William Austin-Lobley Photography

Outside of The Eagle, a popular Cambridge pub, sits a man and his ferrets scraps from a packet of McCoy’s crisps. 

This is a candid photograph I took as I entered the pub in search of a drink after spending the day – unsuccessfully – hunting for something worth documenting. In hindsight, it was one of those days where you feel that nothing interesting is happening, but that might say more about my state of mind than the fine, and often interesting, citizens of Cambridge. The word that comes to mind is pressure. 

Pressure is a funny thing with street photography. No one is asking us to document the streets, and it’s a fact that no one is going to complain if we don’t. But still, there’s a pressure. Maybe it’s social media, which can give the impression that you can grab a ‘banger’ every time you leave the front door. Or maybe it’s the feeling that the longer you’ve spent on the streets without getting something, the more desperate you are to grab something that will make it all worthwhile – like a gambler throwing good money after bad. It’s probably a bit of both.

Regardless of the day, I’m proud of this image.