Ross Grieve Qualifies with The Societies of Photographers

Ross has been a valued member of The Societies of Photographers for a number of years now and had his panel awarded an Associateship by The Societies vastly experienced Judges.

Statement of Intent

I began shooting street photography by pure chance. I love heading to London to visit galleries and find inspiration that is not accessible when living in the depths of Pembrokeshire. It is my therapy for inspiration.

Street photography is raw and gritty; hence I never retouch any of my images. It’s not about perfection, but using your skills to create that story in the viewer’s mind. All my Street photography is shot with available and/or natural light.

While on these pilgrimages to the big smoke I would find myself discovering more and more photo opportunities that I would not shoot as a portrait photographer and that excited me. This was the light bulb moment when I began Street photography.

For me street photography is about observation, people watching and not about putting your camera in someone’s face, to ruin their day.

I have always believed that you never stop learning. You should continually strive to improve yourself and raise your personal bar.

My style of photography has naturally developed over the years with trends and personal improvement, with a desire to provide my clients with the best experience and images possible.

Photographing people is one of the greatest jobs in the world. You get to bring joy into people’s lives by not only creating wonderful images but also being a historian and capturing images for future generations to come.

But photographing people and their lives in street photography gives me ideas on how I may apply this in my portrait sessions, whether it be the lighting or a simple pose I have seen in a painting or other imagery.

It has been a personal battle for me to even submit a panel. I have tried to produce a panel over the years and each time I have decided it is not good enough. If it was not for the persistence and encouragement of Terrie, and some others I would not be here.

From here I have my sights set on an exhibition. I have also been in contact with Magnum. See what you have started Terrie!

In this panel I want to show how each image can tell a story; each photograph is so individual, but they can live together as they are all captured in similar environments.

Being able to explore a whole new genre of photography is a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it to anyone. It frees your mind.

Everyone loves people watching, most people like good coffee and of course cake. So what is there to lose – open an opportunity to create something unpredictable that will never be repeated? The following images contain stories and images that either make me smile or make me think how fortunate I am.

That is the beauty of a street photographer, we can always go home.

Take a look at the video below or see the full panel here

For more inforamtion on Qualifications with The Societies please see the website here