Barry Cheeseman
"I enjoy trying to capture the real person, the soul, if you like, of my subjects. As previously mentioned, these images are unposed. On most occasions, I am not close to the subject and, although they are usually aware of my presence, they are not fixed on what I am doing. I mostly use my 80-200mm lens which enables me to shoot from the desired distance without crowding the subject.
"My father was a “Ticket Writer.” Before there were computers, all price tags, signs, displays, etc. that you saw in shop windows were done by hand. I used to spend my very young days with him, sitting at the end of the table, drawing and painting while he worked. At a later stage, while I was still at school, I was fortunate to sell some of my oil paintings. I have also dabbled in a few other arts including pottery and leadlight glass making.
"I have always believed that a successful photographer needs to have a great understanding of light, i.e. its direction and intensity together with its color temperature and how it falls on the subject. All of the images in this portfolio have been captured using only natural light. All are unposed, captured mostly in the street or field. Some are quick, instant, one- or two-shots, and others come froma burst of rapid shots. If possible, whenever I see a subject in the street I try to position myself so as to remove as much background interference as possible before taking the shot. Since I’m always touring, I don’t often have the opportunity to revisit the location to gain a better shot of the subject. Basically, I get only one quick opportunity for a shot and sometimes use post-production to enhance the final outcome."