Street photography at the races, getting published in a magazine, Ricoh GR3 problems - and more!

Big events can make street photography easier, but only if you stop aiming at the obvious target. I’m heading to Liverpool for Grand National weekend, not to photograph the racing, but to work the city centre where the real street stories unfold: early-morning pubs, people in finery, high spirits, bad decisions, and that brilliant collision between everyday streets and “special occasion” behaviour. If you want more keepers, the margins are often where the emotion and character live.

Then I’m joined by Derek Darke, founder and editor of Klick Magazine, a print magazine made for street and documentary photographers by the people who actually shoot it. Derek shares how Klick was born from the buzz of seeing images in print, why every submission needs at least some words, and what makes him lean in when a WeTransfer lands in his inbox. We get practical about what gets rejected, why projects frequently beat single shots, how the quarterly edit and layout process works, and why niche print publishing still has real space in a digital world.

We also tackle listener questions, including the Ricoh GR3 battery life and dust concerns, plus how I keep Venice fresh after years of returning by working clear street photography projects and matching locations to light and weather. I wrap with news on my Leica-focused London workshop with zone focusing, a new critique-driven Street Snappers Worldwide group, and a reminder about the Dublin Street Photography Festival.

If you enjoy thoughtful street photography chat, subscribe, share this with a street photographer pal, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

LINKS:

Klick Magazine: https://www.klickmagazine.com

Dublin Street Photography Festival: https://www.dspfestival.com/

My Dublin 1-day workshop: https://streetsnappers.com/dublin-street-photography-workshops

My street photography workshops: https://www.streetsnappers.com

Transcript

Easter Catch-Up And Blue Skies

SPEAKER_01 0:16

So what have I been up to since we last met? Well, it's been Easter weekend, so not a lot of time for street photography, but lots of gobbling, a little bit of tennis, and I'm looking out of my loft window now and I can see blue skummy. Remember that? Bloomy. So good to see, isn't it? Having had so much wind and rain since Christmas. And it's actually quite warm here. And this is only what, ten o'clock in the morning? Blue sky. I don't know about you, but when I see weather like this, I just want to get out there with my camera, which I plan to do more of over the summer months. So what else? In the next few days, I'll be running a workshop in the fine city of Liverpool. Now, as you probably know, Liverpool holds the annual Antre Racing Festival, the Grand National, of course, itself being one of the biggest events in the UK horse racing calendar. But we're not going to be shooting the racing. In fact, we won't even be at the race course. We'll be shooting in the city centre, all around the the hotspots of activity, the bars, the pubs, the places where people gather. You see, in Liverpool, on race day, the pubs start to fill up from around 8 a.m. People dress up in their finery, not to go to the races, but to go to the pub and just have a grand day out in the city centre. And I mention this because there's a wider point here that's relevant to us all, I think. Big events like this offer great opportunities for street photography. Not necessarily at the event itself, but at the fringes, in the margins. And the big race days are just great for this, any of them. Cheltenham, Ascot, Aintree, York, Doncaster, even the smaller courses and on the smaller race days, you're guaranteed to get lots of people who are dressed up, people drinking, people behaving badly, people showing off, extravagant people, outrageous people. It's just great. And then you get the other side of it with all with the trainers, the owners, the sponsors, and so on. You put them all together on the streets of a city centre and you have this really interesting mix. So we can all do this, we can all get to a race course fairly easily, or in fact, any big event. So that's what I'm doing this Saturday. I've also been quite absorbed with one of my publishers over the previous week or so. This is Rocky Nook, the very good US publisher of photo books. They they've published two of mine. Rocky Nook has set up an online community for creatives called The Nook, which is divided up into subsections for photographers, painters, artists of all kinds. And I've been collaborating with them to set up this thing called the Street Photography Club, which is a really good hangout for street photographers. And although it's still in its early days, there's a discussion forum, a means to have your images critiqued, and a monthly get-together on Zoom hosted by me, where we'll have a QA, we'll talk about your images, and I'll lead a discussion on something relevant to street photography, and I'll present a session on a specific technique. The sessions are recorded and put into a video library. In fact, you can see my recent session on layers if you're interested. Do take a look. There's a free trial. There is a small monthly subscription, but there's a free trial, and I'll pop a link into the show notes for you. So what else? Ah, yes, big sigh of relief. I've just put my most recent book to bed and it's been signed off by the publisher. This time I'm a night press. This is another in the 52 Assignments series, and it's 52 Assignments Street Photography at night. So watch out for that one. I'm hoping it'll be published in the autumn just in time for the night shooting season. So if you're a night shooter or want to be, you need this book. Some of you will have heard of Click Magazine, which I've mentioned on the show before, which has been around for two years now and which goes from strength to strength. Today I'm talking to the magazine's founder and editor, Derek Dark, who's going to talk to you about the background to the magazine, but more interestingly, how you can get involved. So I'm here with a lovely chap called Derek Dark, who is the founder, editor, organizer, all things at Click Magazine, which is a relatively new magazine. Well, I say relatively new, I think it's been going for about two years. But Click Magazine is uh it's very interesting because it's a magazine for street photographers by street photographers. And I think we're now, I've just had issue eight land on my doorstep. And I thought, wouldn't it be great if we can get Derek on the show to talk about Click and what it's all about? So, Derek, welcome. Welcome to the street photography podcast.

