This is Not Vintage Photography

You don’t need to apply fake vintage filters to get that nostalgic feel.  Especially if you’re shooting at the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington.  Established in 1886 this is one of London’s last Working Men’s Clubs and it’s an absolute treasure.  Walking into the main hall is like stepping back in  time.  Scenes from Vera Drake were shot there for example.  So this photo is all about acknowledging that, and being sensitive to your surroundings.  It’s a quiet photo, a family scene, and it feels like it could have been taken any time in the last 50 years.  But if anything, probably in the 1970s rather than two months ago, in October 2014. And therein lies the magic of photography, a moment, a snapshot, caught in time.  Does it really matter what era it was in?  Because whether it was 40 years ago or today, what it’s really capturing and what resonates with us as the viewer looking in on that moment, is memory, and the connection we feel to the universal familial bond on show here.

Mildmay Club ‘Hanging on by the skin of its teeth’

Technical details for the photography wonks:

Camera: Canon 5D MKIII

Lens: Canon 85mm 1.2

Aperture: f1.8

Shutter speed: 1/125

ISO:2,500