From North Wales to Noir: Street photography with Neil Johansson

Prague is calling, my bag is getting packed, and I’m thinking about the kind of street photography that actually says something about modern cities. Over-tourism is one of those subjects that’s both visually rich and slightly grim: tacky souvenir shops, tourist menus, crowded streets, and a place that starts to feel like a theme park for weekenders. It’s great for photographs, but it raises bigger questions about what gets lost when a city becomes a product. 

Before I hit the road, I sit down with Neil Johansson, a street photographer I’ve watched grow for over a decade. Neil is a passionate amateur with a seriously distinctive eye: conceptual, often abstract, and strongly rooted in black and white. We talk about how his work took shape, from early photography at school through a key Royal Photographic Society competition result and the Goldsmiths International Urban Photography Summer School. We also get into influences done properly: taking inspiration from photographers like Saul Leiter and Daido Moriyama, plus cinema and art, while still making images that feel like yours rather than a tribute act. 

You’ll hear practical, grounded ideas on finding your voice, shooting without an agenda, and why long-term projects can be the difference between coming home empty-handed and building real bodies of work. Neil shares what he’s working on now, how he thinks about zines and books, why competitions can be a numbers game, and how printing changes your relationship with your own photographs. We even detour into camera collecting, Ricoh GR love, and the pull of monochrome. Subscribe, share the show with a photographer friend, and leave a review telling us what you’re shooting next.

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LINKS FROM TODAY'S SHOW:

Neil's Instagram

Neil's website

StreetSnappers workshops

Transcript

Welcome And What’s Coming Up

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome on aboard! Hello Street Snappers and welcome to episode 11 of the Street Photography Podcast with me, your host, Brian Ducket. The feature item in today's episode is an interview with a street photographer who I really rate. He's not a household name yet, but I think many of you may well recognise his work.

Italy Reset And Prague Over-Tourism Project

SPEAKER_00 0:40

I've just got back from a holiday in Italy, where else? And as usual, trying to get back to some kind of normal rhythm. But that rhythm is about to be shattered in a few days, actually tomorrow now, because I'm on the road again, this time to the splendid city of Prague for a workshop. And as usual, I built in uh a bit of time for myself either side of the workshop to shoot my own stuff. Uh I try not to shoot my own stuff during workshops generally. Uh I just don't think it's very fair on the paying clients if I spend all my time shooting my own material. So I build in a couple of days either side for my own stuff, and I got a couple of projects on the go in Prague as usual. I'm hoping to get one of them finished this week, but who knows. And this one's all about tourism, or over-tourism particularly, or even alcourism as it's sometimes called. And you could say it's the the Disney Vacation of Prague. Tacky souvenir shops, tourist menus, the naff attractions, loads of stagnant hen parties and drunk people. It's all very good for street photography, but I do feel a bit sorry for the locals who just just see their beautiful city being destroyed by all the cat crap. So today's episode will be a slightly shorter one as I'm caught with only a few days between Italy and Prague, but I'm keen to stick to the fortnightly format for this show and not miss a week. Anyway, enough of the rambling, let's get straight in today's interview.

Meeting Neil And His Backstory

SPEAKER_00 2:19

And I'm talking to Neil Johansson today, who, like most of you I guess, is a passionate amateur street photographer. I've known Neil for I reckon 11 years, when he came on his first workshop with me, which was in Liverpool, and I think it was in 2015. But during these 11 years, I've watched Neil grow as a street photographer, and he's one of those people you just know good things are gonna happen to. So Neil, it's great to see you and and hear you, and thanks ever so much for doing this. I've been wanting to do this with you for a a long time. We've known each other for a long time, and uh, you know, I think you're the you're the the the the the kind of perfect example of a street photographer in many ways that you've you know you came from kind of almost nowhere really, but you've made it work for you and you've done it in your own unique way. And I I just think so many people would be interested to to hear about your story and how you made it all happen. So where where are you from? You're from North Wales, aren't you?

