Interview with Toby Davies, film photographer

After a long period of not taking any photographs and I was in a big creative drought. I was ready to totally reset photography-wise which led me to film, so I sold all my digital equipment and bought a film camera, and I wouldn’t change a thing now!

Hi Toby! It’s a pleasure to have you for this interview. Could you please start by introducing yourself to our readers?
Hi, thanks for having me! My name is Toby Davies aka edgewood edition (on Instagram) and I’m a film photographer. I currently live in Northern California but am originally from London in the United Kingdom. 

Do you remember when your interest in photography started, and how it became a passion?
I think I’ve always been quite interested in photography, even as a child but it wasn’t until I got my first DSLR,  in my mid twenties, that it started to develop into more of a hobby. It was partly Instagram that inspired me to start taking my camera out with me in my spare time, rather than just holidays. Instagram was really a game-changer for me! 

What subjects do you most enjoy photographing and why?
I’m not sure really. I generally don’t like to photograph people up close, which is why I was probably not a very good street photographer. Having said that I have often used people in the background of my photographs to provide scale and context. Shooting film has definitely made me much more open minded about what I photograph. I tend to use light as much as I can, but I struggle to get out for golden hour these days, so a lot of my recent work has been in broad daylight. 

Beaches, landscapes, vintage cars… your work has such a timeless look. This is partly due to the use of film, but also in the choice of subjects, and mainly in the combination of both. When you go out to photograph, what’s your workflow and how do you make that careful choice of subjects?
I generally have to fit photography around life so I have to make the most of the opportunities I get to use my camera, and this often means taking it along with me on another outing. Occasionally I will specifically go out with my camera and just take photographs without other distractions. I work best if I’m on foot, so I prefer to wander for an hour or two. I find that I need to get a few frames under my belt before I feel really creative. I’m trying to be mindful and take note of things throughout the day that I might return to at a later date when I have my camera on me.