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\t\t\tSunlight blasts down Old Broad Street in the City of London<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Genesis of Exodus<\/strong> \u2018Lots of photographers were doing things like portraits through people\u2019s windows, some were doing empty streets, but for me I\u2019ve always been drawn towards the financial district with all this money and its glass Suddenly, I became aware of the fact that it\u2019s just security guards, cleaners, maintenance people and some construction workers in the City. One of the most expensive, built-up areas of London with billions of pounds-worth of real estate and it\u2019s just sitting there humming away to itself \u2013 servers and air-conditioning units all blowing away; all the lights are on, but nobody\u2019s there.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t A tour bus with a single passenger passes through London\u2019s financial district<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Changing times<\/strong> Quickly realising that his typical approach \u2013 working in fairly close-quarters with people as the main subjects \u2013 wasn\u2019t going to do the trick here, Nick decided to take a different and unusual direction. He purchased a Canon EOS 5DS R DSLR, now around five years old. It was the enormous 50-million-pixel count which drew him towards it.<\/p>\n\t\t Mark Lane in the City of London is bathed in green light reflected from a glass office block nearby<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n He also bought a 24mm tilt-shift lens, normally favoured by architectural photographers and used in a precise, measured way. He explains the decision, \u2018I had enough resolution and quality to see expressions and details from the camera, and then the lens allowed me to keep everything beautifully structured. I could put the horizon wherever I wanted in the picture, usually towards the bottom where the people were.<\/p>\n Then, the buildings would tower above them, making them look bigger and the people look smaller. The overall effect was to give that sense that the City has become deserted and there are just a few lone individuals passing through. Using the architectural lens has given the pictures quite a distinctive look.\u2019<\/p>\n Tricky tool<\/strong> \u2018I had to really retrain myself,\u2019 he says. \u2018The first time I started using it, I would compose my picture and while I was moving the horizon down, I\u2019d be tilting the camera to compensate! I had to be really rigid with it. When I\u2019m watching a scene now, I\u2019m waiting for people to walk in and be exactly in the place that I want them to be, but I also have one eye on the side of the frame, and how that is relating to straight edges in buildings.<\/p>\n\t\t A freshly cleared site off Fenchurch Street ready for a new development<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n In the first few weeks, I came back with quite a lot of pictures where I hadn\u2019t quite got it right \u2013 which because the lens is so precise doesn\u2019t take much. I\u2019ve got quite good at it now, though. It [the lens] was a bit of an investment, but it\u2019s allowed me to do something which has visually excited me with the results.\u2019<\/p>\n Those familiar with Nick\u2019s work will be aware that each of his projects has an internal uniformity to it. With Exodus, it\u2019s not only the tilt-shift lens aesthetic, it\u2019s the striking light which is the common thread. Another unusual tactic was utilised to take advantage of often sudden changes in the sun\u2019s position.<\/p>\n \u2018The city looks amazing when it\u2019s lit beautifully because of all the glass and everything,\u2019 Nick says. \u2018I used an electric scooter to get about very quickly. I\u2019d arrive at London Bridge station in the morning, cross over the bridge and whizz around the financial district Square Mile. At first, I wouldn\u2019t take any pictures, I\u2019d be just looking for where the light was brilliant at that time. I\u2019d stop and work in that space for around half an hour until the light had moved. Then, I\u2019d jump on the scooter and find another spot. The light changes so quickly that even within about 10 or 15 minutes it can be completely different.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Beautiful reflected light bathes the ground behind the Gherkin in London\u2019s financial district<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Still street<\/strong> \u2018I was still working very much like a street photographer,\u2019 he explains. \u2018I always say that a street photographer doesn\u2019t know what they\u2019re going to photograph when they leave the house and until it\u2019s in front of you. Having done street photography for 30 years, one of the things I\u2019m interested in doing is expanding and experimenting with what the definition is.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think you have to use a Leica and a 35mm lens for it to be considered street. All of the pictures still have moments in them, which is what I love. I\u2019m not interested in photographs that I can come back tomorrow and take the same shot. Scenes don\u2019t interest me on their own, so although the people [in these] are secondary, they\u2019re still very important.<\/p>\n The set-up for this has essentially been like finding a beautiful stage which is perfectly lit, framing it well and then waiting for the \u201cactor\u201d to come and go. It makes the City look very cinematic, but I think controlling public spaces with a camera is what I\u2019ve always done with street photography \u2013 not directing them, but arranging them within the frame.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t A single passenger emerges from Cannon Street Station, which usually sees 22 million passengers per year<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n It would also be easy to assume that he\u2019d attracted some attention from the authorities while going about his business \u2013 but, a little surprisingly, Nick reports he wasn\u2019t stopped in relation to Covid at all. But those messages clearly do make him pause.