Definitely giving this a try Andrew - a different way to meander around Newcastle and to maybe discover a few things I've strolled by without a second glance ....
I only came across it a couple of months ago via the magazine Superstore Wilderness. It's a fascinating concept. Did you see the magazine - the people behind it were behind a cycling magazine called The Ride Journal?
Hi Steve, it does seem that psychogeography has fallen out of favour, but do you know why? What objections do people have to it? I love the playful approach to engaging with cities.
Hi Caroline, it’s a good question… I wonder if it is now seen as a preoccupation of white, middle aged, middle class men and has lost its sense of political engagement among more activist concerns such as race, gender etc. in the urban environment?
Hi Steve, you may be right about that. I'm not sure if it's fair though. As far as pastimes go, it seems to me a pretty democratic one, and I think close observation of the city can be channeled into political engagement. Also, while it was for a long time a male pursuit, the flaneuse got into her stride quite some time ago. Thank you for your thoughts!
andrew, I'm trying but with no luck whatsoever to create prompts and decks in the Derive app. It's a disaster. It seems you started with the App as an idea generator but went with your own set. Is that corrects? I'm curious also how you centralized your images from the group? Did you use a particular platform or app to share them? I love the idea and want to give it a shot, but the Derive site and app are driving me nuts!
Hello Mark. Yes, I think the Dérive app has been neglected so all I used it for was ideas for prompts. I adapted them and added a photography related prompt. I then printed them out for each person. Our group has a Flickr group so some have posted there and some on Instagram. We plan to share one or two each at our next meeting.
Great and wicked walk, perfect 🤩 to get lost forever. Thanks for your mention, the correct French spelling of Depardon’s is “Errance”, he got lost not in a city but among the roads and streets of some far deserted land. Very advisable. Also the concept is mentioned in at least one of the street photo books maybe some day I can have again in my hands for referring. Cheers
Maybe wasn't ever translated, but images are everything in that small book. Yes, Depardon explains what's about but those vertical strong contrasty photographs are really captivating
That looks like the same idea - Dérive was developed by the Situationists who are mentioned in your link but called ‘smell walks.’ I think I prefer that term!
Ah. I'll have to look up more info about Dérive. Smell walks, eh? We don't normally consider the olfactory when reflecting on our experience of cities. I suppose that, in the days of the horse and cart, it was best not to think about it.
However, the audio component of the urban experience has been given more attention. During my time in Vancouver (I lived there for a few years in the 1980s) I learned about the work of R. Murray Schafer and the Vancouver Soundscape project. They recorded sounds of the city and released two audio CDs, ten years apart, to document the changing urban soundscape. Sound walks are still a common way of introducing people to the ideas behind acoustic ecology. It developed into an academic discipline with focussed conferences and talented practitioners. It added a new layer to the ways we think about cities.
Excellent! I went down a very long psychogeography rabbit hole at the end of last year and came to the conclusion that most of us (especially photographers) practice it in some form or other.
As part of an MA, a collaborative group I was in, derived (!) an exercise not unlike this but less structured for the rest of our cohort to do.
I have _some_ issues with Psychogeography. Mostly to do with its early history, and what I perceive as a long sequence of gatekeeping with the practice. It’s only valid in Paris, or London or an urban area. That sort of thing. Which I see as largely erroneous.
To me, the collision of psychology and geography is something that can be observed by anyone, anywhere. Nice to see it in action. ;)
Thank you very much. I know very little about the concept of Psychogeography - beyond what I read on the link I shared! I would like to learn more, but as a keen photographer I enjoy drifting around cities and finding different places / angles which others may miss.
If you’re curious then I’d recommend “Psychogeography” by Merlin Coverley.
It’s a very good grounding in its history and many of the issues around it. I came away (whilst still a little frustrated by the metrocentricism at play) with a much better understanding of the subject than when I went in. And I had a whole list of further reading that turned out to be more attuned to the way I see it.
Surprisingly, Will Self is one of the more prominent thinkers in the field. Famously he said it was “more the traversal of one than a field itself” or something similar, which I quite like. He’s also a decent starting point.
Thank you. I enjoyed reading this article last year by Will Self about walking in London. And he ends with a highly beneficial reason why walking in cities can help us all:
“I truly feel that if all Londoners walked out of the city once a year, it would do more for our sense of civic pride than any number of mayoral or local governmental initiatives. What’s more, it wouldn’t cost the proverbial penny.”
It seemed to go down well with the group. One person fed back that a dozen prompts and 1.5 hours would have been enough. But Bath is a small city so I’d think in an average to large city you could easily spend longer.
Definitely giving this a try Andrew - a different way to meander around Newcastle and to maybe discover a few things I've strolled by without a second glance ....
I look forward to seeing the results of your meander Harry.
Great images, Andrew! I’m a fan of a bit of Dérive myself... This is very inspiring.
Hello Steve! I suppose it has some similarities to your 1000 Steps so it makes sense that you are a fan.
Absolutely; and I know that the idea of psychogeography is a little disparaged these days but I still enjoy the writings of that period.
I only came across it a couple of months ago via the magazine Superstore Wilderness. It's a fascinating concept. Did you see the magazine - the people behind it were behind a cycling magazine called The Ride Journal?
https://magculture.com/products/superstore-wilderness-1
Thanks for pointing that out - it looks very interesting! I'll place an order right now.
Hi Steve, it does seem that psychogeography has fallen out of favour, but do you know why? What objections do people have to it? I love the playful approach to engaging with cities.
Hi Caroline, it’s a good question… I wonder if it is now seen as a preoccupation of white, middle aged, middle class men and has lost its sense of political engagement among more activist concerns such as race, gender etc. in the urban environment?
