Art
This photographer has taken thousands of strangers’ portraits – all on the same Liverpool street
3 years ago
Dave Knight has been a keen photographer for more than 40 years, but thereās one street in Liverpool which gets his attention time after time.
Every weekend, Dave can be found pacing up and down the length of Bold Street with a camera over his shoulder, capturing the images of strangers who catch his eye.
Bold Street Guy, as Daveās known, estimates heās taken several thousands of photos on that stretch from Hanover Street to the Bombed Out Church since he started his Instagram account around five years ago.
But he never gets tired of seeing the same street or the multitude of different faces which pass along it.
āBold Street is just one of the coolest streets isnāt it?ā says the 61-year-old. āItās fabulous, itās almost like a tidal wave of cool people that just keeps sweeping in and out of the city all day.ā
Dave, who was born in Liverpool but now lives with his family in Ellesmere Port, fell in love with street photography in his 20s.
Inspired by Don McCullin, heād spend his days down on the waterfront, looking for potential subjects and perfect backdrops.
āIāve always been into street photography because my real love is people. I adore meeting new people and speaking to them, and Iāve always had a thing about style,ā he explains.
āIn the mid-80s Iād hang around the Pier Head and Iād wander off the beaten track on the little alleys and back streets and find people to photograph there.ā
At first, alongside his day job in sales, he combined his street work with studio portraits and wedding photography, but five years ago he decided to concentrate on his favourite street and set up his Instagram page devoted to it.
āThe name came about as a bit of a dad joke,ā he admits. āItās a corny play on words, so Bold Street Guy because itās centred on Bold Street and also because I have to be a pretty bold to approach the people I photograph in the street.ā
Dave has no specific looks in mind when he comes over to Liverpool at weekends, he just waits to see whoās out there.
āAnyone can have style so Iāll wander around and suddenly see someone who grabs my eye and then Iāll just go up and speak to them.
āSometimes it can be a hat or a scarf, and sometimes theyāre bang on with everything, but other times it can just be a look in the eye, just something that clicks.
āIāve always got my phone ready with my Instagram page on it, I introduce myself and tell them what I do and if they say āhiā back then thatās a good sign itās going to go well.
āWhen I approach people I generally look them straight in the eye and say to them, āhow weāre looking at each other now, do that straight through the cameraā and they do it.
āIāll only take 6 to 8 pictures, sometimes not even that many, but quite often it tends to be the first or second one that works best. Thereās an instant connection.ā
Daveās become a familiar sight on Bold Street himself over the years. Shop and restaurant owners will regularly come out to say hello and homeless people bedded down in doorways give him a nod and wave.
Heāll concentrate mostly at the top end of the street, he says, but over the course of his day heāll walk anything from eight to 12 miles, up and down, covering every inch of it countless times.
Most people he approaches say yes, and heās had some really positive feedback about his portraits from happy subjects.
āWhen I first started it was a bit trial and error, but Iāve got it pretty much down to a tee now and I think people can be quite flattered to be asked.
āIāve had some amazing messages from people whoāve said they werenāt very confident and maybe didnāt like the way they look but then when I stop them it gives them a nice boost.
āI had one girl who messaged me after I stopped her and said she was buzzing all day afterwards.ā
With such a large collection of street portraits, Daveās amassed a unique archive of Liverpoolās changing style over the years.
āPeople have said to me that I should do something more with it, maybe exhibit them somewhere, but I do still get really embarrassed because to me, I just take pictures.
āHonestly it can take just meeting one person and getting four photographs to absolutely make my day. And I hope it makes theirs as well.ā