Where I Go On A Kevin Mullins Workshop
Untidy commuters at Waterloo Station
Well Dear Readers, what can I say? Life is very topsy-turvy* at the moment isn’t it? I hope you and your family are all safe and well.
I know it feels like a lifetime ago, but on the 31st January, you would have found me on a train heading to London for a Street Photography Workshop with Kevin Mullins. Kevin is an accomplished documentary wedding photographer, as well as one half of the utterly brilliant Fujicast podcast with Neal James**.
The day started out much the same as all my photography workshop days do… with a delayed train. I have never yet been on a workshop where my train hasn’t been delayed. Having learned this lesson some time ago, I had allowed for three train cancellations before tardiness would ensue.
The passenger footbridge at Fleet Station… I had to do something while waiting for the delayed train…
Having made it to Waterloo Station I decided to get my creative eye in gear and had a try and some long(ish) exposures. Darn those commuters, they simply would not stand in an aesthetically pleasing formation. I hung about for about twenty minutes, and this was the best of the bunch. Definitely a composition for another attempt on another day.
There is always a slightly awkward point when getting to a meeting location for a workshop where you stand outside a well-known landmark desperately looking for other people carrying cameras looking as though they might be on the same course.
This seemed a very long way from the UK at the time…
Kevin arrived and we headed to a café for a sit down, introductions and for Kevin to outline the day. At this point I should probably point out that I can be a little wary on workshops… In my experience workshops vary wildly from photo tours where you are taken to photogenic sites and left to your own devices at one end of the spectrum, through to high stress “produce Magnum level photos or humiliation ensues” horrors at the other. I have done both of these, and neither have been terribly helpful. One workshop I did last year was so pressurized that I almost gave up photography altogether, until the Delightful Mr F took me to the seaside, fed me ice-cream and told me to shoot anything I liked the look of to get me back into the swing of things***. It was during the initial chat and coffee that I realised that this workshop was going to sit in that happy middle ground of exercises to help us develop our photography, with someone who could teach, and wanted us to have a nice time.
Look at me shooting in colour!…
And again!
After coffee we headed out into London with Kevin teaching us different aspects of street photography, such as looking for themes, anticipation, zone focusing and shooting discreetly. As he gently altered our normal viewpoints and pushed us outside our comfort zone, I found myself shooting in a way I hadn’t done before, and not to mention shooting in colour! The exercises were fun, and thought provoking, set against various backdrops around London.
Kevin is delightful, he’s knowledgeable, approachable, and happy to help with everything from technical button pressing to artistic critique. All feedback was delivered in a kind and constructive manner. I had a lovely day and came away with images that I would never have thought I could take. Since doing the workshop street photography opportunities have been a little limited. Once life is back to normal, I will be out and about practising what he taught me.
Kevin runs all sorts of training, from in person workshops to online mentoring. I know his workshops get booked up quickly, so I recommend subscribing to the newsletter on his website so you can get notification when spaces are available. Have your credit card on standby, the course is worth every penny and more.
* Please feel free to replace “topsy-turvy” with an expletive ridden phrase of your choice to describe the current COVID-19 lockdown situation.
** This is the best photography podcast I have found by far. The vibe is relaxed, is relevant to everyone, regardless of kit and experience level, and has fantastic production values. It makes me laugh as well as think. Brilliant stuff.
*** What would I do without the Delightful Mr F?