SPEAKER_04 5:43

Thanks, Brian. Lovely to be here. Thanks for the invite.

Derek’s Cameras And Film Return

SPEAKER_01 5:46

You're you're very welcome. So let's start with you. Tell tell us a bit about Derek as the street photographer.

SPEAKER_04 5:54

Okay, very erratic, to be honest with you.

unknown 5:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 5:59

I'm very bad at practicing what I preach, to be honest with you. I'm a great believer in projects, which I don't tend to do. And I don't really have a style that I can call my own either. So basically, I go out on the streets and I shoot what I see. I'm very maverick about it. I probably lean towards the aesthetic side of street photography, if anything, but anything's game, to be honest with you. I just enjoy walking the streets and taking photographs of what's there.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Well, I think that's such a big part of it, isn't it? Actually, enjoying walking the streets and taking photographs. Because I I come across a lot of people and quite frankly, they don't seem to be enjoying it that much. So if you can enjoy it, I think what what more is there to it than enjoying it?

SPEAKER_04 6:49

Absolutely, it's crucial. And I and I really don't mind going home without a pocket full of keepers either. I like to, but uh I'm quite quite selective actually in what I take and what I keep. I think what it is, I see so many images, as you can imagine, and it's made me feel very choosy about my own photographs, really. I don't want to be taking something that has been taken a thousand times before, if you like.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Yeah, and I think that this is one of the problems, isn't it? When you look at Instagram and you know, somebody puts a picture on Instagram and then everybody rushes out to take the same picture. It's all kind of been done. So what do you oh you know I'm not a gear person particularly, but what what sort of camera do you shoot with? I'm sure people are interested to know this.

SPEAKER_04 7:38

I was trying to think back to what my very first camera was, really, because that I would have got that in my sort of mid-teens, I would say. And I think it was uh an old Ilford camera, it was probably a 35mm fixed lens. Yeah, and that's really what started me off. But I've been in and out of photography all my life, really, and it keeps coming back to me. My 40th birthday, I was bought my first SLR. It was a Canon of some sort, one of the old cannons. Film camera.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:10

And that was really when I got the bug. I thought I just thought, and I had a zoom lens, can't remember what it was, but it was a zoom lens, and I just fell in love with the the whole concept of photography, really. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

As many of us did in those days, actually, with uh you know, an SLR camera in around about the 1970s. That was my kind of formative period for street photography, just great. Yeah, I'm trying to sort of recreate it now. I love walking around with an old silver-looking DSLR on my neck.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

Feels great. Yeah, but I mean it's not a DSLR, you ask me what I'm shooting with now. I mean, my my main camera's uh like a Q3, and I've also got a GR3, but I've just and and this is pretty much from your influence, to be honest with you. I've just bought myself uh Olympus Trip. Have you? David Bailey, Uzi, you remember that?

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah, I do. Yeah, who do you think you are, David Bailey?

SPEAKER_04 9:06

So, and he he was my first real influence, but so I bought myself that, I bought myself a roll of film, paid nearly as much for the film as I did for the camera.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:19

And I can't wait. I'm just waiting for the light to change. I'm gonna get down the coast and and shoot off a film of a roll of film, which I haven't done for decades, to be honest with you. So I'm really looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

What fun, what fun. And I think half the half the pleasure is the is the anticipation, isn't it? The wait between taking the picture and actually seeing it a week later.

SPEAKER_04 9:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

So exciting.

SPEAKER_04 9:42

So exciting. Well no, I'm saying that. Uh, one of the reasons I've gave it up the first time, man, was all I could do in those days was just send it off the boots, and I got and every time I got back, got them back, I'm so disappointed. But things are different now.

What Click Magazine Actually Is

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Oh yeah, yeah. You'll you'll be fine. You'll be fine. So let's let's move on and talk about click magazine, which is which is why we're here. What exactly is click magazine? Uh before before I before you answer, I bet I'll I'll point out that click is spelt with a K, K-L-I-C-K, and I will of course put a link in the show notes. So, in your words, what is Click Magazine?

