Documentary

Rebranding Hinckley Photographed

July 23, 2020 in Jigsaw Puzzles, Hinckley Calendar

Hinckley Photographed - Rebranded

A big old project of mine, Hinckley Photographed has been rebranded to allow for better creativity and more inclusivity.

Since 2012, I’ve been creating work for a personal documentary of people and place in and around Hinckley in Leicestershire. Initially this was set up so I could simply share my work online. I needed a place to exhibit the work I was producing, while I was studying photography and video at NWHC and De Montfort University.
I began by making photographs of the geographical location, looking at the urban environment and the way in which the local community used the spaces and buildings. I also focused on the people that live here in a wider idea to create a permanent place for the community to relate to people they may know and also for a record of the truth of life.

The Concordia Theatre, Light It Red, July 2020

Hinckley Photographed was where it all started and as time went on I changed the name to Hinckley & Bosworth Photographed because I wanted to include the wider area and felt that I was too restricted with Hinckley. However, I soon felt that with Bosworth it was too much alike the Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council and often was miscredited.
I needed to distance myself from the council, so I reverted back to Hinckley Photographed, which now felt wrong when I posted something from outside of those Hinckley parameters. I now actually live in Burbage and often produce nice work from around the village but it felt wrong sharing it on Hinckley Photographed.
So I changed the name to Hinckley & Burbage Photographed for very good reasons.

St. Catherine’s Church, Burbage, Leicestershire.

Until last year Hinckley Photographed was just a way for me to share my photographs from the project. I joined a scheme that is specifically for photographers that is restricted to one photographer per area and I produced the very first calendar that Hinckley has ever seen. I put together some great photographs from my collection and began to sell them to the community. It was strange for me because I never intended to make money from this project. Since creating the calendars and realising that I have an audience that wants to buy my work, it gave me the boost I needed to dive right in and create more products.
Now I’m producing 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles from the best photographs and they’ve been incredibly popular, especially during lockdown.

I’ve just received my latest batch of new jigsaw puzzles, which include The Marina, Ripples of Nature and Billa Barra Hill.

The Marina Jigsaw Puzzle, Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Ripples of Nature, Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Jigsaw Puzzle Collection

There’s no prescription for the way I work with this project and each day is a new day for me.

If you’d like to view the work for Hinckley & Burbage Photographed, there’s a place on my website with selected mini projects here or on the Facebook page.

All in all, I’m just a photographer that enjoys making artwork.
I’m just an artist with a family at home and I hope you continue to enjoy my work.
As you should know already, that I’m easily accessible via the Facebook page or by email to paul@paulhands.co.uk

Please subscribe to my email blogs.

What Can Street Photography Do To Help?

June 10, 2018 in Street Photography, Documentary Photography

Street Photography Skills Are Transferable

It's the hardest genre of photography to pick up!

Firstly, the genre of Street Photography is the single most difficult genre of photography to do, be good at and to practice because you're simply pointing your camera at strangers in the street. In today's society, people are becoming more and more aware of their image appearing on the internet and usually, object to having their picture made by a stranger on the street.

In this picture above, I noticed the man approaching this painting and realised that he looked incredibly similar. The moment happened in slow motion and I couldn't believe what was happening at the time. I was completely tuned in to the environment when I came across this scene in Artists Square in the Montmartre district of Paris. I had to make sure the exposure was right, using manual controls on my camera, get the focus in the right place, frame the shot and make the picture, all without being creepy, obvious and with respect.

I noticed this dog in the window, while scouting the centre of Birmingham, looking for street photographs and because there was a reflection in the window below, I had to position myself so that I wasn't in the picture as a reflection but wait until the right person passed the scene to get them in the picture. This was a necessity for the image because the general consensus for a street photograph to be classed as that, there needs to be a human element in the frame.

Most of the time a street photograph works best in black and white. There's an old saying that when you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes but when you photograph them in black and white, you photograph their souls. For a picture to work in colour, the colour in the picture has to matter. The colours in this picture (above) matter because they're quite striking and demand attention. In black and white, this picture would just be a very average one, even now, it's still an average picture by comparison to others work.

Where I've said that Street Photography skills are transferable, I'll explain. You see, to make a street photograph, you have to really tune into your environment, slow life down and watch humanity passing your eyes. You're effectively people watching but looking at the world and these people with an artistic eye. You look for meaning and a way of making sense of life. You have to be very quick with your camera too and learn to move unseen around the city. Using the skills of a street photographer, you can learn to apply them to a commercial setting. For example, I do a lot of documentary photography for my clients, telling real stories with my camera for promotional and positive reasons. I often get commissions that require my street photography skills because it tells a certain amount of truth as opposed to designing a photograph and this is a valuable commodity for certain organisations.

