1. PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER FEBRUARY 2011 ● GILLES BENSIMON ● TERENCE DONOVAN ● CHRIS CRAYMER ● LIGHTING TRICKS REVEALED ● BUSINESS SPECIAL
Keira Knightley INSPIRING • INFORMATIVE • HONEST • ESSENTIAL
by Gilles Bensimon
FEBRUARY 2011 ONLY £3.99
WWW.PROFESSIONALPHOTOGRAPHER.CO.UK
IN THIS ISSUE:
TERENCE DONOVAN
REMEMBERED,
REAL-LIFE
PERSONAL
PROJECTS,
LIGHTING TRICKS
REVEALED
& BERT STERN
PROFILED
“If you want to be a different fish,
you’ve got to jump out of the school.”
Captain Beefheart
LET’S GET DOWN
TO BUSINESS
10-PAGE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GETTING
YOUR BUSINESS RIGHT
PLUS: HEAR DIRECT FROM THE BEST IN THE WORLD ON
HOW TO SHOOT RIOTS, FASHION, STILL LIFE,
PORTRAITS, FILMS & REPORTAGE AND SURVIVE
2.
3. welcome
february
When we came to putting this issue together and deciding who we wanted to feature and why, a few names
from my past came to me that I felt had perhaps been forgotten but that deserved to be revisited.
Our industry has an unpleasant, insatiable thirst for the new, the young and the latest fashion, often at the expense of
the great and the established. Bert Stern and Gilles Bensimon certainly fall into that category for me.
If you’ve never heard of them, nor seen their work, I hope you find them interesting and inspiring. If you are aware of
them but not heard from them for a while, I hope you enjoy reading about some old friends.
On a similar theme, this month’s Being There on Page 23 allowed me the opportunity to talk about another great
photographer and a friend, Terence Donovan. I hope that you
enjoy these snapshots from my photographic past and
that they give you an insight not only into my career but
also into the business as a whole.
If you have ever wanted to know what makes a good agent, how to get one
and what they can do for you, then you could do no better than hear what
one of the most established and best has to say. Find out all this and more on
Page 45 in Frontline. Someone working without an agent but getting by
(just!) is awardwinning photojournalist Peter Dench, our regular columnist
and bon viveur. This month he not only brings us his monthly Dench Diary
on Page 38 but he also goes back to college at our request to find out
why he hasn’t been succeeding in the Taylor Wessing Awards recently.
You can read what he discovered in Educating Peter on Page 72.
While we were sending Peter to college, students were protesting on
the streets and news photographers were trying to capture the action.
We spoke to Eddie Mulholland, senior photographer with the
Telegraph newspaper group, to find out how he manages to work
among the civil unrest in I Predict a Riot on Page 62.
One of the most unpleasant aspects of being a freelancer is the
financial responsibility which you have to bear for your business.
This is the time of year when we should all have submitted our
tax returns and be ensuring that our paperwork is in order.
To help you with this we have taken some of the most useful
articles from our sister title Turning Pro to create an
THIS IMAGE / COVER IMAGE: GILLES BENSIMON
all-in-one Business Special on Page 91. I hope you
find it interesting and useful.
EDITOR’S IMAGE: MATT HALSTEAD
Someone who has made a success out of his
work as a still-life photographer for many years now
is David Parfitt. Find out how he has remained
inspired and creative in Motion Pictures on Page 84.
It’s a tough business we’re involved in and the more help and advice
you get can only help. We just make sure it’s the best.
Grant Scott, Editor
4.
5. NEW PHOTOGRAPHY
8 Portfolio
The best of our readers’ work.
53 Exposure
We take a glimpse at an online archive of great
contents
february
magazine covers that inspire us.
72 Educating Peter
Peter Dench finds out how today’s photography
students are being prepared for the real world.
NEED TO KNOW
23 Being There
PP Editor Grant Scott recalls a shoot with iconic
1960s photographer Terence Donovan.
30 Dispatches
Clive Booth talks about a Scottish island that has
inspired his photography for many years.
38 The Dench Diary
This month photojournalist Peter Dench takes to the
skies on assignment in Africa.
42 The World of Convergence
Film maker John Campbell’s regular news-packed
look at the world of convergence.
45 Frontline
We talk to photography agent Mark George.
