Photographer Research - Nick Turpin

Nick Turpin 

Nick Turpin is a UK photographer, based in London. Turpin has worked for The Independent newspaper as their photographer, as well as having a career in advertising and design photography, which would therefore raise money for his own personal street photography projects. However, currently Turpin has been working with street photography and has been since 2000. Turpin has his own publishing company and makes short films as well as lectures and hosts workshops for universities and colleges. Although Turpin has worked in photojournalism, advertising, fashion and street photography, I am interested by his photojournalism and street photography work. During his time working as the photographer for The Independent, Turpin travelled the world and captured different cultures and the style of each country he visited, in order to get front page. Turpin is specifically known for his street photography, and I particularly like that most of this work has been shot in London because I can relate to the places, as well as capture my own photographs that have been influenced by his work, in London myself. Turpin uses various techniques including blurring and black and white. 

This is a photograph from Nick Turpin's street photography work, in London. This photo particularly caught my eye because of the vibrancy of the colours within it, such as the reds and blues from the underground sign as well as the public's clothing. This is slightly patriotic because it is the colours of the British flag. I also like that Turpin has captured the business of the underground, as it is an exact representation of how busy and over crowded London can be due to people rushing around. The underground signposts are almost framing the people and the stairs within them, but there is still more to see outside of the posts. I especially like this image because the longer you look at it, the more you see such as the buildings in the back, the traffic lights and the advertising posters in the background. 

This is a shot from Turpin where he has used blurring as a technique. This image has been taken in the London underground, whereby the publics are rushing around and it's very busy. In this shot, we can see 3 posters advertising the same company, but are different colours, which are framed in the background on the wall. In front of them, we can see three blurred figures, 2 of which are approaching the center of the image whereas the other is walking just out of the frame. I like the effect blurring has as it represents the busy, rushed lifestyle of living and travelling in London - particularly when using the underground. I also like that the people in the shot are unidentifiable as they are blurry, but everything else in the image is completely in focus, which is because the camera has captured there movement. Turpin will be a great influence for my first few shoots as I am planning to focus on street photography to begin with, and then venture out into portraiture. 

This is another shot I really like of Turpin's, in this shot there are two people on Barclays bikes, cycling around London. This photo looks completely natural because of the happy expressions on the models faces. I also like that the brightest colour in the shot is from the two models' clothing and their bikes, whereas everything else is grey and gloomy - which represents the typical weather of London. Also, the two people are centered in the image, so that they are the main focus of the photograph. I like the concept of shooting photos of people without them knowing, so that you create a truly natural image, capturing their natural expression and emotion. However, I also think this style of photography is best shot of strangers, rather than people you know so it appears unprepared - which would create the 'natural' aspect of the image. Turpin's work captures the everyday London lifestyle, through the vibrant or gloomy colours in the image, as well as using blurring or black and white. This is influential for my work because I want to capture the 'identity' of certain places, such as London, and Turpin's work is a great example of how to capture the business and typical weather of a place. I also plan to shoot photos of strangers in Brighton and on holiday in Spain, where I will use techniques influenced by Turpin. 

This is a black and white image, which I assume was also taken in London. In this image we can see that it is raining, so the black and white effect relates to the context of the image, and reflects the weather, making the image look cold and dark. As this shot was taken in a street, we can see random people shielding themselves from the rain, as well as using umbrellas and there is also a woman closest to the camera using a newspaper to cover her hair. Although there are lots of people rushing around in the background, on the furthest side of the road. We focus on the two people standing on this side of the road, waiting by a bus stop. One of these two people is the woman with the newspaper on her head, standing confidently whilst waiting, and there is also a man pointing at the map on the right side of her, with an umbrella. In the background we can see people are running across the road, as well as trying to get to shelter. I like this image in particular because it gives a stereotypical, everyday feel of London weather - raining. As well as shows how busy and rushed people can get in the area. I like Turpin's style of street photography because he captures stereotypes within London, and I plan to use Turpin's style as inspiration to do this with lots of other places as well. 

As I was unfortunately unable to shoot in central London, I was still able to capture some photos in Hyde Park. Here, I have captured a moment between a man and a woman on one of the benches by the lake in Hyde Park, and I particularly like this image because of the alignment of the light and bench and the lines they give in the image, like the shot of the two people are being framed. I also like that we can still see the lake in the background, so we get a view of what they were looking at too. Nick Turpin inspired this photo as he also focuses on London street photography, and by shooting strangers we have both captured rare moments between people. 

This is one of my images of a cyclist riding past me. Obviously, this photo was taken very quickly. However, I like this effect as it has enabled me to capture the cyclist blurred, and therefore shows their motion, whereas everything else is in focus. I also like that the cyclist is more towards the left side of the image, rather than in the center as it shows a sense of direction.  Nick Turpin also captures movement within his images, such as people rushing through a train station, or on bicycles. I like this idea because you are able to capture the enjoyment of the person through the activity, or in this case, the seriousness of practicing for a sporting event. 

In summery, I have chosen to study and research Nick Turpin in more depth because he has shot street photography in London - which is easily accessible for me. I also like the way Turpin captures different feelings with his images, for instance the first image is colourful and bright, therefore sunny and the people in the shot are happy, whereas in the last image, Turpin has edited it to black and white, so that it reflects the rainy weather and the feeling of unhappiness of the people getting soaked within the image. This style of photography has influenced me to think about what best represents a certain place, not only tourist attractions like Big Ben or the London Eye, but also the people within that place and how they act in certain situations - such as when it rains and when its sunny.