RPS The Decisive Moment - Edition 23 - September 2021

THE DECISIVE MOMENT

From Our Chair

We have just had our documentary Annual General Meeting. Despite the challenges of the past 18 months or so, we have managed to maintain and, in many instances, expand our Documentary Group activities.

In summary, through late 2020 and in 2021 we have:

• Had our first crop of Documentary distinctions.

• Created and developed our in-depth online ‘Telling Stories’ Workshop three part series. Working with professional photographer Jon Cunningham (Creative Escapes), we ran 12 of these in 2020 and a further 7 so far in 2021.

• We also ran an Engagement Talks series from September 2020 until May 2021, and we have just restarted it, with the talk by Mimi Mollica.

• We continued to develop The Decisive Moment, in terms of content and quality, although we had a few production challenges to overcome.

• Last, but by no means least, we are running a major expansion to DPOTY 2021.

All of this is outlined in our updated 2021-2024 Plan, which we have aligned to the new RPS Strategy document. The Documentary Group Plan will be posted on the website after the AGM. Your comments and ideas are welcome.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers; all the current committee, all of The Decisive Moment editorial team and all our regional volunteers who have helped grow the Group and the Regional Sub-Groups. Without you, there would be nothing.

Special thanks at this time go to David Barnes, our longstanding and retiring Secretary and Patricia Hilbert (web and social media), who despite work pressures designed our DPOTY website and kick started some of our social media campaigns.

Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY) has gone global. As well as a Member category we had Student and Open categories. We have a panel of international judges, that would be credible in any major global competition or salon. We attracted hundreds of entries, from across the globe, and in total had over 3500 images to judge. We are part way through that process and on track to complete in November. The plan then is to announce the winners and take an exhibition on tour in 2022. Harry Hall, working with the Regions, has already lined up venues in Oxford, Newcastle, and Chippenham, with one or two more possibilities in planning and hopefully an event at Fujifilm House of Photography in London.

The one thing that emerges as a theme is the importance of projects, of a series and bodies of work that go beyond the single image. This add an additional challenge and dimension to documentary photography, and something that is highlighted in the insightful series “Beyond the Single Image” in this edition.

The Documentary Group Team

Documentary Group Committee:

Chair: Mark A Phillips FRPS doc@rps.org

Secretary: Nick Linnett LRPS docsecretary@rps.org

Treasurer: Andrew Ripley doctreasurer@rps.org

Members: Harry Hall FRPS, Chris Martinka, Valerie Mather ARPS, Wayne Richards, Dave Thorp

Sub-Group Organisers:

East Midlands: Volunteer Required docem@rps.org

South East: Jeff Owen ARPS docse@rps.org

Northern: Peter Dixon ARPS docnorthern@rps.org

Southern: Christopher Morris ARPS docsouthern@rps.org

Thames Valley: Philip Joyce ARPS doctv@rps.org

East Anglia: Malcolm English ARPS docea@rps.org

Yorkshire: Carol Hudson LRPS docyork@rps.org

Central (w/Contemporary): Steff Hutchinson ARPS

The Decisive Moment:

Editor: Dave Thorp decisive@rps.org

Sub-Editors: Dr Graham Wilson, Lyn Newton LRPS

Editorial: Ian Wright ARPS, Gerry Phillipson LRPS, Ray Hobbs ARPS

And the rest of the team:

Bi-Monthly Competition: Volunteer Required dgcompetitions@rps.org

Social Media: Volunteer Required docweb@rps.org

Flickr: Volunteer Required

The Documentary Group

Plans for 2021-2024

Overall Objective

To support the RPS Strategic Plan Photography for Everyone and to enhance the relevance for Documentary Photography by engaging more diverse audiences and ensuring our activities self-fund. We have focussed our goals and 2021-2024 targets under the RPS Mission of inspiration, creativity, and connection: Inspire – showcase inspiring photography and to shed new light on subjects of importance

These activities are focussed around showcasing and celebrating high quality photographic work and thinking, which is fundamental to the RPS’s purpose:

Engagement Talks

The Decisive Moment

Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY)

DPOTY Exhibition

Create – encouraging a deeper understanding of photography and providing resources for photographic education

To develop the range and reach of our educational activities. We want to help photographers develop their practice, and also educate non-photographers about what is current in documentary photography:

‘Telling Stories’ Workshops

Distinction Advisory

Engage University courses

Support individual development

Connect – promote belonging and inclusivity, by supporting and engaging widely

To engage with more people and connect with other communities, including those who are not photographers, to appreciate the value of documentary photography, so that it is enjoyed and accessible to as many people as possible:

Work with groups outside RPS

Regional and international activities

Website and social media

Documentary Group Bi-Monthly Competition

Monthly Newsletter

Ravilious on Ravilious

In 1972, James Ravilious, having moved from London and settled in North Devon where his wife had a small cottage, was commissioned to photograph the farming community and landscape by an imaginative and farsighted director of the Beaford Arts Centre, John Lane, who had become convinced that this area of North Devon was a very special place in a time of important transition. The archive built up over the next seventeen and a half years is now recognised as one of the finest, and most important social documentary collections to be produced in Britain, and James’s reputation has continued to grow since his untimely death in 1999.

James lavished time and energy on the project, without thought of financial return, and it’s all the more astonishing because it was produced, often with lukewarm support from those who had succeeded John Lane, while James’s pay was never more than that of a local shop assistant.

James’s wife, Robin, was a significant collaborator. As an amateur local historian, she helped her husband to gain an informed understanding of his subject matter, and wrote the most beautiful and evocative text to describe the landscape, its people and James’s philosophy and working practices. As James described her, she was a ‘personal assistant, ruthless critic, and resourceful finder of lost documents’.

Robin’s biography, ‘James Ravilious: A Life’ (Wilmington Square Books, 2017) is a wonderful accompaniment to his images. The earliest book was ‘The Heart of the Country’ (1980), with text by Robin. In 1995, ‘A Corner of England’ was published, followed in 1998 by ‘An English Eye’ which included an excellent introduction by Peter Hamilton, and the large format, ‘The Recent Past’, with an introduction by Robin.

I briefly met James, in 1997, when the touring retrospective exhibition sponsored by the RPS came to Exeter. Then, in 2005, I met Robin when I bought four darkroom prints made from Ravilious negatives. In 2015, she joined one of my small expeditions to India and her storytelling charmed us all. I was delighted when she accepted my invitation to choose twelve of James’s images, with personal commentary.

With Robin’s permission, I’ve combined extracts from her writings that eloquently describe the ‘how and why’ context in which James photographed. They represent

an ideal ‘case study’ for amateur photographers who aspire to produce documentary work. Documentary seems only to be a minor interest in the camera club world, and images identified as documentary that I see there, are commonly, in Susan Sontag’s phrase, ‘strong on evidence, weak on meaning.’ For documentary work, being descriptive is essential, but is not sufficient - documentary photography is fundamentally analytical.

Ravilious was photographing the underlying dynamics of a rural society in the throes of rapid change – traditional features of life, and the characters embodying them, were disappearing. By his own account, James was not, ‘a reader’; he admitted to being a lazy researcher. My own view is that Robin made a significant contribution in adding the layer of analysis, of underlying purpose, that helps give the photography so much strength. A selection from Robin’s text follows.

‘[He] had a trained artistic eye with a wealth of historic art in his head, and the ability to spot a composition in the heat of the moment. The rural life he saw going on in the fields and villages around us triggered connections with many of his heroes, such as the medieval illuminators, Constable, the engraver Thomas Bewick and the painter and etcher Samuel Palmer; their works often inspired his choice of shot.

Also, he had a gift for making friends with strangers almost instantly. It came naturally to him to plunge straight into a conversation without conventional introductions. Some may have thought him eccentric, and found his eager gabble hard to follow, but his unassuming, friendly approach opened doors wherever he went. His interest in people and their lives was so obvious that they warmed to him at once.

He would explain his purpose and ask their permission, but they soon forgot that he was taking pictures. He was refused on only two occasions. The Leica, and his handling of it, were very unobtrusive. He just clicked, and dodged here and there, while he chatted with them about what they were doing, or how things used to be done. He was against posing or staging a subject (or lighting it artificially) because he was so determined that his record should be completely authentic - a natural and honest picture of real life.