51 Guess the Lighting
Ever seen a great image and wanted to know how it
was lit? Ted Sabarese explains all.
66 Bangers & Crash
PP Editor Grant Scott recalls an early personal
project centred around the world of banger racing.
114 Legend
We look at a living legend, Bert Stern, whose
commercial images changed the advertising world. Vision and determination have shaped Chris Craymer’s career. Read more in our interview on page 78.
INTERVIEWS WITH... 84 Motion Pictures
Photographer David Parfitt talks about the
21 Diary
Our pick of this month’s photographic exhibitions
34 Watching the Wheels inspiration behind his unique still-life images. around the UK.
We revisit the winner of our 2010 competition, who got
a £5,000 budget to shoot the Land Rover Discovery 4. 103 Stop Press...
BUSINESS SPECIAL The latest essential news, gossip and kit from the
EXCLUSIVE... 92 Go Compare
The world of photography insurance explained.
pro world.
54 Gilles Bensimon on the Phone
Editor Grant Scott has a conversation with the 96 ...And Nothing but the Truth
KEEP IN TOUCH
legendary French fashion photographer who Protecting your good name and business. 26 Subscribe
has created timeless images of some of the most Check out our latest subscription offer so you’ll
beautiful women in the world. 98 Copy Cat never miss an issue of your favourite photography
How to protect the ownership of your images. magazine again.
62 I Predict a Riot
Telegraph press photographer Eddie Mulholland 28 Podcast
discusses shooting the recent student riots. NEWS & REVIEWS Every month we go online to discuss the world of
photography and you can hear our debate for free.
CHRIS CRAYMER
78 Make it Big 14 Click
Julia Molony talks to Chris Craymer, whose vision This month’s line-up of the best news, dreams, 49 Feedback
and determination have carved a successful career. themes and photographic schemes. Your thoughts, your opinions, your page.
.
www.professionalphotographer.co.uk 5
8. PORTFOLIO
Each month we share the best of the latest postings from our online portfolio with our magazine
readers, so for your chance to appear in Professional Photographer, go online and start uploading
your best images to www.professionalphotographer.co.uk. If you want to see more of any
photographer’s work, go to their online profile to access their website details.
TIFFANY IRVING,
UK
STAN PEACH,
UK
PIOTR STRYJEWSKI,
UK
8 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
10. PORTFOLI
RAYMENT KIRBY,
UK
BOURNE,
UK
10 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
11. MARKUS VOETTER,
IRELAND
CHRISTOPHER
WAUD, UK
ANDY FORD,
UK
REKHA
GARTON,
UK
JONATHAN CARVAJAL,
COLOMBIA
www.professionalphotographer.co.uk 11
12. PORTFOLI SASA HUZJAK,
SLOVENIA
REKHA GARTON,
UK
DARRAN ARMSTRONG,
UK
STEPHEN BOYLE,
IRELAND
ANDY FORD,
UK
12 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
13.
14. click
Coastline No.2.
the latest
photographic news,
dreams, themes
and schemes.
edited by Eleanor O’Kane
Third time lucky
One of the 20 Bad Girls of Photography from our
November 2010 issue, Bettina Rheims shocked
religious groups by portraying Jesus as a woman
and shot portraits of a Russian oligarch’s wife that
border on the pornographic. Following limited and
art editions, which were priced at £1,250 and £650
respectively, publisher Taschen has released its
tribute to Rheims, Rose, c’est Paris, as an unlimited
edition at a more modest £44.99. Available from
February, the monograph is accompanied by a
feature-length film on DVD and tells a story that
weaves fashion, erotica and film noir in Rheims’s
signature sexy and stylish tableau
that features, among others,
Naomi Campbell, Charlotte
Rampling and Monica Bellucci.
Rose, c’est Paris, by Bettina
Rheims and Serge Bramly,
published by Taschen, £44.99,
ISBN: 978-8365-2785-9.
