Sam Price, 23, from Ulverston in Cumbria, North West England. Went to school, went to 6th form and focused on art, media and film (very little success in sociology) then went to university. BA Hons Photography at Salford, Greater Manchester. Graduated, worked as a chef for a year and a half. Decided to go freelance and be poor for a bit.
So that’s the kind of things you tell people when they ask you “what’s your story then?” I guess. I’ve been doing that a bit more recently so It’s kind of second nature at this point. Doesn’t sound that exciting does it? I think we all build a wall up and invent a ‘digestable’ version of ourselves that we like to project. Maybe my story is more interesting than I think, I think other peoples stories are interesting, I much prefer theirs though. I think thats part of my philosophy in photography. I like seeing (in my own work and others) the moment where other people let down their barriers and show us the real them.
There’s different ways people have achieved this; one of my heroes - Stanley Kubrick - used to abuse his actors and cast until they literally caved and he got exactly what he wanted out of them, what a fantastic psychopath. Others like Platon choose the more humanist approach and take time to engage with the subjects and find out, slowly and emotively, what makes them tick. Being a bit of an introvert, I find both of these options a bit scary sometimes. Which is why I love documentary photography so much. As a style, as a philosophy. It’s only recently become apparent to me that that is maybe my style. Instead of lining up the family members, extended family members, in-laws and dog walkers for a beautiful group shot at a christening, my best work comes from walking around trying not to be noticed but noticing everyone else. That’s my way of breaking down these barriers in photography and that bloody excites me.
I think we put too much emphasis on the glossy-magazine-ready-pin-sharp aesthetic. Photographers or not - we end up pixel-peeping to check the sharpness around the eyes and the colour cast of the skin tones and who is in the background and weather or not the skin is glowing, comparing ourselves to Mr and Ms whoever and their marketing team. This means we often dismiss those photos that everyone else sees beauty in. The lines that appear around your eyes when you laugh are someones favourite thing in the world.
So there you go, that’s maybe the most personal post I’ll do, maybe not. But it’s an introduction to me and this blog - for both sides of the keyboard. I want a place to talk about my projects, inspiration, methods and journey into maybe making my passion sustain my love for pizza and beer.
Sam