Pete Bedell

Photography is more influential on culture and society than ever since the advent of digitisation and the globalisation of telecommunications and the Internet. On the cultural side, the bulk of photographs today are quickly snapped using camera phones. Although billions are taken, I believe that the role they play is of little or no importance. I believe that when we describe our shared contemporary experiences in terms of a throw-away society we are not throwing such photographs far enough. Instead, they fill up social media space on networked platforms that amount to nothing but un-emptied trash bins.

My preference is for one-to-one interaction where another person understands why I want to take a photograph and what I expect or imagine will happen when I produce their image as a photograph that others will or might see. I value politeness and take care to establish well-informed consent from people I photograph. Methods used in candid or confrontational street photography, deployed for whatever reason, differ from my preferred methods, but I acknowledge my admiration for photographs produced using those approaches and believe a great many are culturally valuable.