At that time, our bit of countryside existed in a curious mix of time zones. There were scattered pockets of it that were just as far behind the times as our valley, where life carried on in much the same way as it had soon after the Second World War. But, close by, you could find farms of a hundred acres or more, with Land Rovers in concrete yards, and electric milking machines humming in breezeblock sheds. It was a peculiar characteristic of North Devon that the two styles of life co-existed side by side well into the 1990s. There were perhaps two reasons for this: geography and local temperament.

The area bounded by Exmoor to the north-east, and the coast to the

north and west, is a wriggling maze of lanes, many of them founded by Anglo-Saxon pioneers in the eighth century. The only major road runs through from Exeter to Barnstaple and the northern seaside resorts; there has never been very much reason for visiting traffic to turn aside on the way. North Devon doesn’t have the money that the southern part of the county has - nor its sunny climate. A lot of the land is difficult to farm, consisting of small fields of poor, shaley soil, sodden and hilly. We get more than our share of rain.

But the area has its own quiet beauty. Its hills are on an intimate scale, and its winding river valleys deep and secretive. It is very green, and rich in wild flowers. It also has a great many trees, in the large oak plantations which flank those valleys, in the overgrown hedgerows, and in corners of soggy scrub that no one has ever bothered with - all of which give it the sense of remoteness and the dishevelled charm which so appealed to the artist in James…

The farming people of this countryside have stayed put for centuries. They moved about within a local area, as work dictated: younger sons went off to start up on their own, and labourers were moved on from their tied cottages, but they kept their sense of belonging because they left a network of relations all over the district - and because they loved the place. Few set foot out of the county unless forced to by war. This rootedness went with a self-sufficient independence of mind, and an innate conservatism. The way their fathers had done things was good enough for them; and they viewed new-fangled methods with suspicion - an attitude which preserved the historic landscape created by their forebears.

It wasn’t an easy way of life - even in the 1970s and ‘80s, when James was recording it. Money was scarce, and farm labour even scarcer. If their children didn’t want to stay on and help, and if they couldn’t afford much in the way of machinery, small farmers found it hard to spend time and energy on repairs or improvements. They survived by patching up and improvising, and by neighbourly arrangements of mutual help with others in the same boat. Factors beyond their control, like Common Market regulations and epidemics of disease, added restrictions and dreaded paperwork to their problems, but they carried on patiently because they were used to putting up with things. They didn’t want to leave the land that meant so much to them.

James admired this quality. He didn’t know much about farming when he started, but he soon came to appreciate the commitment it involved day in, day out, and the sheer hard slog it demanded in all weathers. Also, as a craftsman himself, he understood the rewards of such work. He was determined that his record would pay tribute to that stoicism, and that attachment.

This meant that he, too, had to be about early and late, to meet cows coming in to be milked or to catch hay-making in a summer dusk; and he stood for hours in the mud and pouring rain, or struggled through snowdrifts in an east wind, in order to make a true picture of that kind of life. But it was not too much of a hardship for James because he loved to use low light - especially in the early morning - and because extremes of weather were so photogenic. Breughel and Thomas Bewick were often in the back of his mind as he worked...

Not for James the swift anonymous style of Cartier-Bresson, who usually slipped a naked Leica out of his jacket pocket, clicked, and melted away into the crowd. But then James’s working style was a more engaged one from the start. He was part of the community, not an outsider. He didn’t want to take people unawares. But he did want them to be living their lives unselfconsciously. So he talked to them; explained about the archive and its purpose, asked if they would mind if he took a few photos for it, and took an interest in whatever they were doing. Then he let them get on with it.

He travelled far and wide to begin with, but came to feel that there were more than enough subjects to cover in the immediate locality, so he spent most of his time in an area within a radius of about ten miles from home. Over a quarter of his archive was taken in our parish of Dolton. But, even though his patch was so small, he never felt he had completed his task.’

Peter Beacham, in his Guardian obituary of Ravilious (October 1999), wrote, ‘Time after time a Ravilious photograph brings out some aspect of our common humanity. ... His pictures resonate with integrity and spiritual power, conveying, just like a great painting, so much more than the subject they ostensibly portray.’

I hope this introduction, and Robin’s selection, will encourage you to look deeper into this remarkable photographer. A selection of James’s images follow with notes by Robin.

Additional Information:

Website: www.jamesravilious.com

The English Eye exhibition mounted by the RPS in 1997, now resides in the Burton Gallery in Bideford. They will be showing it this autumn (6th October – 30th December) as part of their 70 year anniversary celebrations.

To enquire about buying darkroom prints, please contact Robin at robin@ravilious.net

All James’s Archive negatives, the digital prints of them, and the copyrights in them, belong to the Beaford Archive, who kindly allowed these images to be used, beafordarchive.org - beaford.org

James was always on the lookout for situations that were rarely seen on camera. So he was very pleased to be invited by Dr Bangay to record him at work on his rounds. (The patients’ permission was obtained, of course, but luckily for James, there were no issues about model release forms in those days.) Dr Bangay’s introductions allowed him access, he might never otherwise have had, to private rooms and personal moments. He was very careful not to abuse the privilege. Despite his six-foot frame, his working style was unobtrusive. His approach was friendly, he only used available light, and his analogue Leica M3 was so small and quiet he could take touchingly intimate pictures without either doctor or patient remembering that he was there.

It was against James’s principles to set anything up or pose people. He wanted to record them living their lives as unselfconsciously as possible. He followed them about chatting while they got on with their work. Like so many of his portraits, this one was taken in the middle of such a conversation. George was thinking as they talked – probably about that favourite topic ‘the old days’ - and though he could see James holding the camera to his eye, he was not wary of it. To my mind, this shot says far more about George’s character, and the life of farmers like him, than if he had posed looking straight into the lens waiting for the shutter to click.

‘Free-wheeling’ with no fixed destination, as he often did, James chanced on this family shearing. He introduced himself and photographed them at work. They then invited him in to watch the Cup Final on TV. This gave him a fine opportunity to record the group in their home setting and completely at ease. He was always interested in photographing audiences rather than the events they were watching.

Absorbed, they were more relaxed.

Perhaps in homage to his first photographic hero Henri Cartier-Bresson, this picture is a good illustration of ‘the decisive moment’. None of James’s other exposures of this scene captured the dance of legs and shadows so well. He took it at the beginning of a three-week trip on foot through the bleak mountainous Cévennes in Southern France with an artist friend, Tony Foster. They were following in the steps of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson who walked it in 1879. Stevenson took a troublesome donkey to carry his luggage; James and Tony used an obliging golf trolley.

A favourite view James went back to year after year. He took it in many different seasons and at different times of the day. The classical composition shows the influence of his earlier training as an artist. This version (his best) was made on a 6.5” x 8.5” plate negative in a homemade 10” x 13” x 7” wooden box based on those the Victorian photographers used. Like them, he had to compose with the view upside down. It was one of his many experiments in pursuit of less grain and more depth of field. But the anachronistic piece of kit required a thick black cloth to cover him and the camera, a light-proof bag to change the plates in, and a massive wooden tripod. It proved too cumbersome for work out of doors.

The ethics of documenting daily life were always on James’s mind. Though honest realism was very important, he was anxious not to intrude, or exploit. One or two people have thought this photo of Olive is unkind. However, Olive herself never complained. She was a feisty lady; she’d certainly have let him know if she was annoyed! In fact, she had a soft spot for him, and like many of his farming subjects, she was pleased that he took an interest in her tough and solitary life.

One of the great advantages of living and working for so long in one place was that James could sometimes plan ahead. He could return to a likely place when the angle of the light would be best, and anticipate good settings for photogenic happenings. For instance, he would get permission to climb a church tower to picture a village coming to life early in the morning. He loved an unusual viewpoint and would remain there, in the cold, waiting for hours for something interesting to happen.

Many of North Devon’s smallholders were leading pretty hard lives in the 1970s. They were getting older, but few could afford much in the way of machinery or help. Bad weather, like the prolonged deep snow of 1978, made things a great deal worse. James was out with them all day to record just how tough it was. He waded through the drifts dragging hay bales or stood about recording these farmers till his fingers were too cold to operate the camera.

James admired the work of Edwin Smith, a family friend, who took wonderful photographs of British buildings, large and small, in the 1940s and 50s before streets were full of cars and signs. In the early 1980s Edwin’s widow, the writer Olive Cook, gave James one of Edwin’s cameras, an old bellows model, the Ica. Using 6cm x 9cm plates, among others, he developed a more leisurely, reflective style, concentrating on artistic composition in landscape and the subtlety of light effects. He would go out at dawn to catch dew, mist or frost in the early light when shadows were longest.

