Following is a selection of street portraits from my collection, to which I’ve added some brief insights. While I have photographed people from all walks of life around St. John’s, those encounters were usually a one-off and my relationship with others, whom I frequently met, has evolved. These are primarily characters about town and buskers.
Through years of taking over 2,000 portraits and spending countless hours editing, I’ve come to treasure the intricate uniqueness of people. A deep look is very revealing. It unveils the extraordinary way faces, style, and presentation come together to fashion a unique character.
My lighting preference is to work on a slightly overcast day. I usually judge my light by the shadow’s edge. I like a shadow with a soft, diffused edge. The shadow’s edge tells me the quality and direction of the light. I like the light positioned behind me over my shoulder. In composition, I like to frame people between a converging street and buildings. I also want to keep my subject’s head clean and not intersect with anything in the frame. Shooting with a telephoto lens helps me achieve this and a shallow depth of field helps me isolate my subjects so they are prominent in the frame. These are just some of the techniques I’ve come to use.
“The Torbay Road Mall Cowboy”
One of the reasons I keep doing this is because I want to take more portraits like this one of Russell. His face, his eyes and that wonderful smile. Nestling in the most beautiful portrait light imaginable. This is one of those days in 2014 when there were large snowflakes falling and narry a wind. I had a couple of days like that that year. After posting this online, many people told me they used to see Russell hang out at the Torbay Rd Mall and he often wore a cowboy hat, so they gave him that name. I haven’t seen him in many years, hope he is well.
Jon-marc and Sonja
During a snowstorm in January 2015, I met up with Sonja and her human Jon-marc. They hitchhiked from Quebec and I remember him telling me how hard it was to get across the island at the time. I can relate to that. I drove across Newfoundland during the winter back in the ’90s and I’m still shaking. Jon-marc messaged me a couple of years ago to tell me Sonja had died. She was a beautiful puppy. RIP Sonja.
Wayne
This is a powerful image for me, the strain in his eyes, the ice on his mustache! I photographed Wayne three times and this was the first time in 2014. We were outside Atlantic Place on Water St and I asked him if he wanted a coffee and a sandwich. We went to Starbucks inside, ordered, and the woman refused to take the money. She said someone had left some money behind the counter in case someone came in and couldn’t pay. Despite what you might see on social media, there are good people out there. I just had to share that. Wayne and his girlfriend loved the photo. He is such a soft-spoken man. I haven’t seen him in about 10 years. Hope he is well.
Theresa
I love this portrait of Theresa, which I shot in May 2023. I was apprehensive about asking her at first because I didn’t want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. She stopped to listen to one of our buskers, Wally, and I asked her. Wally spoke up for me and told her who I was. I have a very good relationship with our buskers downtown. You may have noticed this was shot in a harder light than I usually like; you can tell by the shadows. I try not to be too confined in the way I work. I shot a video that day. You can click on Theresa’s portrait to view it on YouTube.
My friend Winnie
You might know Winnie. She and her late husband, William, who I also photographed, own Chafe’s men’s clothing store on Water St. I usually photograph her every few years. On two occasions on cold winter days, when she saw me outside passing by, she called me into the store to give me gloves to wear so my hands don’t get cold. I’m happy to say she has copies of both her and William’s portraits. She’s a sweetheart. I hope to photograph her one more time before I give this up. This portrait was taken in 2016.
“Mr Whiskers”
I’ve photographed David several times. The first portrait was serious, but he soon showed his friendly side.This one time, I was walking towards him with a small print, a picture of him I had taken a year before (I held it so he could see it). He turned and looked at me and when he noticed his picture, the look on his face was priceless. He was so happy and I went away feeling good too. People at the Gathering Place call him Mr Whiskers.
“Harry Gentle Heart”
Harry was a regular downtown for many years. I photographed him many times and he was always soft-spoken, friendly, and smiling despite having a difficult life. A lot of people reached out to help him, but he declined. He lived his life on his terms. Harry died in February 2022 on one of those cold Newfoundland winter mornings that would take a bite out of you if you let it. His body was found on the bench where he slept at the National War Memorial in St John’s. RIP Harry.
“Ace”
I photographed Garfield several times over the years and I never found anyone more relaxed in front of the camera. Most people’s composure changes when you point a camera at them. Not Garfield, he’s as cool as a cucumber. I often give my regulars an 8×10 print, but Garfield was also after me for a framed one and I gave him that too (insert eye roll here). I should probably call this one “Three Aces”. He was fun to photograph. I haven’t seen him since 2019. Hope he is well.
Young Women
When I started, I had no intention of photographing young women. I didn’t feel comfortable asking them and more importantly, I didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable. Additionally, young women dominate many genres of photography as models. A walk through any magazine stand will tell you that. I was after something different. I was looking for people whose lives were written on their faces; to me, that meant mostly older men. Over time, that changed and now that this work is becoming known locally, I often come across young women want me to take their photo. I’m glad to say that to this day, I’ve had many nice encounters. Click on the photo to see a YouTube video “The Art of the Portrait“, photographing this gal and her friends.
Lucy’s Main Man
One thing I love to do is to photograph older men with those wonderful faces chiseled by time, so I usually take a walk by the taverns downtown. It used to be Fiddlers on Queen St, but since that closed, it’s Lucy’s on Duckworth St. I lived across from a tavern on Boncloddy St when I was a boy and the impressions of all the old fellas who went there to wet their whistles are still with me. Those men were my inspiration here. I photographed the owner of Lucy’s while I was downtown with the CBC. CBC Television did a piece on my work in 2022, which you can see on YouTube by clicking on his portrait.
“Beauty is vanishing from our world because we live as though it did not matter.”
Roger Scruton, Beauty.