ZHANG XIAO
Derby days In the beginning
FORMAT, the Derby-based international festival of contemporary photography and related media, In photography it often seems that the discovery of
is back for its fifth year. With a theme for 2011 of Right Here Right Now: Exposures from the a box of long-forgotten plates or prints casts a new
Public Realm, the festival celebrates the resurgence of street photography with a host of events light on the work of an artist. Renowned as a
dedicated to candid photography. One of the highlights is the FORMAT11 Commission, from pioneer of colour photography, William Eggleston
Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden, which will be exhibited in Derby Museum and Art Gallery. originally worked in black and white, photographing
For the commission, the American master turned his lens on Derby. Brooklyn-born Gilden suburban scenes in Memphis in high-speed 35mm
once said: “I’m known for taking pictures very close, and the older I get, the closer I get.” As part film; compositions that would go on to inform
of the exhibition, a video of Gilden getting up close and personal while shooting in the town will his later work. The discovery of some of his early
be aired. prints at the Eggleston Artistic Trust in Memphis
The festival is not just limited to galleries. Large-scale works by seven leading Magnum has led to Before Color, a new book from Steidl
photographers, including Chris Steele-Perkins, Bruno Barbey and Trent Parke, will be on show that features work dating
alfresco in Derby Market Place. This outdoor show of from 50 years ago,
street photography will be touring the UK once the scanned from vintage
festival is over and you can also catch it at London plates developed by the
St Pancras railway station later this year. photographer in his own
FORMAT International Photography Festival 2011, darkroom.
Right Here Right Now: Exposures from the Public Before Color, by
DOUGIE WALLACE
Realm, will take place from 4 March to 3 April in William Eggleston,
various venues across Derby and beyond. published by Steidl, £40,
For more information visit www.formatfestival.com. Blake 7. ISBN: 978-3-86930-122-8.
14 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
15. BETTINA RHEIMS , COURTESY GALERIE JÉRÔME DE NOIRMONT, PARIS
Monica Bellucci, Tenue de
Gala, Hotel Le Meurice, Rue de
Rivoli, Paris, February 2009 .
18. Leaning to
the left
INEZ VAN LAMSWEERDE AND VINOODH MATADIN / NOWNESS
First published in 1956,
Love on the Left Bank
provided a snapshot of the
creative scene among
Paris’s Left Bank artistic
community during the early
1950s and was considered
a classic of its time.
Now back in print, this
facsimile edition features
the work of Dutch
photographer and film
maker Ed van der Elsken,
Candid cameras who inhabited this offbeat
A new short film by fashion photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Parisian quartier when he
Vinoodh Matadin caught our eye. Featured on the lifestyle site NOWNESS, moved there in 1950 to further his photography. He took a job in
the film crosses the line from reality to a surreal world using illustrations by Magnum’s darkroom where he developed the prints of Robert Capa and
artist Jo Ratcliffe. Shot in secret by the pair using four hidden cameras on a is said to have impressed Henri Cartier-Bresson with his street
Balmain fashion house shoot featuring Kate Moss, the film also stars surreal photography. He went on to have a successful career in stills and film.
serpent-like creatures that creep up on Moss while she’s in repose and Love on the Left Bank, by Ed van der Elsken, published by Dewi Lewis,
a soothing soundtrack by Antony and the Johnsons. www.nowness.com £24, ISBN: 978-1-899235-22-3.
18 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
19. click
New views of
New York
For its first show of 2011, the
Wapping Project Bankside is
featuring striking images by
CINDY SHERMAN
German photographer
Christopher Thomas.
Shot using a custom-made
large format camera and
Who do you think you are? long exposures, the 30
large-scale pictures show
We chose New Yorker Cindy Sherman as one of our a more tranquil, less frenetic
20 Bad Girls of Photography in the November 2010 side to New York. A vintage
issue for her uncompromising method of working, which feel, coupled with famous
explores the idea of identity. An exhibition at London locations devoid of life, show
gallery Sprüth Magers presents new work by Sherman. another aspect of the city
It is the way we’re used to seeing her – as the subject of that, it seems, does sleep
her own images – but this time these are displayed as after all.
large photographic murals rather than framed prints. New York Sleeps: Photographs
CHRISTOPHER THOMAS
The theme this time is ageing American socialites and is by Christopher Thomas,
as challenging as ever. 2001-2009, until 26 February,
Radio City.
