• How to meet your neighbours Ideas
TO FEEL MORE CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY, YOU COULD TRY TAKING PICTURES OF THE PEOPLE AND PLACES AROUND YOU
Lucy Saggers’ captivating photographs of her North Yorkshire village have taken her from amateur to award-winning photographer and, in the process, helped her create a closer, more rewarding relationship with her neighbourhood. From a young age Lucy was enthralled by the documentary photographs of James Ravilious, who recorded daily life around his home in rural North Devon during the 1970s and 80s. However, it wasn’t until she moved to North Yorkshire with her husband and three children five years ago that she bought her first digital SLR and enrolled on a photography course. “To begin with, I photographed the landscape,” she explains. “But as I progressed, I began photographing the everyday lives of people around me and, once I started, I could no longer resist. I think this is because I find reassurance in the rhythms of our daily lives. Although it might feel strange taking pictures of life’s daily routines and familiar faces, it’s often these everyday moments that hold the deepest significance – whether it’s the local milkman on his round or a sociable coffee morning.
It can be tempting to think that the most interesting pictures are those of far-off, exotic places or unusual events, but there’s beauty and meaning in the quotidian. Lucy agrees, “I would plan to set out to photograph some other place, but feel physically pulled back to the village, its people and its landscape. I suppose this draw is because the more I look around me, the more I see. Five years on, I am still captivated by the layers of stories that unfold.” From washing hair to lambing, the local butcher’s weekly delivery to the coffin maker’s workshop, Lucy has found a rich seam of life stories and working days for her black and white images.
How do you start snapping if you’ve never photographed your community before? “My approach is usually a walk with my camera. I may take a photograph before my presence is known but, if possible, I will always check that people are happy. I work slowly and steadily because it’s key to develop a sense of trust.”
There are some basic rules about what you can and can’t photograph when you’re out and about in public: in general, it’s fine to take pictures of people, houses and anything else in a public place or building open to the public, unless it is expressly prohibited. What you can’t do is take photographs on private land/property without the permission of the owner, or capture an image of someone engaged in a private act or with the purpose of defaming your subject. Contrary to popular belief, there are no separate laws about photographing children in public places, although schools and sports venues may have their own rules.
Above all, says Lucy, the secret to getting great photos of your community is to “keep putting yourself in likely positions and be open to grabbing these fleeting moments when they appear.” And make your subjects feel at ease. “I hope, above all, that nobody feels uncomfortable – or that they can tell me if they do. People are getting used to seeing me wandering around with my camera. I think they know now that I may or may not photograph them, and that the last thing I want them to do is stop what they are doing or pose,” Lucy laughs. “I was delighted when a farmer told someone: ‘She just wants you to do what you do’.”