{"id":13225,"date":"2013-08-27T11:35:30","date_gmt":"2013-08-27T18:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=13225"},"modified":"2013-08-27T11:41:24","modified_gmt":"2013-08-27T18:41:24","slug":"the-psychology-of-everyday-situations-interview-with-justin-sainsbury-from-burn-my-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/27\/the-psychology-of-everyday-situations-interview-with-justin-sainsbury-from-burn-my-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Everyday Situations: Interview with Justin Sainsbury from Burn My Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

Justin Sainsbury<\/a> is a street photographer based in Brighton, on the south coast of England. He is also a member of Burn My Eye<\/a>. What I love about his images is that his photos ask more questions than provide answers. Take a look at his images and interview, and participate by making up your own fictional stories in the everyday lives of the subjects he captures.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tell us a little bit about yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Brighton,<\/p>\n

I live in Worthing on the South Coast of England and have two kids.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spent the last few years as a Dad at Home.\u00c2\u00a0 Our Son William has a rare medical condition called Hurlers so the last few years have been a tricky journey.\u00c2\u00a0 He had a bone marrow transplant a year ago so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really been an option for me to go back to full time work.\u00c2\u00a0 Thankfully, the transplant was a success and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been working back up to full-time school. This has allowed me to take some part-time work which allows some time for photography.<\/p>\n

Whilst I was working full-time, I used to spend the weekend trying to forge out leisure orientated projects (animal shows, living history events etc.).\u00c2\u00a0 Now, the weekends are spent either working or with the family, so my main time out is during the week.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the time, I have a school pick-up deadline so travelling distance is limited but I get some good hours to wander, which I feel lucky to have.<\/p>\n

In your street photography, you mention the importance in which psychology integrates into your images.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you expand on this idea?\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing that fascinates me about taking candid pictures of people is that occasionally you freeze a scene that gives an impression of something going on in the subjects mind. The beauty is that these expressions, gestures and body language might, of course, be entirely false.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

I guess it becomes a puzzle, is the picture a correct interpretation of, for example, a relationship or is the exchange just a trick of the camera and the moment. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good to get a sense of someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s personality but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go looking for this in a project sense. I think photography is probably a reasonably useless medium for looking at these things in an academic sense. I just find it fun when they pop-up. I seem to be drawn perhaps to individuals that have a melancholic appearance.\u00c2\u00a0 Street photography is a pretty lonely pursuit so perhaps this mirrors something personal.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

In terms of groups and the psychology around them, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m interested in how people with a similar interest get together and enjoy themselves. A few years ago I did some pictures at enthusiast group events (re-enactors and animal fanciers mainly). It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting and amusing (if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m honest) to see how they took something most would consider a leisure pursuit so seriously.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

One thing I like about your work is that it is fresh and tends to steer clear from the general visual clich\u00c3\u00a9s we see.\u00c2\u00a0 What are your thoughts about the general aesthetics you see in street photography today, and some clich\u00c3\u00a9s you think people should clear of? \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for the positivity.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m afraid I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m as guilty as the next guy. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funny, as sometimes you have to mentally check yourself sometimes as all you seem to find are clich\u00c3\u00a9s. It happens most of all at the end of a long walk where you think you have probably had little success picture-wise. OK, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a clich\u00c3\u00a9 in itself! – The thing to truly keep in mind is that an interesting picture can be found almost anywhere at any time. For me, the eternal battle is keeping up motivation so you are ready to snap and have enough positive energy to realise a good situation.<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing wrong with shooting clich\u00c3\u00a9s as you might hit on something in the process- perhaps even ridiculing the clique itself. You just have to be critical when editing. The trick is to make it work on another level. \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcYeah, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got an amusing juxtaposition\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, but I want something else in the frame. \u00c2\u00a0Sometimes, this just happens- you had no idea at the time that this particular element was going to make the shot succeed.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all subjective, of course- some people love a shot you might consider a clich\u00c3\u00a9. \u00c2\u00a0Is the nun shot a clich\u00c3\u00a9? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take itself too seriously. I get a fair number of humorous shots and although I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t solely look for this type of picture it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely there in my mind.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that clich\u00c3\u00a9s are easy to look for as you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen them before \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the trick for me, avoiding what everyone can do. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take \/ show many unpeopled shots \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for me interest comes from the transitory nature and endless possibilities of people wandering around and interacting.\u00c2\u00a0 Having said that, I know some people who truly make an art out of the static stuff. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just not for me. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like line \u00e2\u20ac\u201cup\/perspective shots- to me they are like the effect you get with a super wide lens- I find it a bit cheap and easy. Shots with signs or text that jump out in the situation are something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always being drawn to but I try and resist, mostly!<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really look at trends too much- I see people trying to differentiate themselves with various techniques but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m of the belief that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll only really create a signature style after years of pursuing your nose and instincts- That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s personality and background come through in their pictures.\u00c2\u00a0 (I know- all this has been said before!) Perhaps every style in straight photography has perhaps been done already.\u00c2\u00a0 I say embrace the history, keep it real and in time things will come out of the body of work.<\/p>\n