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Yeah, I I live in a town called Rill uh in Denver. It's kind of um an old seaside town.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

And do you do you get it? Uh is it the kind of seaside town where you can do some Martin Parr type seaside stuff? I guess that's not really your bag though, is it?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

It's not my bag, no. I think you can do, but it's quite small. I mean, it's almost like a mini, a small blackpool, a smaller scale blackpool than away, but it it's not that's not my bag, no. And I think I think my well, for my mind, Martin Parr did it brilliantly anyway. So it's trying to recreate that is not something that I'd want to do anyway, but yeah, it's it's possible, I suppose.

Early Photography Roots And First Cameras

SPEAKER_00 4:05

So how how did you first get just leaving street photography aside for a minute, how how did you first get into photography generally? What was the what was the key moment for you?

SPEAKER_01 4:15

I did it, I'd sort of messed around. I did it in high school and I took photography from A levels and I sort of started there a little bit. I did I even did some portrait work back then, which is uh from my classmates, but I never sort of but I only really I didn't really get into it until after university, after I came back from university, then I started mainly. But I guess it's A-level is definitely the the beginning. It's just well it's just kind of like a slow build kind of thing. It's sort of the seed was definitely A-level, but it's sort of just built up slowly over a long period of time.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

So are you the did you start with film or are you of an age where you started with digital?

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Digital. But I have shot film since then, but I started digital.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

What was your first camera?

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Panasonic FZ5. It's like an old abridged camera, I still have it. And I think I got it as a Christmas present or a birthday present when I started to take photography seriously. I think up until that point I'd been borrowing compacts and things like that. So that was my third real camera. I loved it. I did I did take some good shots of it.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

And you you still got it, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Yeah, yeah.

The Competition That Sparked Street

SPEAKER_00 5:27

What was your entry point into street photography then? When when did this all start to happen for you and how?

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Well, I started again, it's like the period after I came back home from university and I started. I basically just started shooting with my with my cameras, started to get more cameras at that point. I just I didn't have any agenda when I went out. I just took photos of white light and it slowly evolved into sort of a more street-based approach. And then I won a comp I I did very well with a competition, a Royal Photographic Society competition, where I got a silver medal, second place, and I won a place on Goldsmith's International Urban Photography Summer School. That was back in 2014, and that's when it really started. And then about a year later I did one of your workshops in Goma. That was in 2015, and then it sort of just kept building and building.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Yeah, great. I mean, Goldsmiths is quite I mean, it's quite an impressive institution, isn't it? Is it part is it part of part of London University, isn't it? Goldsmiths.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah. I think it focuses on the arts and things. And I think I was even tempted to do um a master's down at some point in photography, urban photography.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

But I know that would have been great. I remember Goldsmiths when I was a student, I was a student at uh at Greenwich, and we used to go to go to Goldsmiths on a Wednesday night for the Wednesday night disco. And there was a nurse's home next door, and all the nurses used to go as well. So we had a fantastic Wednesday night. But anyway, that's that's we won't talk about that much more.

Defining Style And Using Influences

SPEAKER_00 7:01

So how would you describe your style? I mean, I I know your style, you and it's it is distinctive. How would you do it? How would you put it into words, Neil?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

I think the main, I think it's mostly aesthetic, definitely. There's a large degree of aesthetic approach to it. But I think it's it's it's difficult to say. I think it's more than that. There's something I'm just I focus on, it's difficult to describe, but I think the most, I think the closest thing is that I'm aesthetically based. But I do think there's other elements in there that make contribute to it. And I I've been thinking about this, because you never I I don't, I mean I do see I have a style of sorts, but I think it's easier for other people to recognise that than yourself sometimes. I don't know. So but I'd definitely say I'm more I'm more I'm interested in the image itself, the actual does it look? I've I've just it's like an instinct I have. I want I know I want to try and get it a certain way, but it's kind of distinctive.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yeah, but that's a good way to put it, an instinct. Because I've I've been out shooting with you, and you just see something that other people don't see, and then you you just nail it and turn it into something really good. And I think there's often an an element of abstract about it, isn't there?

