This collection of panoramic images, seen in the top two rows of our pool, represents a sampling of the street photography of Ben Roberts.

The images aren't from a specific project, but have been pulled together from 4 years of sporadic shooting on the streets with a Hasselblad X-Pan camera. Ben is an avid, experienced photographer and longstanding member of HCSP.

In addition to the gallery images Ben has provided us with some of his thoughts on his photographic journey:


The Streets Are My Training Ground

An essay by Ben Roberts



When I was younger, I was really into sport, specifically a little known sport called Orienteering. Although it has relatively low participation compared to say football or tennis, the standard of competition at the top end of the sport is fierce. For those of you who don't know what orienteering involves (and I'm guessing that's quite a few of you), it's effectively a navigation race through harsh terrain - forests, mountains, marshes and moors. Each competitor must find their way between set points using a map and compass. To compete in the upper echelons of this sport, not only do you have to be able to run fast (the top guys can run 10km on the track in around 30 minutes) but you need to be able to navigate while still running at speed. To prepare myself for competitions I was constantly training - be it running, circuit training, or doing navigation exercises in terrain to perfect my map reading.

How does this relate to my photographic practise? Well here's the thing - I feel like I need to 'train' to keep myself honed for photography, and the streets are my training ground.

I developed an interest in street photography while I was travelling through China and SE Asia in early 2004, and while my early efforts were pretty lame, i continued to make work on the streets throughout two years studying photography on the south coast of England, sometimes travelling to London for a couple of days to shoot, and on occasion making short journeys to Madrid or Barcelona to immerse myself in the vibrant streetlife and great light that can be found in Spain. However, whereas 2 years ago a good part of my portfolio was dedicated to candid street photography, now there is not a single image in my 'book' that is from this genre. but I still shoot street once or twice a month to keep me on my toes.

I've made 4 trips to Spain to make photographs in the last 4 years. A short review of the results of these trips perhaps shows how shooting on the streets has informed my photographic practise, but also how the emphasis in my work has shifted as I have become a more informed and thoughtful photographer, as opposed to the less focussed but perhaps more impulsive photographer that I was back in 2004.

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Barcelona, September 2004



Barcelona, September 2004



Madrid, May 2006



Madrid, May 2006



So my first two visits to Spain were spent walking the streets for hours, trying to capture 'decisive moments', looking at how light worked, finding out about apertures and shutter speeds and zone focusing – building up an understanding of my equipment and learning how to work quickly and efficiently. I carried on practising these techniques back in England, but at the same time I was starting to question the value of these images; I felt that I was ultimately just collecting tokens, medals. Although at a surface level some of the images were attractive, there was no story or thought process, and ultimately they didn't sit together as a body of work.

What changed for me? It was a combination of factors really: First of all I had a couple of really excellent tutors at college who introduced me to amongst others Mitch Epstein, Alec Soth, Joel Sternfeld – photographers who seemed to have an ability to construct and sequence photographs in an almost lyrical fashion. Secondly, I began to network (on a regular basis via the internet) with a group of photographers who like me were inquisitive, hardworking and willing to share ideas, inspirations and discoveries. This network has since been like a second college for me. Third, I started working as an assistant and researcher for documentary and portrait photographer Zed Nelson – being able to observe how he worked on a shoot (from conception to execution) was particularly valuable. Finally, I took the opportunity in London to undertake a variety of different assignments; in the last two years I have shot fashion look books, weddings, live music, band promos, festivals, office parties, interiors of hotels and bars, a poster for a feature film, corporate portraits, a fetish club, dog racing, and rugby, football and cricket fans. I'm convinced that I can take something positive away from every assignment that I get, and apply it to my personal practise in some form or other. Plus shooting such a diversity of jobs allowed me to apply my techniques from street photography in different environments and contexts.

I knew that I wanted to start making images that were more contemplative in nature. On my next two visits to Spain, in the autumn and winter of 2007, the work that I was producing reflected this. Although I didn't completely neglect the more traditional street aesthetic, I found myself shooting more landscapes and more finely structured images.


Granada, September 2007 – from the series 'The Brick Business'


Granada, September 2007 – from the series 'The Brick Business'


Barcelona, November 2007 – from the series 'The Brick Business'


Barcelona, November 2007 – from the series 'The Brick Business'


Granada, September 2007 – from the series 'The Brick Business'



Granada, September 2007 – from the series 'The Brick Business'



In some ways, my methods of working remained faithful to my previous visits – many miles of walking with my camera. Many of the skills that I had picked up from the shooting in the street were being used – an understanding of compositional elements and a habit of scanning the landscape around me in an effort to see as much as possible and pick up on small details that could make for a better image.

My viewpoint on 'Street Photography' now is still slightly confusing for me, but I am getting comfier with the role it plays in my own professional practise. Shooting street keeps me in 'photographic fitness' for the more important projects that I am working on. Having a good eye for the moment, and keeping my instincts fine tuned to react to that moment is of great importance when shooting portraits, while understanding light and composition has been of great benefit in all my work. However, while I will still go out and shoot on the streets (almost without any purpose) once or twice a month, the resulting images will add to little more than a 'greatest hits' collection without any real coherence as a body of work. This is one of my big problems with 'street photography' as a genre – while I enjoy making street photographs, the resulting images are eye candy – an initial buzz but beyond that fairly disappointing.

For me, the most interesting photographers can take this street aesthetic and way of working, and twist it to their own means to create a coherent body of work. Names and projects that spring to mind are Lars Turnbjork – 'The Office', Jonas Bendiksen – 'Satellites', and Tim Davis – 'My Life in Politics'.

As for my own work – I'd like to try and bring back some of the spontaneity that I had in my work and find some middle ground between the more static landscapes and the energetic street scenes. I've also been attempting to work out a more organic way of working when it comes to projects – going into places and situations with a looser agenda, and letting the work emerge in a more organic manner. I'm hoping that it will enable me to produce some series that are less literal and that are underpinned by a more personal viewpoint.