the Photographer - Issue One 2020

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2020 / Issue One

National Awards 2020

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I SSUE ONE, 202 0

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2020 / Issue One

National Awards 2020

CEO’s column 2 Martin Baynes introduces the National Awards in undoubtedly difficult times National Awards 2020 BIPP PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 4 PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 6 COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 8 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 10 the Photographer is published four times a year by the British Institute of Professional Photography, The Artistry House, 16 Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire PR1 3JJ T: 01772 367968 E: info@bipp.com W: www.bipp.com Company secretary: Michael Lane CEO: Martin Baynes Directors: Kevin Weatherly LBIPP, Tony Freeman HonFBIPP, Chris Wright ABIPP, Emily Hancock FBIPP, Ian Southern LBIPP, Karen Massey ABIPP

Front cover images, left to right from top: Brian Spranklen; Gavin Jowitt; Jordan Gurry; Andrew Hemming; David Calvert; Kirsty Nugent; Annemarie Farley; Andrew Hemming; Colin Brister; Levani Levanidze; John Miskelly SILVER AWARDS 12 SELECTED BRONZE AWARDS 24 Jon Mackenzie / Local Hero 34 We trace the development of Jon’s career from winning the BIPP College Award in 2018, through an MA, to a defining project Membership Services Advisory Board Chris Wright ABIPP - National Jonathan Beer FBIPP - National David Campbell ABIPP - Northern Ireland Sean Conboy FBIPP - North West Tony Freeman Hon FBIPP - National Dan Freeman FBIPP - South East Emily Hancock FBIPP - National Alan McEwan Hon FBIPP - Scotland Ioan Said LBIPP - National David Taylor FBIPP - Midlands

Saraya Cortaville / WaterAid 46 The power of the printed image is used as a force for change in WaterAid’s work in Madagascar Social media column 58 COVID-19 FINANCIAL GUIDANCE 60 George Dawber FBIPP 64 Kevin Weatherly LBIPP - North East Irene Cooper LBIPP - Yorkshire Editor: Jonathan Briggs, editor@bipp.com Advertising: Tel 01772 367968 E-mail: admin@bipp.com UK Subscribers £20, EU £40, Rest of the World £50 ISSN: 0031-8698. Printed and bound by Magazine Printing Company, Hoddesdon, Herts

Neither the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) nor any of its employees, members, contractors or agents accepts any responsibility whatsoever for loss of or damage to photographs, illustrations or manuscripts or any other material submitted, howsoever caused. The views expressed in this magazine are the views of individual contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the BIPP. All advertisements are accepted and all editorial matter published in good faith. The Publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, that any particular product or service is available at the time of publication or at any given price. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or stored in a retrieval system, or broadcast, published or exhibited without the prior permission of the publisher. This magazine is the copyright of the BIPP without prejudice to the right of contributors and photographers as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Registered at Stationers’ Hall, Ref B6546, No. 24577. © BIPP 2020 Issue One / 2020 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 1

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M ARTI N BAYNES

I know so many of our members are having a difficult time as a result of this unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. This organisation has been around since 1901 and has survived together with its members through wars, depressions and some very dark times. I know we will survive this very worrying and serious world event.

Since the start of the lockdown we have worked harder than ever before to provide support and value for you and your membership – ironically, we have provided more on-line content and support in the last few weeks than in the organisation’s history. If you haven’t, please connect with us via social media and also use the YouTube channel to access this content. It is packed with interviews from photographers and also business and expert advice on government policy that has been released. More than ever, we must engage with each other and communicate to get through the next few weeks.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, as a lot of our end-users or consumers of photography – families, couples or industry – are either working from home or have been furloughed, which means they are still getting paid, their outgoings are cut, they are not going out for meals, to the cinema or putting so much fuel in their cars. This means that at the end of this lockdown it is highly likely that they will have more disposable income than in normal times.

When the government starts to relax the lockdown, they will want to celebrate and start spending money and certainly will want to celebrate getting back with family and friends – I know I want to do this. We need to be ready, as hard as it is. This is a time to prepare and do all the things we have been putting off for years – don’t get to the end of this lockdown and look back in a year and think I wish I had done x,y,z with the time I had. It is important to stay positive, so let’s celebrate some of the recent achievements in our organisation – some fantastic things have happened as you will see from this magazine.

We have had LBIPP qualifications; we have run the national print competition; and we had been preparing for The Photography Show. We were set to show how much we have moved forward and evolved and the show is now rescheduled at the NEC for September and we look forward to seeing you there. The following members successfully qualified for their Licentiateship: Aaron Crowe LBIPP Weddings Antonio Reis LBIPP Archaeology Daniel Nash LBIPP Commercial Georgina Weston LBIPP Equine Jennifer Gilam Patrikios LBIPP Equine Jennifer Gilam Patrikios LBIPP Newborn Louise Clarke LBIPP Equine Steph Yeo LBIPP Equine Susan Taylor LBIPP Portraiture Jacqueline Watson Smith LBIPP Portraiture

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CEO’S COLUM N

The national print competition was judged at the Artistry House and I want to offer my thanks to the six judges, and the chair of judges, who did a fantastic job over two very long days. They looked at nearly 1,000 prints – each one being individually scored using an electronic score pad and calculated to an average score. The judges were able to challenge if they thought an image had either been under or overscored, and the system also brought up an automatic challenge if there was a difference greater than nine between scores. The judging standard set this year was very high – we had 190 Bronze awards that reached over 80 points, and we had nine members achieve Silver with scores over 87 and this year no golds, needing 93 points or above. From the highest scoring prints, four category winners were found.

Then the four category winning prints where rejudged to find an overall winner, this year’s British Institute of Professional Photography Photographer of the Year.

Photographer of the Year 2020 Due to the postponement of The Photography Show, we did an on-line announcement of the awards which you can view on our YouTube Channel or our Facebook page. You will also see the category and silver winners and a selection of bronze awards in this magazine.

Qualifications Our next qualification day was due to be 29 April – which will need to be postponed – but we will reschedule it as soon as possible when we get a feel for when things are starting to return to normal. Please still register with us if you are planning to go for qualification so we can organise judging and keep you informed.

