About the storyteller

Wayne Crichlow (aka chasingthelight_67) is a London-based documentary and street photographer, and the Founder of Chasing The Light Media Ltd, a creative media platform encompassing photography, film, podcasting and long-form visual storytelling. Born in East London, his work examines social justice, protest movements, storytelling, and everyday life within Black British and urban communities. He is the son of Caribbean migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom during the post-war period, part of a generation whose movement reshaped British society and forms part of the wider African and Caribbean diaspora.

His photographic practice began with street photography, developed through years of observing and photographing everyday life in East London. Working in public space from an early stage, he became interested in how people occupy streets, how communities gather, and how ordinary moments reflect broader social realities. These early street-photography foundations continue to shape his visual language, approach to proximity, and attentiveness to human interaction.

Working at the intersection of visual storytelling and advocacy, his photography documents moments of resistance, identity, and collective memory as they unfold in public space. His practice is informed by lived experience within diasporic communities and reflects broader global conversations around migration, belonging, representation, and inequality.

His work sits within a generation of Black photographers and visual activists responding to contemporary social and political realities in Britain, while engaging with themes that resonate internationally. Through documentary practice, his photography contributes to a visual record of how communities organise, protest, and assert visibility in response to structural and social pressures.

Deeply influenced by humanist and documentary traditions — with creative inspiration drawn from photographers such as Gordon Parks, Moneta Sleet Jr., Charlie Phillips, Mary-Ellen Mark and Sebastião Salgado — Wayne’s work foregrounds the subtle, the poetic and the profound in everyday life.

Much of his work is rooted in long-term observation and immersion. He has extensively documented protests, demonstrations, and grassroots movements across London, focusing on the human dynamics within collective action rather than spectacle alone. His images foreground emotion, solidarity, and tension, often capturing narratives that exist outside dominant media framing.

Alongside protest documentation, his street photography continues to explore urban life in East London, where he maintains a sustained engagement with place and community. This work centres on everyday interactions, cultural gatherings, and public rituals, contributing to a broader visual record of contemporary urban experience shaped from within the communities depicted. While rooted in London, these narratives reflect experiences common across diasporic communities globally.

Visually, his work is characterised by muted tones, restrained colour palettes, and a cinematic sensibility. His photographs balance formal composition with narrative clarity, favouring subtlety over visual excess. Storytelling and advocacy remain central to his practice, guiding both subject choice and method.

He was a finalist in Sky Arts’ Master of Photography in 2018. Since then, his work has been exhibited on multiple occasions in London, with eight exhibitions presented in community-led and independent gallery spaces in Hackney between 2018 and the present. These exhibitions have focused on themes including protest, cultural identity, and collective memory.

His photography has received national press coverage in the United Kingdom and has appeared in editorial contexts addressing photography, culture, and social issues. In addition to exhibitions and publications, he has participated in public talks, panel discussions, and speaking events, contributing to international conversations on documentary ethics, visual advocacy, and the role of storytelling in shaping public understanding.

Across projects, exhibitions, and public engagement, his work positions photography as an artistic practice, a narrative tool, and a historical record. Together, these bodies of work contribute to an evolving visual archive of contemporary Britain, viewed through the lens of street life, diaspora, community, and resistance, with relevance that extends beyond national borders.

Read more about Wayne’s appearance on Sky Television - Sky Arts Master of Photography Season 3, the latest news, workshops and awards and honouree mentions. You can also follow him on Instagram, Substack, YouTube, Threads and Bluesky.