205dpi Issue Jan’15
Alex Thrift ‘The Roseland Heritage Coast’ www.alexthriftxd.tumblr.com
This issue Jan’15
Who are we? We are photographers. Journalistic ones. We document, record and capture anything we find interesting, beautiful or captivating. Sometimes our stories may seem strange or unusual, but we are the eye behind it all; and that’s what this magazine is all about. From cakes to paralympics, graffiti to kickboxing, our editorial documentary style takes us around Cornwall, the UK and the rest of the world. Follow us and our collective of photographers as we capture our adventures, our remarkable stories and our everyday
What’ve we been doing? After a little break from our usual style, we’re back in buisness with our six wonderful photographers this month. If you haven’t already, check out December’s special edition ‘Breathing Space’ for a review of some of 2014’s work.
p.s. keep updated: 4.
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36 Feature Story
- Eleri Griffiths A photographer with an experience from every angle - Eleri tells all about her photographic journey.
Monthly Single Images: Kristen Palatella David J Blanks
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20 2. Chris
Moret
Explains his unique ability to observe and capture his surroundings, seeking colour and shape wherever he is.
3. Igor
Utynsky
A refreshing approach and technique is explained by Ukraine-based photographer Igor.
1. Dominic
Steinmann
Shows us the unusual base camp at the foot of Matterhorn Mountain in the Pennine Alps.
34 4. Ellie
Smart
Documents the story of World Champion Muay Thai boxer and beautician Lucy Payne.
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Real talk with Eleri Griffiths
This month we have a great chat with Eleri - a photographer who has been around the block in the industry. From classic weddings to gritty documentary, Eleri has covered many aspects of photography. In this interview, she gives an insight to her journey and all the valuable things she’s learned along the way.
“It’s easy to have ideas, but it takes commitment to make them happen.”
Hey Eleri You are an extremely versatile photographer, does it come naturally to be able to turn you eye to so many sectors of photography, and do you find the time to balance between all areas efficiently? “Necessity is the mother of invention” - in other words I think versatility can be learned. I didn’t plan or expect to be doing half the jobs that have come my way over the last few years, but, one thing leads to another. If you’re willing to give something a try it may turn out to be something you like and are good at. I didn’t expect to be photographing for interior design magazines when I left university with a degree in documentary photography!
So tell us what you like and dislike about your career as a photographer? I love the range of work I get. I recently travelled to Cameroon in West Africa to shoot my project for the Royal Photographic Society/Guardian Joan Wakelin bursary. I was working with women who keep bees in order to fund their children’s education. I’ve also been shooting stills for the Discovery Channel, working with an interior designer photographing homes, and providing products shots for Drew Pritchard Antiques who has a TV Show on the Quest channel and a concession at Liberty! It’s often the case that no two days are the same, which means of course no two monthly pay cheques are ever the same. The insecurity of freelance
Feature - Real Talk with Eleri Griffiths
9.
work can be draining sometimes and it’s hard to make plans. It’s not unusual to have whole weeks, even months when things are quiet and work is thin on the ground - but when work comes in, it usually comes in batches and you have to turn it down because you can’t be in two places at once.
you shoot weddings now, is this a recent decision?
How do you come up with the ideas for your documentary work, and what encourages you to follow a certain story?
Weddings can be a good source of income if you work out your costs properly and stick to them. There are so many amateurs out there who offer incredibly cheap packages but don’t deliver the service offered. It’s easy to forget most of the work is done in postproduction and therefore can be very time consuming so I only photograph a handful a year. It’s good training for this profession, as you’re required to do a lot of things at once. You must be organised, you must know your kit, be good at dealing with people, as well as being responsive, creative, imaginative, whilst shooting still life, portraits, fashion and reportage; all in one day!
I like to listen to personal stories. If your stuck for ideas, local newspapers are a good place to start, but it’s even better if you can find the time to talk to people, and narrow it down and get a personal account of their experience. It’s important to photograph something you feel passionate about or things you have some experience of, that way you can sustain the idea over a period of years or even a lifetime. Your website has changed recently, and I see that
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I’ve been shooting weddings for a while. I used to have a separate website just to make a distinction between personal and professional work, but recently consolidated my websites just to keep costs and maintenance down.
