. So I stopped there for a minute and I was shooting with a Fuji at that time and I had a 55 to 200 lens on.
Frederic Paulussen (24:54)
Okay.
Okay, well yeah.
Darren (25:20)
So yeah if I didn’t have that lens that day I wouldn’t have been able to get that shot. And then this guy he like kind of stood up he obviously had I don’t know picked up something from the floor and I was I was able to get just a few shots frame it get those few shots and and yeah I mean it was and then it was just gone the moment was gone and that was it I mean so thank you.
Frederic Paulussen (25:42)
Yeah, it’s a great photo.
So yeah, you mentioned the long lens. Is that something you prefer then or?
Darren (25:53)
Yeah so ⁓ nowadays I have a Sony and I have an 85mm f1.8 that’s just what I use most 90 % of the time and I think I really like a lens that’s got like it gives me a little bit of ⁓ I can get like a bit of layer like a bit of layers with that you know ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (26:05)
Okay.
Hmm.
Darren (26:17)
but I also do have like a 70 to 180 which allows me to really like if I’ve got like neons and then reflections and I can zoom like through that it gives me that kind of nice depth which is really nice but I’ve also recently just bought a 28 to 70 little kit lens which I’m enjoying shooting a bit wider as well so that’s a little bit new for me so yeah
Frederic Paulussen (26:42)
Okay, so
first to the 85 and 55-200mm, was it because that felt more natural to you or was it just something that you just happened to have it and started using it or how did you get… because most street photographers tend to have the 24-70mm or like 28 or 35mm
Darren (27:08)
Yeah exactly. You’re saying on the 55 to 200 is that what you were asking about? Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (27:13)
Yeah, so why did you
get to have that as your go-to lens, let’s say?
Darren (27:19)
So yeah, when I first got the Fuji body, I bought a 50 f2 lens. yeah, I mean, so that was fine like for just walking around and then like getting candid shots and things like that. But then I found like I was getting quite interested in detailed shots. Like, and that’s when I thought like, okay, it could be quite useful to have.
and I was getting interested in a little bit of layers and stuff and the details so I was like oh it could be nice to have a bit of reach you know and that’s when I bought the 55-200mm but I never realized how useful it would really be as I moved more and more into the type of way that I like to take photos now because it really it’s a really great lens
And then when I changed to Sony, the 85 is just so useful. It’s like just walk around lens, you know. So yeah, that’s just the way I like to shoot now.
Frederic Paulussen (28:22)
Okay cool, what brought you to have to buy the 28-70mm then?
Darren (28:29)
Yeah, so I’ve got an upcoming trip to Greece ⁓ and I just thought that it would be really interesting to try and do a little bit of wider compositions because I think it’s just nice to try and see a little bit differently, you know, maybe use light and shadows but maybe like wider compositions which could be cool and I think it’s quite versatile still being able to get 70 on the one end but…
28 for like city and like stuff like that and it’s a really light lens and I’ve actually been really keeping it on the camera much more than I expected so yeah it’s pretty cool
Frederic Paulussen (29:05)
Oh really? Okay, that’s nice.
I have 24-70 as well. I only use it for events actually because mine is kind of heavy. So I only use it for my corporate events work. And on the street, because on the street it’s just too heavy for me. But it’s cool. And I get the idea of the, it’s wide, but it can also be fairly narrow. So I do understand.
Darren (29:14)
Yeah, it’s 2.8.
Frederic Paulussen (29:29)
the idea behind purchasing that one. And so do you go to Greece for like the idea of street photography or is just like a regular holiday trip and you plan on doing some street photography?
Darren (29:44)
No, so my sister and I managed to bring my parents over from South Africa. ⁓ We’ve moved them to the UK. ⁓ And now we’re going on a whole trip as the family ⁓ to Greece. But I’m definitely going to get some photography. I’ve hired a car, so I’m going to drive around Cephalonia and see what photography is possible.
Frederic Paulussen (29:56)
Okay
Okay, I did notice
a South African accent. wasn’t sure but was like it does sound a bit… some words sounded a bit South African, yeah. But I wasn’t sure.
Darren (30:17)
Okay, well done. Well done.