Membership cards You should have received your new membership card in March which has been redesigned – this will be a lifetime membership card, but can be replaced if damaged or lost.

By changing our renewal process to digital – also better from an environmental point of view – we have saved the membership £20,000 in labour, postage and plastic cards.

Personnel I would like to thank Ioan Said who recently stepped down from the board. The membership is indebted for his help through the difficult times in the last year and the number of trade deals he managed to get, during his time as a director.

I would also like to thank Chris Wright who has also been another hero of our Institute. When the office was moved he

walked into a new office in Preston with a load of computers on the floor and single-handedly kept the organisation functioning. It was only temporary but without a day off Chris did almost a year in the Preston office. Without his help, both myself personally and the membership, would have had a much more difficult journey. It is now time for him to get back to his life and he will continue to work as a board director.

I would also like to welcome Sharron Caunce who rose to the top from a large number of applications for the Office Manager role. Out of the seven interviewed Sharon was selected and has already made a huge impact with her experience.

The directors decided that, due to some places opening up on the board and as we needed some help in this very busy period, the directors co-opt two new board members on for a short period. We will be having a full election for a new board starting in the summer, with the new board voted on by the membership in November.

I am very pleased as they have so much experience between them and have already made a very big impact – a great help with moving the organisation forwards: please join me in welcoming Ian Southern and Karen Massey.

Finally, I would like to thank the judges who gave up their time for free to carry out the national awards judging: Chair of judges: Eric Jenkins Judges: Paul Wilkinson, Peter Ellis, Becky Lane, Sean Conboy, Karen Massey, David Taylor Scorers: Sharron Cauce, Chris Wright Print handlers: Shauna Moorhouse, Saffron Lawless, Shelby-Jayne Altham the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One 3

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PAUL LOW RY FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR BIPP PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

Paul Lowry’s image of professional art nude model Luca Miklósi represents the culmination of a shift in emphasis and significant stylistic development for Paul’s work overall. Shot for the purposes of his own portfolio building in an approach dominated by wide dynamic range and careful handling of shadow, he sought to express a dark style that was way beyond the norm of his family portraiture. Simultaneously, he’s creating a shooting style that can apply to future commercial work. Hence the fine art ‘look’ is no accident and follows a trend of Paul working on solo projects expanding his lighting repertoire.

Luca is a widely travelled and in-demand model and Paul did well to find a space in her diary when she was in Northern Ireland for other photographic work. Paul comments: ‘The difference for me here was really taking the time to develop an idea and deliver on that over the course of a day – knowing what I wanted to achieve in detail.

That being said, it wasn’t a complicated lighting set-up at all, but the key was getting sufficient distance between light source and subject and that meant a studio space with the right height – otherwise the drop-off from highlight to shadow would have been far too severe. The requirement was to hold the highlight on the knee but have enough left to just have a sense of definition along the lower forearm.

Without that, the whole idea of the shot is lost. It’s all to do with shape that’s created in part by the lighting approach that particularly emphasises the lack of tension in the arms.’

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N AT IO N A L AWARDS S ILVER

DAVID CALVERT PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

David’s core business is family portraiture – but then again, occasionally clients will ask if they can bring their dog in too… He explains a little more: ‘So Elvis here was part of another shoot – but personally I just loved it and I was aware that everyone who saw it seemed to have a really strong reaction to the image; that’s a good guide. It’s not just about photographing a dark subject on a dark background – the sheen of his coat is what creates the three-dimensional aspects and brings him closer to the viewer. He was sitting on a table – I quite like to get eye level with them. But lighting-wise it was kept really simple – one Elinchrom ELC Pro HD head with an Elinchrom 70cm deep octa light modifier and shot against grey with a silver reflector under Elvis’ chin, just to give a little bit of lift. There’s no colour editing on the image. The deep octa gives quite a strong light but very soft, and better than a softbox for this.’ It’s only the second time that David has entered the BIPP National Awards – he wondered if the single image approach would suit his work better and so put together ten entries. He says: ‘Certainly the award is something I will use in marketing and press – it’s obviously a good opportunity to get your name out there with a bit of attached kudos – but it is also a valuable guage as to how what you’re doing stacks up amongst your contemporaries. If you’re getting bronzes and silvers then you’re likely to be maintaining a decent quality of work; if you’re not at all then there might be room to make some improvements – but you don’t get awards and a Fellowship unless you’re doing something right. I like feedback on my work too and I’ve always opened up to critique – I learnt that it was necessary, because I certainly used to not have much self-confidence as a photographer and I thought that my work was rubbish. When I select entries for competitions I do quite often pass pictures past other people with a little more experience than me – I think it’s a good thing to do. When Martin showed some of the images that made the finals, I thought they looked fantastic – so I didn’t think I would win anything, and getting the award was a lovely surprise. I’m led to understand it’s the first time a pet portrait has won the Portrait category.’

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

GAVIN JOWITT COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Gavin’s silver winning image is set in Shanghai, where he was working on a couple of other projects. He explains: ‘One thing I was doing was documenting the redevelopment of the east side of the Huangpu River. Across the river from The Bund, the east side waterfront has been completely regenerated with a 40km riverside trail, bike and running tracks, cafes and parkland. It’s an eye-catching redevelopment with some interesting elements to form a case study. This tower is at the the very start of the trail.

I thought of it a little bit like an English folly, sitting in front of an iconic landscape – the Yangpu Bridge, which is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world. It was an early morning trip out there, setting off just before sunrise and I rode down the riverside on a rented bike’.

Most of Gavin’s work is general corporate and editorial – a pretty broad mix of work, as he says, and up until the current Coronavirus pandemic business has been good. ‘Doing B2B work direct to the client means I rely on that need for ever-evolving content. A decade ago you’d do work for a design agency, but now you’re working for corporate communications managers inside the business itself and talking to them. The awards for me are useful in that space. Those people are usually inexperienced photography buyers – so having an award helps them to make a decision’.’

Gavin is philosophical about the best-laid plans: ‘Even with the bestmade plans you never really know what’s going to come about. There’s little point in planning too much – but obviously, that depends on the brief and the required outcome. If you’re going to a mine site or an environment that you’ve never been to before and you’ve got a vague client brief with only a few specifics, then it’s a case of going there and working it out on the fly.

