Artist Spotlight: David Shortland

“I am an Irish street photographer based in London. I picked up photography as a hobby during lockdown in 2021 and quickly got hooked. Street photography is incredibly therapeutic for me and I'd recommend everyone give it a go!”

-David

When I was learning the basics of photography, I had a knee-jerk reaction to try and make images that said something. This is obviously a poor choice when working in a medium known for showing something, but more importantly, it puts a limit on what could be considered viable subject matter. I’d find myself out shooting and going “no, that’s not saying what I want it to” or “there’s nothing here that says what I’m trying to say”. I was looking for answers instead of asking questions.

The artists featured on AMoYT all have incredible talents, and David is no exception, but I wanted to feature him specifically because of his ability to bring a sense of neutrality to his work. Put another way, he’s able to ask questions and allow his compositions to create vivid and original answers that are absent any judgment or jadedness. The results possess a remarkable technical clarity and visual complexity.

I’d encourage readers to travel through David’s answers at least twice. The first time through is for gaining an understanding for the subject matter, and then the second time is for exploring his use of color - red curtains, yellow and orange walls, green grass, etc - because these are subjects in and of themselves. Do they “mean” something? That’s for you as the viewer to decide, but it’s worth repeating that cameras don’t just spit out those colors on command. It takes a delicate hand to draw them out and a responsible eye to use them effectively.

David’s answers (to my questions) can be found below. Enjoy.

-Nick

How are you feeling today?

Where are you from?

What is your favorite color?

What do you do (or where do you go) to relax?

What scares you?

What does the future hold?

What matters the most?

Provide some bad advice.

Thank you for your time.

Follow David on Instagram @shorty.shots or at davidshortland.co.uk

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