Sometimes I get Australian or New Zealand like…
Frederic Paulussen (30:23)
That
was my first initial idea, but Australian and South African sounds fairly similar, there’s like some… I don’t know what the differences are, but there’s a slight different feeling to the accents. So yeah, it’s because I really like South Africa, so that’s why I heard it. And so was it because you moved to the UK then?
Darren (30:37)
Well done.
Frederic Paulussen (30:52)
Bring your photography or did that spark your photography? Because I spoke, well, it’s actually the next episode. So spoiler alert for the people listening. But I had a talk with Tom Pitts from Cheltenham, think it was called. But he traveled around the world at first for his job. at first he did photography to, you know, like document his travels. So was that for you the same reason or?
Darren (31:22)
So for me, think when I moved to the UK, I reconnected with photography because when I went to that meetup, I thought it would be a great way to…
shoot through the city and also to meet new people and it was an opportunity for me to take photos again
But that’s not necessarily where I… ⁓
started photography, I mean, like was back in New York probably in 2011 where I bought my first like SLR camera and I was just walking around taking hundreds of photos a day. I didn’t really know what I was even really taking pictures of but I just really enjoyed taking photos.
and yeah it was just I even look back at them now and I’m like yeah I just remember taking this photo or that photo and ⁓ as I say even before that whenever I traveled anyway I always had a little camera ⁓ and I always loved photography but I think New York is really what sparked sparked it off for me.
Frederic Paulussen (32:28)
Okay, and would you consider those photos from New York Street photography already then or?
Darren (32:35)
Yeah, it’s interesting. There was quite a lot of buildings in there, but looking back now, there’s definitely some moments, like on the subway and some people moments and stuff. So I was thinking to go and do a collection of first street photography type of stuff from 2012. It could be interesting to see.
Frederic Paulussen (32:57)
Oh yeah, that’s nice.
Yeah, that’s very nice because it’s always like a or I mean to me it’s it’s kind of a difficult question. It’s like when did I start to do street photography because that’s at first I went to the streets because I like I’m a corporate event photographer and for me it was just like you know I have this new lens I want to try it I’ll go out in the streets and and I’ll see but I didn’t
consider it street photography. For me it was just like a practice moment for my event photography. Or like you know when traveling of course you make these photos but it’s street. So for me it’s it’s a I think it’s a weird moment. There’s like a weird awkward moment where it’s you’re doing street photography and you’re aiming for street photography but maybe it’s not yet. So I was wondering for you with New York because you mentioned it if that’s
Darren (33:28)
Right.
Yeah, I mean, I didn’t even know, as I say, what I was doing. mean, like some days I feel like I still don’t know what I’m doing anyway. I mean, we’re always just learning. But and now I mean, I wouldn’t even know if I would consider my photos speech photography or whatever. just just photos, you know, I mean, but yeah, because I think, you know, a lot of people would say it’s abstract or it’s, you know, but.
Frederic Paulussen (33:52)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Darren (34:19)
Yeah, it’s a new question for sure.
Frederic Paulussen (34:21)
Yeah,
I think there’s, because I asked, actually I asked the same question to Tom Pitts in the next episode about, you know, where is the, what’s the border around street photography because he does this ⁓ documentary style photography as well. But there’s, you know, there’s street photography elements in there. And to me, like what you do,
I mean it’s on the streets, ⁓ it’s spontaneous moments, it’s candid, it’s ⁓ posed or ⁓ directed. So to me it’s street photography. I do get where people might be coming from saying that it’s abstract photography, but I don’t see why abstract photography can’t be street photography. ⁓
Darren (35:13)
Yeah, that’s an interesting
way to give it a definition, right?
Frederic Paulussen (35:17)
Yeah,
so but you you consider yourself a street photographer then or no?
Darren (35:25)
I I think I’ve ⁓ changed my little ⁓ thing on Instagram, which now says, takes photos on the street. I mean, you know, I think because otherwise it can just be too prescriptive. So yeah, it’s easier that way.
Frederic Paulussen (35:31)
I just see it yet.
Yeah, makes sense.
like the way, yeah, it’s a good way of thinking. Maybe having the title street photography is too restrictive, but yeah. So we talked about the nighttime photography for a bit. Is that something you did because you just preferred it more? Of course, I can imagine with the lights, it’s better than.
