Black and white street photograph of two women sharing an umbrella in heavy rain on Cross Street in Manchester, one in a quilted coat looking at the camera, the other in a puffer jacket grimacing against the weather, with wet pavements and a grand stone building behind them.

Self-Assignment: 001

Amphibious People

The object of this assignment is a mini candid project to photograph people from Manchester and beyond caught in the rain with and without umbrellas.

With the ‘wrong’ mindset, living in Manchester can be a depressing experience if our expectation of street photography is based on images from people living in sunnier climes like California or Mexico. I’m quite fond of photographing chiaroscuro images featuring buildings with mixed bright sunlight and deep shadows with a splash of human presence. Opportunities for this kind of picture are… rare in Manchester.

What we do have is unfairly extended periods of dull, flat, grey conditions and more that our fair share of rain. This assignment is to give me something to do in my spare time in a deluge. 😆

Colour street photograph of a man in a red puffer jacket standing in the rain looking at his phone under a yellow umbrella, beside a purple clawfoot bathtub used as a planter filled with yellow flowers, on a wet city pavement.
Rainy Day Men #2
Black and white street photograph of a man walking in heavy rain in Albert Square, Manchester, his umbrella held so low it completely obscures his face and upper body, with his reflection visible in the wet paving slabs.
Rainy Day Man #1
Black and white photograph of a bearded man in glasses and a woman with a polka-dot umbrella standing in the rain at a protest in Manchester city centre, the woman appearing to chant, with a crowd and Victorian stone arches visible behind them.
Rainy Day Couple #1
Black and white street photograph of two young women in white puffer jackets passing a blonde woman in a long dark coat on a rainy Manchester pavement, all carrying umbrellas, with a graffiti-tagged wall visible behind them.
Rainy Day Women #6
Colour street photograph of a woman in a bright red hooded raincoat striding across rain-soaked Market Street in Manchester, her reflection visible in the wet pavement, with other pedestrians and shopfronts including Costa visible behind her.
Rainy Day Women #5
Black and white street photograph of two women hunched together under a single patterned umbrella in heavy rain on Corporation Street in Manchester, one in a fleece coat carrying a metallic bag, a bicycle locked to a rack and the M&S store visible behind them.
Rainy Day Women #4
Black and white street photograph of a young woman on Corporation Street in Manchester holding a pale umbrella and a large black bag in the rain, wearing a hoodie, wide-leg joggers and a patterned bandana, with crowd control barriers and other pedestrians behind her.
Rainy Day Women #3
Black and white street photograph of two women sharing an umbrella in heavy rain on Cross Street in Manchester, one in a quilted coat looking at the camera, the other in a puffer jacket grimacing against the weather, with wet pavements and a grand stone building behind them.
Rainy Day Women #2
Black and white photograph of students sharing an umbrella while walking in the rain on Oxford Road Manchester, with wet pavement and urban buildings visible in the background.
Rainy Day Women #1

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