The above picture is purposefully blurred because it was made in Amsterdam and it was towards the end of the evening, with this demonstrating how I felt at the time. There's a human element and it's not close up but I've photographed the environment and placed a person for the human element within the frame.

This picture is also blurry and was made in the red light area of Amsterdam. The blur is from an intentional camera movement designed to create a hectic vibe in the picture. Its design is to create tension in the frame, to make the viewer feel the chaos of the night in that place.

I made the above picture in my hometown of Hinckley Leicestershire at the end of the LOROS Colour Fun Run. The light was low and casting long strong shadows. The floor was covered in paint powder from the race and it made an interesting picture. I stumbled across a child rolling around on the floor in the paint and loved the frame with the bollards, almost creating an invisible box.

The above picture was from the same fun run as the photograph before and catches a very unique moment in time where these three girls are holding hands passing through the place where they're doused in pain powder. The paint itself is flying through the air and offers strong evidence of time stopping. There's also an element of the environment in the top left corner for reference, it also provides context as opposed to the paint blocking out any visual reference as to where it is. These are strong skills that can be applied to photographs for a commercial setting, especially within the events genre.

So in essence, Street Photography skills are the hardest to acquire and learn. I remember the first time I pointed my camera at a stranger in the street. I was so worried that they'd be offended and it wasn't until I learned how to do this properly without them realising and even noticing me that my pictures started to work. It's all about getting close to the subjects and telling the real story or even making up your own. To make a picture instead of taking one is the difference. Anyone can take one but making one is the difficulty and why only some pictures work and others don't.

I don't shoot weddings anymore, I used to but fell out of love with it through some awkward clients being painfully interfering with the process. My point here is that if you shoot weddings, Street Photography can really help your style, it's how you need to shoot a wedding really. Once you've done all of the portraits and the time comes to make natural looking pictures of the guests and wedding party enjoying themselves, these skills come in very handily.

I've always found that by learning to shoot street, it's sped up my decision-making process and the way in which I think visually, happens so quickly now. I can only put this down to the skills being transferable.

Try it for yourselves.

Commercial Documentary Photography - Diabetes UK

September 25, 2017 in Commercial Photography, Documentary Photography

Commercial Documentary Photography Midlands

Diabetes UK

Type One Events

Recently I was commissioned by Diabetes UK to produce a still and moving image documentary of their Type One Events so they could use the images in their 2018 marketing campaigns. The moving images were for a documentary film and a short trailer for social media.

I'm always grateful for every bit of work that I get along the way and this assignment was no different. In fact it was special to me because they chose me for my style of working and not because they just needed a photographer or filmmaker. Their marketing team found my website and preferred my work above most of the other photographers that they came across. So for me, this was special and encouraged me to really zone in on the assignment.

I can't show you the films yet because they're not allowed to be viewed until the proofing stage has been completed and I get the green light on the final production. It is for their 2018 marketing campaign as well so I have to be careful where I show the work.

Plus it needs a shed load doing to it in post production after the first proofing has been done.

What I can show you is a small selection of my favourite pictures from the Type One Event.

These events are for 8-10 year old children who all have type one diabetes and are designed to allow the children to experience life together, with other type one children, to feel normal and inclusive. They also learn easier ways to manage their intake of insulin in softer ways, so that they don't realise they're learning. You can get more information about Diabetes UK and their Type One Events by clicking on their logos below.

Working with the children for the day was so special and they gave me a real zest for life, just by being themselves. This helped me to be with them and make such a close body of work with the main brief being to work closely without interference, my speciality and no flash required...

Contact me

A Tough Job with SSAFA (Armed Forces Charity)

May 28, 2016 in Commercial Photography

I've left it a week before I wrote this blog because it's taken me this long to come to terms with the assignment I have just completed with SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen's Families Association), who have just become a new client for my professional photography business.

If you haven't heard of SSAFA, you can follow this link to see who their charity helps. They were formed and designed to help the armed forces, Veterans and their families with a number of issues.

They support the British military at home and abroad and are the oldest and longest running military charity.

The assignment I was given, was to make a photographic reportage documentary about an event where the Parents and families of the fallen military men and women, come together to remember them and to help provide support for each other.

It was a very difficult assignment because it felt like being a photographer at a funeral. The families were sometimes very emotionally upset and to point a camera at the parents of a fallen soldier didn't come naturally. I truly felt their woes and shed some tears for them the following day, once what I'd done sank in.

I'm a firm believer in the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, so no more from me, have a look for yourself...

Click on images to enlarge.

Thanks for reading and looking through this project. As you may have noticed; it was very emotional for the families and difficult for me to document.

I welcome any new enquiries about working with me on any assignments, so if you'd like to discuss any future photographic projects with me, please follow this link to get in touch.

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