"British photographer Paul Sewell has a way of documenting his surroundings that is natural and provocative. Stories abound within the borders of his images. One is motivated to explore these scenes further and thus the viewer is as much captured as the view. With his observant eye Sewell gives us first a reference point with panoramas from atop Notre Dame or a hilltop in San Francisco, then takes us for a closer look to catch fleeting moments in a London subway or outside a bar at night in New Orleans. The simple things…a skip of a stone, a bundled walker…these moments caught are straightforward bits of time that speak of the everyday and, as Sewell says, “the things that go unnoticed†- Donna Cosentino
Paul was born in London, England in 1968, He discovered his love for photography at an early age when his father gave him his first camera and encouraged him to “Photograph the less obviousâ€.
After leaving school he got a job as a photographic assistant, working for fashion photographer Steve Cartwright. The studio was also available for rent so he got to work with a lot of photographers and see lots of different styles and when it wasn’t in use he could use the studio for his personal work.
He left the studio after two years after being awarded a government grant to develop his photographic style. Increasingly being asked to add graphics to the images he took, he studied graphic design and in 1995 moved to the United States and worked as an Art Director for a large international company. Tired of the corporate lifestyle and feeling the need to reinvent himself, Paul went to work for a small (8 person) design consultancy.He now resides in San Diego, California with his wife and three children.
"Although I have been taking photographs my whole life my goal has never altered. I have always wanted to convey a story in a single image, capture the things that happen every day that go unnoticed. I believe that story, although conceptualized by me, should take form in the mind of the viewer. That's why I don’t name my photographs.
My projects do not usually last more than a week, sometimes only a day, apparently my teachers were correct about my attention span (or lack therof), I do prefer to work on shorter projects although some of my smaller projects do tend to converge into larger ones.
My photography can be categorized into two main styles, street photography and abstract architecture. My street photography is very much traditional in its style while the architectural work follows a more distressed, minimalist approach."
You can see more of my work at: www.sewellstudio.com