SPEAKER_04 10:20

I'd think of it as a community magazine for street and documentary photographers, and it's open for literally anybody to send in their submissions and put it together so that two reasons really they can see their images in print, along with what they have to say about the images, and also I like to think that it passes something on to the readership as well. So it's a double whammy, really, for the photographer and for the reader. But it's all about community.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Great. So it's not so much big names who who will appear in Click Magazine, it's people like well, like you and me, the the the people we meet on the streets. It's the ordinary, you know, the as you said, the unsung heroes, the the people who are out there doing it day in, day out, that we'd we'd probably wouldn't know their name.

SPEAKER_04 11:09

Absolutely that. Yeah. Yeah. There's nothing nicer than seeing your images in print, I don't think.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

And a lot of photographers don't see it because they're putting it onto Instagram and Facebook and whatever, which is fine. You know, that and nothing wrong with that. But seeing it in print is special.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

It is, it is special, yeah. But it's not only pictures, is it? The click click is there are a lot of really interesting articles from what I can see. And you know, that the words are as important as the pictures.

SPEAKER_04 11:41

Absolutely, yeah. And and I don't put submissions in unless there's some sort of script that comes with it. It doesn't have to be long, you know. Sometimes it's a paragraph, and sometimes it's you know, three full scat pages, but it needs to have some sort of connection with the images there and the reason they're taken taken, sometimes how they're taken, but that's not that's not that necessary really. But it has to have some sort of narrative to go with the images, uh whether it's a single image, whether it's a project, whether it's uh book reviews as well, we like exhibition reviews, but it's very readable. Yeah, yeah, very readable.

Why Click Was Created

SPEAKER_01 12:25

I i it's interesting. I I I well one particular article that stood out for me maybe a couple of issues ago was an interview with Doogie Wallace, who of course is a big name, yeah. And to to have him interviewed, I mean that I think I think that was great, and you know, this this is what people want to see, and especially to look be able to look at some of his images as well. It's just great. So, where did the idea come from? How how how was Click born?

SPEAKER_04 12:51

I created my first couple of zines some time ago, and it was just that buzz of seeing my images in print. I just thought it was wonderful, you know, opening that envelope when it dropped through the door. And so many of us, I think, have got hard discs that are full of images, and they deserve much better, I think. They don't get seen. And what I wanted was to create a vehicle for everyone and anyone to see their work in print, and as I said before, to share it with others. So important to share it with others as well. And then when the script comes with it, and I get emails from people all the time saying how inspirational these photographers' articles are to them and how it gives them extra ideas, new ideas, new inspiration. Um, and that really is click in a nutshell, I think.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

It's great because I I know that I I had somebody on a workshop, I think last month actually, and I you know, I looked at her work and I thought it was fantastic. And I said to her, Look, you really ought to. She said, I'd love to see my work, you know, have a bit more oxygen. And I said, Well, you ought to contact Click because looking at your work, it's good. I think they'd love to hear from you. And she did, and you contacted her, and I think something is gonna happen, and she was just so chuffed.

SPEAKER_04 14:10

That's great to hear. Yeah, she she did contact me. She'd missed the deadline, unfortunately, for click eight. So otherwise, you know, she could have sent something in and certainly would have considered it. But yeah, we're in contact, and I'm sure there'll be something through for Click 9.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Yeah, great. Well, I hope so. I look forward to that. So, how did you get into the the rarefied world of publishing? Did you have any background in publishing?

SPEAKER_04 14:33

No, none at all. I I I come from a sales and marketing background. The marketing side of it, you know, I I got involved with getting catalogues made up and you know, I understood about fonts and that sort of thing, but never really publishing. And it it was just this idea I had about click that got me into it. And I didn't really know an awful lot, but it took me about a year of of research and learning, you know, learning how to use the software, the publishing software, learning about print and paper, and you know, so it was it's quite a strong learning curve, but I love a challenge.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

It's one hell of a journey, isn't it, to go from from you know, from a base of nothing, not knowing anything, to actually, you know, two years down the line and it's still going. There, I think there are so many independent publications that are lucky to make it to six months, never mind two years. So I think you've done really well. Uh thank you. And you know, I I I know a lot of people would say that starting up a new print magazine is really brave when everybody around you is saying that print magazine publishing is dead and it's gone, everything's got to be online now. How would you respond to that?

