Over the past few months I’ve been loosely working on a couple of projects. Uniformity in urban style, the workings of the Colombia Road flower market, and street life in East London. Strangely these three themes crossed over in this one image.
I’m not too sure how these projects will end up. Or what format they’ll be presented in. So far I’ve been casually building them as the mood takes me. I might start to focus more on the specifics as opposed to my current scatter gun approach.
Strolling through Colombia Road, up to Brick Lane, and around by Spitalfields Market this morning certainly gave me a lot to think about. Such a vibrant part of London. So full of possibilities, so many contradictions, and every inch of pavement brimming with energy.
Hmm… Where to start?
Sheridan Flynn – Aug 10
The Colombia Road Flower Market is where East Londoners come to on a lazy Sunday to add a bit of colour to their day. I arrived here at 10am thinking I was way too early. As it turned out I was greeted by swarms of shoppers knee deep in flowers. People were flocking around flower stalls like rabid honey bees. I grabbed my bulky DSLR but quickly found it’s size to be a hinderance. I switched to a smaller Canon G10 which worked well given the cramped conditions. I weaved my way in and out of the crowds, snapping shoppers who were snapping up bargains by sellers who were snapping up their cash. Time flew and by late morning I had some interesting shots. Approaching the sellers for some casual banter was near impossible. No time for friendly chit chat here it’s all about trading. I stayed all afternoon. Right up until the council men filled their rubbish trucks with the remnants of the day’s trading.
Looking back over the images I don’t think there’s enough key shots to build a strong narrative. So over the coming weeks I’ll keep returning and and try to build some relationships with the sellers. With a bit of luck I should have an interesting story to tell.
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