Photo Critique The book, Once a Year, Some Traditional British Customs, was first published in 1977, establishing Homer Sykes as one of the UK’s leading young photographers. Over a period of almost seven years he travelled the country photographing around 100 traditional British customs, with over 80 appearing in the book.
In 2012 James O Jenkins published his book, United Kingdom, a collection of annual UK traditions portraying the main individuals involved. Always against a portable white backdrop, each person separated from the event and photographed with a ring flash.
The wacky world of cheese rolling, bog snorkelling, nettle eating, gurning, coal and wife carrying is a good entry point for young photographers looking to hone their craft. The events have been routinely documented, the trick is to photograph them…