Cindy Sherman at Sprüth Magers London, until www.thewappingproject
19 February. http://spruethmagers.com bankside.com
www.professionalphotographer.co.uk 19
23. THINGSHAVE
CHANGED
When PP editor Grant Scott
was asked to commission a
photographer to shoot the
actress Kristin Scott Thomas as dusty faded sense to the whole place. There was and that it was his portfolio images that proved
Jackie Kennedy he recognised no natural light and a claustrophobic feeling him as a serious photographer.
about the small upstairs office where his faithful Funnily enough I was talking recently to the
it as a chance to work with studio manager was based. photography agent, Mark George, who became
an icon of the 1960s and a The ground floor was the studio, narrow, the Terry’s agent at this time, about the holiday snaps
width of a carriage in fact, but long enough for and how great they were. He had had exactly the
family friend. him to be able to shoot full length against a same reaction to them and as Terry’s agent had
Colorama. However, the lighting equipment was forced him to show them as his portfolio.
The world of as old as the cameras he was still shooting with. I believed in Terry and his work, despite the
professional His large, cumbersome power packs and unwieldy impasse over his portfolio and constant references
photography has lights filled the space. Remnants from the 1960s, to how his Robert Palmer video Addicted to Love,
always been made up they still worked well but added to the feeling of changed the world of cinema and wanted to give
of a small and being in a particularly sad time warp. In a small him a chance to bring his great photographic eye
interconnected series alcove to the left of the studio, piled high in back into a commissioned project. So when I was
of relationships, both brown archive boxes stacked to the ceiling, were asked to find a photographer to shoot the actress
personal and work Terry’s holiday snaps, as he called them. Kristin Scott Thomas as Jackie Kennedy, the
based. I cannot tell you Beautiful images all in black and white and sepia, 1960s fashion icon, I instantly thought of Terry.
how many coincidences and mutual friendships many of 6 x 7 prints taken on his holidays. It seemed worth the risk. I thought he could bring
have occurred and been revealed over the years on They showed him as the great photographer his understanding of the era and photographic
shoots around the world. But I suppose that one he was, but he wasn’t showing anybody these reputation to the shoot. He was always asking,
of the strangest connections I ever had with the pictures at the time. “What are they bringing to the party?” when
photographic world came via my first wife, Instead he was showing a box of laminated discussing new young photographers, so I thought
whose father was Terence Donovan’s images of girls in lingerie getting out of cars this would be the perfect opportunity for him to
photographic assistant throughout the 1960s. (some of these are on the Donovan Archive show what he could bring.
Because of this relationship and the close website today in a nudes portfolio and with I talked him through the idea for the shoot and
proximity of Donovan’s mews studio to Vogue hindsight feel a little too reminiscent of the work he was up for it. We would shoot in the mews
House in Hanover Square, where I was working, of Helmut Newton), alongside overly controlled studio. Terry played it down, just another shoot,
we became friends. To some extent I also became celebrity portraits. They were of a different time but I felt that it could be more than that.
someone he could connect with who was in a and had no relevance to the work being created at The fashion editor compiled a wardrobe of
position to commission photographers during a the time during the mid to late 1990s. He couldn’t Jackie-Kennedy-inspired clothes and accessories
period when he was finding it hard to get work understand why and despite my constant attempts and we brought in hair and make-up people with
and relate to the changing landscape of to explain that the images he should be showing the right gravitas to work with Terry. He could
photography at which he had both excelled and to get commissioned were his holiday snaps, be abrupt and intimidating, and the shoot would
achieved wealth and fame. (The scene in the 1966 he continued to believe they were just for fun be no place for beginners.
film Blow-Up when David Hemmings is driving
around London in an open-topped Bentley with
wads of cash was based directly on Donovan’s “The ground floor was the studio, narrow, the width of a carriage in
behaviour at the time.)
From the outside the mews was unidentifiable
fact, but long enough for him to be able to shoot full length against
as a photographic studio. It still retained the a Colorama. However, the lighting equipment was as old as the
original double garage doors, and the internal
decoration was exactly as it was when he had first
cameras he was still shooting with. His large, cumbersome power
moved in during the early 1970s. There was a packs and unwieldy lights filled the space.” Grant Scott
www.professionalphotographer.co.uk 23
24. Kristin Scott Thomas flew in from Paris, where
she lived with her surgeon husband, for the shoot.