Everyday objects appealed to James because of what they said about their owners. He found this intriguing mix of useful implements in a bachelor’s kitchen, property of expert thatcher, Bill Hammond, whom he often photographed thatching roofs, building old-fashioned wheat ricks, or making cider in his homemade press using traditional West Country varieties of apple from his lovely old orchard.

Whenever he went abroad, it was the everyday that James was particularly interested in rather than the famous sights. He would look for street scenes and rural life, just as he did in Devon, trying to get under the skin of a different countryside. In the back of his mind were the early Renaissance artists he particularly loved. Sometimes I think he was seeing 20th-century life through their eyes.

Like many of the classical artists he admired, James felt the need for an actor in his landscapes to bring life to a scene – as John Constable had with his ubiquitous boy in a scarlet waistcoat. If there were no humans about, James would wait patiently for a dog or a cat, or even a bird, to place themselves conveniently. In this lovely valley, covered in sweet chestnut forest, the white goat gave him just that little foreground zing that adds to the sense of distance in the view beyond.

Valerie Mather ARPS

The images in my panel have been selected from an ongoing, long-term project, photographing pastoral farmers in and around Yorkshire, but mainly close to where I live.

I was initially inspired by the James Ravilious book, The Recent Past, in which he photographed rural life around his home in North Devon during the 1970s.

Then in 2019 upon reading in Country Life that only 3% of British farmers are

under 35 years old and the average age of a British farmer is 59 I had the idea to focus on pastoral farmers in my area.

For this ARPS panel I have chosen images from that project which were taken on farms and at livestock auctions and agricultural shows in Yorkshire.

The images selected for this panel include photographs of first, second, third and fourth generation farmers.

When did you first discover an interest in pastoral farmers in Yorkshire?

I was initially inspired by the James Ravilious book, The Recent Past, in which he photographed rural life around his home in North Devon during the 1970s. It made me consider doing a local project, rather than travelling abroad to take images.

Then, in 2019, I read an article in Country Life magazine about the succession crisis in British farming. I was shocked to learn that only 3% of our farmers are under 35 years-old and that the average age of a farmer is 59. Curious, I began to attend livestock auctions and agricultural shows in my area. I don’t have any farming connections myself and during these visits I discovered a close-knit community that I wanted to understand. The project began from there.

Can you tell us something about how you developed a relationship with the farmers, and farming families, you photographed across the four generations that you mention in your Statement of Intent”?

Some farmers I met at public events and photographed only once. Gradually, however, I came across farmers who invited me onto their farms and allowed me the privilege of shadowing them and asking endless questions. They, in turn, introduced me to neighbouring farms. Spending long days on these farms, I met their children (and even the grandparents, when they were babysitting), as well as their friendsfarmers rely on friends and neighbours to help.

It is a strange relationship being a photographer-I feel it is important not to interact too much with one’s subjects, to remain impartial, and so as not to change natural behaviours. However, there is down time when we all relax with a mug of tea and laugh about the events of the day. Just yesterday, I was the subject of much ribbing. Photographing pig weaning, I was red faced and sweating, running and sliding through deep mud, to get ahead of the farmers as they herded the sows in from the fields. The faster I ran, the faster the sows ran ahead of me. I have been asked back as I was the most successful herder of the day!

With camera in hand, were there times when you were regarded with suspicion? Did you ever ask for permission to take a shot or explain why you were photographing the scene?

Farmers have, in my view, had a hard time in the media of late, and many feel they have been misrepresented. As such, they are understandably cautious and sometimes defensive. If I wish to shoot on private land, then clearly, I need permission in advance. I have found that, by asking in person, and showing genuine enthusiasm for my subject, people are quick to agree. After that I tend to capture a moment as I see it and chat to and gain approval from the individual after. This keeps the images candid. Obviously, there are rules where children are involved, but again, I have been fortunate that I have been given opportunities to photograph children within the farming community. It has been one of the joys of this project.

You chose to present a panel in black and white. Why? Many of the scenes you’ve included would have looked good in colour.

I made the decision to photograph the entire project in black and white before I found the project! I had done two short colour series-in Cuba in 2017 on a photography holiday with Creative Escapes where we had to set ourselves assignments during the trip, and in 2018 in London at an anti-Trump demonstration. Both essays used colour significantly and I wanted to try my hand at ‘seeing’ in monochrome, (although I shoot raw in colour and convert in Lightroom later). Happily, when I found the project, black and white made sense to me, as in part, I wanted to show the traditions that continue in this industry, as well as the innovations. Also, two photographers I am inspired by and drawn to - James Ravilious (mentioned above) and David Hurn’s work are entirely black and white.

Which photograph from your ARPS panel gives you most satisfaction?

That’s a hard question to answer! The correct answer, I think, is none because in putting together a panel you are using 15 images to tell 15 stories. No single story should be ‘better’ than another. They are equally important. It is different if you are preparing a book, or even a photo essay, but not for an RPS Distinction.

If I must single one out, strangely for me as I love photographing people, it would be the ‘still life’ shot (ARPS 13). It is something quite ordinary, that I feel on closer inspection tells a story of a community. For me, the shot is about small-scale family businesses, honesty in a community, and children learning to take on responsibility.

Which photograph in the panel did you find the most difficult to achieve?

The image in the milking parlour (ARPS 10). It took almost a year before I gained access to a dairy parlour. Once there, I was surprised by how industrial, noisy, and computerised (and yet still dependent on key human interaction) and fast-paced the process of milking is now. Working with livestock is dangerous and safety has been an important consideration throughout the project -both mine and the farmers I am observing. Seeing the milking process close up and finding a way to translate that into a single image, without getting in the way, or getting myself or my camera injured was difficult.

The one that got away: An example of a photo that didn’t make it into the panel. Please explain the shot and why you didn’t select it. The book cover didn’t make it into the panel on the advice of my 1:1 assessor who suggested that ‘the viewer cannot read into an image what is not visible’. For me, that image of three elderly farmers, still working in their 70s, looking down on empty sheep pens suggested the succession crisis that had initially sparked the project. It is important to remember, however, that different platforms have different approaches and different images will be successful in different places.

If you could now rework the panel what changes would you make?

I spent many hours agonising over my ARPS panel and, even though the project continues, I wouldn’t change a thing. Once it was done, I felt I had told my 15 stories and I was honoured to achieve such a prestigious award from the Royal Photographic Society.

Can you say a little about your book?

The farming community is facing the biggest changes since tractors replaced horses, including how they farm in the light of environmental initiatives. Their success or failure will impact us all, as farmers are the custodians of our land, and their actions affect the countryside we enjoy, and the quality of the food we eat.

I want people to think about our farming industry when they shop and support them where they can. My hope is that the book will help in some small way to achieve this.

Clearly this is an on-going project. How might you develop it further?

The project feels far from done to me. My work was first featured in Country Life, then The Yorkshire Post, and recently Yorkshire Life magazine. The National Trust saw my work, and subsequently bought a copy of my book. They have offered to curate my first exhibition at their gallery at Nunnington Hall (9 September 2023-31 December 2023). I am talking with the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs and the NFU about educational opportunities for schools to accompany the exhibition. The NT are facilitating access to their tenant farmers to assist me in expanding the scope of the project. It’s very exciting to be working on this with other like-minded people.

Valerie’s book titled Yorkshire Born & Bred: Farming Life is available as a limited edition via her website:

www.valeriematherphotography.co.uk

Beyond the Single Image

Bi-Monthly Competition Winners and Their Projects

Ian Wright ARPS

While a single image can communicate a great deal, the project and the photo-essay form the structure in which documentary photographers operate.

‘I always work for a group of pictures, to tell a story. If you ask which picture in a story I like most, it is impossible for me to tell you this. If I must select one individual picture, it is very difficult for me.’

(Excerpt from an interview with Sebastiao Salgado by Ken Lassiter, Photographer’s Forum).

With this in mind I decided to contact the winners of recent RPS Documentary Group Bi-Monthly competitions, to discuss their projects with them, (with my own image and ‘Rooted’ project also being part of the group). I invited the winners to put an image they had picked out as individually significant, into a wider context.

The projects reveal the great variety of opportunities to tell stories that matter. Four of us had worked on social or political documentaries but Paul Bryne’s ‘Rusty Relics’ reminds us that documentary has a much wider scope.

