Danny Jackson's exhibition in Leigh to show eccentric Essex

Danny Jackson, 43, specialises in capturing candid photos of people going about their everyday lives on the streets and on the seafront near where he lives in Southend.

Dad-of-three Danny captured some great, unstaged moments - from a family all looking terrified on a rollercoaster, to a young child pushing a skateboard along the sea wall, as it perfectly aligns with a container ship on the water.

He normally keeps his street photography to himself, but decided to release a series of photographs now, as people are not allowed to go out as much during lockdown.

Danny said: "I'm really missing being able to go out and about and photograph people going about their lives.

"I still take my camera with me everywhere I go, like when I'm out walking my dog. But I miss seeing life and things happening - there is less going on to photograph.

"Not being able to go out has made me look back over old photos I took in the pre-Covid days.

"It has made me reminisce a lot more about the good old days when we could go out and actually see people out and about.

"I wanted to release those photos now as a way of still bringing people together during lockdown, to make them smile, and remind them that hopefully soon life will go back to normal."

Danny's says his candid street photography is about highlighting the "eccentricity" of people in his home county.

This is captured perfectly in such photos as a woman out walking her Staffordshire bull terrier dog whilst dressed up as St George, or in his photo of a man dressed as a Christmas elf, casually strolling along the seafront.

Danny said: "I see a lot of eccentricity and cheeky charisma in Essex people, and that's what I like to capture.

"I read a comment from a street photographer recently saying there's never been a better time to capture street photography, as we can now document times that have never been seen before.

"But I don't totally agree. For me, the stuff that I like to do is about capturing human emotion.

"That's a lot harder to do when there's fewer people about - and those that are out are wearing face masks."

Danny has so far grouped together 25 images for his "This is Essex" photo series - but says he has "thousands" more images from over the years.

He has shared a collection of his photos on Facebook - and says he has been "surprised" by the response.

He said: "I was quite surprised by just how much happiness it seems to have brought people.

"That's what I wanted to do - just give them a laugh for a few minutes, and bring them together, even if it is in a slightly different way."

And Danny's photos are now due to be featured at Leigh Art Trail, an art fair that takes place in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, each September.

But the photographer said his "dream" would be for someone to publish his photos into a book of Essex street photography.

To see more of Danny's "This is Essex" photography, visit his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_barksey_/.