Feature - Real Talk with Eleri Griffiths
You have photographed many documentary stories around the globe, is there any story that you are especially proud of ? I think committing to an idea for a project and seeing it through to some sort of conclusion should always make you proud. It is easy to have ideas, but it takes commitment to make them happen. Realistically, at the moment I’m most happy with the work I shot in Cameroon about the women beekeepers. Each time you undertake a new piece of work you bring all the experience from old projects with you. Your documentary work tells a lot of stories about a vast range of people. Do you ever go into a project with a story in your head or do you let it evolve around you? You need to be specific with your idea. It’s natural to hope for an outcome but stories or projects are bound to evolve depending on the people you meet and the circumstances in which you find yourself. I think it’s important not to try and visualise what you want, or imagine how the pictures will look; it’s much more important to relate to the person or environment you are photographing and respond to what you see. You’ve had many opportunities to create portraits of actors and other known people. How do you go about creating a good portrait?
Sometimes you just have to be cheeky, use your contacts and just ask - the worst that can happen is they’ll say no and you’ll hurt your pride. More often than not people are flattered that you have taken an interest in them. Also, there are times when photographing for nothing can pay off in the long term, but there comes a point at which you absolutely must know the value of your work - imagine saying to a plumber “if you fix my pipes for free I will tell everyone how good you are”. I used to be put in this predicament, fairly often. People seem to think that if they use my photographs on their website that is enough! And how to create a good portrait? Spend years learning your craft, have excellent social skills and don’t give your secrets away… Any advise to any up and coming photographers in how to succeed in the photographic industry? I heard an interview recently with Guy Martin, and he stated, “Photography is a tough nut to crack”. He is so right - it demands effort, organisation, the learning of your craft, social skills, dedication and most importantly - you must want to make photographs!
Words: Harvey Williams-Fairley
Feature - Real Talk with Eleri Griffiths
13.
Kristen Palatella Monthly single image www.flickr.com/photos/_kris10
Matterhorn Base Camp Dominic Steinman photographed the perculiar new Base Camp at the foot of Matterhorn Mountain in the Pennine Alps.
The summer of 2014 was host to an unusual temporary Base Camp at the foot of Matterhorn Mountain. It consisted of 25 tent-shaped shelters, accommodating 2 people each. The normal base camp ‘Hornlihutte’ closed for refurbishment, which lead to the construction of these aluminium structures to accommodate trekkers and alpinists. The Base Camp is situated on the Hoernligrat, which is at the foot of the Matterhorn Mountain - also known as Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin.
Architects Selina Walder and Georg Nickisch of Flims in Switzerland developed the 25 small sleeping-tents and four big community tents in less than one month. They host a cotton layer inside the sleeping tents, provided a warm homely feeling, despite their aluminium outer shell. Staff members used two of the 25 tents, in order to maintain the kitchen, reception, washroom and storeroom facilities. All the triangular tent modules were transported by helicopter onto the location of 2880 meters altitude. The peak of this well-known mountain is
18. Dominic Steinmnann
at 4478 meters altitude. The temporary base camp was removed on the 15th September 2014, as the HĂśrnli hut will re-open its doors to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Matterhorn ascent in July 2015. The tents are now used around the world for promotion purposes of the tourist destination Zermatt.
Simplicity is Picture Perfect
Chris Moret explains his forgiving and linear approach to his street photography.
“It wasn’t because the photo wasn’t there, I just couldn’t see it that day” Most of my work is shot in and around the town of Delft, a small historic town in the western part of the Netherlands. Although I like to travel, I believe there is no need to go to exotic places to capture an interesting picture.
everything is right. When I come home after a few hours walking with no decent photo it wasn’t because it was not there, I just couldn’t see it that day. And it takes time to accept that things work that way.
