I preferred that option, where my camera (and by proxy, me) could look them straight in the eye. The way they reacted to me was always interesting. Sometimes hard young men would reveal vulnerability and a softer side. In the… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
I started out, in the mid-'70s, taking photographs of rock bands that I liked but not because I really wanted to photograph them. Initially,… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
That's one of the wonderful things about the whole process of photography - eye contact can be very revealing. — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
The reason why so many of my photographs in the book were taken in stairwells and corridors was that that was the only bit of spare space available and, in some cases, the only place where there was enough light to see anything. Even then, it was often so dark that I couldn't tell which gender my subject was (not… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share
When I gave up my office job and became a full-time professional photographer, my fortunes certainly improved markedly. We moved away from the council… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
Anyway, the fetish crowd, compared to some of the people that hung out with the skinheads, was all pussycats. — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
My parents, though very loving, were not what one would ever describe as outgoing and therefore when I was young I was quite shy… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
When I was starting, I was very much influenced by the straight up, eyes to camera style of August Sander. He is really the… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
Once I became a photographer, it stopped me being scared or intimidated by gangs of young men of whatever stripe. Initially, I could hide… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
The big downside to the global village that the Internet has created is that nothing has time to grow out of the public gaze… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
Nowadays everyone has a camera and the Internet means everything is instantly accessible. Unlike some photographers, I don't see this as a problem. If… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
Things are very different now because a lot of those little clubs don't exist. In Soho for instance, where nearly half my nightlife photographs… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
Many nightclubs from this era were very loud and very dark. Plus some of the best ones were incredibly crowded. To begin with, I… — Derek Ridgers Copy Share Image
