Ask the Street Photographer: Barry Bottomley

Ask the Street Photographer: Barry Bottomley

This month London photographer Barry Bottomley is in the hot seat. I was keen to interview Barry because I know that he’s put a lot of work into selling prints - something many of us aspire to do - and I thought you may find his perspective interesting . . .

How did you get into street photography? I got into photography when I was at school, so I saved up my paper round money to buy my first film camera, a Zenit EM. I was into black & white and in particular urban landscapes, or cityscapes as I called them then. I started taking pictures on the street of places and buildings, especially of the older, weathered and derelict areas of Peterborough, where I was living at the time. Getting into street photography was a natural progression. 

What part does street photography play in your life today? Street photography plays a massive part in my life now. I love to get out on the streets of London with my camera and it’s here where I get to slow down and lose myself in the here and now, as opposed to thinking about all the other stuff life throws up. Sometimes just being out and observing what is going on around me is enough. Everything wakes up though when I spot a scene with potential and the light is just right to work the scene.

How would you describe your photographic style? I say on my Facebook page that I am a photographer “constantly seeking the abstract in the actual”. Lately, after reading Sean Tucker’s book I think about seeking chaos from the order. In a word: abstract. I would love to be able to do good documentary photography though. The work of Chris Killip and, more currently, Suzanne Stein particularly inspires me.

What’s the worst experience you’ve had on the streets? Being approached by two security guards with no ID while taking some black and white shots of a lit staircase leading to a basement. At no point did I leave the street and enter the property. However, they insisted I was breaking the law and proceeded to insist I deleted the images, otherwise they would call the police. I invited them to do so. Long story short, they never rang the police, but because they turned to block me every time I tried to move away I became concerned for my safety. Eventually I tapped 999 into my phone and said if they prevented me from walking away I would call the police. At this point I was able to leave. Not a pleasant experience. Lesson learnt, just delete the images. I had backups. 

What single thing would improve your street photography? More time to get out snapping.

If you could spend the day shooting with one photographer, dead or alive, who would it be (and why)? There are so many to choose from. Right now, it would be Harry Gruyaert. I have a couple of his books and there’s an edge to his work that intrigues me. I find his images quite barren at times, yet the colour he picks up makes his images dynamic. I am also left with a sense of wanting more, not in bad way, more because of the ambivalence his work evokes. I find something insightful about his work that fascinates me.

Black & white or colour? Colour- but the gap is getting smaller.

What gear do you use – and why? The camera I use is Fuji Film XT3. Lens-wise I have 16mm/f1.6, 18mm/f2, 23mm/f2, 35mm/f2, 50mm/f2 and a16-80/f4 zoom. Why - because I am very happy using Fujifilm. Ergonomically it is a great fit and growing up with a Zenit EM I’m quite happy with having the controls on the outside of the camera. I also love the colour I can get from the XT3.

What about your print and zine sales? I have called my new zine Looking In/Looking Out #2 because I had to follow up from my first zine, Looking In/Looking Out. During the lockdowns I took the time to look through the images I had taken between 2018 and 2020 and I noticed a common style developing amid all the random street stuff I had also taken. So, my first zine was mainly a compilation of these images. With #2 I have stylistically followed on from my first zine. The difference this time though was that I knew what I was looking for, so went out to actively seek a collection of images for the follow up zine.

In 2021 I started to think about selling my street photography images as prints. Last year I got the ball rolling and built a website, but more importantly started to put myself and my work into the public gaze, by selling at craft markets and art fairs. I have made some sales, but not enough to make a living, so for now it is just a sideline. However, the most important lesson I have learnt is what sells and what doesn’t. The general public prefer to buy and put on their walls at home the more aesthetic and abstract style of street photography as opposed to the traditional/documentary style. 

What does the next 12 months hold for you? Zine number 3 well underway, where I dive into the world of manakins, and I am planning to have this ready before the end of this year. I am also working on an urban landscape project which will be my first project to be done in black and white. Other than that, let’s see . . .

You can find Barry’s zine on Facebook by searching for ‘Barry Bottomley Street Photographer’ (there is a PayPal link there) or email him at bgb.photography@hotmail.com

Barry is also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bazbotphotgraphy and his website is: https://www.bgbphotography/store

Below are a few of Barry’s recent images . . .