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Oh yeah, I think it's like I do, I mean it's sort of a lot of my street doesn't actually have people in it. I'm I'm open to sort of a broader, a broader approach, and I think a lot of that's to do, you know, I do have an arty sort of artistic, more artistic back then to an artistic background to, you know, my that's where sort of my interests lie. I've kind of not just influenced by photographers but by artists as well as a whole, I'd say.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Yeah, and that that that shines through. I mean, I the what one way I describe it is very conceptual. And we we'll give people links so they can see your work towards the end, and I think that will help put it into into focus for them. So if you were to draw parallels between your work and well-known street photographers, who who would come into mind? And don't be bashful here.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

I think there's a couple I can think of straight away. Saw lighter, I think some of my are definitely parallels, I think, for some of my work. And then Dado Moriama, because I love his black and white. That was definitely when I discovered him, that was a massive influence. But then more sort of recent photographers I've seen I found inspiration from Olga Karlovak and Giacomo Brunelli, great black and white photographers. I love that work, and I've really inspired by that the work. I think, particularly with you know, Volga's sort of blurred ICM kind of stuff. I've tried to loosen some of my stuff, you know, you don't have to have everything in focus sometimes. And I think that's quite just trying different techniques.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

I think you know, that's yeah, you're you're quite an experimentalist, aren't you? As I think were all those people you mentioned. And I think with with Saul Lighter, a lot of people try to emulate Saul Lighter. And if you look at Instagram now, it's full of it. But they all look very much the same. I think the mistake a lot of people make is hone in on somebody like Saul Lighter. And instead of trying to make it their own, they just try to imitate what he's done. And I think you do the opposite of that. You take influences, but you make it your own. Is that a fair comment?

SPEAKER_01 10:22

I hope oh, I'd like to think so. I think you know, I say it's trying to put myself in there, you know, it's what I'm interested in, because I don't see that I mean, there is, I think, a value in looking at other people's work for influence. It's just you don't want to try and copy them completely. You do want to put something of yourself into it. But when I think of it in terms of art, you have people like you know, the artists, they always studied the old masters, they even copied, reproduced in their own style of the old masters' work, and that that's kind of the way I'm you know thinking my approach is with some streets sometimes, but with photography, you can't do that, you can't copy it precisely. I mean, for an example, I did go to London to a place where Matt Stewart took a couple of good photographs as a particular particular picture on the front of street photography now with a pigeon and I think there's feet, people's feet, and it it's so well balanced. Now I knew I wasn't gonna replicate that shot entirely, but I went there and I got different shots because that I was inspired by that image. So that that's the way I see I see things really in that.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Yeah, it's interesting. So thinking

Why Black And White Feels Right

SPEAKER_00 11:36

I I I know a lot of you all work very well, and the the first thing that comes to mind is black and white monochrome. Why black and white? What what's the attraction over colour for you?

SPEAKER_01 11:47

I I think I've got me. I mean, mainly I think it's influential influential black and white films that really sort of started that out. I love my favourite black and white film of all time, it's a razor head by David Lynch. And I like the aesthetic of it, the feel of it, the atmosphere. I just think I do do colour, and I think it's colour's great for certain shots of mine or only working colour, but my preference is always going to be for black and white. I just feel I think you know, it feels like there's more soul or meaning to it. I think and I think there are a couple of quotes. I think Elliot Irwit said something about colour is descriptive, black and white is interpretive. I think he said something along those lines.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah, that's a really good quote, isn't it? I think, yeah. So you say d David Lynch was an inspiration. What about other directors? People like Kubrick. Do you relate to him in any way?

SPEAKER_01 12:42

A little bit, but I think it's something I mean, I have seen a lot of Kubrick's work, and I love his The Killing was an early film noir by Kubrick, and that's great. But I think I've a lot of those films I came late, I saw later on, The Razorhead I saw sort of fairly early on, and that's sort of stayed with me. And I'm just I've been completely hooked by David Lynch's work since. I mean, there are other films Black and White, the Ellie Noir stuff that I've had I've just gone through, and there's so much amazing work out there. But Lynch has really sort of really caught me caught, you know, just captured my imagination.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Yeah. And you you you seem to be one of these people who can somehow draw really stylish images out of the most mundane locations and situations.

Seeing Beauty In Mundane Places

SPEAKER_00 13:34

And I know people give their IT for that. What what's your secret? How how do you do that?