SPEAKER_04 15:51

I think it's a different animal. You know, I I'm I'm never gonna be click's never gonna be, you know, in in the same realms as amateur photographer or whatever, you know. I don't think you want it to be. But um click is a community magazine, and I think when you've got something in place that is so niche like that, I think there's definitely a room for it in the marketplace. And giving talented individuals the opportunity to see and share their work in print can only be good. As I said before, images always look better in print. So it's the fact that it is very much a niche magazine, yeah, and pretty much only available through the Click website, so that community is building. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

That's good. I mean, I well if I'm buying a magazine, quite quite honestly, the last thing I want to do is read it on an iPad. And I know that's always a backup because some things you can only get digitally, but I just the the joy of turning papers and the smell of the print and the ink and touching it and looking at a picture, as you say, in print, it's just a completely different experience. And I'm so glad you've gone this way. But it is there is there a digital version available?

SPEAKER_04 17:13

Yes, there is. Yeah, that's available off the website as well. And you know, a fair few of those get read. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Good. So look at looking at who who and what appears in Click, what's your philosophy behind that?

What Makes A Submission Work

SPEAKER_04 17:29

The main one is that it is open to literally anybody to send in submissions. That that's the main philosophy behind it. All I ask really is that there's something appealing and interesting about it. You know, I don't want to see holiday snaps necessarily, but if they're holiday snaps that have got a good story behind them, that's fine. And I try very hard to make each edition as diverse as possible so that you know it hits lots of different aspects of street and documentary photography. And also it's very, very democratic as well. All are welcome.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Yeah, that's that's great. So what what you you mentioned the word submissions. What are you looking for in a submission? You know, you you'll you'll get some you get, I'm sure you get loads of emails. What makes your face light up when you're looking at submissions coming in?

SPEAKER_04 18:26

It has to be interesting. That that's the main criteria. And I think I do look at so many images that uh you know it's almost uh an automatic reaction now when you see it. Or you're in fact I don't get that many single images. It's mainly projects, to be honest. And hopefully I might get sent 10, and out of that I can choose maybe five or six. But it's just it's the interest factor and it's the story that comes with it.

SPEAKER_01 18:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:57

Uh really. Uh single images. I I enjoy seeing single images, and they do play a big part. With single images, you've got they've got to be images where you've got to be able to look twice and three times at because because there's things in there that don't pop out immediately. You want you want to revisit it.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

Once you get the script that comes with it.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

I think similar single images need to be remarkable in a way to get through to c to to connect with people.

SPEAKER_04 19:30

It's it's really interesting, actually, Brian. I think that I I'll sometimes look at a single image and it comes with a group of images, and in itself, it's really nothing special. And then you start looking at the other images within the project, and it fits into it, and that one image suddenly becomes something very different when it's part of a group.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Yeah, that's a that's a really interesting point, and I think that happened to me last week. I I just got back from a week in Venice, and I came back with about I know 250 images on the card, I think, and I culled it down to 61 that I thought were acceptable. Yeah, and I think of those 61, there are maybe three that will work as a standalone image. The rest, I think, have a role to play and they're okay images, but they will only work, they'll only make sense if they're part of a project. And this is the power of projects, you know, on their own, they're they're you know, they're an also RAM, they're nothing special. And so you you make a really interesting point there. So, what what do you reject? What what what what turns you off when the emails come in?

SPEAKER_04 20:45

I do get some submissions that are clearly not street or documentary.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Artistic nudes.

SPEAKER_04 20:55

No, that's another magazine. Yeah, I mean I I I won't mention any specifics, but you know, so some some do come around and then and I think, well, why have you sent that in? So you know, I call it street photography magazine. Documentary is fine, I get some really good things there. Occasionally I'll get an image that really isn't suitable. It's a bit too graphic, a bit too documentary, if you like. Probably I think one of the pictures probably suit another publication, but you know, they're not really for click, it's not what click's about. The other thing is the other ones that get rejected. I I'm quite I'm quite permissive of of image. I think street photography is technically very forgiving. You know, you can have grain, you can have movement, you can, you know. But some come in and they they just got far too many. So, you know, that they they've got to they've got to be good printable prints, really. Images.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 21:56

Um but yeah, there there's very little that gets rejected. You know, without without much thought to be honest.

How To Submit Without Overthinking

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Yeah, okay. So what's the best advice you would give to a would-be contributor?

SPEAKER_04 22:08

I think consider why you're sending the image in. I think that's probably the most important thing to yourself. Okay, well, I've got this image, I'll send it in. Why am I doing it? And this is really why writing some sort of script with it becomes important because it highlights to the photographer what that image is actually about. So think about why you're sending it in, because I've got to know why as well. Rather than just looking at an image as itself. I would here we go, is it is a here's a sales plug. I would recommend people look at Click. I do sometimes get things sent in to me, and it's it's instantly clear to me that they've never seen a copy of Click because it just doesn't fit what's wanted, really. They get rejected. So you know, if you can, it's not always possible. Try and have a look. The other thing is don't be shy. And I think people are a bit shy, you know, am I worthy type idea? You only have to look at some of these phase group group books. Street snappers is a perfect example. You and I know how much talent there is in Street Snappers and what's out there. So send something in, see what happens, be brave. What's the worst that can be happening? Exactly. What's the worst that can happen? And the best that can happen is you'll have your complimentary copy dropped through the post with uh with a bookmark in it showing where your images are.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Yeah. Great. So okay, so I've I've I've got an idea. It could be a single image, a project, whatever it is. Maybe I'm not all that good at writing. I can put the basic story together. Do I need to send you the finished words or do you tart it up? Do you do a bit of editing?