Hi Steve, you may be right about that. I'm not sure if it's fair though. As far as pastimes go, it seems to me a pretty democratic one, and I think close observation of the city can be channeled into political engagement. Also, while it was for a long time a male pursuit, the flaneuse got into her stride quite some time ago. Thank you for your thoughts!
Hi. I am in Bath. I say well done nothing more difficult than photographing the over exposed city.
Hello and thank you!
andrew, I'm trying but with no luck whatsoever to create prompts and decks in the Derive app. It's a disaster. It seems you started with the App as an idea generator but went with your own set. Is that corrects? I'm curious also how you centralized your images from the group? Did you use a particular platform or app to share them? I love the idea and want to give it a shot, but the Derive site and app are driving me nuts!
Hello Mark. Yes, I think the Dérive app has been neglected so all I used it for was ideas for prompts. I adapted them and added a photography related prompt. I then printed them out for each person. Our group has a Flickr group so some have posted there and some on Instagram. We plan to share one or two each at our next meeting.
Great and wicked walk, perfect 🤩 to get lost forever. Thanks for your mention, the correct French spelling of Depardon’s is “Errance”, he got lost not in a city but among the roads and streets of some far deserted land. Very advisable. Also the concept is mentioned in at least one of the street photo books maybe some day I can have again in my hands for referring. Cheers
Ah that was damn spell check. And I thought I’d checked it too! It sounds like a fascinating book. Unfortunately I can’t find an English translation.
Maybe wasn't ever translated, but images are everything in that small book. Yes, Depardon explains what's about but those vertical strong contrasty photographs are really captivating
In that case I will buy a copy if I can. Thanks for the tip.
“they are ok, but that is all”
Except #7, which is profound.
Thank you. Yes that photo has more to it than others. I'd like to have spent a little more time on getting it right but we had places to go!
I recently came across a similar exercise used by a keen observer of the city of Toronto.
"Walking the city: Shawn Micallef's undergrads get lost and found"
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/walking-city-shawn-micallefs-undergrads-get-lost-and-found
That looks like the same idea - Dérive was developed by the Situationists who are mentioned in your link but called ‘smell walks.’ I think I prefer that term!
Ah. I'll have to look up more info about Dérive. Smell walks, eh? We don't normally consider the olfactory when reflecting on our experience of cities. I suppose that, in the days of the horse and cart, it was best not to think about it.
However, the audio component of the urban experience has been given more attention. During my time in Vancouver (I lived there for a few years in the 1980s) I learned about the work of R. Murray Schafer and the Vancouver Soundscape project. They recorded sounds of the city and released two audio CDs, ten years apart, to document the changing urban soundscape. Sound walks are still a common way of introducing people to the ideas behind acoustic ecology. It developed into an academic discipline with focussed conferences and talented practitioners. It added a new layer to the ways we think about cities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Murray_Schafer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_ecology
Fascinating. I'm listening to The Falcon's Trumpet as I write.
Fantastic! You've just solved my conundrum over what to do this weekend :)
Glad I could help! I hope you enjoy it and discover new places.
I love this! I'm a touring musician and I bring my camera on tour. I will definitely give this method a try at home, and on the road.
I hope you enjoy getting lost and discovering something new!
Excellent! I went down a very long psychogeography rabbit hole at the end of last year and came to the conclusion that most of us (especially photographers) practice it in some form or other.
As part of an MA, a collaborative group I was in, derived (!) an exercise not unlike this but less structured for the rest of our cohort to do.
I have _some_ issues with Psychogeography. Mostly to do with its early history, and what I perceive as a long sequence of gatekeeping with the practice. It’s only valid in Paris, or London or an urban area. That sort of thing. Which I see as largely erroneous.
To me, the collision of psychology and geography is something that can be observed by anyone, anywhere. Nice to see it in action. ;)
Thank you very much. I know very little about the concept of Psychogeography - beyond what I read on the link I shared! I would like to learn more, but as a keen photographer I enjoy drifting around cities and finding different places / angles which others may miss.
If you’re curious then I’d recommend “Psychogeography” by Merlin Coverley.
It’s a very good grounding in its history and many of the issues around it. I came away (whilst still a little frustrated by the metrocentricism at play) with a much better understanding of the subject than when I went in. And I had a whole list of further reading that turned out to be more attuned to the way I see it.
Surprisingly, Will Self is one of the more prominent thinkers in the field. Famously he said it was “more the traversal of one than a field itself” or something similar, which I quite like. He’s also a decent starting point.
Thank you. I enjoyed reading this article last year by Will Self about walking in London. And he ends with a highly beneficial reason why walking in cities can help us all:
“I truly feel that if all Londoners walked out of the city once a year, it would do more for our sense of civic pride than any number of mayoral or local governmental initiatives. What’s more, it wouldn’t cost the proverbial penny.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/esmagazine/will-self-how-traversing-london-has-mapped-the-city-across-my-heart-a3177891.html
Love this! I haven’t heard of the app before now so I’ll certainly be downloading and giving it a go. Great photos
I hope you enjoy the experiment and get some good photos!
I will try, thanks for the download :)
Wow, this is new to me. Great way of taking 'other' types of photos. Will try it out soon
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
I never heard of it, but it sounds fun. Especially for a group. Thank you for sharing your experience and the photos.
It seemed to go down well with the group. One person fed back that a dozen prompts and 1.5 hours would have been enough. But Bath is a small city so I’d think in an average to large city you could easily spend longer.
If it just one person who felt it was too much, I think you chose a good number of prompts!
I hadn't heard of this - very cool!
I hope you give it a go!
Nice! A great idea!
Get lost. And I mean that in the nicest possible way!
This is great! Thanks, Andrew.
Thank you very much Andy.