My interviews were aimed at discovering the mind-set of the photographers – why were they attracted to their subject matter, how did they approach the task from a social-interaction and access perspective, what are their photographic influences and what had they

discovered through the project. I asked them to talk me through one or two of their images.

Many thanks to Mark Slater, Lorraine Poole, Paul Bryne and Angus Stewart for their excellent contributions.

What’s the objective of a documentary project? My answer would be to achieve ‘thereness’ - ‘a sense that we are looking at the world directly’. Or in the words of Larry Fink who I interviewed earlier in the year, ‘to take a two-dimensional picture and make it something that a viewer enters and doesn’t want to leave. So that once they enter the universe of the picture, they become immersed in what it was like to be in this space and time, right then and right there.’

This is perhaps a big ‘ask’. Whether images in a documentary project achieve this ‘transportation’ of the viewer is not entirely in the hands of a photographer – it also depends on the curiosity, imagination, empathy, life experiences, the ‘seeing abilities’ of the viewer and the time they are prepared to give to seriously looking. The viewer – as well as the photographer - needs to consider the content of a photo essay - the information, ideas and perspective that are communicated.

Sebastiao Salgado has spoken of this: ‘What I want is to create a discussion about what is happening around the world and to provoke some debate with these pictures. Nothing more than this. I don’t want people to look at them and appreciate the light and the palate of tones. I want them to look inside and see what the pictures represent, and the kind of people [and issues] I photograph.’ This is why some text is necessary to ‘frame’ documentary images – and why I asked the series of questions about the photographers’ projects which follow.

While we have some exceptional documentary photographers, I’m not sure that we have a culture in the photography groups in this country which puts sufficient stress on this narrative foundation of documentary photography. At root, it’s really very simple - two questions - what’s this about? does the photographer communicate this effectively? The answers of course may not be simple – as I explain in regard to my own project. That’s part of the value of documentary work. My personal experience is that, in their discussions and pre-occupations, many photography groups commonly obsess about the medium rather than appreciating that the message is the starting point and that images without a concept, however technically brilliant, have no documentary meaning.

rps.org/groups/documentary/bi-monthly-competition

Angus Stewart ARPS, ‘Double Bass’ December 2019

This shot is from an ongoing project on cabaret and burlesque in London and was taken at a charity show raising money for Cabaret vs Cancer. The performers worked with the band to create original acts for the show, and in this case the performer’s costume was a ‘big bass’. I particularly liked the shot because the cabaret performer is mirrored with the musician behind. The band gave the whole show a speakeasy feel - it was a great evening for a great cause.

How did the project originate?

About eight years ago, a friend who had bought a couple of my circus prints asked if I would photograph a charity burlesque show that she was appearing in, and I have continued to work with her and others since.

I am interested in documentary or environmental portraiturebackstage, the community, friendships. Though the project is ostensibly about burlesque, it’s not about nudity or undressing, it’s a documentary project about a community and fun, and laughter. It’s really important that this work is not seen as prurient.

It was never conceived as a project, just something that I was doing on the side with friends. Through lockdown I have been pulling it together as a book of images and interviews with people like the performers, producers, and teachers.

How did you manage to secure such close access and relationships with the performers?

In this type of photography, access and permission are key, particularly when working with performers who are off stage and off guard or may be semi clothed. It’s key that candid photography, as well as being real, has to be respectful. This is a complex area and trust is built over time. I always ask the stage manager or producer to introduce me on arrival and give anybody free rein to ask me to leave the changing room or not photograph them. The images I take are always sent to the producer and onto the performers, and I ask permission before posting them online.

The environment you were working in is not ideal for photography – how did you approach it?

The thing with turning up at an event in a pub or small theatre is that you are not going to have ideal conditions. Changing rooms are cramped, lighting is poor, the best place to shoot show shots is in the premium seats, which are sold. I always arrive early and talk to the performers and crew, so they understand who I am and what I am doing. I take several cameras, a medium format for the rare occasion there is excellent light, a rangefinder with two lenses, a Leica Q2 and I have an old Fuji X100S which I keep in a side pocket of my bag - it still produces amazing images in a tight spot.

What are your photographic influences?

Susan Meiselas – brilliant documentary photographer, her use of text along with images really helped me understand how I could combine both to tell stories.

Bruce Davidson’s ability to work with a group or community over time and produce a set of images that really show the personal connections and interactions is inspirational.

Dayanita Singh produces amazing work, but it is not simply the images. The display of the images such as her book objects, small museums, home galleries is key to her work. She is really important as an artist to me as I feel that a digital image is always secondary to a printed image or book. My studio is full of prints, booklets, books; physical ideas of how the work could be expressed. If I do a studio shoot part of the output is always a mounted print.

Roy DeCarava’s The Sweet Flypaper of Life is one of my favourite books – a wonderful collaboration between a poet and a photographer about life and relationships and dancing and communityimportant things.

Could you talk me through a few of your images?

‘Dixie at Proud’ – burlesque photography is not about nudity, and, for me, this image demonstrates how that can work. We are told so often to be quieter, be smaller, not shout about our achievements. This is Dixie on stage, taking up space and having a moment of calm as the audience cheer her on, she is powerful, and proud. I love this image.

‘Three Queens’ – taken during a moment of down time on a shoot, three friends sharing a joke. Sometimes you know you have a great picture the moment it happens. This was the image that proved to me that I could produce work about burlesque that would be about community not nudity.

‘Backstage at Bush Hall’ – this was taken before a show while the performers were getting ready. I think the image really captures the excitement and fun backstage – not enough space for everyone to sit down, but room enough for everyone to be welcome.

Beyond the Single Image - Angus Stewart ARPS

Undress Rehearsal

Angus Stewart: Biographical details

I am a self-taught professional photographer based in London, with a focus on Social Documentary photography and portraiture. Current and recent projects include:

Photographing grass roots activists in London and Salvador in conjunction with UCL and UFBA, ‘Rights To The City’ project – this was published as an academic text book in March 2020.

Currently working on a commission from Lambeth Council and Photofusion on Leadership in the Borough. It started pre-Covid and has been expanded to include ‘Leadership during Lockdown’, and this collection of portraits of hospital workers, public health teams etc. will be exhibited from May 2021 until later in the year.

‘The Family Album’ a collection of photographs and interviews of the burlesque and cabaret community in London which will be published 2021.

Personal project, ‘With Love Jeannette’ this is a project that addresses the fragmentary nature of history and knowledge and the continuity of human experience. It is a collection of found documents and photographs with new images showing ‘then and now’ related to events from the early 20th century.

Engaged with The Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) a global charity working on participatory projects in informal settlements.

Exhibitions: Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) Rights To The City – 2019; Conway Hall, London, Rights To The City – March 2020; Photofusion, Salon - December 2018 and December 2019; PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Masculine/Feminine – March 2021; Contemporary Portraiture – April 2021 Lambeth Town Hall; Leadership in Lambeth – runs until later this year. www.photofusion.org

Mark Slater, ‘Child of Moria Camp’ February 2020

This image is part of a wider piece of work focusing on the migrants who are currently living in the infamous Moria Refugee camp on Lesbos, Greece. The numbers are sprayed onto the homes people have built in the Olive Grove camp, which is located just outside of the main camp. To date, there are over 20,000 people living in or around the camp. Conditions within this area are appalling, but NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and international aid agencies are trying to improve the situation. For children in the camp there is little to do, access to healthcare is problematic and many children have underlying health issues, only compounded by poor sanitation and living conditions.

How did the project come about?

I served as part of the UK peacekeeping force in Bosnia in the late 1990’s, and the experiences I had, seeing first-hand the impact war has on the civilian population, have stayed with me over the years. When I saw the image of Aylan Kurdi the child from Syria whose lifeless body was photographed face down in the surf of a Turkish beach, it brought back memories of that time. That single image still haunts me to this day, along with memories from previous conflict zones where children lost not just their childhood but their lives.

I set out to document the plight of these people – bearing witness to the conditions and meeting so many fleeing war and persecution and leaving everything they have or have ever known behind, to try and forge a better, safer life. The experience has had a profound impact on me.

I really enjoy photographic projects, and for me it does not matter what the subject is. I like the planning, setting the scope of the project and looking back at the end on how it worked out. After every project I feel that I am a better photographer. Over the years I have completed many of these types of projects, but this would be one of the most challenging, both on a personal and photography level.

What conditions did you witness in the camp?