⁓ or with like the neon lights in your in lots of your photos or was it more like a from practicality because like you work all day and then of course when you you leave work it’s already dark and you only have this time of day
Darren (36:27)
Yeah, I mean, when I first started or even up until a few years ago, was enjoying shooting during the day much more actually. And then, yeah, I think probably three years or so ago, I really started enjoying shooting at night. And even sometimes in the rain, I would say I really do enjoy shooting in the rain. Firstly, because it’s actually quite peaceful.
Frederic Paulussen (36:37)
Okay.
Hmm.
Darren (36:52)
even though obviously you’re getting drenched but it is peaceful ⁓ because you can just hear the rain and the city has a really different type of feeling to it. ⁓ The surfaces are reflective, know, people are also very preoccupied in their own way so it’s an interesting way to be in the… you’re kind of just in your own invisible way when you’re shooting in the rain. ⁓ So I do enjoy it for that reason. ⁓
Frederic Paulussen (37:03)
Yeah.
Darren (37:20)
and at night time as you say like all the surfaces are glowing. So I think I definitely prefer night now to day but if it’s daytime the sun is amazing but I’ve actually really stopped shooting in overcast flat days because for me there’s really not much to work with there so…
Frederic Paulussen (37:41)
Yeah,
I’ve still tried yesterday actually and it was a very depressing day because as you said earlier like I just felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. So I had like two shots that I’m okay with. But yeah, it’s definitely I think every photographer has their ⁓
preferred ⁓ conditions. So I find it interesting because I think you’re the first one who actually like mentioned the rain as like a great moment for you. And I do understand like the quietness. It’s very, when you say it’s very ⁓ recognizable. ⁓ Also does sound like a bit of a tip to starters who are nervous to photograph people do it during the rain because they’re more preoccupied. ⁓
Darren (38:31)
True that.
Frederic Paulussen (38:33)
And then yeah, so yeah, it’s nice. So do you worry about your camera in the water or are you like whatever?
Darren (38:41)
Listen, I really should. mean, there’s one of my friends, Adrian Vago, great photographer. He ⁓ does a lot of stuff in the rain and he’s got like a… he makes a bag, covers his camera. I mean, I should be more like him, but I don’t know. I don’t have an umbrella. I just have like a waterproof jacket and I just walk with it. So, I’m chancing it quite a bit.
Frederic Paulussen (39:11)
I
think most cameras are weather sealed. If you start switching lenses it might get dodgy. ⁓ I actually had like last year I had to do an event in the rain. It was an all day, it was just raining all the time. It was a bit sad because they were promoting travel to South America which was of course very sunny and warm. yeah, so it was and the next day my lenses were ⁓ fogging up the entire time.
Darren (39:18)
Yeah, that’s true.
tap.
Frederic Paulussen (39:41)
So was really annoying, but so even though they’re weather sealed, it’s not exactly perfect, but yeah, normally it should be able to handle a bit of a, yeah, I think so,
Darren (39:50)
to handle it.
I mean if it’s like a proper downpour I don’t like walk just with my camera like that then I’m just like okay be a bit more careful but otherwise it’s been okay I mean the Sony’s are pretty good so
Frederic Paulussen (39:59)
Yeah.
Yeah. And so you also have like a series of, it’s called velocity, it’s about more of the movement. Also at night, of course, with all sorts of colors. Was that something, like what did it inspire you to do those movements?
Darren (40:25)
So I’ve really recently especially started enjoying ⁓ getting like a series of movement in the city. I just feel like London especially, it like kind of captures how London feels. ⁓ Also having moved from Johannesburg which is very different to London.
I mean, Johannesburg is, as I said, it’s amazing and it’s very busy, but it’s got a different pulse to it. ⁓ You don’t often, you don’t feel the business in the same way. And I think like walking through Piccadilly Circus or whatever, you really feel that type of…
like rush of the crowds. So I think being able to capture that in a certain way, think sometimes that’s kind of what inspired kind of like the velocity stuff. So that’s kind of how I started doing those movements. And now I enjoy adding to them when I see an opportunity. I try to add to that series.
