Shooting the Everyday

I was watching a YouTube channel where the author was commenting that while she takes thousands of pictures while on vacation, she has very few images of her everyday life.  I do believe that if you looked through most people's photography, it would appear that we all live on a constant vacation.  

I started shooting my everyday life thanks to film.  I love shooting, it helps me manage the stresses of everyday life. So I would take the camera, load a roll and try to kill the entire roll in one day. I would then practice development techniques to learn more.  Some of these images are my favorite ones.

Some are shot with point and shoot cameras, some with professional gear still selling for thousands but all are film.  I capture my everyday life on film and they are some of my favorite images, not because of their artistic value, but because they remind me of the everyday details of places I once called home.

All these images were shot around our house in London. Behind the plant is the house we lived in.  But this is shot just as I would see the house.  I would walk in everyday and look at the plants and see the house as a backdrop. The friendly space where my family was waiting on me. It was my home and I loved what it housed.  

The fall with the tree on the left, was shot about five minutes from my house. I loved the light coming through the trees and I kept coming back to this spot and have tons of pictures, shot in fog, rain and sun. It reminds me of the sound of rushing water, the light playing off the leaves and the sound of kids running around to play.

Near the falls I captured the image above on the left. I loved the raw iron fence, the ancient roman ruins behind the fence and the dew wet spider web reflecting in the light. On the right is a shot from my office into the front yard of the house. My son's basketball hoop, the garage and my darkroom on the left. This is what I would look out to when contemplating my next project.

Friends chatting in a bar. Here the friend on the right was showing pictures of his family on his phone. The scene was a favorite bar we would go to.  Cold beer, good conversation and wonderful service. I can look at the image and smell the place. Leather, wood and beer.  

Winter, early morning as I would leave for work. This is the train station near home, ice cold, fog with complete darkness all around. I would wait for the bright light that would single my train and hurry to find a seat for the long ride into town. The light would start to shine so as I reached Waterloo I would have plenty of light to walk to the office. 

Walking from Waterloo to my office I would pass the London eye and the Thames. This was my walk almost everyday for 18 months. I loved the walk and always looked forward to it. Each of these sights would remind me of the wonderful city I was living in and I always felt lucky to be there.

None of these images would make my top photographs. None of them would win a photography award. But they represent the average days in my life while living in London. I had good days and bad days but I loved my time there and always look back on these pictures with a warm smile on my face.

Take your camera and shoot your everyday life. Years from now this is more valuable than the pictures of Niagara falls.