Schwarz Flaneur is the title of a body of work by award-winning broadcaster and long-time photographer Pogus Caesar, which takes the form of an archive of 500-600 35 mm film negatives — a selection drawn from a wider archive of over 17,000 images, amassed since he began practising in the discipline in the early 1980s. The first part of the title isn’t too tricky even for my secondary school German, but it needed Caesar to explain that “flâneur” is a French term meaning “leisurely stroller”, further developed by the poet Charles Baudelaire to mean someone who walks in a city in order to experience it.

This description is perfect for Caesar’s photography which has run in tandem with the artist’s peripatetic life. Born in St Kitts, Caesar moved to Birmingham aged five and he retains close ties with the city he calls home. Imagery from the Midlands features in Schwarz Flaneur, as does work from his formative trips abroad — episodes in New York, the Caribbean and Western Europe are all represented. Despite spanning decades, Caesar’s photography has a distinctive and cohesive quality stemming from his unwavering loyalty to a 1983 Canon Sure Shot camera and Ilford HP5 black and white film, and an overriding interest in the people he has encountered on his travels. Ever-expanding as Caesar strolls into and amongst new communities, here’s hoping Schwarz Flaneur finds itself in the form of a book or exhibition — until then, here’s some of our favourite shots…

Pogus Caesar
Tiny. Brighton, UK 2001

Pogus Caesar
Glue Sniffer No 50 Bus. Birmingham UK. 1985

Pogus Caesar
Silver & Skin. Birmingham UK 2011

Pogus Caesar
Half A Cow Head. Tunis, Tunisia 2001

Pogus Caesar
Man with Playboy Pendant. Edgbaston, Birmingham 1986

Pogus Caesar
Untitled. Barcelona Spain 2003

Pogus Caesar
My House. New York, USA 1999

Pogus Caesar
Black Glove. Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2001

Pogus Caesar
Shopping for Sharks. Caracas, Venezuela 1991

Pogus Caesar
Mr Edi. Sarande, Albania 2006

Pogus Caesar
Untitled. Spain 2003

Pogus Caesar
Prince Joseph. Margarita Island 1991

Pogus Caesar
Sling Shot. Verona Italy 2002

Pogus Caesar
Deck of Cards. Birmingham UK 2001

Pogus Caesar
Twinkle. Paris, France 2010

Pogus Caesar
Protein. Dudley UK 1999

Pogus Caesar
Dinner Ladies. Birmingham, UK 1984
© Pogus Caesar/OOM Gallery Archive. All Rights Reserved
Gelatin silver prints from archival 35mm negatives
All photographs are in a Limited Edition of 12.