“What I do is often on the border between being an intruder and an observer” – Neil Libbert
Salford-born photojournalist Neil Libbert studied at Manchester’s Regional College of Art before opening his own studio in 1957 and embarking on a career in photojournalism. “I had a keen interest in watching and observing people, a witness to events,” he says. “It is still about the power of observation, and one is just a witness to events.”
“What I do is often on the border between being an intruder and an observer – it’s called clandestine photography. I’m not always proud of how I behave but sometimes it’s the only way.”
Does he know what makes for a good photograph? “I wish I knew,” he says. “It has something to do with the coming together of composition, light, subject matter, or as Cartier-Bresson said, it’s the ‘decisive moment.’ There are no rules.”
Outside the Black-E Arts Centre, Liverpool, 1973
Buckingham Palace Facade, London, 1970
Nun With a Brolly, Salford, undated
Salford, 1958
Saturday Morning Movies, Moss Side, Manchester, 1958
Salford Street Scene, 1957
Andy Warhol, TATE Gallery London, 1971
Whitton Park, Bishop Auckland, 1965
Cat Jumping, Salford, 1957
West Indian Arrivals, Waterloo Station, London, 1961
New Bond Street, London, 1964
Salford Street Scene, 1957
Workers’ Cafe, Salford, 1957
Children Playing Cowboys and Indians in Salford, 1957
Via AnOtherMag, Michael Hoppen Gallery