The Photo I Am Most Proud Of: Paul J Rose

Each week I will be asking a mobile photographer to choose the one image of theirs that they are most proud of. It does not have to be their best, or the one that has received the most recognition, just the one image that they are more emotionally connected with than any other.

This week’s artist is Paul J Rose

Paul Rose was one of the very first mobile photographers I encountered when I joined Flickr and he quickly became a contact and a great source of inspiration.

What first caught my attention with his work was how he was able to capture a complete scene and narrative, a whole story wrapped up in a single shot.

Paul’s images beg us to look at the main character but while we are doing that we suddenly find ourselves unable to stop looking at everything else in the picture. Two great examples of this would be his images “Online Shopping” and “D is for Diamonds“. The more you look at them, the more and more you see in the image.

A great English storyteller, whose work is full of life.

The Photo I Am Most Proud Of: Paul J Rose

I have always had an interest in documentary style photography and street photography, in particular unposed candid street images of people going about their daily lives but, apart from the odd candid street image taken with my Canon DSLR whilst on holidays, I haven’t really taken this interest any further. However, discovering mobile photography has given me the opportunity, and confidence, to now pursue this interest.??

The majority of my street photography takes place during my lunch breaks. I don’t tend to plan my shoots but rather wander round the town centre (some may say aimlessly!) looking for those characters that stand out from the crowd. I currently use an iPhone 5 and its an ideal tool for capturing those candid moments and is always at hand whenever a photo opportunity arises. ??

The image I have chosen for ‘The Photo I Am Most Proud Of’ is ’Asylum’ and which I feel is a good representation of my work.

As usual, I was out during my lunch break and just happened to look back over my shoulder to see this person a short distance behind. I had very little time to react and was almost in a state of panic for fear that I may miss the opportunity. I quickly brought my iPhone up to head height and slowed my walking pace to allow the subject to catch up with me before capturing this image. It all happened so fast and I only managed a single exposure but everything seemed to fall into place nicely and, as I say, it’s turned out to be one of my favourite images. I like working this way, almost without thinking, and I feel it gives a more haphazard appearance to my images.

In the background was a shoe shop called ‘Footasylum’. I decided to carefully crop the image so that it read ‘Asylum’ which I hoped would help reinforce the message I felt the subject portrayed. ??

The image was taken using an iPhone 5 and the camera replacement app 645 PRO. For editing I used Filterstorm and Snapseed with the aim of obtaining a high contrast black and white image. Big Lens was also used to blur the background, helping to highlight the main subject. ??

The icing on the cake for me was when I was approached by TheAppWhisperer.com and asked if they could feature ‘Asylum’ in their June 2013 Flickr Group Showcase. It was a huge compliment and an honour to accept and, I suppose, and indication that I must be doing something right.

Connect with Paul J Rose

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