<\/p>\n \u2018There were times when I\u2019d hear those announcements and I\u2019d think to myself \u2013 is what I\u2019m doing important enough to justify being here, doing this? But, I think as long as I\u2019m not putting anybody at any sort of risk, then I think actually making a record of this time is extremely important. For me, that\u2019s the reason why I take photographs in the first place.<\/p>\n I get a huge amount of enjoyment and pleasure at looking at pictures from 100 years ago, and I have my pictures in the Museum of London collection now. I hope that in 100 years\u2019 time, people will look back at the coronavirus pandemic in London, and the shots I recorded, and get a feel for what it was like. One of the biggest cities in Europe was deserted \u2013 and that is quite a strong motivation for most of the things I\u2019m doing.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t A lone woman passes down Fenchurch Street, usually a busy thoroughfare<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n As our conversation progresses, it\u2019s clear that having a project like this \u2013 as has been the case for a vast number of people \u2013 has been a real lifeline for Nick.<\/p>\n \u2018Getting through this pandemic without catching the virus is one thing, but also getting through it mentally is extremely important \u2013 just as important probably. There\u2019s a lot of stress on all us, and for me this [Exodus] has allowed me to be creative \u2013 I love making new things and exploring so I\u2019m grateful for that.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Old and new City buildings are put into perspective by a single passing figure on Moorgate<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n A new way forward<\/strong> Nick realises that these fundamental changes have huge potential for photographers in the future, and also says that Exodus itself is not quite a point where he\u2019s ready to move on to the next thing yet. He notes that it\u2019s interesting how a previous project, On the Night Bus \u2013 which focused on the amount of time we spend, or indeed waste, on commuting \u2013 dovetails nicely with this one.<\/p>\n\t\t Grand City architecture juxtaposed with a small passing figure in Queen Victoria Street in the financial district<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n \u2018A lot of people say that this has just expediated the direction we were already moving in. People are working from home and a lot of companies are functioning perfectly well like that,\u2019 he points out. Nick has been selling prints of Exodus, but he\u2019s very keen for it to gain more traction and potentially end up as a book.<\/p>\n He thinks it should take around a year (from the project\u2019s start date) for the work to be complete, so that he has a broad spectrum of different seasons and conditions to show, as well as having a more complete set of iconic buildings from the area. While we wait for that to potentially become a reality, you can see Nick\u2019s latest work on his Instagram page at Instagram.com\/the_nick_turpin.<\/p>\n About Nick Turpin<\/strong>
\nIt was while working in London \u2013 for Transport For London \u2013 at the start of the first lockdown that Nick had the initial idea for Exodus. He explains, \u2018I was one of a very few people who were out. I saw the environment, I saw the empty streets, and I thought it was striking, these will be historical times and they needed recording.\u2019 Keen not to produce the same kind of material as others pursuing similar avenues, Nick waited a little while to see how he could be different.<\/p>\n
\nand steel towers. \u2018Also, it was one of the busiest parts of London before lockdown.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/NT204978-600x400.jpg\")
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\nIt wasn\u2019t just lockdown that was causing changes to this area, though. Another big news story of the era had its part to play too. \u2018There was also Brexit to consider. I\u2019d read that some 7,000 workers had left the City already for other European capitals, so there\u2019s that change too. Some of my clients were telling me that they\u2019re never going to go back to office working, so altogether it made me want to explore the meaning of \u201cthe City\u201d and its role now.\u2019<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/NT206075-600x400.jpg\")
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\nAs anyone with any experience of using a tilt-shift lens will already know, they\u2019re not the easiest of tools to get to grips with. Manual focus, most photographers use them with a tripod, unlike Nick who was shooting completely handheld. It took practice to get the results he was looking for.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/NT202842-3-600x400.jpg\")
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\nDespite the obvious differences between these images and what might normally be typical for the genre, Nick very much still considers the Exodus project to fall within that street category.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/NT203844-600x400.jpg\")
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\nExodus may well be concentrated on a moment in time, but it\u2019s becoming likely that we may never fully return to old ways of doing things. Especially in areas such as London\u2019s financial district, which could be permanently changed by a new way of living and working.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/V5A7951-600x400.jpg\")
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\nNick has been working as a photographer for more than 30 years, including as a staff photographer for The Independent. In 2000 he founded the international collective of street photographers, In-Public, and currently lectures on contemporary street photography for a number of institutions. He has been exhibited numerous times and appeared in several books. Visit his website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
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