Andy Greaves: Street Photography Steeped in Sense of Humour

Andy Greaves: Street Photography Steeped in Sense of Humour

Every creative leaves a part of themselves in their work, and it can’t be any more true than Chesterfield-based street photographer Andy Greaves. While he doesn’t purposefully go out looking for humour and absurdity in his street photography, it shows subtly in his street snaps, and he simply lets it happen.

“I respond to what’s in front of me,” he muses. “I tend to see things that way. I’ll see a scene and think, ‘Wow look at that, I’ve got to have it.’”

With a life-long passion for photography since he was 18, Greaves even completed an MA in Photography at Leicester De Montfort University in 2009, soon after he retired from full-time employment. Today, he mostly does street and documentary photography at least once or twice a week all-year round, centered around a long-term project documenting his hometown in the United Kingdom.

”If something catches my eye, I find that’s a good enough reason to make a picture. I’m generally looking for scenes which capture the essence of my town and the people that live here. I’m trying to capture what’s going on in society and the country as a whole. I feel that many of the problems in society are played out on the streets.”

Copyright ⓒ Andy Greaves

An acute sense of humour with a dash of eccentricity

“I’ve always had an acute sense of humour and a certain amount of eccentricity. Always been able to see the funny side of things and I still enjoy making people laugh,” he says on where the humour in his work most likely comes from. ”Although not always intentional, I think this comes out in my image making. I don’t believe you can make good images without giving something of yourself and I think my images reflect who I am as a person.”

This affinity for British humour, in which pathos and slapstick often go hand-in-hand, played a big role in his upbringing. He attributes it to the silent films and classic slapstick comedies he grew up with and eventually learned to love. “Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Will Hay. As a kid, my dad allowed me to stay up late to watch these films, plus the English classic sitcoms like ‘Til Death Us Do Part, Steptoe and Son, Dad’s Army and the Carry On films. Later I loved the absurd surreal comedy of Monty Python and Spike Milligan.“

While a dash of humour is part of how he sees and documents everyday life, it’s not about making fun of or humiliating people. “On the contrary, I’m trying to capture the everyday madness, absurdity and mundanity in all our lives,” he quips. This perspective, he adds, is encapsulated in a famous Mark Twain quote he placed on his bedside cabinet: “When we remember that we are all mad, mysteries disappear and life stands explained.”

Copyright ⓒ Andy Greaves

Copyright ⓒ Andy Greaves

Telling stories of a world in colour

Many street photographers gravitate towards black and white, for reasons that remain widely discussed. But for Greaves, the aesthetic “immediately anchors images in the past and present a nostalgia viewpoint.” Save, for example, the works of photographers like Daido Moriyama and Anders Petersen, which he described as “graphic and challenging.” This is why he made the conscious decision to go colour when he switched to digital, and never looked back.

“For me, the world is in colour, and that’s the story I’m trying to tell,” he also notes. But with the unpredictable lighting conditions in the UK, he tends to go for bright and punchy colors instead of setting a mood. If the colours clash, he simply takes it as the story he’s telling. “I’m not interested in photographic conventions or making pleasing images for others; I’m interested in telling the story.”

In addition to sticking to color, context is key in his notion of an ideal street photograph. It needs to have meaningful layers that can be dissected and discussed. “It might raise more questions than it answers; why, what, where, when? It might be surreal or absurd, sad or humorous… That’s the magic really, you just don’t know what you’re going to come back with but context is the most important thing to me.”

Copyright ⓒ Andy Greaves

Copyright ⓒ Andy Greaves

Keeping an eye out for absurdity that tickles

“The most challenging aspect is getting close and trying to remain unobtrusive and always trying to capture the essence of something,” Greaves reflects on the hurdles that he often needs to overcome as a street photographer. However, as he frequents the same places over and over, he has also noticed that a lot of people are now getting used to his presence. While it has made things easier, keeping his perspectives fresh and his images more impactful remain a constant challenge.

“Not repeating myself is a constant challenge, as is trying to improve. Like a lot of photographers, I sometimes get challenged so learning to deal with those situations can be challenging at times.”

This pursuit for authenticity and candidness manifests in one of Greaves’ favorite photos, its story giving us a view into the “essence of something” that he strives to capture:

“I have a few favourites but the one I’ve included is a particular favourite from my Chesterfield work. I go to town most Thursdays as that is when it’s busiest. There’s always some interesting characters around and you never quite know what you’re going to get. I tend to like busy in my images. Walking between the market stalls, I came across this scene which I found quite humorous. Three adults looking down at a remote controlled toy which had just tipped over. I took a few shots and this was the best. The absurdity of it just tickles me.”

Copyright ⓒ Andy Greaves

Deal with what you know

With his learning background on photography, it was inevitable for Greaves to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of the works of many iconic and inspiring photographers, and for these to become the foundation of his own. By writing an essay on Garry Winogrand for his MA, he shares, Winogrand’s phenomenal snapshot style became a major influence to his approach.

The equally iconic philosophy of the “decisive moment” also became integral to his practice that he describes as having trained himself to automatically wait for the moment to happen. “It’s become second nature knowing when to press the shutter so I don’t really think about it now. These days, it’s more a question of asking myself if the scene in front of me is saying what I want and feel about the society that we’re living in. The here and now. I have a list in my head of things to look out for so that helps.”

All these elements have coalesced into the backbone of his current worldview and approach to street photography: “Deal with what you know.” This statement from his university tutor, he said, was the best advice he received, and the wisdom he now wishes to impart to his fellow photographers.

“I’m not sure my view is unique but I think you have to consider what makes you tick as a human being and tap into your personality… I think aspects of my personality, upbringing, surroundings and continued life experiences inform my image making, and this is reflected in my work. At least, I hope it is.”

Check out Andy Greaves’ website and follow him on Instagram (@andygreaves_uk) to see more of his humour-steeped street photography.