SPEAKER_01 13:39

I've been thinking about this myself, but I think even before I was had a camera or hold held a camera when I was young, I was always looking and watching things. I mean, fiat and um I I always used to sort of watch everything around me. I even threw started drawing roads and things when I was younger. I kept a load of drawing. So I've I've always had this eye for looking at stuff that other people overlook. It's sort of always been there. And I've just kind of kept that up to date, kept going with it, and been inspired by other other photographs, other films and things. It's just kind of built up an internal sort of visual aesthetic, an internal visual library of things that I'm drawn to, and I just it's just built up over time. I don't I it's hard to describe, but I think that's probably the best way, really. Um Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

I I get the impression that you you found your voice fairly early on in the process, and it didn't take you long. I mean, you know, you're you're a young guy now. So I I I get the impression you you were starting to find your voice quite early on in the

Finding Your Voice By Shooting

SPEAKER_00 14:42

journey. How what advice would you give to somebody who is struggling to find their voice? Because this is a really common problem. What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_01 14:50

I think it's important to look at things other than photography. It's obviously if you have photography, you want to be sh photographing all the time. I would go out there without an agenda. I would just take photographs as often as possible, but not worry about projects at first, just keep photographing. That's how I did it. And oddly enough, I don't feel like I've I think is you always develop and grow as you go along anyway. It's not something that's gonna stop. You know, you just keep moving. But the important thing is to keep shooting. I think that's the best advice anyone can give anyone. That's advice I was certainly given. You know, shoot first, ask questions later is the way I put it. Because you know, if you're too worried about it at the time, oh, should I or shouldn't I? You're not gonna take the shot.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

No, that's good advice.

Long-Term Projects And Working In Series

SPEAKER_00 15:38

So, what are you currently working on? Well, let's talk projects for a minute. Now, I I know that you know that I feel very strongly about projects, and that projects are a big driver for me, and I know this the same it can be said of you. So, what what are you currently working on? Give us a flavor.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

I have a few long-term ones. I think most of mine are open-ended. They all are pretty much open-ended because I feel like you might get the perfect shot for your project anytime. So I think it's uh I mean the ones I'm working on now include sort of noir, which is inspired street photography inspired by film noir, basically. And then I've got Within Without, which is sort of slowed down a bit, but I haven't stopped it because I still might end up doing a lot more on that, and that's basically documenting empty shops on the high street, capturing reflections. It's almost like a documentary, in a way, on that one. And then I'm doing things like Lacuna is an unusual one. It's sort of not, it doesn't, it's not just street, but it encompasses a lot of things. It's kind of like all the shots that don't fit into my other projects. I I kind of have a project for that. A few identity obscure is one is a good one that I'm doing again. Some of these some of these I get shots pretty much all the time, and some of them it's every so often. But identity obscure is people's faces obscured by either things on on plastic bush shelters and things like that. So they're obscured. There's a few others as well. But I it's always good to have multiple projects because then if you go out, you're gonna get something for them. That's the way I look at it. And that's I mean, that's the probably the best thing I learned from you with the projects. I think that's really sort of been a big help.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Yeah, I'm I'm glad that's stuck with you because it is so important, isn't it? And as you say, if if you if you're working on four, five, six projects, maybe more, you're always gonna find something. You'll never be shorted material. You know, all we hear of these people saying that I went out yesterday, couldn't find anything to shoot. If they were working on projects, they probably would. So it it is a game changer in that sense.

Turning A Project Into A Book

SPEAKER_00 17:47

And what are any of these about to crystallize into books or zines or exhibitions or anything?

SPEAKER_01 17:54

I think Lacuna will be. I'm working well, I I've got quite a lot of work for Lacuna, and I'm gonna do a book on that. But I've been figuring out ways of doing it, but I think the best way is probably to do it myself and have a limited amount. I did have an op an opportunity not long ago, but it didn't work out costs. I'm just working out because I want to keep the cost down for people that want people to buy this. But I'm thinking hopefully the book once I do it, it'll probably be in a £20 category kind of thing. Because I think that's kind of the the other the one I uh the opportunity I lost, they would have charged £100 a book, which is just excessive. It needs to be it needs to be priced, but I've got enough work to do a book for Lacuna, definitely enough strong images. So I'm very I'm taking time, but I want to get it right.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah, and I think you're right to do that. And I I've seen quite a few pictures from this project, I think, lacuna, and it definitely deserves to be a book. It needs to be a book. I think you're right to wait until you can do something that is really good quality. And it's an art book, isn't it? That you it it's not like a regular photo book that a lot of people produce. I think you it's it has to be a step above that because it's your first book. You know, you've got a bit of a name out there. It's got to be right, hasn't it?

