Grockles

• Prize
  Gold in Special/Street Photography
• Photographer
  Paul Carruthers
• Agency / Studio
  Swimstones
• Technical Info
  Taken With A Canon 5ds
• Photo Date
  Various

Grockles. In the seaside towns of England’s south coast, few words define both the social and political reality as the word Grockle. In local parlance it means a tourist, and it is often used as both a joke and a slur. With second homes driving locals away, water shortages, and tourist economies overly reliant on seasonal work, Grockles has come to define a political moment of displacement. Paul Carruthers’ long term street photography project explores tourism from the inside.

My approach to street photography is one of immersion. I become an observer, watching the crowd while keenly aware of the stories unfolding around me. I seek to capture the candid gestures, fleeting expressions, and decisive moments that reveal the nuances of human interaction and emotion. In doing so, I aim to shed light on the often-overlooked aspects of our urban existence, exposing the beauty and complexity that lies beneath the surface. That all sounds well and good but all I really do is wander for miles with a camera with the images of Winogrand, Leiter and Eisenstaedt on my shoulder.