The camp near the main town of Mitilini, at one time housed over 20,000 refugees - although when originally constructed it had an official capacity of only 3,000. The lucky ones who lived in the olive grove had canvas tents provided by one of the NGO’s. Even these are inadequate during the winter months. For the rest, they make do with either a festival tent or a tarpaulin sheet wrapped round a wooden or bamboo frame. Their thin tents are surrounded by piles of rotting rubbish, sanitation is poor, food scarce, and there is limited access to vital medicine and healthcare.

Most of the children I met did not have adequate clothing for the winter. At night the temperature plummets. During one of the days I was there the wind picked up, there was torrential rain for most of the day and it became bitterly cold. A lot of the children are coughing and have runny noses, and scabies is becoming a real issue due to being unable to wash properly.

The majority of refugees came from Syria and Afghanistan, but there were pockets of people from across war torn regions of Africa, such as Sierra Leone and Rwanda. I was shocked to discover that there are 15 African countries fighting wars and involved with perpetual terrorist violence. Even more shocking is that over 27% of people on the African continent are directly affected by bloodshed, mayhem, and post-traumatic stress.

Just before I arrived there was a lot of tension between the refugees and the local population which is only increasing. When I was there NGO staff vehicles were

targeted by locals. Alarmingly a number of far-right activists were arrested near the main camp, armed with clubs. During a peaceful protest by the refugees they were fired upon by riot police using tear gas. The crowd was led by families and children in buggies and pushchairs, many of whom inhaled the gas and had to be hospitalised.

In September 2020, a huge fire ripped through the camp, destroying it, and putting over 12,000 people onto the streets with no shelter. What little possessions they had were destroyed, including documentation relating to their asylum applications.

How did you go about photographing in such a sensitive environment?

Planning for the project was crucial to maximise the time that I had on the island. Reaching out to NGOs and charities working in the camp really helped and some were more forthcoming than others. But it did give me a contact on the ground which proved invaluable, not just for getting round the camp, which was huge, but to keep myself safe as there were places I was advised not to go into alone or after dark.

I always took the time to speak to people before taking any images and ask permission, gaining their consent. Afterwards I would then photograph the subjects in a documentary style, not posing or staging any images. There is a code of ethics and guidelines for reporting on children and refugees produced by UNICEF, which I adhered to during my time there. For example, there are six over-arching principles, including ‘Do not publish a story or an image that might put the child, their siblings or peers at risk, even when their identities are changed, obscured or not used’ and ‘Consult those closest to the child’s situation best able to assess the political, social and cultural ramifications of any reportage.’

Can

you talk me through a few of your images?

The first thing that struck me when I arrived was the condition people were living in, from the flimsy-built shelters to the amount of rubbish and the poor sanitation. My image ‘Rubbish River’ shows a route across the river to access the camp, without having to walk round to the main entrance. Due to an ongoing issue with the local council and refuse collectors, large amounts of rubbish had built up and collected on the river bed. It was winter when I was there, but one can only imagine the smell and risk of disease during the warmer months. As it was unsafe to walk around the camp at night to access the toilets, a number of the bags and bottles contained human waste, which only added to the issue around trying to clear it up. The same image also gives a glimpse of the type of shelters that had been erected, often not much more that a tarpaulin wrapped around a frame. The book shows in much more detail the types of shelters that the refugees had constructed.

When one thinks of a Greek island we think of warm beaches and good weather,

but in the winter the temperature can drop dramatically. Another image ‘No Place to Grow Up’ shows a small child wearing what is quite clearly a coat that is far too big for him, with only shorts and a T-shirt underneath. Adequate footwear looked to be a real problem. Often children in the coldest conditions only had crocs on their feet with no socks and their feet and toes had turned blue.

Washing and keeping clean is a challenge. There is little in the way of washing machines or dryers in the camp. Just keeping clothes dry is a problem, and one of my images ‘Wash Day’ shows a barbed wire fence being used as a washing line . For me it made a very poignant image, with the children’s clothes hanging out to dry against the backdrop of shelters and rubbish.

How did the photobook evolve?

I created a self-published book with a limited run, with proceeds donated to refugee charities providing support to those in the camp. This was picked up by a publishing house (YouCaxton Publications) and we created a book for a wider audience documenting the original Moria camp before it burnt down, making a lasting record of the conditions and people of the camp. The book ‘Refugees of Moria : I Live Where the Olive Trees Once Grew’ is now available on Amazon or copies can be obtained from the publisher and myself. A contribution from every book sold goes directly to one of the charities working to improve the conditions and lives of those living in camps around Europe.

How do you assess the current state of the refugee crisis?

The initial outrage at the image of Aylan Kurdi has long since passed as governments and the media have moved on to the Covid-19 pandemic and the financial impact this has had. Yet, at the start of the new decade over 920,000 refugees and migrants had arrived on European shores in little over a year with over 4,000 lives lost during this time. The majority are fleeing conflict and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq. Tens of thousands are interned in the squalor of camps across Europe, such as the one at Moria.

I was living in Germany when the Berlin wall fell, and there was hope that this was the last we would see of walls dividing people and countries. This hope has been eroded as Hungary has completed its fence along the border with Serbia, Turkey has closed its border to Syrian refugees as it can no longer cope with the influx and both Greece and Turkey are now considering deploying a floating net barrier in the sea to deter the smugglers’ boats.

If the situation continues something will have to give.

My book was in some small way throwing light on those people living in the olive groves around the now infamous Moria refugee camp.

Mark Slater: Biographical Details

Mark has been the RPS Regional Organiser for Yorkshire for 3 years, lives in Penistone and is a committee member of the Penistone Camera Club. He has a military background serving from 1989 to 2000 on main battle tanks and was part of the UN Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia. He now works for a national conservation charity, and volunteers with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) as a community first responder. He has 3 teenage foster children in his care – so the last year has been rather challenging.

His photographic interests are wide and varied, but documentary is his main focus, and his latest project is about foster carers with an exhibition pending at the Cooper Gallery in Barnsley.

Lorraine Poole LRPS

‘Dressing Room Diva’, April 2020

In the modest Hotel Celebrity in Bournemouth, you will find a small but glitzy Drag Cabaret Bar called Rubyz. Three fabulous Drag Queens, Tyra, Sally and Foxy entertain their audience with raucous comedy and live song dressed in the most amazing frocks. This image is one of a series called ‘The Art of Drag’ which I began just before Covid hit. It shows Tyra Misu in the dressing room putting on her ‘killer heels’ just before going on stage.

How did this project originate?

I have always been captivated by the bright lights of stage and screen and drag has become more mainstream thanks to television, theatre, and films such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I have increasingly wanted to find out more about this art form and meet the men behind the make-up and womanly curves and their alter egos. I am also in awe of the flamboyance, bling and fabulous costumes and thought it would make for a wonderful photographic project as well as an interesting insight into the ‘realness’ of backstage. It helps that I also have a nosey side to me!

I did already know of Rubyz, having been there for a party in the past. So, I just dropped them an email and said, “Hello, my name is Lorraine, and I would love to spend some time with you and photograph what goes on behind your dressing room door”. I received a quick reply from a lovely man called Patrick (aka Foxy de Silver), one of the funniest and fiercest drag queens I have ever had the privilege to meet. He had a word with the ‘girls’ and they were happy to meet me.

On my first visit and after a quick introduction, I ensconced myself and my Canon EOS 6D, into one of the smallest dressing rooms I have ever seen along with three men commencing an amazing artistic transformation. Before I knew it, clothes were coming off and make-up was going on. Patrick had a shave. Darren was already working on his signature look and I was surrounded by rails of beautiful costumes (if only they had my size!), wigs, pots, palettes, brushes and make up paraphernalia. There was an atmosphere of organised chaos and fun, but also a clear focus and absorption in their preparation for the show. As show time grew closer the buzz and excitement increased. Adrenaline was high, and so were the wigs.

Can you give me an insight into the three characters and their background? What drives the girls?

By day, Patrick is a mild-mannered family man and Sky engineer. He is also responsible for the bookings, marketing, script writing and everything else related to the business. But by night Foxy is a ferocious femme fatale and ‘no filter’ comedy is her forte. Exuberant, entertaining, and effervescent Foxy takes no prisoners. Backstage, however, I saw a softer side. Through my lens, as the make-up was wiped off, I captured a hint of vulnerability.