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Okay, so what about exhibitions

Competitions And The Role Of Luck

SPEAKER_00 19:17

then? I mean, every time I uh look at Facebook or Instagram or something, I see your your name's popped up and that you've entered an award or you've picked up some kind of accolade. What's your secret there? How is it did you play the numbers game or do are you very selective? How do you play the exhibitions thing? Sorry, the the competitions thing.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

It's basically luck, really. I mean, I I've done well. I I think that part of it's luck, definitely. It's just because for it's just a matter of taste, and you might just hit upon the right judge for your work. It's sometimes you can't really predict it. So it is, I think, as well, like you say in the numbers game. I try to enter as much as I can, but obviously cost is a factor. You have to take advantage. Sometimes you can get three entries and things like that. So I do take advantage of that. But it's just being specific and making sure I'm entering my best work, you know, my best pro because sometimes you can enter single images, but I think for me, the strongest way is entering series. Not to say I don't have strong individual images, but most of the comps, you know, I think I've done well in have been based on the series rather than the things that women. But you know, it's just it's it is a lot of it is luck. You just hit you know get it at the right time. I've played I've done plenty where I haven't gotten anywhere, but it's not, it's just the thing. The main thing is just to keep continuing, really.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

It's interesting, isn't it? Exhibitions, I think they they polarize opinion a little bit. Sorry, not I keep saying exhibitions when I mean competitions. Competitions, they they polarize opinion a bit. And you look at some of the you know, some of the big competitions and look at some of the winning images. And I don't know about you, but I look at them and think it's not really all that good.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Yeah, I mean, I know there was a a guy on um YouTube looking at all the entries in the competitions, and it and it's quite interesting to see his his thoughts on them. And he's I think I do agree in some cases, you know, but again, it's just a matter of taste, and and I think it's like the there's fashions in it as well. I think there's certain types of images that are in fashion and there's things like that. There's a few facts, I think. But I think it's important not to be disheartened by it. You never know when you, you know, you just never know. But it's hard to say exactly, but sometimes there's always going to be the same. There's always gonna be some shots that are as good as others getting through.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

But so what what about prints,

Printing At Home Versus Labs

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Neil? Is is there a role for the printed image in in what you do? Do you do your own printing? Do you sub it out to labs or do you do you not print?

SPEAKER_01 21:45

I do a bit. I do a bit. I I think it's a bit both. I print stuff at home, but it's only I don't have an A3 printer, so it's kind of like A4 or smaller, really. And I do do that. I've got like my books, I keep printing out some of my. pictures it's just so I can do my project book so it's quite nice to have it not just on a phone but to physically look at my work it's quite nice but on the left of the prints for exhibitions and stuff it's I either well if the exhibitions and competitions either the competition covers it or I I send out and get them the prints specially made elsewhere because they're usually going to be A3. So yeah it's a bit a bit of a mix mix mixture.

SPEAKER_00 22:26

Yeah I mean I I love printing I just think the you know the tactile the experience of holding your picture in your hands as you say is far better than looking at it on a phone or a screen. And I bought recently an Epson Ecojet printer. EcoTank Epson Eco Tank 8550 I think and this prints to A3 it wasn't expensive. I don't spend a lot of money on printers and it's really cheap to run. I can't believe how many prints I can make out of a set of inks and it it's great for black and white it's uh I saw it at the photography show a couple of years ago and they were demoing it and I said demo it with black and white for me. And they did and it was fantastic and you know I've always been put off by the the the cost of ink but this is like a tenth of what you would pay if you had those little expensive cartridges with chips in it takes kind of full size like little mini milk milk bottles full of ink. It's fantastic.

Solo Shooting And Shooting With Friends

SPEAKER_00 23:23

So thinking about the the shooting process itself when when you're out there on the streets Neil are you a solo shooter? Do you prefer company? How does it work for you?

