Outside the bubble

Wanstead resident Stefan Rousseau who is chief political photographer for the Press Association (and who captured the moment when Theresa May held Donald Trump’s hand) is launching an exhibition of his work this weekend. He writes:

After living in Wanstead for over 20 years it seemed entirely appropriate to hold my first travel photography exhibition in my hometown. My work as the Chief Political Photographer at the Press Association has taken me to every corner of the world with four successive Prime Ministers, so alongside the hectic schedules and highly stage managed political engagements I have always tried to escape the ‘bubble’ and photograph local daily life in between the endless press conferences and photo ops.

Among the many places I’ve travelled to, the colour and diversity of Japan and India have always caught my imagination and so I’ve chosen fifty of my favourite photographs that I’ve shot over recent visits to be the subject of a month-long exhibition at Geoff Wilkinson’s Eightyfour gallery on Nightingale Lane from March 25. I find the people from both cultures are friendly, polite and welcoming yet incredibly different in so many ways and I’ve tried to reflect this in the exhibition. 

The pictures, taken over several years, are candid street scenes of everyday life in two very contrasting countries; one being a huge developing and eclectic nation, the other, possibly the most advanced and civilised country in the world. The ‘East meets East’ exhibition displays a small comparative example of these cultures.

As I mark my 30th year as a press photographer, travel photography has allowed me to renew my enthusiasm for photojournalism.

• The exhibition starts on Sunday at eightyfour, the photography gallery at 84 Nightingale Lane.