DAVID WALKER 5/14/26 DAVID WALKER 5/14/26

Dare Workshop. May 26

Last weekend I attended The Dare Workshop in London, hosted by Gary Lashmar better known as The Street Thief, aka “The Smudge with a Grudge”. For anyone unfamiliar with Gary’s work, his approach to photography is about honesty, confidence, and stepping outside your comfort zone in the interest of becoming a better photographer. Lately, I’ve wanted to get closer with my photography, closer to people, closer to emotion, and closer to the uncomfortable moments I’d usually avoid behind the camera and that’s exactly what this workshop is for.

No Spoilers

What happens during the workshop is best experienced first-hand, there are no spoilers here. Let’s just say the methods are effective and you’ll definitely be challenged but in a good way. This isn’t a workshop about settings or technically perfect images. It’s about approaching strangers, engaging with people, directing subjects with confidence, pushing past hesitation and fear, and taking portraits with honesty rather than distance.

Stranger Danger

One of the biggest takeaways for me was becoming more comfortable photographing strangers and directing people. Anyone who photographs people regularly will know how much resistance can appear the moment you actually have to approach someone. Alongside photographing strangers in the busy streets of Camden, we also worked with models to create more intentional portraits. Working with Tink Face was a particular highlight with her dramatic poses, colourful styling, and expressive energy.

The more I reflected on the weekend, the more I realised this wasn’t really just about photography. It was about hesitation, fear, confidence, and learning how to step into uncomfortable moments rather than avoid them. The conversations we hesitate to start. The risks we avoid taking. And learning how to quiet that inner voice long enough to properly connect with the world around us.

It honestly doesn’t matter what kind of photographer you are, there’s something valuable here for anyone willing to push themselves creatively and personally. By the end of the weekend, I felt creatively re-energised and far more connected to both people and my photography than when I arrived.

“The moment you label something, you lose touch with what it actually is. You stop seeing the depth of an object, a person, or a place and instead see a flat, one-dimensional idea of it. We end up moving through life not in reality, but inside our own interpretation, a static, pale version of the living world.” 
Gary Lashmar

A huge thank you to:
@the_street_thief @katie_dares
Assistants: @iris.straatfoto @millsyshoots Models: @tinkfacerh. @louislashmar

And with that… here are some of my favourite images from the weekend.

Portrait image taken at the Dare Workshop with Gary Lashmar. May 2026

DAVID WALKER 2/15/26 DAVID WALKER 2/15/26

FOG LIGHTS AND Focaccia

First of all, that’s not me below. That’s my friend and fellow photographer Thomas Skovsende. We’re in Erice, a medieval hilltop town in western Sicily. Actually we were there a while back now but for one reason and another, only just getting round to sharing. I’m here in my art director role for purple creative and one of our clients. Thomas has been commissioned to create the hero image for their new campaign.

Erice sits about 750 metres above sea level. I can only describe the drive up from the airport as nothing short of ‘genuinely terrifying’. Dense fog. A metre of visibility. Dead of night and 180-degree corners on the mountain edge for a good 40 minutes. I honestly didn’t think we were going to make it. Thankfully we survived and after a short check in, grabbed our cameras and headed straight back out to recce (in the fog).

The atmosphere in this cobbled Roman mountain-top town was unreal. Thick mist, near silence, winding streets so we wandered and shot in awe. Given the lack of visibility, it soon became obvious that a 5am sunrise recce would give us a better chance of finding “the shot” so it was a sandwich, a glass of wine with the locals, and an early night.

Come 5am and navigating what felt like a network of highly territorial stray dogs who clearly had a problem with photographers, we found the perfect location. Composition sorted. Everyone happy. One major issue, we were here to photograph a sunny medieval town and by 11am, fog visibility had improved to about 2 metres. Not good! Thankfully we had another day and sure enough was greeted by an epic sunrise. We scurried back to our early morning recce location during the golden hour and Thomas finally nailed the shot!

Sicily is absolutely somewhere I’d love to revisit. What we didn’t realise until afterwards is that there’s a cable car up from Trapani to Erice. My advice, forget the drive and just take the cable car, suitcases and all.

All these recce/walkabout images are all mine (taken on my 35mm Summilux). The portrait of Thomas, is now his profile pic. “I never have anyone to take my photo,” he says. His campaign image is, as you’d expect glorious — but I can’t share that on here for obvious reasons.

DAVID WALKER 3/24/25 DAVID WALKER 3/24/25

Greetings from Canterbury

A recent walkabout in Canterbury and trip to the cathedral. Such beautiful light and amazing architecture. The £18 entry fee (cough cough) more than paid itself back in images. Thanks to our guides Oscar and Stephen for a great day.

DAVID WALKER 9/26/24 DAVID WALKER 9/26/24

Things that go bump in the day

Street images from my recent “spook-cation” in York, described as the most haunted city in England. A few days well spent devouring Yorkshire pudding wraps, mingling my camera with the tourists and waiting for my beer to float across the bar in the Golden Fleece. (Spoiler…didn’t happen!)

Highlights include a dark tour of deathly tales with stories of the monstrous Barghest beast and the chilling tear-streaked girl of “plague house,” who taps on the window at passersby. I also learn’t a Snickelway is not a northern chocolate bar crammed with peanuts. We couldn’t end our trip without popping by the Yorkshire Ghost Merchants, for our very own ghost, each comes complete with a spirit of their own.

Spooky York is a place I would return!

DAVID WALKER 7/27/24 DAVID WALKER 7/27/24

It never rains in Spain

…unless it’s your own wedding day but that’s another story!

I recently returned from a sunny trip to Madrid where i was blessed to observe and capture the wedding for the amazing Marcos and Rubén. A day full of generations, laughter, dancing and as much carved ham as i’ve ever seen under one roof.

The day started in the village with make up and preps followed by a short coach to the Plaza Mayor to greet the awaiting couple. The ceremony took place in the historic Casa de la Panaderia followed by a short walk to the equally beautiful Coolrooms, aptly named and much needed given it was around 38 degrees.

A beautiful day inside and out, full of warmth and fun. Here’s a selection of some of the moments.

DAVID WALKER 4/17/24 DAVID WALKER 4/17/24

Easter PREPARATION

Images from my recent family visit to Madrid. This Holy Weekend got off to a bit of an eye-opener when my wife’s neighbour said she had something sitting in the garage to show me. Not sure what I were expecting but obviously a bit surprised to see this.

It’s definitely a family occasion when we visit and this time was no exception. I managed to go walkabout with my 35mm though was struggling to find people in this sleepy little village. We capped off with a visit to an uncles old farm to collect a bucket of eggs and of course, an obligatory sit on the tractor. HERE

Is it a shed? Is it a caravan? M11 + 35mm. F13 1/160 ISO500

DAVID WALKER 12/10/23 DAVID WALKER 12/10/23

Fascination of Neon Night

An evening of light fantastic. A few highlights from a fabulous street walkabout and art-direction workshop with Fuji ambassador @mrwhisper and @street.nomad_. Read more HERE.

DAVID WALKER 10/28/23 DAVID WALKER 10/28/23

The joy of Fog

Couldn’t resist running out to get a few images in the local park. The joy of fog, what else can I say.