SPEAKER_04 23:55

No, I I I I not every photographer is a great writer. Write down your thoughts. Tell me what what you're you know, the the ideas of what you're thinking. I'll look at it. And I I don't rewrite things, but you know, I I improve on them, hopefully. I've also got, I mean my daughter who's a writer, is an extremely good editor. And once I've put it all together, it goes over to her and she comes back and tells me what I've done wrong.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Oh yeah. That's useful to have that uh.

SPEAKER_04 24:27

Um so uh so no, I mean you know, please don't be shy if you feel you're not great at writing. Just just tell us about it and we'll do the rest.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Okay, I'm I'm sure that'll be encouraging to a lot of people. So let's say I've I've got my my my project or my single image and I've got some words. What do I then do? I just email you with a a synopsis, just with an outline, see if you're interested.

SPEAKER_04 24:50

No, preferably not, to be honest with you. I do get I do get people drop me email and say, you know, Derek, I've I've got this idea. What do you think? I can't really make a judgment on that. The the the best way of doing it is I will reply to that, but it's not the best way. The best way of doing it is going on to the website, going through to the submissions, and on there you'll see a link to WeTransfer. Just go on to WeTransfer, send me a we transfer with your with your images and your words, and we'll do the rest.

How A Quarterly Issue Gets Made

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Okay. So you mentioned the website, just uh I will put it in the show notes, but just so uh just to say now, what is it? Clickmagazine.com? That's exactly it, yeah. Clickmagazine.com. Excellent. So what happens at the the back end of putting an issue together, the the editing, the compiling? I mean, it sounds like uh a massive job. How how do you put an issue together and how long does it take?

SPEAKER_04 25:47

Right, well, it's quarterly magazine. I must admit, by around about the sort of a couple of weeks after uh it's actually gone to the uh sorry, a couple of days after it's gone to the printer, I do feel a bit frazzled. So uh what I tend to do is I walk away from it for three or four weeks to start with. That doesn't mean things aren't happening because that's the period where most of the submissions start coming in. I just file them, I don't look at them for the first month, maybe even six weeks. I just put them into files, and then I give myself a month of looking through them, choosing what's going in. Then I start to compile on the computer my publishing software, start putting it all together. That's that is very, very time consuming because you know I I I uh each article gets read through probably six times. You've got to choose the images and uh make sure the articles are in the best order so that they flow well and that type of thing. So and and then you've got to tidy up the uh the software as well, get everything in place, and then get it to the best I can, then it goes off to the editor, and then comes back to me, and then I check it through another couple of times, yeah, and then it goes off to the other. So basically it's it's one month of less activity, then a bit more activity, and then a month of frenzied activity.

SPEAKER_01 27:18

Yeah, I'm sure. Oh, I I don't know how you do it. Uh rather you than me, that's all I can say. I mean, it stresses me just doing a very simple zine, but when you've got to deal with lots of contributors and all this, I uh I don't know how you do it.

SPEAKER_04 27:31

But it it that it does help when you love what you're doing.

Where Street Photography Is Heading

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Yeah. And I do yes, yeah, and that that comes across. So let's get philosophical for a moment. Uh you'll see a lot of material crossing your desk, a lot of submissions, a lot of styles and approaches and thoughts. So, yeah, you your finger is pretty much on the pulse here. Where do you think street photography is he is heading? Are you seeing any trends or any patterns emerging?

SPEAKER_04 28:00

Yeah, it's it's it's a tough one. I'm a bit concerned that life on the street is becoming quite homogenized. Very little happens generally now. All all town centres seem to be the same. Kids don't go out playing, people don't accumulate and sort of chat in the streets. Characters are fairly rare. So I think really the best trend would be where the most fruitful thing is to get into the more sort of vibe, vibrant and diverse cities. Seaside resorts are very fruitful as well. People get out of their normal everyday lives. This is where you need to be, I think, where people start showing their characters through festivals, demonstrations, celebrations, or those sort of gatherings.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

But you you mentioned seaside. Yeah. Am I imagining this, or do do you have a seaside special coming up at some point?