SPEAKER_01 23:35

I think it's a bit of both really I I mostly shoot on my own it's it's just easier to get shots and I think too many people it in a way it's a different experience because if you on your own you can just have complete freedom where you're going and when you're shooting but if you're with someone you have to sort of go with the flow a bit but again you get shots that way as well. So I think there's value in both and I sort of I hang out with Tim Roberts quite a bit uh so we go shooting to sort of um places like Shrewsbury, Chester Liverpool all the time but I've gotten shots when I'm with out of Tim that I wouldn't have taken otherwise or because of the opportunity because of you know the way the way things work out. So having this value in both but I think maybe too many people it's it can become tricky but if it's like a couple of years I think you can have a really good experience.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

And you can drink a beer or two.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Oh yeah definitely I mean yeah we get all purposes of well so that's interesting in itself.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Okay so

Instagram As A Portfolio Tool

SPEAKER_00 24:34

very quick question here Instagram yes or no and why yeah I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantage of it.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

I think I've gotten a lot of hits lately so I think there's a visibility aspect to it that I like about it. I can post something if people you know eventually see it. And people have you know people have moaned about it but and it's and the slash thing with the hashtags and stuff but I um I'm okay with it as long as you know continue to just keep posting I'm not I mean I don't get many hits in on individual pitches it sort of goes up and down but I have had a a few more followers now so I think I'm basically getting a bit more visibility which is good. I just yeah it's just I think and it's great to see what I like it for is to see other people's work but you know there's so much on there it just takes the time to scroll through but sometimes you find it there's so much to view. I just think you've got to be careful how what you put on I'm trying to sort of sort my Instagram feed out down a bit a little bit but uh but at least you can do it's taking me time but I am whistling it down a bit.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

I was I I just found out I don't know if you know this but as from yesterday you can move around the images on your grid on Instagram so you can put your best ones so that they appear well you can change the order so that you know the one sits well next to its neighbors you can have some higher up the feed some lower up the feed and you just do a a a long press a long click on the image and you can shuffle them around. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_01 26:03

No I did not know that but that was I'll definitely look into that so that could be helpful.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

As of yesterday I think yeah for those of us who use Instagram as a little bit of an online portfolio I think that's a really good feature. Yeah I think that's got to be more flexible definitely so uh on on a slightly lighter note now I know that you're a keen collector of cameras Neil how many are in your collection

A 600-Camera Collection And GR Love

SPEAKER_00 26:28

now and which of those would you never give up?

SPEAKER_01 26:32

It's definitely in the 600 range. I think 621 as I last chat although I've added there's a few more I need to add to the list although to be fair to me I am planning to sort of do a little bit of reduction as well slightly reducing it but and being more circumspect but I think the main cameras I won't give up are my Rico GRs definitely I'm trying to collect the whole set of those but I'm a two role flexers but I think there's a few I won't give up but I'm having to be a little bit more circumspect with them. There's quite a few. Yeah it's just a nice thing though isn't it collecting cameras and you know when you've got a collection like that it's hard to get rid but I suppose you have to I mean there was a it started off not oddly enough I had an intention with it when I first started it because I found I kept seeing cameras in charge shops today and they had the SD cards in so that's why I picked up a lot of digital cameras early on because I'm found old photographs on these SD cards and that fascinated me and just look finding different things on them. So that was kind of where it all started but I've sort of it sort of developed into a massive obsession since then.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

That's quite interesting isn't it buying cameras and looking at what's on the SD card it's like people buying boxes of slides or negs and you you kind of don't know what you're getting. I I find that quite fun you you mentioned the Rico GRs. What about the GR mono version? Have you have you got one of those?

SPEAKER_01 27:59

That's a camera I want to get that's probably going to be my next camera and um I've been held holding back a little bit I just wanted to see how people got on with it but it looks great and uh I'll definitely buy one. At the moment I'm using a GR2 and I'm doing a lot of all my black and white shooting with that it it's fantastic. I went back to because I've got the GR3 as well but the GR2 has got a few things the GR3 doesn't have that I prefer so it's it's it's for me it's the perfect GR until I get the monochrome I suspect that's probably going to be a different beast entirely.

Favourite Places To Shoot And Venice

SPEAKER_00 28:33

So where where do you shoot Neil? I know you shoot in real way you live but what what's your kind of go-to location at the moment?