“The day and the shoot had been a disaster. My gamble had not
She’s a serious actress and it was obvious from paid off. The day had been filled with sadness for me, seeing a
the start that she would want a say in how she was
going to be photographed. Her first decision was photographer and a friend I admired fail to understand how much
that she was not going to be dressed up as Jackie
Kennedy. She knew nothing of the theme for the
the industry had changed since his heyday.” Grant Scott
shoot and she was not happy. Communication
between the fashion editor, Kristin and her agent editor could be in the studio space, but only if she put up too much of an argument. I never worked
had obviously broken down somewhere and it was stood hidden behind one of his monstrous light with him again.
not a great start to the shoot. She did, however, stands and remained quiet. The atmosphere on the As I mentioned earlier Terry was taken on by
agree to be photographed in some of the outfits shoot was now at rock bottom and nobody was Mark George (previously agent to Richard
that had been supplied for her. enjoying themselves. Avedon and still carrying out that role for Don
Meanwhile, Terry had turned up at the shoot in With Kristin in place in front of the Colorama McCullin) and returned for a brief spell to classic
one of his trademark grey suits. He was a big and everyone placated, Terry began to shoot and portraiture shooting a Best of British Icons
man, a judo champion and smart dresser, but the his assistant took the first Polaroid from him as he portfolio for GQ magazine. Sadly, his career
suit he had chosen that day was as faded as the passed Terry his special glasses for looking at never recovered the energy and vibrancy that his
studio – baggy at the pockets and torn on the Polaroids. These were large metal-sided jeweller’s old mate Bailey had managed to sustain.
seam of his trousers. His assistant was the same glasses that were held on his head by a wide Terry took his own life in 1996, aged 60. He left
one he had used in the 1970s but had not worked elastic band and which were usually used to see behind millions of prints in tidy little boxes
with for some while. Everything felt as if the the fine detail in precious gemstones. It was all over his studio and his two houses. They were
cobwebs had just been dusted off. There was no all part of the theatre of working with Terry but his holiday snaps.
energy and my heart sank as Kristin came down it just felt out of step with the times. I attended the memorial service held in
the stairs for the first shot. We raced through the shoot with little St George’s Church just around the corner from
Immediately Terry demanded the studio space enthusiasm and said our farewells swiftly at the both Vogue House and his old studio. It was
to be cleared of everyone except Kristin, himself end of a very short day. The day and the shoot had packed with photographers, fashion editors, art
and me. He didn’t want people hanging around or been a disaster. My gamble had not paid off. directors, family and friends, including Princess
getting in the way. This did not go down well with The day had been filled with sadness for me, Diana and Margaret Thatcher. His daughter Daisy,
the team, who were used to pampering and seeing a photographer and a friend I admired fail who went on to become a famous television
primping the subject throughout the shoot and to understand how much the industry had presenter, gave a speech that moved everyone to
having an input into how it was going. Terry was changed since his heyday. tears. What a shame that he had not been able to
from a different time and he wasn’t going to A few days later the prints from the shoot were see that he wasn’t as forgotten by the industry as
change the way he worked for anybody. delivered but they were unusable. It would not he thought he had been. PP
To prevent the shoot falling apart completely I have been fair to anybody involved to allow them
managed to get him to agree that the fashion to appear. I explained this to Terry and he didn’t www.terencedonovan.co.uk
GO ONLINE FOR MORE EXCLUSIVE TALES FROM THE WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT WWW.PROFESSIONALPHOTOGRAPHER.CO.UK
24 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
25.
26. SUBSCRIBE
GILLES
BENSIMON
ONTHEPHONE
Gilles Bensimon has spent the past 40 years photographing some of the most beautiful
women in the world in some of the world’s most beautiful locations, helped to define
the visual identity of ELLE magazine, married and divorced Elle Macpherson and
appeared on America’s Next Top Model TV show. PP Editor Grant Scott managed to
catch him on the phone in Paris to find out more about his life, times and photography.
Grant: Gilles, when I was art directing business. Then I worked with a photographer for
ELLE magazine, I always loved your work, a very few months and then after that, very
and your style of photography was strangely, I started to work for ELLE magazine.
synonymous with the original French But from the beginning they didn’t really want me
weekly version. How did you get involved to do what I wanted to do.
with them in the 1980s and start taking Grant: Your photography at the time seemed
those kinds of images? to be very ‘non-photographic’, very natural.