Sally Monella is the charismatic and colourful creation of Darren, who is a full-time drag queen. Darren lives and breathes drag and is a popular and talented performer. One of Sally’s favourite pastimes is

scouting around charity shops for her next gown or anything with glitzy bling. Sally explained that drag performers, similar to clowns, prefer to create their own unique make-up and ‘look’. She is certainly striking and unique - with the longest most fabulous legs I have ever seen!

Paramedic Sean is the baby of the lineup and is in his early 20’s. A relative newbie, Sean discovered his penchant for drag following a night out with friends at Rubyz. After a chat with the drag queens, that night, Tyra Misu was conceived - a curvy, bubbly blonde who has the most amazing singing voice, reminiscent of a Hollywood starlet like Marilyn Monroe.

I was incredibly lucky to just ‘click’ with the ‘girls’ at our first meeting and it also helped that they were friendly, open and genuine, as well as passionate about their art. It really was a case of being a ‘fly on the wall’ while normal backstage drag life unfolded in front of me. And that is exactly what I wanted.

The environment you were working in is not ideal for photography – how did you approach it?

I wanted my images to be authentic and spontaneous, documenting the inner sanctum so to speak, and to get close to the talented creatives who I have so much admiration and respect for. I was very conscious of not being in the way so after my initial flurry of questions I laid low, trying not to move around too much but watching intently. The strip lighting in the dressing room was harsh and unforgiving so I bounced my flash off the ceiling. I used only my Canon EF 24mm – 105 mm L lens, which is my go-to lens for most things.

What/Who are your photographic influences?

Documentary photography is my favourite genre, and my preference has always been black and white. Spontaneity is the key, although I will direct a subject, very rarely, just to capture an idea I may have. For example, asking Tyra to put her lipstick on and imagine I am her mirror.

I recently discovered the work of Tish Murtha, a northern documentary photographer whose images of people on the margins of society challenged inequality. Her images are so authentic and wonderfully relatable. Sadly, Tish passed away at the young age of 56, but her daughter Ella keeps her legacy alive. Her work inspires me to never give up, stay true to myself and continue to photograph what is important and emotive to me, as well as challenging perceptions.

Could you talk me through a few of your images? What were you trying to achieve? What variation in technique/composition/ viewpoints did you try?

In my image ‘Sally’, the show is over, and the girls retreat to the dressing room, tired and coming down from the highs of the performance. I caught this image of Sally as she stared into space briefly after removing her dress and wig. I loved her expression, yet I think she looks a little pained, disappointed that ‘Sally’ will be leaving shortly. I was sitting down at the time. Looking up at Sally made for a more striking portrait, without having all the clutter behind and so all the focus is directed at her face.

One of my favourite images is ‘Dressing Room Diva’, which conveys the clutter and paraphernalia amongst which the drag queens prepare, as well as the limited space they have. Tyra’s last item of clothing is her shoes, and she chooses carefully in order to match with her dress. I stood at the other side of the dressing room to shoot this as I wanted to make sure there was more of a context for Tyra’s portrait. I think it’s a fun shot.

I’m very pleased with the image ‘On Reflection’, of Sally applying her make-up in front of the mirror. I love how you can see several reflections highlighting a few of the alternative facets to her character. And you can spot Foxy and Tyra in the background reinforcing the limited space we shared.

Lorraine Poole LRPS: Biographical Details

My first camera was a Box Brownie 127 (it belonged to my parents) and I was 9 or 10. Pocket money was spent on roll film and processing. I recall I shot a beautiful pink sunset out of my bedroom window and won first prize in my local newspaper’s open competition. I always loved photography but as life passed by, I could never find the time for hobbies.

Eight years ago, a serious illness meant I had to give up my work as a CEO in the charity sector. It was a dark time. Once I began to recover physically, I took up photography again – if only for therapy. It allowed me to look at the world again and venture outdoors. I soon acquired a secondhand Canon 6D, began shooting in RAW, and my world began to seem a lot more bearable than before.

I enter the odd competition online with some success, for example, being shortlisted for the Monochrome Awards, British Life Photography Awards, Bird Photographer of the Year, Spider Awards, and Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2021. I’m an active member of the RPS and Documentary Group, attaining my Licentiate in 2018. I now look forward to working towards my Associate.

My photography website can be found at www.lorrainepoolephotography.com and my online Etsy shop is Shutterbug Wall Art Co.

Ian Wright ARPS, ‘Rooted’ June 2020

This is the title image from my on-going project on rural life on the Lincolnshire Wolds, begun in September 2019. The image portrays one of the central features of rural culture - the close relationship farmers have with their working dogsagainst a landscape typical of the area. The ancient drainage ditches are a prominent element of the landscape and in autumn and winter the mist commonly descends on the rolling hills – it’s a myth that Lincolnshire is uniformly flat. This is a very English area with traditional patterns of life and values; big fields; small hamlets and market towns in existence for a thousand years or more. Mark – the subject of my portrait and one of the characters through which I tell my story – manages 6,000 acres spread over several farms.

Projects, the four ‘Rs’ and…

I’m usually working on several photographic projects at any one time. I don’t have any ambitions for my images – the process is enough. The feedback I want comes from those I collaborate with, my subjects. ‘Rooted’ has an episodic structure; selfcontained, but inter-connected, resulting in separate photo essays on: game shooters, hunts, the race-horse fraternity, eventing, ploughing contests, claypigeon shooting, fishing, open garden events, country fairs and shows, market days in small country towns on the Wolds, farmhouse architecture and country weddings. All to be amalgamated into a broader study of rural life.

My documentary photography is the ‘other side of the coin’ to my academic background, teaching Modern History and Politics; both have a similar methodology and structure. My 4 ‘Rs’ are: researching (the context); revealing (the ‘facts’ as I find them in the fieldwork), reflecting (on how I analyse, explain, understand), and relating (organising text, and images in the case of photo essays, to communicate what I have learnt; my ‘message’). A photo essay demands sequencing, variety, balance, the wider viewpoint and close detail, mood and activity, characters and ‘decisive moments’. A photo essay is quite different from a ‘panel’, which is an arrangement based, primarily, on the aesthetics of a set of images.

The process is much more instinctive than it may sound, and it’s not a linear process, but I find it useful to break projects down in this way because it gives me ‘anchors’ to go back to. ‘Research’ often means just observing, talking with, and listening to, my ‘subjects’ but it also involves book work – in this case, getting a grip on developments in farming and village history over a thousand years or more, but especially in the last 100 years.

Much of my photography has been overseas, but there’s a great deal to be said for photography on the doorstep. My photography is bound up with the craving for first-hand experience. So much of our information today comes ‘mediated’ for us –simply ‘being there’, is quite different.

Context and Access

In my framework, photographing rural life means recording the working lives and leisure activities of a small minority of the UK population, together with the landscape and environment in which they live. Less than 1% of the UK population have occupations in agriculture, while over 70% of the land area is used for agriculture. It also implies trying to come to some conclusions about their culture – in an area which is very conservative. The demographic of the area in which my study is taking place is dominated by WASP identity – White Anglo- Saxon Protestants.

I have personal reasons for being interested. I was born and raised in North Lincolnshire but spent my career in the West Country before my wife and I returned ‘home’ to rural Lincolnshire in 2016. We live in one of the many villages ending in ‘by’, indicating a Scandinavian origin, at least 1200 years ago, situated on the cusp

of the flat-as-a-snooker-table marshlands, and the rolling hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds. There were 7 working farms in the village as recently as 1970. I live in one of the farmhouses. None remain.

Our village has been well-served by local historians over two or three generations and we have a wealth of archive material. In parallel with my ‘Rooted’ investigations, I’ve been involved in editing and compiling publications gathering together many of these resources. The village makes a great ‘case study’ of what has happened to villages, and farming since the middle of the nineteenth century.

I have strong personal connections with agriculture and the area. My maternal grandfather was an agricultural labourer and, as a child, I had spent lots of time with my grandparents in their remote tied cottage. As a teenager, I worked on farms in the school holidays and was a ‘bush-beater’ on shoots. In North Devon –James Ravilious country – I had already done a long-term project on a livestock market. So, an investigation of rural life in the area around us seemed an obvious documentary project to undertake.