It’s important to manage expectations in those instances too. Every genre has its own challenges, and with corporate and industrial you are quite often going into the unknown. However, with architectural work, you generally know what you’re going into – it may take a day or so to understand a building and how the light affects it. Still, there’s plenty of resources to aid your approach, and you can do quite a lot of planning. That said, I do enjoy the challenges of flying blind and wading in.’

He explains the role awards play in his creative development: ‘I don’t think the development of style is always a conscious thing – I’m very focused on my professional development, and I think the process of going through awards is central to that. I never used to get involved with awards, but I’ve found that the process of selecting images and doing my own printing makes me look at my work in a very different and beneficial way.

That can’t always happen in the same way for my corporate and commercial work – you’re inevitably tuned in with the contemporary style of how businesses are portrayed. That style has evolved a lot over the last decade, perhaps as a backlash to stock photography. Authenticity is what clients want these days. I bang on about it to clients – they have got to have images that genuinely represent their people.’

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

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GURVIR JOHAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

‘It’s a nice feeling, I was blown away to get Wedding Photographer of the Year,’ says Gurvir.

Gurvir is based in Birmingham but more than half of his clients are based in London and South East.

‘It’s just one of those venues, a temple that every Asian and Sikh wedding photographer has worked at in their career and this image features the marble floor in the entrance to the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend. It has been in my head for a long time but always with the rush and the schedule of the day it’s hard to make what’s in your head happen. I always thought I’d get something from that element – whilst most people focus on the patterns of the walls and ceiling – so I wanted to try something that nobody had done before. Everybody just walks over this floor and I’ve never seen anyone photograph there.’

However, this was not a case of Gurvir having the place to himself and all the time in the world – anything but: ‘Luckily, I was able to get the bride positioned and then go up a couple of levels. Being at that height was necessary but then with the distance you can’t be shouting instructions at the bride and the lighting assistant and running about in a place of worship. I want to control the lighting carefully and put it in little pockets where I want it to be. All the time there were people walking past as it’s a public area and they’re just seeing a bride lying on the floor, so it was an interesting challenge. I took seven or eight different images and then stacked them in post-production but that was the easy bit really. The hard part was making sure that all the verticals and horizontals and patterns all lined up perfectly. Most of the work was done in camera.’ the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One 11

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER ANDREW WHITTAKER STUDIO PORTRAIT

Judging comments: “ This was a very beautiful print – the tonality in it from those rich blacks just beginning to dense up. The way that the author has captured the expression is to die for – her gaze draws you in with a combination of the velvety softness in the skin and the sharp crunch of the hair. To get it into the final form of the image makes it really worthy of its award.”

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

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Judging comments: “ This is a very clever idea that has been created with subtly managed lighting.

The board could well have dominated the image, but is carefully toned down.

The reflections in all of the pieces are pefectly handled.” the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One 17

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

Judging comments: “ This is a very busy image that still hangs together beautifully.

Your eyes travel around the room and then come back to the sitter – certainly an image I would love to have taken myself.”

BRIAN SPRANKLEN ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT TP-2020-1 02-64.indd 18

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

LEE HATHERALL ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT

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Judging comments: “ Compositionally this is great with the two leading lines either side of the subject and perfect positioning. There’s great contact with the photographer which adds to a very graphic image.”

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NATI ONAL AWARDS SI LVER

JENNIFER WILLIS NON-MEMBER 22 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One

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DAVID STANBURY CLASSICAL WEDDING

Judging comments: “ The feel is very atmospheric – the thoughtful father reading over his speech.

It’s an example of a great storytelling image that stands out for its beautiful tonal range and striking crispness.”

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NATI ONAL AWARDS S E LECTED BRONZE AWARDS

ANDREW HEMMING CLASSICAL WEDDING

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NATI ONAL AWARDS S E LECTED BRONZE AWARDS

NATALIE MARTIN CLASSICAL WEDDING

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NATI ONAL AWARDS S E LECTED BRONZE AWARDS

ROSS MCKELVEY FINE ART

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PAUL REIFFER LANDSCAPE & TRAVEL TP-2020-1 02-64.indd 30

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NATI ONAL AWARDS S E LECTED BRONZE AWARDS

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NATI ONAL AWARDS S E LECTED BRONZE AWARDS

MICHAEL WHARLEY ADVERTISING

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J ON M ACKENZI E LOCAL HERO / M AN UP

The worst and best of days

Jon Mackenzie received the BIPP College Award in 2018. Now the thick end of two years on, we find out that the work created for his MA at Arts University Bournemouth played a huge part in the following stages of his career.

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efore the MA, I was a solid – good even – still life and lifestyle photographer; but not much different to anyone else,’ says Jon talking about his recent past. He describes his work in terms of ‘doing it for the money’, having lost sight of what he’d first found appealing in photography – which was meeting people, talking and learning about their lives. He says: ‘The MA developed my realisation that I was a portrait photographer at heart. That made it mine and made it unique. I don’t like to pose people too much, but I know that some people feel better when they’re gently directed.’

Jump to the now, and Jon’s work ‘Local Hero’ launched last summer has been touring Cornwall ever since. It arrives at The Eden Project later this year, all things permitting. The work seeks to tackle mental health issues, where three times as many people are taking their own lives as die on the roads each year.

His photography focuses upon the lives of individuals living in apparently idyllic circumstances in Cornwall and Devon but facing pressures that can be just as serious and oppressive as anywhere else in the country.

Local Hero is a joint project between Jon and Cornwall Council, Wavelength Media and the male suicide prevention charity CALM, who want to use the powerful stories and images of others to enable people to explore their own mental health and open up to others about their feelings. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, approximately 80 people each year take their own lives – and a high proportion are middle-aged men. The work features some well-known community heroes and the subjects chosen represent the fact that the split of suicides between men and women is 75% male to 25% female, in line with the national average.

