Harry F. Conway is a London born photographer, based in the capital.
Having graduated in BA (Hons) Photography at the London College of Communication, Harry is working freelance and looking to work on more long-term projects as well as continuing to expand on his style of portraiture.
About ‘Portraits’:
Where did you take these photos and why?
Here photographs were all taken on the streets in London, UK. I have been born n’ bred in this city, it’s what I’ve known my entire life and these photographs reflect a side of the city I see on my day to day but don’t really seen shown much.
People always see the cool street wear stuff when they think of central london or picturesque scenes of iconic landmarks. Yet growing up here, It’s not how I view this city that I love. Due to public funding cuts, we have people wondering the streets all day who should be getting public health care. We have a mixture of people with substance misuse or mental health issues that are left to their own devices. They are not supported. Of
We have a mixture of people with substance misuse or mental health issues that are left to their own devices. They are not supported. Of course some not everyone is the same and you cannot generalise as even though some people didn’t choose the street life, they have chosen to remain there again due to drug habits or mental health issues. It’s sad to see, people almost forgotten about.
How does your passion come from the strangers or in the faces of people on the road?
If you walk down the street in London and ask people if you can take their portrait, 1 out of 10 might let you, but for the majority most people couldn’t care less as they have an iPhone which means they can take a pretty selfie or they know someone with a high-powered camera (as photography is so accessible now).
So naturally I became drawn to people that aren’t the ‘norm’ and what I mean by that is not necessarily homeless people, I think this is a big mistake people make when they view my work, not everyone I shoot is homeless; they might spend a lot of time on the street but might have a home to go back too at night.
I would say I look for people with a certain look in their eye, a character. It’s harder and harder to find in London with gentrification….A lot of people are being pushed out of the city due to unrealistic rent prices and lack of sustainable jobs. So we have empty properties due to foreign investment and people left homeless. It’s a crazy situation but London is just becoming more and more bland and lifeless.
Every now and then I come across real people, real characters, but it’s harder to find.
Have you chosen people with particular faces or with special signs? how did you approach them with the camera?
When you’re walking down the street with a camera, you begin with a disadvantage in one way as people know what you want from the start of the conversation. You need to be able to sell your idea, to talk to people in a way that isn’t just another salesperson trying to get something from them. What I find amazing is when someone still feels honored to have their picture taken on the street by a complete stranger.
That in itself motivates me to go out every day with my 35mm SLR and walk for miles trying to find a face that will make a great portrait. Everyone that follows my work or knows me knows I can special interest in old traditional tattoos, not just any tattoos.
Tattoos that stick to a certain aesthetic and have weathered over time; they’ve grown with the wearer’s skin and aged with constant sun/ scars etc…
I love being able to capture these works of art that may be 40+ years old and most people couldn’t care less about or see them as not of a high standard in comparison to realistic tattoo work of the current time.
But there are stories in there; I have met such a variety of people that come from a different time when London had more of a soul to it; they nicked some ink and tattooed their mates with a needle form their mums’ sewing box or got their lovers’ name tattooed on their neck.
What do you think of photography?
Hmmm, that is an endless question, but I can give you some thoughts on film photography in the UK. A few years ago film photography (mainly 35mm) started to really blow up again; people realized you could buy £1 film from Poundland and charity shops had an abundance of cheap 35mm compacts cameras that could be bought for under a fiver.
What this created was a scene of teenagers shooting everything from nights out in town, to gigs, to personal experiences, to everyday things. People become excited by film again and instead of just have a folder on their phone of iPhone photos they now had 4×6 prints they could feel and physically hold or stick to their wall.
It was as if people really felt passionate about films nostalgic quality again. Now you can’t get film for a £1 anymore and a lot of charity shops have fewer cameras as people buy them up and sell them for quadruple on eBay. This along with the announcement by Fuji that they will be discontinuing certain lines of a film will mean that some people will stop shooting film as they have been priced out in a way.
I am very passionate about film and will always shoot it, whatever happens. I see these changes as a good thing as It’ll show who’s really passionate about film and wants to prioritize buying rolls of film over booze or weed. I think it’ll raise the quality of images we constantly scroll through on Instagram.
I think it’s got to a point where film photography is so accessible that we are visually overwhelmed by the sheer volume of images being thrown at us virtually. I’m looking forward to the next 5 years and just seeing how film photography evolves in this gram generation.
