Clive, who has photographed Covent Garden Market since 1967 - Londoner

Clive describes how the vibrant social atmosphere of Covent Garden Market inspired him to tirelessly photograph it for forty years, across the three locations in which the market has existed, right up to its most recent new location. He explains how the market has changed, and how he expects his photographs to take on new meaning in years to come.
1000 LONDONERS
This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a ten-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view.
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1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit www.chocolatefilms.com.
TRANSCRIPT
It must've been about '67-'68, 1960… I was one wonderful summer morning, right at the top of James street, by the Tube station looking down James street, into Covent Garden. And I thought: wow, this is a fantastic place. I knew Covent Garden, I'd been going through it for years. But suddenly I saw it differently. And I thought: I've gotta work here, I've gotta... I just loved the way people moved. I loved the interaction between produce, money and people. And the work that, you know… and that whole thing of connecting with people. And so I began to photograph. And I just developed this whole love of the marketplace.
It was out in the open, a lot of it. It wasn't such and enclosed thing, there were streets and of course all the shops or all the wholesalers had their wares out into the street. So of course it meant that it was out there at all weathers. And I think this was one of the keys that the old market... the people of the market… that I wasn't what they called a fair-weather photographer. I was there in the pissing rain, I was there on cold, snowy mornings, I was there when it was just plain miserable, as well as the wonderful sunshine.
What was so wonderful it was just being in that sort of, the whole sort of camaraderie of the people that were working there and the exchange of goods and exchange of money and the banter and the pubs and you know uhm… where they could leave a barrow outside, go in, have a quick (drink) and out again. When this... this flower market opened 45 years ago, you had a lot of single family businesses, single man wholesalers in their little stores. And of course as the florists and the flower shops disappeared, they were not able to make a living. So of course they began to coalesce together and now you have about fifteen main flower people.
What we do have to remember, and we have to face up to this fact, is that of course the market has changed dramatically over the last 45 years. Uhm, I think it was something like, on the fruit and vegetable side, I think there were something like 800 wholesalers, or thereabouts. Now we're down to about seventeen.
You cannot work in a place, coming in with all guns blazing, without knowing them. The moment people are confronted with a strange camera, they stiffen up, they change and it can be a very subtle change, but it is a change. I have this insatiable appetite for creation, this insatiable appetite for people and community, and insatiable appetite for light. And... and that's why I'm a photographer. I want to say: 'look at this!' Hang on, bang!, look at this wonderful picture. Look at the way they do it, look at the light, look at the colours. And of course now that I'm towards the end of my life, you know, I can look back and think: if I could've only seen then what I know now.
I want these pictures to go on long after I'm gone. And so one is thinking about, I want to show it as it really was. And to get that feeling and that atmosphere. For the extraordinary thing is, that I know that the ordinary pictures that I'm doing today, as they were 50 years ago in the old market, are going to become extraordinary. They're gonna say: 'really, was it really like that?' in 50 years time.

[@datsallmad1350]

Grew up on the market knew Clive from a kid. His work got me interested in photography, proper nice geezer 😊

[@frenchfranaout]

Really interesting and the photographer is so passionate... I did enjoy listening to him and watching the pictures. Thanks for posting.

[@derekjh111]

Fabulous film. Has he produced books of his market photography?