Look Up – Interview with Andy Barrow

Introduce yourself and tell us how photography came into your life. Where did the journey begin?
Andy, originally from Manchester and living in Amsterdam with my wife & kids.

I’ve always had a passion for all things visual, from sketching my favourite characters as a kid, to watching movies on repeat & tearing pages out of magazines. To studying film, Media and Marketing at College & University.

Then about 12 or so years ago I got my first real camera, an X30 and things went from there.

How would you describe your photographic style today, and how has it changed over the years?
Well, at first it was all novelty and I would shot anything I found interesting and lots of canted angles. Plus, we had a new baby to document.

But more & more over time, due to work trips, I had the chance to start documenting these places from Dubai to Barca to New York and Milan, as well as personal trips too.

So I would say primarily street photography, but very much for a reportage.

Which photographers have shaped the way you see, and what exactly did you take from them?
There’s a few greats, right.

But I do really like:

Greg Williams
Saul Leiter
Ernst Haas
Fan Ho
Billy Dinh
Liam Wong
Phillip Penman

Greg, I did his course, and he was gracious enough to interact on socials, give tips and advice. I love the simplicity of his message yet at the same time he makes these sort of, candid natural yet staged portraits using light, lines & frames.

Leiter & Haas, in fact, all the others but in different ways, are making these images that are like pieces of art or paintings and have a timeless or iconic feel to them, whether it’s the use of reflection and colour or shadow & contrast.

The theme is storytelling and details across all of them.

If someone could see only one of your photographs, which would you choose to represent your work — and why that one?
There’s probably 2-3 that stand out, if I think what’s Andy or what is it that I’m trying to say, my kinda image.

There’s this one shot I got in Brooklyn a few years ago, early Saturday morning, and I’m walking under this subway overpass, and an old 60s yellow cab comes by, I fire off a couple of shots as it heads into the tunnel & I caught it just right. A moment or so later you don’t see, earlier and the framing isn’t impactful with the shadow, the lines and composition.

Which area of photography best describes your work?
Travel Photography.

What drew you to travel photography, and what keeps you exploring the world with a camera?
My photography is a mix, urban visuals, a bit of street and mostly lifestyle thought/travel.

I love the idea of capturing the story of essence of a place through images.

I think you could keep exploring, or even give a different feeling sometimes of a city, your place, just by capturing different visuals, it’s almost like the story never fully told.

When you arrive somewhere new, what catches your attention first?
Vibe, energy & people.

Then it’s the architecture, the light, the details that start to give a feeling.

Travel photography mixes landscape, people, culture and everyday life. How do you decide which story to tell?
You can’t force it.

I’m learning more and more, that way the story you want to tell, you have to be flexible, because the place of city around you, will have its own stories to tell as well.

That all depends on the details, the light, the people and the time of day even.

Tell us about a journey that changed the way you see travel photography.
Marrakesh and Napoli.

Again, energy, chaos & the people.

It reminded me that you have to be both quick and patient (I appreciate that’s a contradiction!?).

I had all these ideas in my head. I’m in the end. I’ve mostly got the shots that I wanted and was happy with. It doesn’t play out exactly as you might think.

How much do you need to immerse yourself in a place before you can photograph it honestly?
That’s a tough one to say.

How much can we immerse ourselves on any trip really?

I think to your point about photographing it honestly… that’s where it’s gotta be about you, your inspiration, what appeals to you about a city or place or people.

Then it’s authentic.

What camera and lenses are at the heart of your kit right now, and what makes them right for the way you work?
I originally started with my smartphone!

Discovered  Fujifilm, the aesthetics, the color science /JPEG colours, so upgraded to an X30 before upgrading to an X-T100. Next on the list is an X-T5 or X-T30 III.

I upgraded lenses, to primes instead of the basic kit lens. Predominantly using XF 35mm f/2 & sometimes XF 23. Plus one that surprised me, the XC 50-230mm is great value and sharpness.

35mm, I love it! It’s the tones, micro-contrast & the way it renders a scene. Somehow warm yet clean and crisp…. Nice and sharp and good separation too.

Which Film Simulation, colour profile or custom camera settings do you keep coming back to, and why do they suit the way you see?
Velvia surprisingly, with dropping the contrast and exposure down to enhance the warmth in golden hour situations.

Or I love monochrome with the G filter for documentary, some street-type moments and portrait. It gives a mood & roundness somehow.

Gives a richness or film-type quality to me. Recently been getting into classic chrome too.

I do always love to drop the exposure down a couple of 1-2 stops as well to create more mood or contrast.

What keeps you working with the Fuji X system, and what would you miss most if you switched away from it?
The style

The ease

The colors

Walk us through your editing workflow — which software do you use, and how much of the final image is made after the shutter closes?
I try to play a lot with exposure, light, simulation, when and where I’m taking the image. More recently, a little bit of white balance too.

So in terms of editing, it’s more minimal, touchups or making the final image how I had in my head/what I saw.

LR mobile & Snapseed.

What are you usually trying to achieve in post-processing — and what do you deliberately leave untouched?
It might be just things like a bit of sharpness or a bit of grain. A small touchup.

If a portrait, may be the exposure a little on the subject.  If the temperature comes out wrong, maybe play a little there.

Over the last year or so, when it comes to reflections, lighting, nightlight, neon – I am trying to play a little bit more to maybe bring out tones, colour, vibrancy. Liam Wong is superb at this. You almost create these blade Runner/anime type images. Amazing stuff.

Very different to me and my style, but trying to take elements of how you can tell a story through this.

If you could leave a single piece of photographic wisdom for someone picking up a camera today, what would it be?
Think about why you want to capture images?

Then start playing.

For me is always been coming back to this, need to capture story or recall some moment.

I replay movie scenes, images in my head all the time.

I tore pages of magazines as a kid.

I’d draw my favorite characters over and over.

So for me, it’s about capturing that feeling in a story.

For someone else, it could be just the idea to take a cool photograph of something they like.

The biggest thing I would say, it really gets you to start “Looking up!”

Looking back, what is the most valuable lesson photography has taught you?
To Look Up!

What are you working on right now, and where can readers follow it?
Over the last few years about my images have been featured in Mundial, lower block magazines.

Also, as part of Art on Loop exhibitions in Amsterdam and Paris.

At the end of the year, you’ll see my shots of Amsterdam in a new book about the city by Trope Publishing, which is incredibly exciting and really cool! So check that out on my socials and theirs, there’ll even be some ‘Behind the shot’ articles, which I enjoyed too!