The title Local Hero conveys the level of determination and strength that the individuals represented have displayed in their lives and reveals depths of personal feeling and emotion, things rarely spoken of

Local Hero – Andrew Cotton (right) is a professional Big Wave Surfer and Red Bull Athlete from North Devon. He has experienced extreme waves and extreme injuries. In 2017 he broke his back in Nazaré, Portugal surfing some of the biggest waves ever attempted: ‘Some days you think those thoughts about ever being fit again and about losing sponsors and then you go on that downward spiral. Those thoughts can go from a minute, to an hour, to a day, to a week – instantly everything is the worst-case scenario. Getting out, digging out can be hard. It can be really a simple thing that helps such as a mate saying “it’ll be alright”. But guys just don’t talk – or you feel that you don’t have anyone to talk to, that your mates won’t understand – that they just want to go for a laugh in the pub, and not have me going on about my doubts and my worries. It is a lot harder for guys to find a little bit of reassurance, someone to say that what you’re feeling is normal. Sometimes you just need to hear that. And the power of positivity is really important.

Some days are better than others, and you can see real progress in your recovery. But visualising the dream wave again and working towards that can be really good.’

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All images © Jon Mackenzie

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Local Hero – Zac Postans is a 42-year-old carpenter by trade who has been in the construction industry since 14 years of age: ‘Men’s mental health is not spoken about enough or recognised enough. There’s a lot of help out there if you look for it. It’s not a weakness… men have this thing that they can’t be seen to be weak – talking about it is a strength and helping others is a strength. My suicide attempt failed – the girl I was seeing saved me – after a lot of preassures built up, work, a break-up, and suddenly a switch went off in my head and I had pure tunnel vision and I knew what I wanted to do.

Afterwards I was annoyed and embarrassed. Now I know the signs of my mental health.

I know when I’m going back into my dark place and I get support.’

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J ON M ACKENZI E LOCAL HERO / M AN UP

– which is exactly the point. Jon comments: ‘I worked in an accessible style – I knew that it was to be directed to the public, rather than working for a fine art audience. It had a definite purpose and it had to reach out.’

Local Hero came about as a result of a competitive tender process. Ten multi-disciplinary groups pitched, including design agencies and established creative teams. Jon was the only ‘lone ranger’, and the only individual photographer.

He comments: ‘I’d say the MA prepared me for that… and producing my earlier project Man Up [also featured here] was certainly the groundwork without which Local Hero wouldn’t have come about.’ Certainly, the projects are intertwined.

Man Up was part funded by the BIPP College Award prize money and sought to question social constructions within gender and identity, depicting men that epitomise the five stereotypes of masculinity: the Boss (power, control, financial success); the Stud (virility, success with women); the Provider (protecting, providing); the Joker (being funny, ‘lad’s banter’, ‘horseplay’); and the Warrior (physical strength, bravery, aggression). The Man Up portraits encourage contemplation of other dimensions of each subject’s character, instead of celebrating socially dominant masculinity.

Jon explains: ‘The term “Man Up” is perhaps one of the most damaging phrases still widely being used in society today. Displaying vulnerability (physical or mental) falls outside of hegemonic masculine characteristics and is generally equated to a loss of dominance in social hierarchy. It comes

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Man Up – Rick Sylvester – the Warrior. Newsweek’s film critic said it was the greatest stunt in the history of cinema, referring to his BASE jumping using skis and a Union Jack parachute from Mount Asgard in Canada for the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me in July 1976… Rick found these statements interesting, as despite playing Bond twice, he never regarded himself as a stuntman per se, but merely a climber, skier, former distance runner, former wrestler and novice parachutist who happened to have come up with a rather odd idea.

‘Thoughts of masculinity very rarely cross my mind. It’s not a subject of great concern to me, perhaps because, as the line goes, I’m secure in it. I’ve got nothing to prove, as far as courage (or foolhardiness). Perhaps it’s somewhat related to that old saw “Pretend to be good all the time and even God will be fooled”. Did I maybe feel that if I performed a lot of daring and dangerous things I could fool myself into believing that I was really a courageous person?’

All images © Jon Mackenzie

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J ON M ACKENZI E LOCAL HERO / M AN UP

Local Hero – Ellie Brunt (right) is a 13-year-old student whose brother over-dosed twice, culminating in his life support having to be turned off:

Images © Wavelength Media

‘Mental health is important to everyone as we all have it – but to me personally it is the most important element of us as humans. It is not just how sad you are or how anxious you are but also how happy or excited you are and it’s all the feelings you can have mentally. With men’s mental health rather than being weak, tackling it is something that is actually very strong – showing that you can fight and fight on in the future. Otherwise feelings build up and up until you personally break down.’

as no surprise that men visit a doctor 32% less than women and suicide is the biggest killer in men under 45 in the UK.’ He continues: ‘All men, no matter how masculine, have qualities and perceived weaknesses that fall outside of these typologies.

When we understand the limitations of traditional masculine stereotypes and accept that perceived weaknesses are actual authentic attributes of being not only a man – but human – then perhaps men may feel more empowered to ask for help when they need it.’

Much of Man Up was shot in the US for Jon’s MA, including his image of Ron Jeremy, nicknamed ‘The Hedgehog’ – probably the most famous porn star in the world… and so he proved to be.

Following the creation of the Man Up series, Arts University Bournemouth asked to hold onto the work to form part of a their summer show and it was there that Jon’s image of Ron was spotted

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Local Hero – Matt Jess is a 35-yearold ex-professional rugby player: ‘Competing at the highest level is something that people see as physical. But it’s the mental side that is never really considered. It’s a constant mental game between each other and teams. Mental health to me is the same as physical health – having your mind and thoughts in the best possible shape. In life everyone will go through some form of negative mental health issue. If we can get people to recognise their place of solace, where they can go to get back on their path, then people can get on with life again.’

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J ON M ACKENZI E LOCAL HERO / M AN UP

by a visitor who recognised the star and read about the background to Jon’s work. The perceptions of masculinity that lie behind the work linked strongly with a project their charity was supporting, which eventually led to Jon being invited to pitch for what would finally become Local Hero. The title does not herald from Jon’s favourite 1980s film, but rather the fact that all the subjects were known locally in Cornwall for their community input and achievements. They were heroic in that they were not only willing to open up about mental health, but also share their stories to help others.