Gilles: I must admit that when I was young I Gilles: I’m happy you recognise that but at that
never wanted to work. It’s every kid’s dream to time people didn’t think what I was doing was
become somebody, and I went to art school, then trendy, you know. I was never obsessed with
the army and when I got out I realised that I was trends. I think that photography should be
obliged to do something. I thought that a drug timeless. It’s like cooking, you do not want too
dealer was a good job but it had disadvantages. many ingredients. People talk more about my
I never did become a drug dealer, but when work now than they did then.
Grant: You were shooting a lot of images on
GILLES BENSIMON
a friend was trying it out as a business, I said to
him that it seemed like a good job for me. He said
he didn’t think so. So I tried to become some
sort of artist, because my family were in the art Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez.
56 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
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28. podcast
ON YOUR
WAVELENGTH
Every month we record a free podcast discussing, debating and chatting around a subject
featured in the magazine. We post them on our website and you can subscribe for free
and download them via iTunes. So if you haven’t listened in yet, why not give them a try?
THIS MONTH’S PODCAST Photographic Portrait Prize and whether there is the PP’s support group, the United States of
February Issue such a thing as a formula for winning. Photography, which was launched in the
THE BUSINESS SPECIAL September issue. They talk about the origins of
The regular podcast team talk tax, finance and November Issue the USP, which was a response to an article on
marketing to coincide with the business special SEXY OR SEXIST? the loneliness of being a freelance photographer,
in the February issue. They look at whether Grant Scott, Eleanor O’Kane and Peter Dench report on its reception among pro photographers,
possessing business and photography skills go discuss why some images are seen as sexy while and examine its aims. The team also asks if
hand in hand, discuss potential areas where others are labelled sexist. photographers are becoming increasingly
seeking professional advice could reap rewards isolated in a digital age and why support groups
and ask if current photography students are October Issue are more important than ever.
aware of the importance of business skills when THE SECRETS OF BEING A PRO
choosing a career as a professional photographer. This month Grant Scott, Eleanor O’Kane and August Issue
Peter Dench discuss the secrets of professional THE BAD BOYS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
AND THOSE YOU MAY HAVE MISSED… photography. Veteran pros Grant and Peter relate The 25 Bad Boys of Photography list in the
January Issue their experiences of working alongside other August issue is discussed by Grant Scott,
ICONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY photographers and how these have influenced Eleanor O’Kane and Peter Dench. The debate
PP Editor Grant Scott and deputy editor Eleanor their working practices. With the days of the centres on the diverse lives of the photographers
O’Kane are joined by regular columnist communal darkroom and lab long gone, the in the final list, including Guy Bourdin, David
and photojournalist Peter Dench to discuss the opportunity to share news and advice in person Bailey, Helmut Newton, David Hockney and
importance of learning from the masters, has disappeared. The team also discusses how Wolfgang Tillmans. All 25 have broken the rules
the point at which a photographer becomes an photographers are sharing information in the in one way or another. The podcast team looks
icon and their own personal favourites. digital age and looks at new ways of networking, at whether being a ‘bad boy’ is merely a facade
including the PP’s United States of Photography. for some photographers.
December Issue
PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITIONS September Issue You can subscribe for free and download the
Grant Scott is joined by Eleanor O’Kane and THE UNITED STATES OF PHOTOGRAPHY podcasts from iTunes by typing professional
photographer Peter Dench to discuss the world of The regular podcast team of Grant Scott, Eleanor photographer into the search tab or listen via
competitions, the contentious Taylor Wessing O’Kane and Peter Dench discuss the creation of www.professionalphotographer.co.uk. PP
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29.
30. dispatches Clive Booth tales from the frontline of professional photography
It’s the first official working day of 2011 and favourite, and inspired me to take a closer look
I’m in the midst of organising new shoots; at my home county and get out and shoot
stills and video, professional and personal. landscapes, which I do with a passion to this day.