Frederic Paulussen (41:32)
Okay cool yeah. because you have a couple of series and I understand that for example the Velocity series isn’t ⁓ something you completed yet. Is that something you’re constantly aware of those different series and know like when you see something that like that might be interesting for this so you try maybe harder to get a good shot of it or? ⁓
Darren (41:57)
Yeah I think that because I don’t necessarily think like I should add it because of the you know but I do think that I find that I shoot in like a few different ways. Black and white is something that you won’t find often although there is a black and white category there. There’s few but otherwise like
There’s certain styles that I will shoot in, ⁓ which is like, you know, there’s everyday, there’s shadow, silhouette work that I do, the movement. ⁓ So I find that after a day, I often will come back with some photos that will fit into one or two of those categories. So maybe it’s just I’m used to shooting and looking for those types of opportunities.
Frederic Paulussen (42:41)
OK.
And
yeah, because I often hear the advice like have a project or several projects. So is that something you didn’t were mindful of then or? Yeah.
Darren (42:59)
Yeah, yeah I think that I need to be better at ⁓ focusing on maybe one of those because I don’t know maybe how will I know when the project is…
complete when I’m ready to do the zine or the… because I’ve been quite bad with that. People have said maybe I should do a little zine or something but I haven’t even thought about that seriously so I need to start looking at what I have maybe and thinking about something like that maybe.
Frederic Paulussen (43:30)
Yeah,
it’s always hard to know when a project stops or like sometimes even when it started like it’s as I said with the street photography like you don’t really sometimes know when you got into it. So I also noticed that a lot of your photos if not most of them are vertical shots.
Darren (43:34)
Thank
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (43:55)
So is that something you do on purpose? Is that something that’s just more natural for you to hold the camera like that? Or is there an idea behind it?
Darren (44:04)
⁓ So it’s funny because I think a lot ⁓ of people, because you start seeing Instagram in a certain way, you can start shooting like that even if it’s not on purpose. But I do find that I naturally frame up a lot of my compositions like that. Not because I’m shooting for Instagram, but when I do…
Frederic Paulussen (44:11)
Mm.
Darren (44:30)
take photos of a certain scene, I often will shoot both portrait and landscape. It’s just that I’ll end up liking the portrait composition more. ⁓ So I will ⁓ shoot in both orientations, ⁓ but I usually do prefer the portrait one more. So maybe it’s just down to…
Frederic Paulussen (44:38)
Okay.
Yeah, if it works,
it works of course. And I mean, all your photos, it does work, but at a certain time it was like, I just noticed, was like, they’re all vertical. Is there a reasoning behind it? So yeah. And I mean, I can imagine it’s also because of course there’s a lot of silhouettes, so it’s kind of like a portraits of people anyway. So the framing makes sense, yeah.
Darren (45:02)
Yeah.
Exactly.
Frederic Paulussen (45:16)
And also like you have Saul Leiter I have his book around here somewhere. He also does a lot of vertical or he did a lot of vertical shots and he didn’t have Instagram yet. there’s, there’s of course it’s not always Instagram is not always to blame for. ⁓
different things. I’m looking at your hands again it’s really interesting. It’s interesting how many people hold their hands behind their back apparently. Yeah.
Darren (45:43)
It’s crazy. I
just find it interesting because it’s like when people are having a conversation, you don’t know what’s happening. It’s that mystery of what’s happening outside of the frame. It’s like, they talking? Were they waiting? Were they happy or sad? I just think it’s quite an interesting series.
Frederic Paulussen (46:01)
Yeah.
Did you ever get in trouble because people thought you were photographing their butt or something? Okay.
Darren (46:05)
Actually not. mean
and I don’t like as I said when I’m taking photos I’m not like being like hiding that I’m you know I’ve got a big camera and whatever so I’m really just and yeah that’s actually interesting because they could think that.
Frederic Paulussen (46:14)
No, of course, yeah.
Yeah,
yeah I was just wondering because like all of sudden it’s it’s definitely a possibility but it’s a nice what yeah it’s nice with all the hands what people are holding the tattoos so it’s very nice series and it’s also with the monochromatic monochromatically
Darren (46:29)
Yeah, that’s…
Thank you.
Appreciate that, thanks.
Frederic Paulussen (46:48)
of the clothes? Is it something like, do you have photos of people whose hands or the object they were holding were super interesting but their clothes just didn’t do it?