Jon moved to Cornwall to work on the project, living for a few months in his van. The work was launched in St Agnes in August last year with 13 stories making the final cut. A major part of the project was to take the exhibition out into the landscape – and to the viewer – rather than it simply being an exhibition that is visited.

Therefore, further features included the portraits being accompanied by QR codes linking to audio interviews with the subjects who as a result get to tell their stories in the first person – some of which are paraphrased in this piece. They are available on Jon’s website and offer short or long versions that really do, in equal measure, surprise, shock and inspire. Combined with Jon’s particularly accessible – almost gentle – portraiture style, in the case of Local Hero it can be understood why his pitch got the nod and why the response has been so heartfelt and immediate. He comments: ‘It was not at all what I expected to be doing following my MA.

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Man Up – Logan Boersma – The Joker, is President of Lambda Chi Alpha at California Polytechnic University.

‘The Fraternity experience has given me a group of brothers who share a bond that transcends time. It has provided me with an opportunity to bring together and inspire a group of 100 young men towards a common purpose and goal. Most importantly, it has taught me how to constantly develop as a young man and as a person.’

All images © Jon Mackenzie

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J ON M ACKENZI E LOCAL HERO / M AN UP

Images © Wavelength Media

In many ways it is a dream project for me – when people see it the response is extremely positive and really does open up the conversation around mental health. Everyone’s had really positive responses to the work – the impact it seems to have on people is that it really is stimulating and triggering conversations between people about mental health – often their own. It is an active project that genuinely tries to make a change. For me as a photographer, too, it has opened the door to discussions with other organisations… making me not just a photographer but a mental health champion. Making work with personal passion for me means that the links come together: personal experience and commercial experience brings personal and professional development and a sense of creative identity.’

And this is, to an extent, personal for Jon. He says: ‘I realised that from a young age I suffered from anxiety and depression.

As a young man I didn’t really engage with those feelings. Then I also lost a close male friend through suicide – nobody knew what he was feeling; I had no idea that he was suffering; and it was a huge shock to everyone that he took his own life. I hope that when people see the exhibition and interact with the stories that it will make people feel more comfortable talking about mental health.’ And about his subjects he explains: ‘I think it’s interesting that when I

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Local Hero – Ellen Wilkinson is a consultant psychiatrist and medical director for Cornwall Foundation Trust: ‘Everybody has got something they can contribute to suicide prevention… seeing a creative approach to suicide prevention or to mental health awareness – that might be just as important as putting a barrier on a bridge or providing mental health awareness training.’

Image © Jon Mackenzie

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J ON M ACKENZI E LOCAL HERO / M AN UP

approached them and asked them to be part of the project, I don’t think they realised quite how much it would help them to open up about it publicly – it’s been beneficial all round and shows why it’s so important to be open about mental health.’

Local Hero having an impact is vitally important to the overall success of the project. Interim Director of Wellbeing and Public Health for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Steve Brown, expressed its importance: ‘In Cornwall we have higher suicide rates than the national average. This could be due to a number of factors, including higher numbers among people in certain trades such as agricultural workers that can have high rates of stress. This could be avoided if they were able to talk to someone. In reality, almost every family or community will have been affected in some way, at some time, by suicide. It is often wrongly believed that nothing can be done but by bringing organisations and communities together, each person can potentially contribute to prevention or intervening to save a life. Learning how to talk about emotional health issues, making helplines and support easy to find, and ensuring that families and carers know how to recognise the signs can all make a difference.’

Alongside the exhibition, Jon has set up a number of Camera Clubs supported by CALM, similar in idea to ‘man shed’ projects, where men can turn up to discuss photography, take photos and have a chat if they wish. He concludes: ‘Having had my own mental health problems I know how much easier things can become once you open up to someone.’ jon-mackenzie.com Local Hero – Jon Cleave is a true Cornishman and the writer and illustrator of the Gully the Seagull children’s storybooks:

Man Up – Ron Jeremy – The Stud is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for ‘Most Appearances in Adult Films’.

He has appeared in more than 2,000 films.

‘There’s an old Irish proverb, which is: “Bitter are the tears that fall. But more bitter still, those that fall not.” Which is a fancy way of saying, don’t bottle it all up.’

All images © Jon Mackenzie

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M ADAGASCAR SARAYA CORTAVI LLE

The power of the print

‘Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.’ Peter Adams

L

ast month I was lucky enough to be invited to the private view and book launch of the wonderful new exhibition ‘Madagascar in the Frame’ – a photographic collaboration between Fujifilm UK and their charity partner WaterAid. WaterAid provides clean water, decent toilets and hygiene knowledge to people who don’t yet have access to them. Access to clean water and toilets is a human right, and should be a normal part of daily life for everyone, everywhere. With their local partners, WaterAid works with communities to build low-cost, sustainable solutions that meet their needs and also works with local and national government in the countries where they operate, developing solutions to help them provide water, toilets and hygiene to everyone.

Having returned from Madagascar late last year, my work in the country left me with a real insight to the importance of images and in particular the printed image. Having been a photographer and

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Image © Saraya Cortaville

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specifically a portrait photographer for the last 20 years, I have always believed in the importance of the record of the family portrait and how images are wonderful mementos of our lives and precious times to pass down through the generations – I have made a living from this. They ground us, make us remember where we belong and help us celebrate what wonderful lives we lead, the connections we have made with and the memories we have of each other.

Recently, however, with the emergence of social media I find images are even more contrived and controlled, less meaningful and emotionally disconnected than they have ever been. My latest commission could not have taken this idea of photography further from what we in the internet world use it for.

My brief for Fujifilm and WaterAid was to document the work of an amazing photographer named Ernest Randriarimalala. He says: ‘I see little kids in these villages with no access to clean water and it reminds me of my

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Image © Saraya Cortaville

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own childhood. I used to be sick all the time, just like these kids. For me this is not just a job, it’s a personal fight – to make sure that everyone, everywhere gets safe, clean water.’