There are currently several street photography collectives out there.\u00c2\u00a0 What do you think makes Burn My Eye<\/a> different and unique? What do you think he collective could also improve on? \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Worthing,<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s up to the audience and I suppose they will only keep coming back to the website and future shows if we are unique and different.\u00c2\u00a0 (How\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that for avoiding a tricky question!). I like the wide-spread geographical nature and we seem to share an aesthetic whilst having different approaches. \u00c2\u00a0Backgrounds and ages are varied which helps make it interesting although with no ladies (unintentional of course) it seems a little unbalanced on this score. \u00c2\u00a0Everyone seems pretty supportive of each other and there are no prima donna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n

I like the group edit idea (under the title \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcCollective Thinking<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122).\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been putting together some seasonally themed series of pictures on a roughly monthly basis.\u00c2\u00a0 There are some members who are really good editors.\u00c2\u00a0 It works for me as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not great at project work – I feel I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m contributing to a worthwhile piece of work without the pain of sequencing or trying to connect what are essentially random images.\u00c2\u00a0 Collectively, we obviously have a bigger pool to work and you get a different viewpoint from the different editors with input from the rest of the group along the way. \u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also great when someone in the group pulls together a series from another\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pictures (this can happen without any request for critique).\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learnt a lot just watching these processes.<\/p>\n

I love looking at other collectives websites- you get a good concentration of interesting pictures.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to see the subtle differences between work and how new members bring something new to the equation. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure being part of BME has had some part in setting my photography in a different direction.\u00c2\u00a0 I think as long as the group stays relatively stable and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fragment too much we will realise the full potential.<\/p>\n

To my understanding your portfolio currently consists of single images. What about the single image appeals to you, and what are your thoughts on the project based approach\/ Any projects you are currently working on? \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pictures I really like are ones in which there is some kind of story.\u00c2\u00a0 Ideally, these could have a number of outcomes or interpretations.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

I suppose if ambiguous story telling is an objective it makes it tricky to compose a series of pictures on a project, especially over a short or mid-term length of time. The truth is the main thing I get from photography is a good walk and the quenching of a desire to collect half-decent pictures. I love the surprise element- not knowing what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to come home with. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little frustrating that in publishing there always seems to be the need to have a theme or a social\/economic\/cultural point to be made. To me, this limits the opportunities. Photography is a cathartic experience for me.\u00c2\u00a0 I take it seriously, in so much as I want to get better but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that allows me to escape the usual routine and express myself.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tried projects albeit with a largely open agenda- just visiting events or places.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m more inclined now to just go with the flow and that generally means going somewhere I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been in a while or taking the camera to wherever the family wants to go.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

It takes time and dedication to get a collection of winning shots together so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect any wider exposure anytime soon.\u00c2\u00a0 I love Richard Kalvar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Earthlings book as it shows what a life-time pursuit can produce. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a narrative through the book but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done in retrospect. To me, this is freedom and something that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist in fulfilling assignments for others.\u00c2\u00a0 I work part-time and look after my kids so with my photography I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m complete without having to push for other stuff.<\/p>\n

What arguments or disagreements about street photography do you think are pointless?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Brighton,<\/p>\n

On a personal level, in all honesty, maybe all of them. I struggle to see the point in discussing issues around ethics and aesthetics alike. If you do it for yourself then you know what you want to gain. You know, when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve perhaps pushed the boundaries of Joe Public\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sensibilities.\u00c2\u00a0 You know if the work is worth looking at. I sometimes feel that too much time must be wasted by photographers who spend time discussing these \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcissues\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on-line.<\/p>\n

There seems to be this thing where photography that it has to be academically challenging and debated.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a paradox to me, when the beauty of the picture is its stillness and muteness.\u00c2\u00a0 I just enjoy it for a visual experience, what emotions it raises and try and leave the whys and wherefores alone.\u00c2\u00a0 To be fair and with all respect- I would rather be out taking pictures now then writing these interview questions! (but thanks for the opportunity).<\/p>\n

Follow Justin<\/h2>\n