JUST A MOMENT

Roger Ford Frps

By nature, I am a curious person. This is reflected in my photography which has encompassed a variety of styles, genres and subject matter over the last 40 odd years.

In particular I love catching that moment of juxtaposition when the reality before me unfolds to reveal a scene which tells a story, asks questions and preferably creates an emotional response. Occasionally, I arrange photographs but prefer to see the opportunity of a photograph ...and take it.

Examples of this spontaneous approach are evident in my images Surrender taken on a cruise ship, Horseboy Freckles taken at the Appleby Horse Fair, Coffee Shop Patron taken without the subject’s initial awareness in Mexico City and Escalation caught on the London Underground.

Patience and persistence are often required. I saw the background Night follows Day wall art in Penzance and visited the site on three or four occasions hoping to find a suitable figure passing.

When I reviewed my images, the old lady pushing her shopping trolley was perfect, portraying the journey from youth into old age. It was one of the first images which I took, which is often the case, and the colours of her clothes and trolley match the background exactly. This is an example of ‘Not seen but captured at the moment of taking’.

I had no control of who would walk in front of the wall. I did not use a motor drive or reconstruct the image in post-production... it is patience and timing which created the image.

Emancipation is an image of a troupe of female stilt dancers at a street festival in Canary Wharf. Their performance related to the rights of women. Again, I took a number of images and selected the file which demonstrated their passion for the cause. By turning the image into monochrome and removing some background clutter I felt that I had caught the message.

My image The Hussar’s Widow was set up, although I recognised the potential of the shape of a hotel staircase. I asked my friend Sue to put on her black hat and coat and walk rapidly up and down the stairs while I took shots at around a 30th of a second to create a degree of movement. We stopped when she started to complain that she was too hot!

On reviewing my files, I decided to include the picture of the Hussar in the frame ...hence the title.

Five Alive is a family image taken through a glass partition in a hotel lobby. I saw the central shape through the glass and asked my wife Angela to press her hand on the glass. My son William was then recruited to appear quizzical.

This image was awarded a medal at the London Salon of Photography and in 2017. I was delighted to accept an invitation to become a member.