In the Bag: Josh Edgoose
©Joshua Atkins
Source:In the Bag: Josh Edgoose
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©Joshua Atkins
In partnership with MPB, British Journal of Photography delves into the ever-evolving kit that informs Josh Edgoose’s colourful images
“I think about Mrs. Doubtfire all the time!” says Josh Edgoose — AKA Spicy Meatball, his Instagram username — giving an answer I wasn’t expecting when I quiz him about his infatuation with photographing blues and oranges and the nearby hues of ketchup red and egg-yolk yellow.
His very particular sense of colour is the first thing you notice about his work. “My palette is quite restricted,” Edgoose acknowledges. “Maybe it comes from colour film and old family photos from the 1990s: greens with a blue tint, warm yellows, teal blues. And 1990s films [hence Mrs. Doubtfire]. I keep circling for that pre‑internet feel; I want my pictures to look like that era.”
©Joshua Atkins
I want to celebrate the lighter, friendlier side of being British
– Josh Edgoose
Edgoose still identifies with street photography, mostly shooting candid pictures outdoors, but also stopping people to make portraits. He is mindful of not getting too stuck with genre. “It’s more about your own voice and point of view than a label. But he still gets a buzz from being around complete strangers and using his wits. “I go to lots of quirky British events. Being among a crowd, chatting, taking pictures, it keeps me going.”
“I want to celebrate the lighter, friendlier side of being British. At events, I see people having fun, strangers joking, dressing up, celebrating cars, whatever. I used to think I had to travel, but I’m excited by how much more of the UK there is to photograph.” He keeps a long list of events he wants to photograph each year. “This year I hoped to reach the [Porthcawl] Elvis Festival in Wales; I’ve plotted about 20 dog shows; there’s Kate Bush [themed ‘Most Wuthering Heights’] Day, the Folkestone Air Show, lots of country fairs. When I get there, I shoot some candid shots, some portraits, and some details The hardest bit is capturing the overall mood, but that’s the aim.”
“People say gear doesn’t matter, but I think it does, because different situations need different tools”
Last year he was invited to become a Fujifilm ambassador “They’ve been amazing: fun jobs, open briefs, doing workshops. Three months ago they gathered all the ambassadors and said, ‘We’re taking you to Japan in October’. I cried. It came after a rough personal stretch. I have hardly left the country in the last six years,” he says, his only trip abroad being to open his exhibition at La Gacilly Photo Festival in Brittany this summer.
It’s a dream role for a photographer who has been shooting Fujifilm for years. “People say gear doesn’t matter, but I think it does, because different situations need different tools. I’ve used the Fujifilm X100 series a lot over the years. My main camera is the X‑T5, which is great because I can switch between photo and video for my YouTube channel [Framelines, run with fellow street photographer Shane Taylor]; it’s the best I’ve found for seamless switching while keeping an engaging shooting experience. I like the colours and the speed. I have a couple of GFX bodies too. I love the big RAW files, 16‑bit colour, natural skin tones, and especially the sky gradients.
If he was sent on assignment to shoot street photography in central London, what would be his go-to? “I’d put a zoom in my bag, just in case, but I’d most likely use Fuji’s 35mm f/2 prime (a 50mm‑equivalent). It’s light, compact, very fast, and the image quality is almost up there with the GFX. It’s really sharp. I took that exact setup to the Goodwood Revival recently. It looks a bit vintage and people reacted well. It did everything I wanted.”
He’s used MPB to sell gear “loads”. Since starting his YouTube channel, he’s owned X‑T2, X‑T3, X‑H bodies. “I go through phases, wanting to shoot 28mm all the time, then winter comes and I can’t shoot 28mm, so I sell it. I sell to MPB regularly. It’s super straightforward. I’ve used them for years.”
Has that ease of buying and selling encouraged him to try out different lenses? “You look at other people’s work — someone using an 85mm, someone else 35mm, or 28mm — and you want to try those styles. But you don’t want to carry seven primes for a day. With MPB, you can pick up a lens, use it for six months, sell it, and try something else. I’ve done that a lot — and ended up with a 24–70mm to cover the bases.”
This openness to trying new things runs through Edgoose’s career. He’s published two books in recent years, despite not setting out to publish his images as a collection. “I was lucky to build a relationship with Keith [Cullen] at Setanta Books. In 2020 he asked if I wanted to do a street photography book [Brilliant Parade, published the following year], and I said, ‘Yes please!’ That got covered in The Guardian and that led to work that ultimately helped me turn this into a living. I’ve been very lucky. Otherwise, I’d still be making spreadsheets.”
In Partnership with MPB
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