Syd Shelton on capturing the theatre of the street

Pounding pavements — The photographer who shot Rock Against Racism and The Battle of Lewisham reflects on building trust with his subjects and using the street as his studio.

While making what he describes as “very ivory tower type, abstract paintings” in the vein of Bridget Riley, British photographer Syd Shelton had an epiphany. “It had no relation to my views of the world,” he says. “I was quite radical and an activist, and very abstract paintings had no real means of expression.”

It was this realisation in the early 1970s which prompted Shelton to turn photography. Over the past five decades, he has traveled the world, photographing people he encountered along the way. In the new book, Street Portraits 2 (Café Royal Books), Shelton looks back at some of his favourites.

“I’ve always loved the idea of using the street as a studio,” he says. “There’s a conversation between you and the person you’re photographing. It’s not just a question of looking and grabbing. There is a real relationship and an implicit trust.”

Campaigner fighting to save the Sydney suberb of Wooloomooloo, 1976

The Undertones, Chester 1981

Shelton developed this technique in 1973, while photographing the people of the Redfern, an inner-city suburb of Sydney that became the first land settlement between the Aboriginal Movement and the Australian government. “That’s when I became interested in portraiture and started making my living as a photographer,” Shelton says.

In 1976, Shelton returned to the UK and quickly got involved in Rock Against Racism: a political and cultural movement organised in response to rise of the far-right and the National Front. Over the next five years, Shelton would be at the frontline making street portraits and documenting events and protests, such as the Battle of Lewisham in 1977.

Tulse Hill Comprehensive School Brixton, London 1977

At the same time, Shelton could be found practicing street portraiture in a little alley underneath a railway arch in East London. “It was a shallow theatrical space and I used to call it my studio because I’d take so many people there to photograph,” he says. “The light was magic.”

Working on film, Shelton had to be economical and learned to wait for the photograph to reveal itself. Shelton points to the photo of Linda in the white shoes and says, “I was with her for ages before the camera came out. We talked to each other and started to get real images that were not self-conscious.

“Sometimes the first photograph you take is exactly right and the person gives you something of themselves without even realising it. It’s never the same thing twice. Sometimes you take a long time to get pictures, and sometimes you don’t get any.”

Self portrait in Charing Cross Road, London 1978

Shelton remembers the times spent pounding the streets of East London for hours on end, looking for people to photograph. “I would walk through Globe Town, which is mostly council housing estates I found a space with graffiti and it was like a backdrop,” he says.

“Just by chance, this young guy wearing a mask came along and I asked if we could do some pictures in the alcove. He was only 14 or 15, and he never told me anything about himself other than he was going home from school,” Shelton says. “He never took his mask off. And still we could relate to each other.”

Globe Town in the days of the Virus, East London 2021

Linda, Hare Row, East London

Housing Campaigner, Brick Lane Estate, East London

Street Portraits 2 is out now on Café Royal Books. 

Follow Miss Rosen on Twitter. 

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Crowd of silhouetted people at a nighttime event with colourful lighting and a bright spotlight on stage.
Music

Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists

We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Indoor skate park with ramps, riders, and abstract architectural elements in blue, white, and black tones.
Sport

In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme

Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

A group of people, likely children, sitting around a table surrounded by various comic books, magazines, and plates of food.
© Michael Jang
Culture

How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography

The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.
Culture

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Couple sitting on ground in book-filled environment
Culture

The British intimacy of ‘the afters’

Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.