Access has not proved difficult, even though some of the subject matter I’ve photographed is quite sensitive, I’ve generally found, that people are happy to be photographed if you spend time and express a genuine interest in their lives. People here tend to be very open and welcoming, especially if you have the appropriate ‘credentials’ which qualify you, in Mik Critchlow’s phrase, as ‘one of the tribe’. Living in the area; involved in community activities in the village; sufficient rural background (and a retained Lincolnshire accent) to pass off as a local; and experience from the North Devon project (including a self-published book) were all very helpful. Once I got underway and contributed images to the websites or Facebook pages of the groups, it was straightforward to become an ‘insider’ observer, with people talking freely (there’s lots of standing around at country events).

It was luck that kicked things off - a chance meeting in the village square, with someone who ran a game shoot - and when the season began, early in October 2019, I started photographing them until the season ended in February. Contacts there got me invites to another shoot and access to a local hunt (there’s a lot of crossover relationships). With this foundation, a phone call to Market Rasen racecourse, secured passes to the race meetings. More photography was in the pipeline when Covid struck and I’ve recently been able to pick up the threads, photographing clay pigeon shooting.

Photographing Rural Life

While text has an important role in a photo essay, the images themselves must carry the weight. Technically and practically, photographing rural life poses few problems. Activities are held in wide open spaces with opportunities to show the wider context as well as detail, environmental portraits, and action. Game shoots and hunts last 5, 6 or 7 hours – and involve different locations. There’s a good deal

of relatively static time when it’s possible to work yourself into different viewpoints and compositions – and, crucially, to create ‘connections’.

There’s time to build relationships with those involved – and conversations and questioning when travelling to different ‘stands’ for shooting or different phases of a hunt (all within the law, of course). There’s wind-down time at the end. At the same time, there’s many opportunities to capture action. Mostly, I’ve photographed within 20 miles of home, most often less than 10, and can go back, and back, again.

I don’t use long lenses, working with a Canon 5Diii and 24-70 f2.8 and a Fuji XT-1 with a 14mm (20mm equivalent) wide angle. Predominantly I shoot at f8, ISO 800. Occasionally, I use an 85mm f1.2 for portraiture.

What’s the Message?

The hypothesis is in the title – the people of this area are ‘rooted’. In the main, they have deep ancestral roots in the location. Secondly, they have a secure sense of who they are, where they’ve come from, what their identity is, what they are for, what they are against. Thirdly, they are a tiny minority group and becoming more of a minority as time passes; their values – and pursuits they enjoy – in many ways, reflect a by-gone age. It would not be unfair to use the term insular.

Yet, this is much too simple. The farming community is not homogeneous and contains a great variety of farms, occupations, and social groups. Many of the country life pursuits I’ve photographed, or plan to, are not things I would wish to do myself – but I’m conflicted and see the importance of the social bonds these activities build.

These are not unthinking people – and certainly not bigots or ‘red-necks’, in fact, country people tend to be very soft-spoken. There’s great expertise here – it’s been fascinating to listen in on the discussions about the right time to sow or harvest or the merits of this or that piece of machinery. The machinery and technology in use is incredible. I’ve had intriguing conversations with a young agro-economist about the ethical dilemmas of game shoots – originally designed for the farm workers to put meat on the table but increasing an activity which sees rather wealthy people shoot (a typical day is at least £300), and the local workers paid to be ‘beaters’.

I’ve probably embarked on a project without end, as one thing naturally leads into another, a happenchance meeting or a web of social connections, leads to another episode.

Paul Byrne ARPS, ‘Rusty Relic’ August 2020

Not too far from Rotorua, New Zealand, is an historic car yard which contains hundreds of post and pre-war cars and trucks. They remain exactly where they were placed on arrival at the scrap heap. This image is one of a series called ‘Rusty Relics’ which I am working on.

How did this project originate?

It started – as many projects do – by a chance remark. One winter weekend, I travelled with friends to Mount Ruapehu just South of Lake Taupo on New Zealand’s North Island. The plan was to photograph the snow-capped mountain from high up on the ski fields. As we descended the mountain that evening one of our group asked if I had visited Horopito Car Yard. From the conversation which followed, I just knew I couldn’t leave the area without taking a slight detour to view this particular venue.

On arriving at Horopito, the garage, which stood at the entrance, looked like many other run-down buildings in rural New Zealand, except that a number of 1950’s vehicles were parked under a lean-to on its forecourt. They included a somewhat dilapidated Austin 135 Princess Vanden Plas, a model which was often built to order and was the go-to limousine of its time. To my mind, the gold metallic paint finish was a much later addition which did not suit the time frame of this particular beauty.

I met the yard owner and requested permission to visit the rest of the yard. He readily agreed before returning to his workshop where he and another mechanic were working on customer vehicles. The workshop looked tired, the floor was stained with grease indicating years of constant usage and there was a heavy smell of engine oil.

As instructed, I headed for a paddock at the rear and as I turned the corner, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Laid out before me were several acres of vehicle relics lined up in rows, some on top of each otherAustin 7’s, original Morris Minors, MG saloons, Standard Vanguards, Vauxhalls, Holdens, Hillmans and Chryslers; the list goes on and on! The vast majority of these vehicles dated from the 1920’s to 1960’s. The yard is a photographer’s paradise and the problem for me, was how to capture the essence of the place when there are so many images to be had.

Later in the day I returned to the garage to thank the owner. In parting, he asked me if I had visited the storeroom. “No” I replied. I made my way up a set of rickety stairs to the first floor where I discovered a treasure trove of spare parts for just about any make of car made between 1920 and 1980. There were several rooms and corridors all ladened with motor vehicle parts and vintage memorabilia. Headlamps to shock absorbers, spark plugs to steering wheels, hub caps to oil pressure gauges. Unfortunately, my time was short but I promised to return to the Aladdin’s Cave at Horopito to continue my photographic record of this rare site of vehicular antiquity.

What’s the history of the yard?

I researched the operation to discovery it’s history. It transpires that Bill Cole started the business in the 1940’s. The company is currently owned by his daughter Barbara and her husband Colin Fredricksen. In the early 1980’s the Horopito Card Yard was the focal point for a film entitled “Smash Palace”. This is a crime drama and a bit of an iconic New Zealand film production. The signboard from the film still hangs above the entrance to reception.

The lease on some of the acreage which comprises part of the car yard has expired, and this has led to approximately 2,500 vehicles, mostly Japanese models, being crushed during the recent ‘lockdown’ period. It is rumoured that another 2000 cars may soon go the same way. This will still leave about 3000 ‘rusty relics’ available for spare parts. Colin has developed a museum on site which hosts a small number of restored vintage and post-vintage vehicles.

I plan to revisit “Smash Palace” so that I can add a few more images to complete my photo documentary of this iconic New Zealand business. There are so many opportunities, from landscape to macro. It’s just one of those locations which needs to be recorded for posterity. Every step through the paddock opens up another image opportunity.

I know you enjoy a range of photography and also assess photographers’ work – why is photography such an important part of your life and, as an educator through your judging, what advice would you give aspiring photographers looking to improve?

I had a career in the Police Service and spent a great deal of time observing people, their circumstances, and environments. When I took up photography as a hobby, I found that I gravitated towards portraiture. I seemed to be able to relate to people and was able to bring out their character within the images I created. It could be said that my hobby became an extension of my working life. Photography is important to me because, like the police service, every day brings a new challenge or adventure. Photography is so diverse that mastering the basics is just the starting point. After that the creative possibilities are infinite.

Beyond the basics, photography is not an exact science - it’s a creative art form. I would recommend aspiring photographers to observe masters of the art. Study historical and contemporary work. Your inspiration will come to you from what you perceive to be the best work - and most interesting. Your ideas will develop and with perseverance you will create your own style within your chosen genre of photography.

Paul Byrne FPSNZ, ARPS, AFIAP: Biographical Details

When Paul migrated to New Zealand from Devon in 2004, he retained his RPS membership and also joined the RPSNZ Chapter. In 2018 he was awarded a Fellowship of the New Zealand Photographic Society for his documentary portfolio on the people of Cambodia. He describes himself as a portrait photographer who developed a passion for documentary images. He particularly enjoys street, urban, and sports imagery. During the NZ lockdown he discovered that he likes bird photography too. Paul is currently a member of the PSNZ Honours Board which awards distinctions to society members.

One Year in the Life of a Kent Fruit Farm

Jo Court LRPS

Having received my first camera at the age of ten and graduating with a BA Hons in Fine Art where, in my final show, I used the medium of photography to tell the story of my city’s homeless, it was only natural that I returned to my passion once the youngest of my five children went into his final years of school.