Based in central Madagascar, Ernest is a WaterAid Voice from the field. His goal is not to take family portraits or precious moments. His brief is to document and tell stories of the reality of the people living without access to safe water and sanitary hygiene. His work involves educating the communities that WaterAid are involved in and integrating and encouraging the communities to become engaged with what is changing in their villages, encouraging them to make changes in their everyday lives in the knowledge that the impact that WaterAid can have makes immeasurable changes to their health, wellbeing and lives as a whole.

To achieve this Earnest runs photography workshops using Fujifilm Instax cameras with the children – the aim being to spread awareness and

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Image © Saraya Cortaville

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knowledge at a base level. Watching the way Ernest works was truly magical, it really was a privilege to see him engage and inspire. Portrait photography for me is all about communication and how we relate to our clients – and Ernest is a master at this! His energy, enthusiasm and the way he draws people to him is infectious.

The children were hanging off of his every word and were engaged implicitly for hours – it was beautiful to see.

One of the most wonderful things I witnessed was when Ernest handed out the cameras to the ‘students’ and they treated them as if they were newborn babies, looking after them with such care and attention – something again I feel our children have lost with western advances in technology.

Our children are used to gadgets and the magic they may bring every day and as such it has become the norm, and we really have become a throwaway society,

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Image © Saraya Cortaville

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with phone and tablet upgrades every few months. The Malagasy children are not used to such technology, however basic, and here you can quite often see a queue for the TV at the local barber’s, with the children waiting patiently in line for their chance to see a snippet of some cartoon that may be airing at that time.

These cameras were a chance for them to experience something new and beyond their means, and they treasured the chance like you wouldn’t believe. To see their reactions when the print came out of the camera was something so magical I could never honestly put it into words. Quite often at first they looked worried when it came out as I think they were expecting to see the image immediately, and they would turn it over to see a blank side and almost wondered if they had done something wrong! However, over time they saw the images develop and their smiles began to widen at the emerging pictures.

It was just heart rending how proud they were of their creations. The children took images of themselves to begin with as this was quite often the first time that they had seen a printed image of themselves – they then turned the lenses to their friends and gifted them those images. This act of kindness gives you an idea of the generosity and honesty of the Malagasy culture. They treasured the prints like precious objects and proudly mounted them on windowsills and bedside tables. When did we lose this? Are we are so wrapped up in FaceBook or Instagram likes, with images covered in unnatural filters and edits that we have lost this raw appreciation of the image and the print?

Watching the way the children proudly showed their parents at the end of the day what they had captured was heart warming.

A few of the children at the end of the sessions excitedly stated that they now aspired to become photographers which was beautiful to hear, especially when most will naturally follow in their parents’ footsteps and become poorly paid market porters or laundry workers. For me, this was the trip of my year – so moving and uplifting. To see first hand how photography and prints affect people at the most basic level was a reminder of why I became a photographer all those years ago! Then, to experience how photography can be utilised by NGOs to engage and communicate with a community was fascinating, and a real statement of the power of the image. After following the tireless work that Ernest does in these communities with a never-ending enthusiasm and passion for the final outcome, I know I am certainly inspired to be more ‘Ernest’ in my endeavours to spread the word of the power of the printed image.

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Image © Saraya Cortaville

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SOCI AL M EDI A COLUM N JAM I E M ORGAN LBI PP

‘H

e who dares, wins.’

The lovable rogue of 1980s television, Del Boy, epitomised the entrepreneur of the time – wheeling and dealing, bricklike mobile phone and Filofax in hand.

Del Boy loved a good one-liner, and I’m sure he would have known this one: ‘Your network, is your net worth.’

The success of his next deal depended on the contacts held in the palm of his hand, in his Filofax.

In 2020, we have powerful tools in the palms of our hands that Del would have loved to have had access to.

Imagine if Del had access to an worldwide, interconnected address book of contacts? Each time he adds a business card to his Filofax, a whole world of other contacts open up to him. Welcome to LinkedIn. LinkedIn started as a recruitment tool, but has now become a powerful tool for business. You will regularly hear me talk about using social media, for a purpose in our business. For me, social media is all about communicating with a group of people I need to be seen by.

I want to be seen as the go-to photographer in my specialism.

First things first. We need to create a visually appealing profile. LinkedIn provides us with the facilities to add videos, photos and articles to our profile.

Use every tool we have available.

The more interesting you make it, the more time people will spend looking at your profile.

Create a strategy to build your audience Predominantly, as a pet photographer, I want to be seen by respected people in pet-related fields.

Marketing Managers at pet food companies, local dog trainers, dog walking businesses and so on.

People buy people. LinkedIn is a known business resource and people will connect with others that have shared interests and shared customer groups.

Don’t be afraid to reach out and connect with people that can push your business forward. Just remember, once connected, now’s the time to build trust and relationships, not to sell to them.

Become a social butterfly, comment on posts, give advice and like the posts of your targets. It ensures your name is regularly in front of your connections and fresh in their minds. But how can we build trust?

That’s simple. With the content we like, share and comment on. When writing or scheduling content, think about these things: • What would your network like to hear about?

• How could you help them?

• What fits in with your brand?

I like to use five key areas to post around on social media. These cover: • Industry News I’ve attended a conference and learned something I want to share.

• Insider Knowledge I’ve read a book and learned things my network could benefit from.

• Inspirational A quote, story or meme that inspired me and could inspire others.

• Personal Letting down my armour to let my network see the real me. Often dog related.

• Advice Reach out to your network for advice, prompt your network to promote themselves to solve the problem.

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My top ten tips for LinkedIn 1 Use an up-to-date, professional headshot.

2 Use the banner space for personal branding and to capture attention.

3 Make your profile more than a CV. Make it interesting, add fresh content.

4 Fill out every section in your LinkedIn profile.

What are you interested in? Which professional bodies are you part of ? Do you volunteer?

5 Think about SEO and synonyms when creating your content, LinkedIn is a great search engine and your profile will appear based on the content you provide in the profile.

6 Don’t ignore relationships from past jobs or businesses, including those contacts. Trust takes time to build, so working with someone for ten years can carry weight when it comes to recommendations.

Like all social media, LinkedIn loves regular fresh content and is the perfect platform for those of us with a business to business element to our company.

