Deptford

I had a really good chat with this man who was campaigning for a local political party named 'Lewisham People Before Profit'. I asked him about his experience of living in the area, he has lived round Deptford for 30 years and has seen it change in many ways. He spoke of the times when he would call in squatters to occupy old council houses that the council wanted to sell off. He wanted to stop them selling them and renovate them back into council houses for people who needed them instead of big corporations buying them and selling them as flash apartments. I stood and talked to him for a good 45 minutes and agreed with a lot of his ideas and plans for Lewisham. I could tell he really cared about the community and the people around Deptford, unlike many mainstream parties. The people around Deptford  were so interested in what he had to say in particular about supporting local businesses and shops. 

I also had a good chat with Tony, the man  in the orange hi-vis jacket in the left of the picture. I asked him about his experience of not only living in Deptford but working on the market. I asked him if he felt like there was a community surrounding Deptford and he quickly replied with a stern 'NO', he said how everyone these days are in it for themselves, people pretend to be your friend and help you out but its all a front. He also told me how he came to England from Jamaica over 30 years ago and came to Deptford, he said it was different then, there was more of a sense of a community . He  told me his view on the male population of today, particularly surrounding Deptford and described that there were 'no gentleman anymore', and if anyone is friendly or behaves in a gentlemanly manner, it is perceived as creepy or not cool. He told me that he had worked for Peter on the market as a lookout for a number of years and that Peter was a 'good man who treated me (him) well'. It was really insightful to talk to someone who had not only lived in Deptford but worked on the market as I see it as a completely different place than he does, he knows the true Deptford. 

Photoshoot in Deptford #2 with Zorki 4k

Here I shot on a Zorki 4k, its such a beautiful camera with an amazing depth of field, which I thought would be great for some portrait photographs. I really love how only small parts are in focus in each picture, especially when there is a person in the shot and they aren't in focus as it really shows the market and the place where they work. The colours are so vibrant in these photographs which really represents the people that I was able to meet and speak to at the market and around Deptford. I have also included some shots of buildings and streets, some of which were featured in 'the secret history of our streets' documentary, of which I have found so interesting. 

Photoshoot in Deptford #2 with Olympus Trip

I went back to Deptford and took more pictures of the market and the people working the stalls there. I also began to take pictures of the places that were featured in 'the secret history of our streets', I found myself standing down these roads that had been demolished, picturing what Deptford was like before most of it was demolished. These pictures aren't the best as a lot of them have camera shake due to me having the camera at waist height and just constantly snapping photos. However, I still love the vibrant colours and the characters that I have captured around the market. I shot these on the Olympus trip but also took a Zorki 4k with me which is a beautiful camera.