I left my job and immediately enrolled on the first available adult education course in digital photography, with the aim of refreshing and upgrading my skills; having previously only worked with film. On nearing the end of the final course, I decided that a project was needed. I knocked on the office door of Gaskains Ltd in December 2018 and asked if I could document their farm over the course of a year with my camera. I was surprised by the immediate positive response and on January 2nd 2019 this documentary project was in motion.

My first nineteen years were spent on farms and now living in Kent; ‘The Garden of England’, a fruit farm, was an obvious choice for a project. I am happiest in my walking boots, or wellies if necessary, wearing my camera, meeting all types of people, walking for miles and in all weathers.

Visiting a few days a week, at various times, I immersed myself and found it fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding. The workers all received me happily and it wasn’t long before I became part of the farm life, with my camera and its shutter’s click barely noticeable. This enabled me to see and respond with the camera swiftly. Always alert, even if chatting, ready for those fleeting moments.

The manager was excellent at informing me when something rather unusual was occurring and this saw me visiting at night to photograph the urgent spraying of the apples. It had been continuously wet with more rain forecast and the fruit was in danger of disease. Another occasion saw me lying in wait, like a bandit, at 6am by the road side waiting for a convoy of picking platforms to pass by. This was the first time these new semi-automated picking platforms were to be used and only a few other UK farms own one.

The sense of community which this family business has achieved has resulted in most of the full-time staff remaining for years, even into decades. Many eastern European migrant workers are offered permanent contracts and settle here with their families, working alongside the English staff. It was pleasing to see the arrival of a younger, local man who began work in June of that year. He claims to have been, “one of those naughty kids at school”. He has since survived two winters and enjoys labouring on the farm.

In the February I decided to spend a day working alongside the migrants. We had to reach inside the chicken wire and prune the saplings. It was back-breaking and our gloves were torn to shreds. On arrival home I cooked the family dinner and attended my son’s school music concert. If I was working like that every day those evening activities would likely be swapped for a bath and early bed. Working alongside them helped me to forge relationships and to photograph empathetically.

2020 delayed the culmination of this story as the Covid 19 pandemic struck, and in September of that year Lioness Publishing released my first book, ‘Canterbury City Centre through the lockdown’. I also worked towards my Licentiate with the Royal Photographic Society and was awarded the distinction in July 2021.

Now, a year overdue, I am preparing for this farm exhibition which commences on the 5th of October and runs for two weeks. The farm office walls are covered with large prints.

My self-published, 234 page, in depth book, ‘One Year in the life of a Kent Fruit Farm’ is at the printers and should be released at the opening night. The book will be available from the exhibition, Canterbury Makers shop and my Etsy page.

Daren.

Daren’s mum and 2 aunts worked on the farm so he played here as a child during the summer. “I remember instead of picking strawberries, I used to lie down, away a bit, and eat them. I started work here in 2002.”

Contracted construction and tree planting worker.

Autumn planting. The team move across the field at high speed planting approx 5,000 trees a day.

June; Urgent night time spraying to protect against disease, due to previous constant rainfall with more forecast.

Semi-automated picking platforms means the workers don’t need to carry a bodge. Only a few UK farms own them.

The Documentary Group Online

The documentary group has a presence on the following platforms, come and join in the conversation. We understand that not everyone has a social media profile or wants to create one. That’s why all our profiles are public and can be viewed by everyone, no matter whether you have an account or not. This means you will be able to view all our posts and book on to ticketed events. Checking our RPS page and searching for events is still a good way to keep informed with all that is happening in the Documentary group. If you have any questions you can always e-mail us – all our contact details are listed there.

Facebook

Facebook Page - facebook.com/rpsdocumentary

Our public Facebook page is new, but it already highlights the successful projects that entered our Documentary Photographer of the Year competition. You can also find albums for the Bi-monthly Competition winners and short texts from our Journal The Decisive Moment (DM) there – these updates are designed to be easy to read on a phone screen that also provides you with the link to the full articles.

Facebook Group - facebook.com/groups/RPSDVJ

We also have a closed group Facebook page, exclusively for our members. If you want to join us there, you can share your pictures with us, ask for advice, and engage with our online community.

Instagram @rpsdoc

Instagram is an image-based social media platform, so think of our profile as of an online gallery. If you follow us there, you can see pictures from our competition winners, DM contributors and members along with invitations to events and images from these occasions. Instagram is the place where we want to promote the work of our group and our members to the wider public and encourage them to follow and engage with our projects.

Flickr

Royal Photographic Society - Documentary Group

Documentary Group members run an active group on Flickr with plenty of images and the opportunity to discuss them with the group.

Twitter

@rpsdoc

Our Twitter page is for short important updates such as events, exhibitions, call for entries or other announcements. If you do not have much time for scrolling on social media but still want to be in on the action, we recommend you to follow us there. We promise we’ll be short and concise.

Issuu

Issuu.com - Documentary Group, Royal Photographic Society

The Decisive Moment is published on the Issuu platform where you can read each edition online or download pdfs to read offline. Please follow the Documentary Group in Issuu and use the buttons to like and share your favourite editions or individual features - it really helps support the Documentary Group.

Website

rps.org/documentary

The Documentary Special Interest Group has a section on The Royal Photographic Society website. Here you can learn more about the group, hear about recent news and future events and access an increasing number of documentary photography resources. There are now nearly 100 recommend photobooks, nearly 20 reference books on approaches and issues in documentary and around 30 street-photo references/books, plus links to 24 online archives. All free and available to anyone.

RPS Documentary Events

All upcoming RPS Documentary Events can be found on our events page.

Our Telling Stories with your Camera workshop series:

These workshops are intended to provide expert practical guidance for those considering or already working on long term projects (documentary, contemporary or travel).

They aim to address some of the challenges in three areas: Starting out (building a photographic series, defining your intent, planning and researching your project), The Shoot (field work, shooting to a narrative, keeping it going and staying motivated) and Editing and Sequencing (selecting images for exhibitions, panels & books, sequencing them and getting your work out there).

Check out the latest workshops on our Events page

Our Engagement Talks series, Documentary Events and Exhibitions:

Documentary Group AGM - 07 October 2021 - 18:00 (GMT / UK time)

rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/october/documentary-group-agm

Mimi Mollica - 07 October 2021 - 18:30 (BST / UK time)

rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/october/engagement-talk-mimimollica

Repair is Essential Exhibition - 05-17 Oct 2021 - The Tabernacle, London

rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/october/repair-is-essential

RPS Documentary Photographer of the Year 2021 - Awards Date and Location to be confirmed

rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/november/rps-documentaryphotographer-of-the-year-2021-awards

RPS Documentary Photographer of the Year 2021 - Exhibition January 2022 - Fujifilm House of Photography, London

rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/december/rps-documentaryphotographer-of-the-year-2021-exhibition

rps.org - Documentary Events

Group Meetings:

The RPS Documentary Group South East

11:00, Saturday 02 October 2021

rps.org/events/groups/documentary/2021/october/doc-group-se-meetingat-eastbourne-11am-saturday-2nd-october-2021

Participate:

By Degrees... A new portrait of Great Britain and Ireland

Members of the RPS are invited to participate in a project to create a unique and innovative portrait of Great Britain and Ireland.

rps.org/groups/landscape/projects/by-degrees-home-page

Documentary photography as a practice spans a range of approaches, so makes precise definition difficult. Taken literally, all forms of photography can be described as documentary, in that they document someone, something or some place. As a working definition, the Documentary Group uses the following:

“Documentary photography communicates a clear narrative through visual literacy. It can be applied to the photographic documentation of social, cultural, historical and political events.

Documentary photographers’ work always has an intent; whether that is to represent daily life, explore a specific subject, deepen our thinking, or influence our opinions.”

rps.org/documentary

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Members form a dynamic and diverse group of photographers globally who share a common interest in documentary and street photography.

We welcome photographers of all skill levels and offer members a diverse programme of workshops, photoshoots, longer-term projects, a prestigious Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY) competition, exhibitions, and a quarterly online journal ‘The Decisive Moment’.

Some longer-term collaborative projects are in the pipeline for the future. We have a active membership who participate in regional meetings, regular competitions and exchange ideas online through our social media groups.

Overseas members pay £5 per annum for Group membership rather than the £10 paid by UK based members.

The Documentary Group is always keen to expand its activities and relies on ideas and volunteer input from its members.

If you’re not a member come and join us. Find us on the RPS website at: rps.org/documentary

rps.org/documentary