Remember we can use photos, videos, testimonials, slideshows and articles all as ways of spreading our message.

Getting to grips with LinkedIn? Del Boy would have seen the potential.

He also loved a pint down the Nag’s Head… LinkedIn can take you there too – look out for LinkedIn local groups around the country, a great way to faceto-face network and build your local presence.

7 Don’t spam. Request smart. Add personal messages and tell people why you want to connect with them.

8 Test your photo on Photofeeler.com to see what your image says about you.

9 Get your Social Selling Index Score and work on the right areas of your profile to increase your visibility.

10 Most of all, give more than you expect to gain.

‘Networking is not about just connecting people.

It’s about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities.’

Michele Jennae

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COVI D- 19 FI NANCI AL GUI DANCE

Claim a grant through the coronavirus (COVID-19) Self-employment Income Support Scheme Use this scheme if you’re self-employed or a member of a partnership and have lost income due to coronavirus As of 26 March 2020, published by HM Revenue & Customs This scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months. This may be extended if needed.

Who can apply?

You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you: • have submitted your Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19 • traded in the tax year 2019-20 • are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19 • intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21 • have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19 Your self-employed trading profits must also be less than £50,000 and more than half of your income come from self-employment. This is determined by at least one of the following conditions being true: • having trading profits/partnership trading profits in 2018-19 of less than £50,000 and these profits constitute more than half of your total taxable income • having average trading profits in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 of less than £50,000 and these profits constitute more than half of your average taxable income in the same period If you started trading between 2016-19, HMRC will only use those years for which you filed a Self-Assessment tax return. If you have not submitted your Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, you must do this by 23 April 2020. HMRC will use data on 2018-19 returns already submitted to identify those eligible and will risk assess any late returns filed before the 23 April 2020 deadline in the usual way.

• 2016 to 2017 • 2017 to 2018 • 2018 to 2019 To work out the average HMRC will add together the total trading profit for the 3 tax years (where applicable) then divide by 3 (where applicable), and use this to calculate a monthly amount.

It will be up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for 3 months. HMRC will pay the grant directly into your bank account, in one instalment.

How to apply You cannot apply for this scheme yet.

HMRC will contact you if you are eligible for the scheme and invite you to apply on-line. Individuals do not need to contact HMRC now and doing so will only delay the urgent work being undertaken to introduce the scheme. You will access this scheme only through gov.uk.

If someone texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC, saying that you can claim financial help or are owed a tax refund, and asks you to click on a link or to give information such as your name, credit card or bank details, it is a scam.

After you’ve applied Once HMRC has received your claim and you are eligible for the grant, it will contact you to tell you how much you will get and the payment details. If you claim tax credits you’ll need to include the grant in your claim as income.

How much you’ll get You’ll get a taxable grant which will be 80% of the average profits from the tax years (where applicable): 60 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One

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COVI D- 19 FI NANCI AL GUI DANCE

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is now available through participating lenders How can I access the scheme?

CBILS is available through the British Business Bank’s 40+ accredited lenders, which are listed on the British Business Bank website. Not every accredited lender can provide every type of finance listed.

In the first instance, businesses should approach their own provider – ideally via the lender’s website. They may also consider approaching other lenders if they are unable to access the finance they need.

Decision-making on whether you are eligible for CBILS is fully delegated to the 40+ accredited CBILS lenders. These lenders range from high-street banks, to challenger banks, asset-based lenders and smaller specialist local lenders.

Note that if the accredited lender can offer finance on normal commercial terms without the need to make use of the scheme, they will do so.

Additional application notes Given there is likely to be a big demand for facilities once the scheme goes live, we ask you to please: • Consider applying via the lender’s website in the first instance. Telephone lines are likely to be busy and branches may have limited capacity to handle enquires due to social distancing • Consider the urgency of your need – it is possible that some businesses may be looking for regular longer-term finance rather than ‘emergency’ finance, and there may other businesses with a more urgent need to speak with a lender What types of finance are available and who offers which type?

CBILS supports a wide range of business finance facilities, including: • Term loans • Overdrafts • Asset finance • Invoice finance Not every lender can provide every type of finance listed.

CBILS is available through the British Business Bank’s 40+ accredited lenders, which are listed on the British Business Bank website.

Am I eligible for finance under CBILS? The scheme is designed to support smaller businesses (SMEs) who don’t meet a lender’s normal lending requirements for a fully commercial loan or other facility, but who are considered viable in the longer-term. To be eligible for a facility under CBILS, your business must: • Be UK based in its business activity with annual turnover or no more than £45m • Have a borrowing proposal which, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, would be considered viable by the lender, and for which the lender believes the provision of finance will enable your business to trade out of any short-to-medium term difficulty • Smaller businesses from any sector* can apply for the full amount of the facility.

Important information for SMEs The CBILS guarantee is to the lender and not the business. As with any other commercial transaction, the borrower is always 100% liable for repayment of the facility supported by CBILS. CBILS decision making is fully delegated to the accredited lenders. Any queries from a business with an active or historic EFG facility, including guarantee fee collection or alterations to their repayment profile should raise them with their lender, and not with the British Business Bank. For further information, please read our CBILS FAQs for SMEs document *Exclusions: Banks, Building Societies, Insurers and Reinsurers (but not insurance brokers); The public sector including state funded primary and secondary schools; Employer, professional, religious or political membership organisation or trade unions. the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One 61

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COVI D- 19 FI NANCI AL GUI DANCE

Extra protection for businesses with ban on evictions for commercial tenants who miss rent payments Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction.

• Commercial tenants unable to pay rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction • Measures support ongoing conversations between landlords and tenants about voluntary arrangements • Latest measure builds on the unprecedented package of support for businesses already announced Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction, the government has announced. Many landlords and tenants are already having conversations and reaching voluntary arrangements about rental payments due shortly but the government recognises businesses struggling with their cashflow due to coronavirus remain worried about eviction. These measures, included in the emergency Coronavirus Bill currently going through Parliament, will mean no business will be forced out of their premises if they miss a payment in the next 3 months.

