Feeling a little nervous I approach an attractive woman on the streets of Deansgate, “Do you mind if I take your picture?” she was just about to light a hand rolled cigarette, the action of which, was what drew my attention to her in the first place… she looked confused. “I think you have a great look, and i’d really like to take your picture” at which point she smiled a huge smile and *SNAP!*

I wont lie, I was very much out of my comfort zone, I had hovered around for what seemed an age, and missed many opportunities to take her photograph. But giving myself the proverbial nudge was the point of the exercise. I’m very much new to street photography. Historically I’ve been more accustomed to having a compliant object or model in a controlled studio environment to photograph.

I’ve always been interested in Street Photography, but i’ve always felt it takes a particular kind of person with a particular kind of ‘attitude’ … As you can tell, from how this article started, i’m quite a polite and approachable kind of chap. The thought of taking a cheeky picture of someone feels almost ‘rude’ to me.

However, the more street photography I do, the more pressure I feel from getting that perfect composition. And when I say pressure, I mean that in the positive sense of the word. I want to push myself, I want to feel the adrenaline and the rush of seeing something and taking it!

My home town is Manchester, and I love it dearly. I love the colourful mixtures of cultures, ages, sexuality and sometimes just “out there’ness” (yes, I just made up a word) the ‘old meets new’ architecture is stunning, and i’m still blown away at how Hollywood thinks the Northern Quarter looks more like downtown Manhattan than, downtown Manhattan.

At the moment this is for a bit of fun, and who knows what will come of it in the future, but right now i’m learning more with every journey I take, and that is why I am using Manchester as my mini project.

These are my kind of people, the People of Manchester…