Seeing East Kilbride Through a Photographer’s Eyes
Localism
In my previous blog, The Future of Photography, I talked about the changing world of photography and the incredible technology that is now available to photographers. Cameras are becoming more sophisticated, phones are becoming remarkably capable, and artificial intelligence is beginning to play an increasingly significant role in the creation and editing of images. But while thinking about the future of photography, I kept coming back to something much simpler.
What we choose to photograph.
There is an enormous amount of emphasis these days on travelling to spectacular locations to find the perfect photograph. Social media is full of beautiful beaches, dramatic mountains, exotic cities and famous landmarks. These places are undoubtedly worth photographing, and I love photographing new places myself. It got me started wondering whether we sometimes overlook the places that are right on our doorstep.
That is where my idea of Localism comes in.
For me, Localism is about looking at your own surroundings with fresh eyes. Instead of always searching for the next spectacular destination, why not explore the place where you actually live and see what photographs are waiting to be discovered?
So, rather than simply talking about the idea, I decided to put it into practice.
I took my camera out for a field trip around East Kilbride.
You Don't Have to Travel to Find Photographs
East Kilbride is somewhere I know extremely well. I've lived and worked here for many years, and like most people who live somewhere for a long time, there are places that become almost invisible.
You drive past the same buildings.
You walk the same paths.
You use the same roads.
You know where everything is, so you stop really looking at it.
That is one of the strange things about photography. When we travel somewhere new, we suddenly become incredibly observant. We notice architecture, textures, signs, reflections, interesting shapes and unusual details. We take photographs because everything feels unfamiliar.
Yet when we are at home, we can walk past something potentially interesting every day without ever considering photographing it. The purpose of this field trip was therefore quite simple.
Could I look at East Kilbride as though I had never seen it before?
Exploring My Own Town
With that in mind, I set off with my camera to explore some of the places around East Kilbride that I might normally take for granted.
I wasn't looking for one particular photograph. I wasn't searching for a postcard view or a famous landmark. Instead, I wanted to see what caught my attention as I walked. That meant looking at buildings differently, paying attention to the way light fell across familiar places and noticing details that might normally disappear into the background.
One of the great things about a photographic field trip is that you don't necessarily know what you are going to photograph before you leave. You might have an idea of where you are going, but photography is full of little discoveries.
The weather can change.
The light can suddenly appear.
Something can catch your eye that you have walked past a hundred times.
A reflection can transform an ordinary scene.
And sometimes you simply have to stop and look.
Photographing the Familiar
One of the things I particularly wanted to explore was the idea that a photograph doesn't have to be spectacular to be interesting. We can become so accustomed to seeing incredible landscape photographs online that it is easy to believe that photography needs mountains, beaches or dramatic sunsets to be successful.
But photography is really about seeing.
An ordinary building can become interesting because of its shape.
A pathway can become interesting because of the shadows.
A puddle can become a reflection.
A familiar piece of architecture can look completely different in different weather.
The subject doesn't necessarily have to change.
Our way of looking at it does.
That is perhaps the most important lesson of Localism.
East Kilbride as a Photographic Subject
East Kilbride may not be the first place that people think of when they think about Scottish photography, but that is precisely why I find it interesting. There is a mixture of architecture, green spaces, woodland, public art, residential areas, older buildings and newer developments. There are contrasts between the original town and the constantly changing environment around it.
And because East Kilbride is changing, photography can also become a record of the town.
Buildings come and go.
New developments appear.
Spaces are redesigned.
Trees grow and landscapes change.
Things that seem completely ordinary today may become surprisingly significant in the future.
That is one of the reasons I think local photography is worth doing.
You aren't simply taking photographs of where you live.
You are creating a visual record of it.
Looking With Fresh Eyes
One of the biggest challenges during the field trip was trying to forget what I already knew. If you live somewhere for years, you develop a mental picture of it. You know which buildings are there and which roads lead where. You stop questioning what you see because it has become familiar.
Photography gives us an excuse to question it again.
What happens if I stand here instead?
What does that building look like from behind?
What happens if I photograph it in different light?
What happens if I get closer?
What happens if I step back?
What does it look like in a photograph rather than simply in real life?
These are simple questions, but they are at the heart of photography.
And they are exactly the kind of questions I encourage my students to ask when we go on our own photography field trips.
A Field Trip Is About More Than Taking Pictures
One of the reasons I enjoy taking photography students out on field trips is that photography becomes very different when you leave the classroom. You start to see people approaching the same subject in completely different ways.
One person might be fascinated by architecture.
Another might notice colour.
Someone else might be looking for patterns or reflections.
Another photographer might be concentrating on people, wildlife or the changing light.
There isn't necessarily one correct photograph.
That is what makes photography so interesting.
We can stand in exactly the same place, look at exactly the same thing and come away with completely different images.
The camera simply records the decision that each photographer makes.
Localism and the Future of Photography
This is where my idea of Localism connects back to my previous blog about The Future of Photography.
Technology is going to continue changing photography. There is no doubt about that.
But no matter how clever our cameras become, they cannot decide what matters to us.
They can help us capture an image.
They can help us process it.
Artificial intelligence can even generate images that never existed in the real world.
But there is still something uniquely human about standing somewhere, looking around and deciding:
"That's the photograph I want to make."
That is why I believe the creative decision remains ours and perhaps Localism is simply another way of reminding ourselves of that.
The Challenge
So my challenge to photographers is quite simple. Before you plan your next photographic adventure somewhere hundreds of miles away, take your camera for a walk around your own area.
Don't worry about whether the location is famous.
Don't worry about whether anybody else has photographed it.
Don't worry about whether it will get thousands of likes on Instagram.
Just look.
Look at the buildings.
Look at the streets.
Look at the parks.
Look at the details.
Look at the things you normally walk past.
Try to see your own town as though you are visiting it for the first time. That is what I tried to do on my East Kilbride field trip.
I wasn't trying to prove that East Kilbride is the most spectacular place in Scotland.
I was trying to prove something much more interesting.
Photographs are everywhere.
Sometimes you just have to slow down enough to see them and perhaps that is the real idea behind Localism.
You don't always need to travel further to find better photographs.
Sometimes you simply need to look closer.
If this field trip has taught me anything, it is that I still have plenty more of East Kilbride to discover.
The creative decision is yours.
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