This year I really want to do more with both still And yet it was hearing Paul discussing his
imagery and DSLR video. Professionally, there’s new work, Corridor of Uncertainty, that really
half a dozen projects in the pipeline, but it’s the gripped me.
personal ones that have been occupying my mind ‘Bereavement, for me, is being between two
for the majority of a flu-filled Christmas and New states: what has been and what may take place in
Year. Personal projects are often what define us – the future. The work that I have made mirrors
our interests, style, opinion – and it is so often the this interstice. I was greatly affected by the deaths
case that clients are drawn to us having seen our of my parents and close friends, but the death
This month: personal work. Sometimes we are lucky enough
to be so busy that there is very little room for
such projects.
of a spouse is overwhelmingly different. I had no
map, as I had obviously never been here before.
To pick up a camera is not the normal thing
Clive looks at the impact Yet if we choose correctly, they should burn to do when confronted by a family tragedy, even if
like a fire within us; sometimes an ember, you are a photographer like me. But it was
and effect of a personal sometimes a blaze and sometimes a raging surprisingly the most natural thing for me to do. ’
inferno. I was struck by a comment made at I sat there transfixed listening to Paul talk
project and explains Canon Pro Photo Solutions 2010 in an interview about how he had felt at the time of shooting this
how one particular place by this magazine with Zed Nelson, when he made
a point about how much more interesting it is to
set of pictures. This touched me in a way that I
will never forget, and reopened my eyes to the
and its inhabitants never see a photographer’s personal work.
I had recently been to a lecture by Paul Hill.
power of the still image. It seems to me that in
times of deep despair and pain, as creatives we
cease to inspire him. He has given a great deal to photography and
taught many big-name photographers in his long
are often drawn to somehow search for an
explanation, understanding or acceptance through
career. His book, White Peak, Dark Peak – a the medium in which we feel most comfortable;
series of black-and-white landscapes taken in the whether it be paint, the written word or, in
Peak District National Park – is a personal Paul’s case, photography.
For the majority of the time I am shooting
fashion, beauty and portrait – both stills and now
increasingly DSLR video. I love what I do and
wouldn’t change a thing. Yet there is a yearning
deep down to extend myself, to use the skills that
I have worked so hard to perfect and refine and
channel them into meaningful, personal project
work. I have a number of ideas that I want to
explore this year, and yet this must be balanced
with making a living. Of course, motivation is at
the heart of all we do, so whatever project I
choose it must be interesting, involving and come
from the heart. Committing oneself to an idea is
just as important, and once chosen we are then
able to focus. As I said, there are several
possibilities on the table. But one stands out
above all, and whatever I choose to do this year,
Left: Creel fisherman Alec ‘Nazza’ Campbell.
CLIVE BOOTH
Opposite page: Photographed as he opened the door in
November, Callum Anderson, the first commercial
ships captain to sail into communist China.
30 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
31. “Nearly 20 years ago I made a filming trip that quite literally changed
my life, and it was the place and the people that have become a
major part of my life ever since.” Clive Booth
this place and its people will somehow be a part shoots on Hoy, in the Orkney Islands, and on the isles, shooting from the top of yachts’ masts,
of it. Eiger in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland for BBC off the sides of lifeboats and from the water
Nearly 20 years ago I made a filming trip that Television. This budding film career may have around the nets of local fishing boats. All the
quite literally changed my life, and it was the even blossomed into a profession had there been shoots back then left a huge impression on me,
place and the people that have become a major the technology we have today. But alas, compact and yet it was this one shoot on a little Scottish
part of my life ever since. Back then I was video was used only when a Betacam (the island that sowed the seed for a lifelong love
shooting film stills and compact professional professional standard of the time) could not affair with both the place and its people. If life is
video (Hi8 and S-VHS). My shooting was be carried into hostile or inaccessible areas. about experience then this one trip opened my
semi-professional, as was I. For more than a As exciting as climbing on to icebergs, filming eyes to the possibilities that travelling, places and
decade I remained a graphic designer, even polar bears or scaling mountains was for me, people can offer to all of us, at any age. I knew as
though I had already spent two months in it was a surprise trip to Scotland that was to we waved goodbye to this magical place and its
Spitsbergen – a group of small islands in the change everything. friendly, solid, kind and mischievous people, that
Norwegian Sea, north of Norway – where I In September 1994 I first set foot on the Inner I had found another home. In fact, to this day I
was shooting a documentary of a scientific, Hebridean island of Islay. I was there to know more people on Islay than in the town
environmental, research expedition. I also had support a film crew sailing around the Hebridean where I live, and Islay feels very much like a
www.professionalphotographer.co.uk 31
32. dispatches
second home. Islay (pronounced ‘eye-la’) is
known as the Queen of the Hebrides. It is the
southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It lies
in Argyll just west of Jura and around 25 miles
north of the Irish coast and Rathlin Island. It has
just over 3,000 inhabitants, a third of whom still
speak Gaelic. With a total area of almost 239
square miles, its main industries are malt whisky
distilling and tourism based largely on whisky
and birdwatching. Needless to say, the place and
its people have had a profound effect upon me.
