Elvis my Goldendoodle doesn't do early mornings — he gives me a look that says "you're alright, go on your own, I need more sleep." So it's just me and my camera. The travel mug gets filled with strong coffee and slotted into my Lowepro messenger bag alongside a spare battery and SD card. Closer locations I walk to, scouting shots on the way. Further out, I drive and park up — no point burning the hour on a long walk when places are too far to make it worthwhile.
Then I just wander the streets and back alleys. My style doesn't change — I shoot what naturally grabs my attention, sometimes I'll wait a little for something to happen, but with only an hour to play with, mostly it's walking and looking. The night before, I'll sometimes get on Google Street View and virtually walk the roads, so I've got some idea what's there — useful if I've got a specific shot in mind. Other than that, it's all reacting to whatever's actually happening on the ground.
I tried a few different crops before settling on square 1:1 — it just fits the project better, feels more focused and immersive than a wider frame. I shoot black and white JPEG only, so combined with the square crop, what I get is what I get. No changing it later, apart from a few light tweaks in post to finish the image off. Get it wrong and it's a revisit — so concentration, and get it right first time, Mark.
Before We Wake is this summer's book project, and will be the first of a series of four books, all set at a different time period within our 24-hour day. An exact release date hasn't been scheduled yet, but I'm aiming for October. The book will appeal to both locals and anyone with an interest in black and white urban and street photography.
Down below is a gallery showing a small selection of the images I've taken so far. I'll add a couple more after each shoot, so you get a taste of what's coming — sorry, you'll have to wait until the book's out to see the full set.
— Mark.
With the photography for Before We Wake now complete, the project is slowly moving towards its final form as a photobook. Editing and selecting the images is still underway, with printed proofs being used to start shaping the sequence and the first pages already taking form in the book layout. There’s still plenty of work ahead, but it’s good to finally see something that began with a series of very early mornings becoming an actual book.
Before We Wake is more than a collection of photographs. Click either image below to read the project blogs and discover the early mornings, inspiration and story behind the project.