SPEAKER_04 28:58

Yeah, well, you know, as I said, I've never got enough to do. So yeah, I've I I put out a call actually a while ago asking for I wanted to do a seaside special, although probably be called Click at the Seaside, it's less cheesy, really. And I put a call out, and to be honest with you, it's like a tsunami. I I couldn't believe what came through. So I've got a lot of work to sort of ch look through that and see that I'm actually I'll probably be starting that next week, putting that together. But I've got a lot of material. I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna do it yet. It might be a bumper edition, but depends on things like cost and quality and things like that. But yeah, it's coming.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

Yeah, great. Oh, that's I think that'd be really interesting to a lot of people because the seaside is just so interesting for street photography, and I know I do a lot there, and I'm just fascinated by it. So we'll look forward to that. I must say, I'm I'm here in my office, I'm looking at the bookshelf, and all the previous Click magazines are on the bookshelf. And I just thought it's worth saying that it's a sort of magazine that you don't throw away. I don't throw it in a recycling bin as I do with most magazines. It feels like a book on the bookshelf, and it's quite nice to see a kind of big volume collecting and gathering pace. I think that's one of the beautiful things about it. And I'll pick them up occasionally and just refer back. It's uh I love it.

SPEAKER_04 30:22

That's nice to hear. I mean, that that that was the you know, in the the original design plan was to a the square format, B having the sort of pure spine, so you could put it on a book and bookshelf and see the spine. And if and the size of it fits on a bookshelf, doesn't it, as well?

SPEAKER_01 30:39

Yeah, it does. Yeah, it's great. So what what are your wider plans for for click? What where do you think you'll be in three years' time? What's the dream?

SPEAKER_04 30:47

Is that uh I get that asked a lot actually, and I and I really don't know how to answer it. I think there's probably well no, there isn't there. There's there's three aspects of it. A, have I got the energy and enthusiasm to do it? Well, there's no sign of that letting up, so that's okay. The second one is am I still getting decent quality of submissions coming in? Again, you know, the the I think the quality of the submissions is superb. I'm so pleased with it. And then the third aspect is do people still want to read it?

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:21

So long as those three are in place, it will carry on. I'll probably consider see we'll see how the Seaside special edition goes. If that's popular, then I'll probably think of maybe other specials to sort of fit in as time goes on.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

Oh yeah, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_04 31:37

I don't uh I've toyed with the idea of of you know maybe maybe doing it bi-monthly rather than quarterly, but to be honest with you, I don't have the time to to do that. I don't think it'd work, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:51

Well when you've got a big editor, sorry, I all these things I I just see as an evolutionary process, really. I you know, I've no idea how it's going, but I hopefully it'll it'll improve. Don't know how the format will stay the same, I think. It'd be probably nice to get you know a few more big interviews in, to be honest with you, if I can. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Yeah, I think in I think interviews are good. I think people like interviews. Yeah. So I think that's a good idea. But I reckon it when I'm interviewing you again in three years' time, we'll be in your Soho office block. Uh, and you you'll have a team around you, and your receptionist will be booking a nice table for you to take me out for a slap up lunch.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Uh I look forward to that, Brian. Yeah. Put it in your diary.

How To Buy And Join In

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Yeah, me too. I shall I shall put it in the diary right now. Uh so where are we now in the editorial cycle? What what's coming up and when when can we get our hands on the next one?

SPEAKER_04 32:49

Excuse me. It was published two days ago.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Okay, so yes, so this was issue eight. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:55

That's our second anniversary edition, by the way, which I'm very pleased about.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Yeah, brilliant.

SPEAKER_04 33:00

Yeah, so issue eight is out. All the I don't know if I mentioned it, but all contributors get a complimentary copy.

SPEAKER_03 33:07

Right.

SPEAKER_04 33:08

Uh so they're always sent out before the publication date. So hopefully they've all gotten them. Although there's a couple, I think there's one in New York and a couple in Canada, so they may not have arrived quite yet. And so yeah, it's it's it's up on the website and uh all available to order. So please listeners.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Yeah, so if somebody wants to buy a copy, they just go on the website and you've got uh an e-commerce thing, they can just pay for it securely, and one will have arrived in the post. Exactly. Yep. Excellent. And what about if if people want to what what I tend to do with things like this, if I find something, let's say I just discover something at issue eight, I'd probably want to binge read and go back. Are you selling back back back issues?

SPEAKER_04 33:57

Yes, I've got I've got all eight issues here, so uh they're all available. A couple of them actually on special offer at the moment, not for any sort of altruistic reason, but because I've got too many of them. Um but uh yeah, they're they're all all later available. I've got uh I've got them here.