The best way to explain this is simple – go there! “Quite simply, Harold and move down the list of possible personal projects,
Islay and its people appears, and will remain,
In the meantime, to get a feel for the island wit
and atmosphere, there are few better examples
his wife Margaret are the near the top. But it’s what I do with this
association and unique connection that is
than the 1954 British comedy film The Maggie;
the story of a clash of cultures between a
reason I have this bond the biggest challenge.
Will it be master distiller Jim McEwen,
hard-driving American businessman and a wily
Islay steamboat captain.
with the place and its creating vatted malts and talking with tears in his
eyes of Islay and its people, both past and present,
Islay is a community unlike any other I have people. An unlikely with an unrivalled passion and emotion earned
ever encountered. People rely upon each other in from nearly half a century of experience within
a way that we have, for the most part, lost or friendship, fisherman and the whisky industry? Or the gentle and kind creel
forgotten in mainland Britain. Over the past 16
years I have forged great friendships and shared photographer, separated fisherman, Alec Campbell, known affectionately
as ‘Nazza’, hauling off the south side of Islay and
in some of the happiest and saddest of times.
Indeed, it was Islay that played a significant part
by 400 miles, and yet we catching bait off the back of the boat, only to give
it all to the rather large and ever-hungry grey seal
in me turning professional; shooting three charity
sailing expeditions in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
speak nearly every week; named by the locals as Rupert? (Nazza once fed
him 40 large mackerel, just to see exactly how
Many of the islanders turned out to support us as
we rowed and sailed Irish skiffs alongside a
usually me from the car many fish he could eat at a single sitting.) Will it
be retired policeman Ian Smith, walking his dog
flotilla of fishing boats from island to island, and and Harold from the boat.” Ben and then teaching me how to sing traditional
even across the channel to Portrush, picking up Scottish anthems back at his flat? Or Jim
whisky from some of the world’s finest distilleries
Clive Booth McFarlane, fisherman and historian, regaling me
and then blending and bottling it for auction. with the local fishing history and attempting to
If I could pin down my long association with many Ileachs. On first impression he is laid back, teach me Gaelic over several drams in his front
Islay, and the key that has unlocked the door to disarming, charming and yet, underneath, there is living room, overlooking Port Ellen harbour?
this second home, it would be in the form of one a strength of character, depth and a fierce pride Or Kevin ‘Cloudy’ Campbell, Lagavulin distillery
of my closest friends, scallop fisherman, of place that I can only assume comes from a man and charity fundraiser, playing England
coastguard station officer and submarine liaison, lifetime at sea and living on an island. Wit and versus Scotland pool tournaments in his shed,
Harold Hastie. Quite simply, Harold and his wife humour are at the very centre of the people, and it or peat cutting at father-in-law Alan
Margaret are the reason I have this bond with the comes quick and often. It’s a humour that is hard MacDougall’s croft. Or Duncan McGillivray,
place and its people. An unlikely friendship, to explain in words, but must be experienced distillery manager, indulging his passion for
fisherman and photographer, separated by through the soft Islay lilt and in the twinkle of
400 miles, and yet we speak nearly every week; the eyes. I suppose it’s obvious, but nevertheless
usually me from the car and Harold from the worth mentioning, that as photographers and
Above left to right: Rupert the grey seal; 4.30 on a July
CLIVE BOOTH
boat. Many of the residents of Islay have film makers we cover subjects that are close to
morning; Retired policeman Ian Smith admires the view
nicknames. Harold’s is ‘Kamikaze’. Need I say us and generate opportunities from our personal over Port Ellen harbour while enjoying a glass of
more? Well yes actually, because Harold is like connections with people and places. And as I Lagavulin; John Martin, charity sailor and oarsman.
32 www.professionalphotographer.co.uk
