Sam Stockman

Nottingham, UK

flickr website

Kissing Eyes

Where have your latest travels led you?

This year I've not been too far afield. A lot of my photos have been from seaside resorts around Britain, I find them to be really interesting places to take photos, they often seem like they are stuck in a time warp. Other than that I was in Austria at the beginning of the year. I'm hoping to get away later in the year, too.

Is it important for you personally to document your trips and visits to other places?

Yeah, I'm most inspired to take pictures when I'm in new places. I like to try and take pictures that represent where I am, but maybe not in the most obvious way. What's quite interesting though is that a lot of the scenes I capture could end up being anywhere. This might be because certain themes always catch my eye, I guess.

In fact, when going through your latest work, it feels a bit like watching snapshots out of a documentary. Was this something you wanted to achieve?

It wasn't something I set out to achieve no, but I can see why you would say that. When I'm in new places I'm always looking to see what would make an interesting picture

There is some kind of silence, if not peace to your pictures. What is it about motionless, silent motifs that interests you the most?

"Less is more" for me, which is why I'm attracted to scenes where there are signs of human interference but where not necessarily anyone is there at that moment. Or if there is, it's not obvious what they are doing. 

Would you be into developing a project that is aiming for the contrary and in which you would concentrate on moving objects?

I'm not against the idea, but it’s not something I have really considered. I also use quite slow film usually so I would have to rethink my whole process. I generally like a sharp image.

What are you working on currently?

Just continuing to take photos whenever I can really, I've started to think about putting pictures into more structured sets. I'd like to work on a time specific, diary type of series, something that is more linked through when they were taken rather than a particular theme.

Do you like to combine study/work or leisure time with your photographic work?

I tend to take my camera with me wherever I go, so my photography work often moulds into my day to day life. Like if I'm walking to work and see something that captures my eye, i'll take the picture there and then. I dont tend to revisit places, the photos are what they are at that moment in time.

Is there an upcoming artist that you are watching currently?

There are a lot of photographers I admire. I run an online photography magazine called Kissing Eyes, where I feature peoples work I really like. There are loads but a few would be Jose Javier Serrano, Barnaby Hutchins, Salva Lopez and Raphael Bourelly. There are so many great photographers on Flickr.

What do you think about instagram and the like?

I don't use it, but it seems like a good way of sharing photos and having people see your stuff.

What do you value more: technique or equipment?

I think that just having an eye for composition is the most important thing. You can take good photographs with any sort of camera really. Having said that I love film, there is something about the depth and colour range that I really like.

Have you ever thought about leaving Europe for good? If so, where would you go? If not, why would you stay?

I always wanted to go to America for a long period of time, but friends and family have kept me happy being in the UK so far.

Quietness exploding in images. Take a look at his work!