SPEAKER_01 34:15

Great. Okay. So if anybody wants to contribute or buy a copy, they go to clickmagazine.com, which is straightforward enough.

SPEAKER_04 34:24

Any social links you'd like to share? Yes, there's the one I'm trying to build is the Click Community Facebook page. Or Facebook group, rather, sorry. What that's about, and um it's open again, it's open to anybody. It's not there for loading images particularly. I I shy away from that. It's there really as a magazine, as a a sort of extra to a magazine, just for people to put their thoughts on, you know, tell us what exhibitions they may have gone to, or an exhibition they're going to, somebody they bumped in on the street, whatever, just you know, uh just a sort of snippet of news that they may have to share with us, or just an idea, really.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

Yeah, that's good. So that's quite good. It it it does what it says on the tin. It's a community.

SPEAKER_04 35:10

Exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Yeah, and Instagram, is that something you bother with or not much?

SPEAKER_04 35:15

I I use Instagram mainly as as a sort of advertising thing, really.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

Yeah, okay. Well, Derek, it's been great talking to you, and uh you I think you've done a great job. And thank you. Long may it continue. And I I hope everybody rushes out and buys click. Yes, please do. Thanks for again for your time, and uh I'm sure I'll bump into you on the street one day.

SPEAKER_04 35:40

Yeah, thanks, Brian. Really appreciate it. It's been lovely talking to you.

SPEAKER_01 35:43

Likewise. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_04 35:44

Okay, bye-bye.

Ricoh GR3X Battery And Dust

SPEAKER_01 35:46

There's an old phrase, isn't there? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. So I've led you to the water. Derek says he wants to hear from you, and now it's over to you. I'd love it if you were to get involved with this great initiative. Thanks again for sending me your questions for the show. I'm going through them in rotation, and if you sent me a question, it will get used. And we will start with a question from Nigel, who's been on the show before, I think.

SPEAKER_02 36:18

Hi, Brian. It's Nigel from East Yorkshire. I'm looking at the Rico GR3X, which appears to be a flagship camera for street photography. There appears to be a lot of comments regarding the battery life and dust. Have you experienced using this camera, Brian? If so, I'd appreciate your comments.

Keeping Venice Fresh With Projects

SPEAKER_01 36:45

Thank you. I've had several Rico GR3s and well, and GR2s for that matter, and I currently use one. I've always preferred the wider 28mm version, but Nigel here is talking about the GR3X, which is the 40mm equivalent version. Now, over the years I've heard lots of people talk about the internal dust problem. But having owned three or four of these cameras myself, and Alex, my son, I think has had two of them, we've never experienced it. But there are a few sensible things you can do to prevent it if you think it's it could be a problem. So, firstly, always have a lens cap on, especially when you're not using the camera. Now, I got a cheap but very good metal one, which looks great, it fits snugly from Amazon for about a tenner, and I think that helps really keep the dust at bay. And then secondly, when you keep the camera in your pocket, when you're just walking around with it in your pocket or your bag, keep it in a pouch. Pockets tend to get very dusty, but a nice snug fitting pouch will help keep the dust out. Again, Amazon for a tenner or something, you haven't got to spend a lot of money on this stuff. As for battery life, yeah, this is a weakness for these cameras, and we have to accept it. It's a price worth paying, I think. I usually leave the house with a battery in the camera and a couple of spares, sometimes three if I know I'm gonna be spending a lot of time out there and I've got a long day on the streets. Now the good news is that these batteries are tiny and they're very light, so they're very easy to carry. So, yes, the battery thing is a weakness, but it's a manageable issue. And this is such a great camera. I I think I'll always own one, and it's just perfect for street photography. So the battery and the dust, yeah, there could be an issue, but easily manageable. I hope that's answered your question, Nigel. And we have one more question. This is from Andy, who lives in Venice, and I know who shoots lots of great black and white work there. Over to you, Andy.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Hi, this is Andy. I live in Venice, and I'm interested to know from Brian. Brian's been coming to Venice for many, many years now and taking street snaps. How do you keep it fresh? What are you looking for every time you come? Are there any areas of Venice that you've not visited yet that you would like to? And what new projects are you working on? I'm on monochrome Venice at monochrome. If anybody wants to check out some of my stuff. Thanks.

