A series celebrating the talent of our friends over in the Londonist Flickr pool. Here, they introduce themselves and share their favourite London shots. Today, meet Noirchick73, AKA Linda Wisdom.
I was born and raised London and never seem to tire of it. I love the diversity and mix of people and cultures that make up this great city. I have always been in a creative person; I have designed websites, business cards and flyers, fanzines. I used to write songs - lyrics and music - and wanted to be a famous songwriter. I still own a couple acoustic guitars and hope to go back to it at some stage.
Photography has always been a part of my life. From using my parent's first Kodak Polaroid camera as a child, then using film up until last year, through to experimenting with a digital whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall about 5 years ago. I think that was the first time I started dabbling around with colour and composition.
It wasn't until last summer 2009 when a good friend of mine loaned me their Sigma SD14 DLSR camera after seeing how passionate I was about photography. I soon became obsessed with wanting to go out and take photos around London of architecture, nature, people, objects, in fact anything that caught my eye. I was still just learning the basics and trying to find my own photography style. This is when I first discovered street photography.
In the New Year I purchased a Canon Powershot G11, which is a great little digital camera perfect for street and candid photography with the quality of a bigger and more expensive DSLR. My influences and favourite photographers include; Henri Cartier-Bresson, Louis Stettner, Martin Parr, Robert Doisneau who are masters of this style.
London is a fantastic place for street photography. I have always been a people watcher but I love capturing those candid and everyday moments in people's lives and expressing my view of it in a photograph. You don't always get what you want, but that's the challenge. When you do its a great buzz. Nearly all my photos are in black and white as I find this works best for street photography. I'm exploring different styles at the moment and am enjoying the challenge of more minimalist and artistic photography of available street scenes combining my interest with composition, light, shadow and shade.
I always make sure that I have my camera in my bag if I'm out and about - just in case! Every dedicated street photographer knows that you should always be prepared for a photo 'moment'. I am learning so much from my photographer friends, and Flickr is such a great place for inspiration. It would be a dream one day to be a recognised street photographer, publish a coffee table book, and to have my works displayed in an exhibition.
Visit Noirchick73's Flickrstream for more.
Browse previous Londonist Behind the Lensers.
