Photos of people having really rubbish holidays
- Text by Niall Flynn
- Photography by Laurence Stephens
Laurence Stephens was living in Barcelona when he stumbled upon his first bored tourist.
In a bid to escape the glare of the midday sun, the British photographer (new in town, and actively searching for a new project), decided to take refuge in the city’s cathedral.
As he wandered around, he began to notice countless, near-identical scenes unfolding in front of him: a revolving door of weary sightseers, united in their glaring indifference towards the whole thing.
“I had previously taken pictures of tourists around the city, but it wasn’t until I visited [the cathedral] that the project and the idea for the book came to me,” he explains, recalling the day.
“In the cool dark rooms, I quickly realised the humorous photographic potential that tourist hot spots like these could offer. Juxtaposed against the beautiful architecture was an array of bemused, disillusioned tourists, bored-half-asleep, unintentionally waiting to be photographed.”
That afternoon in the cathedral kick-started a project that would take Stephens across Spain and Portugal over the course of three summers, shooting holidaymakers having an overtly rubbish time.
Hopping from landmark to landmark, he quickly identified the jaded and downcast, documenting their obvious discontent with a wry humour. Today, those photos make up Bored Tourists, a book which operates as an all-encompassing portrait of the disappointing holiday.
“For me the book expresses something that is universal to the human condition – that in life, expectation can often lead to disappointment. I feel this is especially evident in tourism.”
“Wherever you go in the world, if a tourist experience is on offer, you’ll find people realising that it’s not what they’d hoped it would be. So in producing the work I set out to capture moments, which highlight for others an aspect of life that we are all subject to, wherever we come from.”
Bored Tourists is available now from Hoxton Mini Press.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Lost photos from the heyday of punk and new wave
Crash Bang — DB Burkeman’s latest photobook unearths photographs from his younger years as an aspiring music photographer, which sat undeveloped in his family home for decades.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Gold-tinged togetherness as Londoners flock to Primrose Hill for the solar eclipse
Celestial gathering — Ella Glossop photographs the once in decades event from one the city’s most popular gathering spots, and the community spirit that encapsulated the moment.
Written by: Ella Glossop
Surveying community and resistance in LGBTQ+ nightlife
Sex, Clubs Dissent — A new book collates queer nightlife photography over the past 50 years, and the people who found refuge and safe spaces after dark.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In photos: Electric nights in ’70s Japan
Tokyo–Koza — Keizō Kitajima’s new photobook explores the explosion of party culture of Tokyo and Okinawa during an era of rapid change in the country, as well as its stranger turns.
Written by: Miss Rosen
“Magazines are cultural artefacts”: magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie on the enduring importance of print
We love magazines — Despite the ever creeping digitalisation of the world and culture, physical objects are taking on different, yet vital, roles in culture today. Ella Glossop chats to one of London’s biggest proponents of the art about why we need to support independent publications.
Written by: Ella Glossop
The anti-tourism guides revealing Lisbon’s true, radical heart
We Hate Tourism Tours — The Portuguese capital sees millions of people visit a year, against a backdrop of political turbulence and a housing crisis fuelled by short term holiday lets. Jack Burke meets the crew subverting their city’s perception, while bringing lesser seen stories and monuments to light.
Written by: Jack Burke