SPEAKER_01 28:40

Probably around the northwest I mean Chester Liverpool Shrewsbury I want I'm black landed now sort of the North Wales coast and northwest I'd like to do Blackpool more I've done that a couple of times because I think there's there's really good stuff up there and then I've got Venice is another place I like to go to when I can I think it's just um money but I'd like to go Venice more regularly and do a lot more black and white shooting there. It's it's perfect it's great. And finding places like that where it's so cinematic that's that's the key. But I think we've got a lot in this country that's pretty good as well.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

Yeah I think Venice in the winter would would really really suit you well and you you can do it on the cheap you know if you stay outside the heart of the city centre it can be done at a reasonable cost and the you know the flights are relatively cheap in November December January.

Dream Cameras And Monochrome Looks

SPEAKER_00 29:33

So yeah Venice would be great for you with Eureco and your style so what's what's your dream camera you know if if I gave you 10 grand now and said go on off you go what would you come home with?

SPEAKER_01 29:45

I think it's probably going to be the GR monochrome oddly enough the GR4 monochrome I think you know because I was thinking about the Leica Q3 monochrome and that that I have if I was give offered one I would say I wouldn't say no but I think the GR4 monochrome has got that compact it's a lot smaller than the Leica Q monochrome.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

So definitely yeah definitely yeah definitely and it's I think the the Rico's have have got yeah whether it's the monochrome or whether it's your gr2 I think they've got a a nice harder edge a contrastier look than the Leica's you know the Leica monochromes I think they can look a little a little bit too smooth and a bit too perfect whereas the Rico is you know it is really it's very Moriama isn't it it's very raw yeah I that's I like that quality to it as well I think there's a high contrast there's different filters on it but there's the high hard monochrome high contrast monochrome that's the one I use a lot and the JPEX I don't have to do much editing on them which is that's which is really good. Yeah I I use the I use the GL3 with the hard monochrome simulation or filter and you know the blue sky goes almost black.

Advice To A Younger Self

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Amazing so who would you most like to collaborate with on a project past or present if you're going to work together with someone somebody on a book who would it be or who would it have been well I mean I have to say the dream would have been someone like David Lynch but you know that that's that that that can't happen. But I think there are a couple of photographers you know out there that I'd love to to work with. I I think it's whether or not our styles would be complimentary or not you know I I've thought about this I just have don't know how it actually works how it works with collaboration because I'm so used to doing things my own you know my own I'm definitely open to it. I'm just curious as to how how actually a collaboration would work.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

Yeah I it's it's always something to think about isn't it? Yeah I'm sure there are plenty of people who you know you would have complementary skills and approaches that are sufficiently different but they would just work well together. Yeah I was I think it's really interesting doing that but it's it's just hard finding the right person to do it with. It's difficult. So going back in time Neil and and thinking back to the start of this this great journey what's the best bit of advice now that we you would give to your younger self?

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Try and tell the younger self not to worry and just keep taking photographs as lot as much often as you can. Because I think I have you know I do wonder whether I'm I do have you know when look at my work sometimes and you lose perspective and I just enjoy the process anyway now not worried as much but I think when I was younger I worried a lot more about am I any good at this is this where what can I do with this and I think I try and tell my younger self not to think about that too much and just go with what feels right and just you know photograph what you you know what you want to do. So I think part of the thing is I I want street it was immediate you know for me what I like about photography is immediate you should take a picture and you've got something that's kind of why one of the reasons I liked it. But I mean it was a lot of document I quickly realized that traditional documentary is not for me. Even though I'm doing projects and they are long term but I got more control over them but when there's documentary I respect the art form itself that the actual you know people like Don McCullen and Chris Killip and you know the amount the amount or the lengths some of them went to to get all those images. I just realized that wasn't for me. And I would say to my younger self that that that's not a bad thing. You know it's just different you know what not everyone it doesn't mean what I'm doing it's less so it's just different. I think that's probably the main main thing I would tell myself I think that's good advice.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

I think part of that comes with age and experience doesn't it you kind of relax into it and you don't overthink it as much yeah you you don't worry as much you know I think the younger we are the more we're concerned about what other people think as as as you know as as creative people am I good enough? Can I do this? What will people think? And we need to put all that out of our head and as you say just keep shooting and you know it it'll come right. I think that's great advice.

Future Goals And Where To Find Neil

SPEAKER_00 34:11

So what's the future for Neil Johansson? You know where is all this leading for you personally and what what are you going to look like in five or ten years time as a as a photographer?

