Londonist Behind The Lens: Michael Goldrei

M@
By M@ Last edited 135 months ago
Londonist Behind The Lens: Michael Goldrei

Return of the Credit Card
Return of the Credit Card
Furry
Furry
Fish Kiss
Fish Kiss
Trois Garcons
Trois Garcons
Gals
Gals
Bicycle Slippers
Bicycle Slippers
Men and Motors
Men and Motors
Pansies
Pansies
Big Step
Big Step
Woman in the Rain
Woman in the Rain
Guardian of the Pub
Guardian of the Pub
The Bodyguard.
The Bodyguard.

A series celebrating the talent of our friends in the Londonist Flickr pool. This week, Michael Goldrei shares some of his most apt and amusing street photography.

"After borrowing a digital SLR from a friend two years ago and seeing the results, I pretty much went straight out and bought one for myself: a Canon 550D.

Looking for inspiration, Shoot Experience was recommended to me and I signed up for their next available course, which happened to be on street photography. I quickly became hooked on the adrenaline rush caused by taking interesting photos of strangers and then walking off very quickly before they had a chance to beat me up.

Since then I regularly wander the streets with my camera. My favourite places to photograph are London’s markets, which are a constant source of wonder with their unique combination of fascinating people and colourful backdrops.

I occasionally treat myself to cameras and film from Lomography as I love the look of film and the anticipation in waiting to collect my prints. I recommend their events as you get to try out one of their unusual cameras and meet nice people.

The resolution it gives is pretty terrible but I also take 3D photos on my 3DS. It’s not the most subtle of gadgets as there’s no way to turn off the ‘clicking’ sound effect but it can give some very interesting results. You can see these on my website microsketch.com which, if you don’t have a 3D display, will attempt to give the effect by wiggling.

Ironically, the only time it’s ever looked like someone might actually beat me up was when I was taking a photo of a statue. Through my viewfinder I saw a fist with a man attached to it heading towards me. He was shouting that I shouldn’t take photos of him and his girlfriend. This just made me want to take photos of him and his angry face, but I decided it was probably best not to."

See more of Michael's photography in his Flickrstream and website.

Flick through the Behind the Lens archives and find out about more great London photographers.

Last Updated 03 December 2012