Workshops Group Reset And Festival

Final Thoughts And Contact Details

SPEAKER_01 39:27

Okay, I know this is specific to Venice, but you could apply much of what I think I'm gonna say to any location. So, firstly, having seen pretty much everything there is to see in Venice, I think, I have a reasonable idea of where I need to go to get what I need to get. So it really comes down to projects. I know that if I had to rely purely on spontaneous moments, I'd spent way too much time being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I'd need to get lucky a lot of the time. So I go where I need to go for specific projects. For example, one of those projects is all about the Disneyfication of Venice, where everything is tourist related, where you've got tourists doing tourist things, generally looking pretty awful, being disrespectful to the city and its locals. And this project is all about Venice selling its soul to tourism, I guess. So for this project, I can stack the odds in my favour. If I have a bright sunny day, I'll go to the tourist hotspots where I know I'm going to find them, like Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, all the predictable places. Another example, another project I'm in the middle of, is all about the island of Judeca, which is that long strip of land opposite the main island. And I find that on Judecca there's a feeling of detachment and remoteness, although it is part of Venice, and it's only a few minutes away by boat from the city centre. It does feel like a different land. There are no tourists there, just locals. And you have just have this feeling of very slow-paced local life. So I'm shooting this one in black and white, and it's a bit more austere as a project. So if I have a wet or foggy day, it's ideal for this project. I'll go to Judecca. So as for keeping it fresh, there's really no need to even think about that. I find that Venice has a surprise for you round every corner, and there's just so much to absorb everywhere you look. So Venice kind of keeps itself fresh, and you asked about areas I've not visited, and what new projects. Well, I can combine these two points in the same response, I think. I'm desperately keen to explore some of the outlying islands. Maybe some of the uninhabited ones, or certainly the ones that tourists tend not to bother with. I want to photograph the clam fishermen, the agricultural workers, the bars only the locals know about, the marshland seascapes, and all this stuff. Now I'm just starting to research all this now, and once I've got a plan, I'll get out there and do some real exploring. And who knows, I might actually turn this into a workshop for next year. Watch this space. Another place I've not visited much is the island of Murano, a five-minute boat ride away. Sure, I've been to the main parts where all the furnaces and the glass places are, but it's actually quite a big island, bigger than you might think. And I'd love to get myself round it all, certainly to the parts where the tourists don't go. And maybe do a project about the the Muranese, the locals. But that's a bit further down the track. I'll probably get there this year and spend a few days there. We'll see. So that's it for today's questions. If you have a question for the show, just grab your phone. You know all this already. Grab your phone, record a short message saying your first name, where you're from, and then your question, and then if you want to, add your Instagram handle at the end, then just email me the clip. Time for some news. And well, we'll start with some news from me, and I've just launched a new workshop, and this is a Leica-specific one. You might be surprised to know. So I've been wanting to do this for a while, and when someone asked me if I was going to do one, well, that was the trigger. So here it is. This is a workshop for Leica users, and it covers all Leica cameras, but it was designed primarily with the M system in mind. And it's basically a street photography workshop in London, but with the emphasis on getting the most out of your Leica for street photography, and particularly getting to grips with zone focusing. This is something that troubles a lot of people, and I think you people will end this workshop having. Really mastered it. That's the aim. However, the workshop sold out within a few hours. But if there's enough interest, I'll add another date. But I need you to let me know. So please ping me a message if you think you might be interested and I'll look at this again. Now some of you were probably members of a Facebook group called the Street Snappers Community. Not the collective, but the community, a public group. Two separ very separate things, but both run by me. So the community grew to about 8,400 members. But the problem was that hardly any of those members ever engaged or participated in any way. And this irked me slightly. So I'm closing that group down this weekend, and I've started another group, a new group, to take over, and it's called Street Snappers Worldwide. This is essentially a critique group where you can post images and get some quality critique and feedback, not from random idiots who say awesome capture to everything, but good, constructive, honest, frank, focused critique. You'll also find in the group shared articles, discussions, links to films, lots of other street-related, street photography related stuff. Now, if you are a member of the old group, you've got a few days or maybe a day to, if you want to, to get over to the the uh Street Snappers Worldwide group. This new group is all street, no landscapes, no architectural shots, no wildlife, certainly no weddings. It's open to all to join, and I'd love to see you there. Just search for Street Snappers Worldwide on Facebook. I mean Facebook. I'll pop a link in the show notes for you. Finally, it's almost time for the Dublin Street Photography Festival. Again, I can't believe where it was a year ago since the last one. So this takes place over the first weekend in May, the Maybank holiday weekend, in fact. This is a long weekend of street photography fun. You'll see some stunning images in various exhibitions. There are workshops, walks, talks, and lots of Guinness. What's not to like? And if you fancy doing a trip to Dublin later in the year, I've got a few spaces left on my one-day workshop at the beginning of October. So I'll provide a separate link for that in the show notes. Well that just about wraps up today's episode. If you have any ideas or requests for topics for future episodes, uh, and your questions, of course, just drop me a line. Brian at streetsnappers.com. Now let's get out there into that lovely sunshine. Maybe do some shooting. Bye for now.