Hi All,
My name is Alex and I'm a photojournalist/documentary photographer who is looking to make a photo story about the world of train spotting and the people involved in it.
The hobby is something that I have often wondered about and something which I have to say, I don't feel I fully understand. I imagine that the majority of people who have seen people stood on the end of a platform with a camera and a packed lunch box don't really get it either and that it can be rather a misunderstood activity as a result (only the other day I was sat on a train listening to a dad explain to his young son what trainspotters were and how 'sad' they were).
Because of this I feel that it would be an interesting and somewhat important project to shed some light on this pass time and show to a wider audience the passion, expertise and dedication that that no doubt comes with being a train spotter.
I'm posting here just to say hi and to see if any spotter might be interested in telling me a little about how they view train spotting, what it is to them, why they do it, how they might do it (I imagine there can be more to it than listing a photographing trains), why it's important to them etc.
I'm based in London and am going to head over to London Bridge where I have seen people spotting before, again to say hi and see if they might be interested in being involved in the project. However I'd also like to know if there are any spots/stations that spotters will regularly visit, either in London or further afield, where I could go and meet some people within the spotting community.
I also wonder whether there are ever any meet-ups or gatherings held by the community, and whether there are other online forums dedicated to train spotting?
If anyone can chime in, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts/opinions/insight/advice. Of course if anyone thinks that they might be interested in showing me the ropes a little on one of their own spotting ventures then please do let me know.
Finally just for a bit of background about myself, you can view my website on the link below (I highly recommend you view this website on a computer as opposed to a tablet or smart phone)
www.alexandermcbridewilson.com
Also just in case anyone's interested in what I'd be doing with the images, and how I'd be shooting, here's a piece I did recently that was published by BBC on The Knowledge.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-35667599
Looking forward to hearing from you all anyway.
Many thanks
Alex
My name is Alex and I'm a photojournalist/documentary photographer who is looking to make a photo story about the world of train spotting and the people involved in it.
The hobby is something that I have often wondered about and something which I have to say, I don't feel I fully understand. I imagine that the majority of people who have seen people stood on the end of a platform with a camera and a packed lunch box don't really get it either and that it can be rather a misunderstood activity as a result (only the other day I was sat on a train listening to a dad explain to his young son what trainspotters were and how 'sad' they were).
Because of this I feel that it would be an interesting and somewhat important project to shed some light on this pass time and show to a wider audience the passion, expertise and dedication that that no doubt comes with being a train spotter.
I'm posting here just to say hi and to see if any spotter might be interested in telling me a little about how they view train spotting, what it is to them, why they do it, how they might do it (I imagine there can be more to it than listing a photographing trains), why it's important to them etc.
I'm based in London and am going to head over to London Bridge where I have seen people spotting before, again to say hi and see if they might be interested in being involved in the project. However I'd also like to know if there are any spots/stations that spotters will regularly visit, either in London or further afield, where I could go and meet some people within the spotting community.
I also wonder whether there are ever any meet-ups or gatherings held by the community, and whether there are other online forums dedicated to train spotting?
If anyone can chime in, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts/opinions/insight/advice. Of course if anyone thinks that they might be interested in showing me the ropes a little on one of their own spotting ventures then please do let me know.
Finally just for a bit of background about myself, you can view my website on the link below (I highly recommend you view this website on a computer as opposed to a tablet or smart phone)
www.alexandermcbridewilson.com
Also just in case anyone's interested in what I'd be doing with the images, and how I'd be shooting, here's a piece I did recently that was published by BBC on The Knowledge.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-35667599
Looking forward to hearing from you all anyway.
Many thanks
Alex