This builds on the unprecedented package of support announced for businesses who are affected by coronavirus. As commercial tenants will still be liable for the rent after this period, the government is also actively monitoring the impact on commercial landlords’ cash flow and continues to be in dialogue with them.

There are sensible conversations between landlords and commercial tenants taking place – but having this legislative backstop to prevent evictions during the worst of the crisis will provide much needed peace of mind for many small businesses.

Further information The amendment to the Coronavirus Bill on commercial leases will apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It applied to all commercial tenants. The change will come into force when the Coronavirus Bill receives Royal Assent. It will last until 30 June, with an option for the government to extend if needed.

Deferring VAT And Income Tax Payments (No Application Process Needed) VAT: The deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.

• All UK businesses are eligible • This is an automatic offer with no application required Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period.

Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020-21 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

Income Tax: For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on 31 July 2020 will be deferred until 31 January 2021.

• If you are self-employed you are eligible. This is an automatic offer with no application required • No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period • HMRC has also scaled up its Time to Pay offer to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities.

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The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to provide UK employers with support for paying wages of staff who would otherwise have been laid off as a result of Coronavirus In the press and on the internet, many legal experts are warning employers to be careful when deciding to furlough employees.

It has been recommended employers issue a formal letter to employees to confirm their employment status has changed to furloughed. If an employer decides to reduce an employee’s pay to 80%, and so match the maximum HMRC grant, then employee consent is required. Otherwise, it amounts to an unlawful deduction from wages unless there is prior written consent or contractual agreement.

If only some of the employees are being furloughed, then a fair selection must be made to avoid claims of discrimination.

What we know so far: • The scheme will be available to all UK employers, of any size and in any sector • It involves ‘furloughing’ designated workers who would otherwise have been ‘laid off ’ during this crisis • This will involve keeping those workers on the payroll instead of dismissing them as redundant or putting them on unpaid lay-off • HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers’ wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per worker per month • Workers cannot do any work for an employer that has furloughed them • The employer can top-up the 80% HMRC payment but does not have to do so • The scheme will be backdated to 1 March 2020 and run for three months from that date. It will be extended if necessary.

• The system will be managed through an online portal being set up by HMRC Reduced employee pay: The overview published by the government says that ‘changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation’. If the employer proposes to maintain full normal pay for furloughed workers (whilst claiming the grant from HMRC) then employers will not necessarily need worker consent to designate them as furloughed.

If the employer proposes to reduce pay for furloughed workers to the maximum HMRC grant, then it will need worker consent. This is because reducing a worker’s pay amounts to an unlawful deduction from wages unless there is prior written consent or contractual agreement.

Fair selection: If there is some work to be done by some employees, employers need to choose which employees are to be furloughed? Workers who cannot work from home and who currently have no work to do will be obvious candidates for furloughing. Otherwise, employers may need to consider a process of calling for volunteers, pooling and selection – as with a redundancy process. There is a risk of claims (including discrimination claims) if the process is not handled correctly.

Furloughing may be particularly attractive to carers who might otherwise need to take unpaid dependant’s leave. Other workers may only agree to furloughing as a last-resort alternative to being made redundant or put onto an unpaid lay-off arrangement.

Working for other employers: Will workers be able to work for other employers while furloughed? This seems possible, because the details released so far simply say that the worker cannot do any work for an employer that has furloughed them. If workers can pick up work elsewhere while still being furloughed, it will make it more attractive. We expect the government shortly to confirm the rules concerning working elsewhere during furlough.

See https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/ guidance-to-employers-andbusinesses-about-covid-19/ covid-19-support-for-businesses for the latest guidance

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OBI TUARY GEORGE DAWBER 1939-2020

Jon Cohen spoke at George’s funeral: I’d like to say a few words about George, both from a personal and an industry perspective – and there’s the first problem: how do you say a few words about George when his influence in our industry was so far reaching? And, of course, when I say George what I really mean is George and Glenys – a true partnership in everything (I was going to say except perhaps the cricket but Glenys did remind me that she was well involved there too!)

After I’d heard the news – and thanks Glenys and Juliet for taking the time to phone me, knowing I’m a bit stone age when it comes to Facebook – I remember talking to Juliet, Jeremy, Sean, John and many others, we all had the same reaction of shock. How can we lose somebody that was such a keystone of our industry? It’s classic isn’t it, you never really know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

And it’s difficult to overstate George’s involvement. He presided over key industry judging panels, he helped push standards of photography year on year, he also presided over many regional and national organisations, notably the BIPP. And the industry awards events that George and Glenys ran… well you had to be there, they were amazing.

Through all of this work at the very top of the industry George was always friendly and approachable, always having time for a chat and always keen to nurture new talent. This was George, it was never just about George, he loved helping people and got such pleasure from seeing people he’d helped go on to successful careers. If you wanted to learn a bit more about say portrait lighting, or posing, well George would just invite you over to the studio to watch and learn.

Was there a crowning glory? Well I think we were all in awe of Glenys’ incredible fostering work which of course George was deeply involved in, and it’s great to see this being carried forward by Howard and Laura. In terms of the Photography Industry George’s influence has been recognised by many many awards and quite recently at the Societies Convention George and Glenys received a rare Special Recognition Award for their services to the Professional Photography Industry.

And then there’s Photo Training Overseas – that’s a book in itself, as well as a massive amount of hard work as I always saw going on behind the scenes, a totally unique event, it produced new ideas in photography, new ideas in business, new businesses, even marriages. But most important of all, it created new friendships – right across the industry and right across the world, George and Glenys were at the absolute centre of this, always happy to welcome new friends, and that’s my abiding memory of George, his generous friendship, to everybody.’

More than 180 people attended the funeral, summing up in itself the breadth of lasting friendships that George made.

Glenys adds: ‘The true George was to be found at Photo Training Overseas. He was a family man and we called it the PTO family. Friends were made and it became an institution in its own right.

George hand picked the tutors to freely provide down-to-earth information and that’s what we managed to do for 32 years – finishing in Mexico in 2019. It did surprise us what it became – thousands of photographers came along with us – it gave people something to look forward to before the wedding season started. George always believed that old or young, the more equipped you were to do the job the better. For him it was all about giving.’

64 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2020 / Issue One

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