Street Photography nominee

What if the barriers between the observer and the observed become a part of the story?

“Something In The Way" is an ongoing narrative of candid street photography that encapsulates and refines the perspective of its creator on the built environment. A participant-observer exploration of strangers in the environs of London, it emerges from the lens of a card-carrying flaneur who is dedicated to documentation, yet must negotiate the everyday barriers shown in each image to record each subject. Though these captures may keep the viewer at a certain remove, they seek to elicit curiosity in other ways. Urban existence contrives to keep us all apart in some way, yet it still facilitates the observation and contemplation that enable us to see split seconds from other lives

A product of both Ghanaian Ashanti and British cultures, Barima has always sought different ways to interpret the diversity of the world, telling stories through images, design and words. His street and cultural photography draw together disparate sources, from pioneering street and travel photographers to classic music concert visuals and late 20th century editorial and fashion imagery, enveloped in a vivid, cinematographically directed approach. Based in London, Barima has worked with brands such as Vodafone Uganda and Reebok UK, directed design and creative projects, and featured as both a sartorialist and a photographer in various coffee table publications. Three of his images were selected by global creative agency Ogilvy & Mather to feature in the launch of their diversity initiative in 2017.