Darren (47:00)
Yeah
so I’ve I mean I’ve got quite a lot of over the years as you can imagine like of hand pictures but sometimes like I’ll see someone doing an interesting hand gesture and I’ll like frame it up and as you’re saying like either the jacket’s too busy or like it’s you know it’s it just doesn’t look right like once I’ve composed it sometimes I won’t take the picture or I’ll have it but I just won’t use it because
either the colors off or like it just doesn’t look nice even though from far away it may have looked like an interesting moment it just doesn’t it’s not clean because those are clean you know i like that it’s a clean
Frederic Paulussen (47:35)
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly. That’s part of the strength of the series. It’s a very clean backdrop and then you have the hands more or less always on the same ⁓ position in the frame. But they’re all doing these different things ⁓ and they all tell a different story. So that’s very nice. And you see the difference in people. You see older hands, you see different colors, you see the tattoos, you see the…
Darren (48:01)
Thank you.
Frederic Paulussen (48:08)
the painted nails and I think like it’s probably her boyfriend holding her hand behind her back or something yeah anyway like you see all these different that’s nice yeah it’s a it’s a very very good observation ⁓ so you talked about ⁓ Japan earlier about you wanting to go there I really like I see usually I find like street photographers I want to go to Japan like I think for them it’s like in
Darren (48:16)
Yeah.
Thank
Frederic Paulussen (48:38)
easy way to be interesting but for you I see with especially with the Nocturna shots like I can instantly imagine that it would work so well for you in Japan with that series ⁓ so I do understand is that what what speaks to you about Japan or
Darren (48:52)
Thank you.
Yeah, mean look besides that I have so many people who say to me man you need to go take photos in Japan because you will love it there like for how you shoot they think it will be really cool like I’ll go crazy there but my prime reason is I just think like with the lights and the different way that the city is put together
Frederic Paulussen (49:17)
Mm.
Darren (49:30)
I think ⁓ the windows, the reflections, I think it would be like paradise for me. I really think it would just be crazy. ⁓ Besides that, I hear that the people are so nice, the culture is so interesting. I think from a photography perspective, it would be amazing, really.
Frederic Paulussen (49:36)
Yeah.
I can imagine that, yeah.
Yeah,
so do you have more wishlist countries or cities?
Darren (49:58)
Yeah, so I’d love to go back to New York. Now with like maybe the way I’m shooting now, I’d really like to go back to New York. Japan is another one, as I said. I’d love to do Lisbon. I mean, Lisbon, I was there a few years ago, but I wasn’t really shooting with purpose, I would say. And again, such a great place, great people and food, but…
Frederic Paulussen (50:14)
Okay.
Darren (50:27)
I just want to go back with a camera this time. And yeah, I’m doing Greece, so that would be nice. See what’s there. But yeah, Japan is a focus for me, so I need to make it happen.
Frederic Paulussen (50:38)
Yeah, I think,
yeah, I’m sure you could be busy there for like months on end if you’d like. I haven’t been, ⁓ from everything I saw and know, ⁓ it’s probably ⁓ paradise for you, as you said, Because you have like strong lights and probably great silhouettes as well. So I’m thinking, yeah. ⁓
Darren (50:45)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (51:05)
Maybe we should wrap this up because my problem is… well, problem. It’s not a problem, but after I record this podcast I always feel like going out and shooting myself. Problem is sometimes, like for example with Tom last week, it was I think 10 o’clock I think when we ended, so it was dark outside and I don’t live.
Darren (51:07)
Awesome.
Frederic Paulussen (51:28)
right in the city center so for me it was like bedtime anyway because I had to wake up early as well but now I have like the time so now for me it’s like okay maybe I can see that there is good light outside now so after a lot of rain so let’s wrap this up I hope you get to go to Japan soon maybe it’s fun to have like a follow-up episode after you did like to hear about your experiences there
Darren (51:40)
Amen.
Thank you.
Yeah man, that would be great. Thank you.
Frederic Paulussen (51:56)
So let me know if you do. ⁓
And then ⁓ thank you Darren for your time and insights. Of course, as usual, if anyone wants to follow Darren, I will add his website and his Instagram to the show notes. I think there’s no ⁓ other social media mentioned on your website. So the website and Instagram.
So make sure to follow his fantastic work of course because it’s very very nice. And also of course make sure to follow the podcast on your favorite platform or follow me on social media for updates about new episodes and again all those links will be in the show notes as well. So thank you Darren and thank you listener for listening and see you in the next episodes.
Darren (52:17)
Thank you.
Thank you very much, I appreciate you having me on. was great, thank you.