Stepping out with no plan, standing on the doorstep and only then deciding whether to go left or right, having no expectations. I had to teach myself not to chase pictures; because most of the time it has disappointing results. My interest is usually triggered by accidental contrasts or similarities; a line or shape, a face, a pose. If the mindset is right,
I got my photographic training in the analogue age and learned to develop and print in depth, and worked for a long time only in black and white. Since I started to shoot digital in 2012 gradually more and more colour photographs emerged and now at the beginning of 2015 it’s almost only colour.
Chris Moret
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“Don’t pack up your camera until you’ve left the location.”
- Joe McNally
Nonfiction Igor explains his delicate approach to photographing the natural beauties of Ukraine.
“I don’t really remember when I ‘began’ photography. All I know is I’ve always been attracted to analogue photography and a beautiful face.” I live and work in Lviv, in Ukraine. It is a small city, but full of beautiful places, striking architecture and very peaceful parks. It’s because of this that I’m always inspired. Although I was never attracted to landscapes or street photography, when a person is in it, it becomes a different experience. People have always fascinated me, especially their natural selves – no makeup, no masks, and no fictional scenarios. For me, my photos are a piece of the people, therefore photographing them correctly is
30. Igor Utynsky
incredibly important. I let their personality inspire the shoot – the background, the weather - it’s all part of representing them and showing their true inner beauty. Film photography I believe also stands by this philosophy. You are limited with your shooting and you must think more. It’s not just shootshootshoot! You consider the subject, the light, and everything around it, until you click the shutter and capture the person in that special moment. I love it
Princess of Pain Ellie Smart documents 22-year-old Muay Thai World Champion and beautician Lucy Payne.
Muay Thai is the hardest ring sport on earth. It is known as the art of eight limbs - a form of martial arts that allows 8 points of contact (hands, shins, elbows and knees), rather than the 2 or 4 (fists and feet) commonly seen in western boxing. Within the last 2 years, Thai boxing has become increasingly popular in western culture, with competitions spanning across the UK. Lucy Payne, also nicknamed ‘Princess of Pain’, began training when she was only 13 years old. She has now been training for almost 10 years. Her hard work and dedication to the sport has meant she has won multiple competitions. In 2013 she became Awakening Muay Thai 57kg World Champion and has since gone on to not only continue fighting, but also to teach both childrens and womens boxing
36. Ellie Smart
classes at Touchgloves Gym in Hayle, Cornwall. Payne defies any preconceived ideas of female boxers, as not only is she a world champion boxer, but also works as a beautician. Payne quotes, “as much as I love being girly outside the ring, inside the ring there just isn’t any point.” Boxing is thought to be a heavily male dominated sport, however this has never put Payne off. She has found that the sport ensures that everyone is treated equally. This said, that means there is definitely no holding back in training; both men and women are pushed constantly as they train and fight together. With a vast number of titles in Muay Thai, Payne hopes to continue boxing for years to come.
Ellie Smart
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David J Blanks Monthly single image www.eclectiveimages.com
This issue’s stars 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 42.
Kristen Palatella
www.flickr.com/photos/_kris10
Dominic Steinmann ‘Matterhorn Base Camp’
dominic.steinmann@gmail.com www.dominic-steinmann.tumblr.com
Chris Moret
‘Simplicity is Picture Perfect’ chrismoret@gmail.com www.chrismoret.com
Igor Utynsky
‘Nonfiction’ ustynskyy@gmail.com www.flickr.com/photos/ustynskyy
Ellie Smart
‘Princess of Pain’ 07531 135192 photo@elliesmart.co.uk www.elliesmart.co.uk
David J Blanks www.eclectiveimages.com
With thanks to.. Lois Golding
Editor-in-chief www.loisgolding.carbonmade.com
Production team Tom Sandberg Manager
Paige Harrison Editor & Writer
Sophie Sear
Assistant Manager Harvey Williams-Fairley Assistant
Matt Cox
Brand designer & sign writing god Instagram - mattcox904
Eleri Griffiths
Special feature photographer. www.elerigriffithsphotography.co.uk
Heather Golding Toby Ellis
Support & assistance.
43.
Alex Thrift ‘The Roseland Heritage Coast’ www.alexthriftxd.tumblr.com
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