Steve Pyke | Bio
Steve Pyke MBE, HonFRPS is a renowned photographer known for his intimate and intense black and white portraits of extraordinary thinkers, creators, and artists of our time. He has spent the last 40 years seeing the world through a creative lens. Born in Leicester, UK and residing in London and NYC for many years. Steve now lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana.
"The human face signals our emotions, suggests our cultural background. It is the naked part that we present to the world. Our faces speak realms about our identity. Our faces anchor us to our histories, our stories, and the stories of our ancestors. Our faces change with time and our faces absorb the passage of time. We tell our stories through our faces: how we present ourselves, how we use this personal canvas to convey not only our emotions, but also histories and identities.
When taking a portrait I rarely look into the ground glass of my camera except to momentarily check composition. I engage my sitters—we speak for far more time than I photograph. At certain points in our conversation I will photograph. It must be instinctual by now, but also I hope it creates spontaneity. Most of my frames are made looking at, and interacting with, my sitters.
Never stop seeing and opening yourself up to to the unexpected with strangers. These chance encounters are beautiful."
--Steve Pyke MBE, HonFRPS
Photo ©Christian Coleman