Practical Photography: Photography and the Street

Weekly Programme (may be subject to modification)

Week 1 - This will be an introduction to the course during which we will discuss the creative potential of photographing the street. We will look at the history of this popular genre and how it has come to be considered a unique combination of documentary and art. We will also look at the law as it relates to street photography.

You will be given a brief for the Weeks 2 and 3 Photowalks. You will also sign up to the course social media and we will discuss the cameras and photo editing software that you have chosen to use for the course. All the classroom sessions will include development of your photographic technique and photo editing skills.

Week 2 - This week we will go on our first photo walk to an agreed central London location where you will explore the brief that you were given in the Week 1 lecture.

Week 3 - This week we will build on the Week 2 Photowalk by walking in an unfamiliar outer London location found on the Elizabeth line.

Week 4 - We will begin this session with a group tutorial on the pictures that you have produced on the Photowalks. This week we will look at the Art of Street Photography and how it has absorbed the traditions and concepts of painting. We will also discuss the Parisian tradition of the flaneur and how the Surrealists used this to explore the unconscious and to develop images that emerged from a sense of ‘depaysment’. You will be given an assignment based on these themes for the following two week’s Photowalks.

Week 5 - This week’s Photowalk will focus on creativity in familiar places. We will meet at a Central London location where you will be asked to develop your creative representation of London.

Week 6 - This week we will be getting lost. We will pick a random destination and let our ‘depaysment’ guide us when we photograph our destination.

Week 7 - We will begin this session with a group tutorial on the pictures that you have produced on the Photowalks. This week we will look at the Visionary Tradition in London and the creative works that have emerged about the city over the centuries. We will focus on the work of Daniel Defoe and the gothic representation of the city that his writing initiated. We will also consider how we can create visual narratives. You will be given an assignment based on this for the following week’s Photowalk.

Week 8 - This week we will go on a Photowalk that follows the topography of Daniel Defoe’s City of London and challenge ourselves to explore history to create visual narratives that express the theme of the past in the present.

Week 9 - This week we will look at the ideas of Guy Debord and the Situationists and their manifesto of the spectacle. How do we respond to an environment created for us? Are we living in the Matrix? We will also set up a group website for you to exhibit the images that you have taken throughout the course.

Week 10 - This will be our final Photowalk. You will decide as a group where we are going, during the Week 9 class, and you will devise, as individuals, your own photographic brief.

Additional Reading

There is no compulsory reading required for this course, and there is no set course text. However, if you are interested in reading more about the history of photography, you might enjoy:

• Graham Clarke, The Photograph (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997)

You should also visit photography galleries where possible, including the Centre for British Photography located in Jerymn Street, near Piccadilly, London.

Equipment

For this course you will need a digital SLR camera. If you already have a digital SLR camera (which must have an option for manual settings) you are welcome to use that, but if not we recommend you purchase an entry level digital SLR (or DSLR) camera with manual controls.

Photo-editing software will be available in the classroom. We can discuss your options for your own editing software (for at-home use) in the first session, however this is not a requirement for this classroom-based course.

Please email the course tutor should you require further information on the equipment needed for this course.

After completing her studies at art school, Honey Salvadori began her career in editorial and commercial photography by working for several press offices, including the London Film Festival, and contributed to magazines including the Face and Time Out.

In the late 1980s she began working for Q magazine which led to a five year long phase of documenting bands on tour with her trademark satirical eye, including Bros, Joe Strummer and the Pogues, Texas (in Texas), the Beautiful South and L7 amongst many others.  She also worked for Vox magazine, the Telegraph and Sunday Times magazine during this time.  

Honey then went on to spend a decade as a photographer at Channel 4 and the BBC producing promotional photographs for series like the BBC’s Airport and Jailbirds and Channel 4’s Cutting Edge and the Girlie Show.  At the same time she contributed documentary features to magazines including Elle, Marie Claire and Italian Moda.

Honey is represented in numerous collections, including the National Portrait Gallery.

Rate Categories and Discounts

Standard Rate

• Available to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category, respectively.

Internal Rate

• Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
• People enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
• Alumni of Imperial College and predecessor colleges and institutes
• Students, staff and alumni of the Royal College of Art and Royal College of Music
• Students, staff and Governors of Woodhouse College and the IC Mathematics School

Associate Rate

• Austrian Cultural Forum staff
• City & Guilds College Association members
• Co-operative College members
• Francis Crick Institute staff, researchers and students
• Friends and Patrons of the English Chamber Orchestra
• Friends of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
• Friends of Leighton House/ Sambourne House
• Friends of the Royal College of Music
• Harrods staff
• Historic Royal Palaces staff
• Lycee Charles de Gaulle staff
• Members of the Friends of Imperial College
• Members of the Kennel Club
• Members of the London Zoological Society
• Members of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI)
• Members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
• National Health Service (NHS) employees
• Natural History Museum staff
• Residents of postcodes SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and W8
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council staff
• Royal College of Art and Royal College of Music tutors and other staff
• Royal Geographical Society staff
• Science Museum staff
• Staff of Exhibition Road Cultural Group (Discover South Kensington) organisations
• Students (non-Imperial College)
• Teachers and other staff of UK schools
• Tutors and other staff of institution members of the Association of Colleges
• Tutors and other staff of other universities and higher education institutions
• Victoria and Albert Museum staff

Late enrolment

It is possible to enrol on many of our adult education courses after the course has already started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.

Friends and Family Scheme

This course is eligible for the  allowing Imperial College students and staff to share their discount with their friends and family.

Web enrolment opens on 1st March 2023

Enrolment and payment run through the Imperial College eStore. When enrolling:

• Do check on the drop down menu above called "Course Fees and Rate Categories" to see if you are eligible for a discounted rate and also do make sure you select that rate when enrolling on the eStore
• If you are a first-time eStore user you will need to create an account before enrolling. You can do this by entering an email address and password. This account can then be used for any future enrolments via the eStore.

When you have enrolled you will be sent the following email notifications:

If you have any questions about the academic content or teaching of this course please contact the Course Tutor, Honey Salvadori, h.salvadori@imperial.ac.uk

If you have any questions about your enrolment or payment processes please contact the Programme Administrator, Christian Jacobi, eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk