My first street photograph was made in 2008 on a trip to London. While I say this was my first street photograph, what I mean is that this is the first photograph where I consciously remember candidly photographing someone in a public place. Rush hour had begun as I walked down Oxford street and onto Tottenham Court Road. It was busy, crowded, and with little space to move. As I rounded the corner I noticed this person selling peacock feathers. It felt like I had stepped back in time to the era of Mary Poppins. Amongst the bright lights of the Dominion Theatre, in a modern-day capital city, here was this fella hawking feathers for a living.
I loved the way he looked down the shaft, admiring his wares as weary shoppers and business people squeezed past.
Stop, click, and the moment was gone.
At the time I didn’t even know what street photography was. It wasn’t for another 6 years did I realise that this was the first decisive moment of the rest of my life.