SPEAKER_01 34:22

Hope I'd like to have and I could tell you I'd like to see I'd like to accomplish I'd like to have a solo exhibition somewhere at some point with my with with my best work. I don't know how that'll work out but it'd be nice and obviously have hopefully have a book or even a couple of books done by that. It's just little achievements that I feel that I can work on and hopefully and and hopefully it'll increase my visibility. Just rather than thinking I'm not sure and I'm sure I'll have different projects and things like that come up as well. So it's just but I don't know whether where this will actually all lead and as such it's just I've got things that I want to sort of tick off and do. I might even I'm I'd like to do a YouTube channel possibly at some point. Again it's just I'm thinking about how to do it to sort of stand out a little bit but have a lot of it's just thinking about not some oh you know I know I'll do it but I want to make sure I do it properly. And I think my unfortunately my thinking time at the moment is taken up by other things as well. So it's kind of that's why it's taking time to get around to doing these things but I do intend to do them.

SPEAKER_00 35:29

Okay. So finally Neil where where can we find you?

SPEAKER_01 35:33

Are there any web or social links you want to give out and obviously I'll I'll I'll put them in the show notes but it would be good to hear from you how you want people to discover you um my Instagram feed is at Sven804 that I'm often on Instagram that's probably the easiest way I do have a website with pixel rights as well and that you can message me there too. I'm on Twitter I mean my feed I'm on um X that's also Sven804 and threads and my website is Neil dash johanson dot pixelrights dot com.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Neil dash johanson at pixelrights dot com. Yeah it's actually dot pixelrights dot com sorry I've copied the web link here so yeah yeah so neil dash johanson dot pixelrights dot com yeah okay and your your social links is Zven S V E N 804. Yeah okay and what about I know you've produced several zines over in in recent years Neil are you still in still selling those can people buy those from you?

SPEAKER_01 36:38

Yeah I still have some here I've got my latest one that I've still got quite a few of those I think some of the others have sort of I know my lacuna zine has sort of mostly gone I'd have to do a reprint but I'm hoping to do a book of that anyway I am still working on more zines so probably end up doing more zines I should I had I haven't I didn't post them on Instagram but I probably should next time just to see more people would probably be more interested getting them I've kind of tried wanted to try and control the numbers see how you know just take it easy but I think maybe I will actually promote them a bit more than I have done. I was just sort of testing the wall well not testing the word but I just wanted to hold back a bit just to see how things go with it really. But if anyone's interested they can contact me I've still got I've got my latest one I've got quite a few zines with that left.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Okay. I mean I've I've I I can certainly vouch for them I I've got two or three of your zines and yeah I I would thoroughly recommend them for this you know this style of black and white conceptual aesthetic street photography you know it makes such a refreshing change from the sort of stuff that you often see of you know a silhouette of somebody walking past some offices and you know typical high contrast stuff that Instagram is full of and once you've seen one you've seen them all but your stuff isn't like that and for those who don't know you and haven't seen your work it's easy for people to fall into the trap of thinking that yeah all photographers who do this kind of stuff are all the same. But your your approach is just so different and it's really refreshing. So I hope people do discover you and find your zines and buy them and buy your books when they're when they're out there. So I think from from my point of view Neil that this wraps it up very nicely and I'd just like to say thank you for for coming along. I'm sure people would be really interested to to hear your story.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

Oh thank you for having me Brian I was you know I don't often get to talk about my photography like this so it's quite good. I haven't really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Yeah great okay so thanks again Neil that was fantastic and I'll see you on the street soon no doubt.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Yeah no problem thank

Prague Packing And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_01 38:51

you.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

That was Neil Johansson talking about his own very dedicated journey as a street photographer. And I'll pop the links to his work in the show notes below but uh briefly you can find him at Zven804 that's S V E N 804 on Instagram and threads and X and everything else. So now Prague Beckons I'll be taking my M11 and a 35mm lens with me and not much else. I do try to travel light on these trips I don't really want to be walking around with a big bag full of lenses and other stuff. So I've got to do some packing now which I absolutely hate because I always leave stuff behind. So I'll be back with you in around two weeks with the usual magazine style show. Bye for now.