The Documentary Photographer

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I’m big on black and white photographs

I’m almost reluctant to list this as a USP. A lot of photographers prefer to produce b/w photographs.

Still, my preference for b/w does part defines me as a photographer, so I decided to include it.

B/w suits what I do. My photography is all about the story. Often colour can be a distraction, particularly if there is a splash of red in the picture.  We are drawn to red above all other colours – there’s a reason stop lights and brake lights are red. And that can get in the way of what a photograph is all about.

By taking out the colour, the story often gets a better chance to breathe.

There are photographers, some very influential and significant, who will tell you this is all hokum. Jay Maisel calls b/w photography an insider joke, a private jape between photographers. A step away from reality. After all, the world is colour, not b/w.

Steve McCurry, one of the great photojournalists, shoots exclusively in colour. As does Martin Parr. And there are others.

Maisel, McCurry and Parr are legends. Maybe it’s just too hard for a mortal like me to shoot colour documentary photographs. I mean, my brain is at full load when it’s limited to just subject, narrative and light. Conceivably, it might start to bleed out of my ears if I asked it to do colour as well.

In the meantime, I’m drawn to b/w.

Back from Dublin, where I spent two days meeting with advertising and marketing agencies. It was a trip worthy of a blog post of its own. I’ll get round to that, just not today.

Today, I’m feeling in a wedding mood.

Spring must be in the air or something – or at least not too far away.

Here are some personal favourites from the last wedding I photographed in 2009. I remember it well. It hosed down. I got wet. Usual stuff. Fun couple to make up for it, though.

You might remember that I’m not fond of early starts. But if getting up at 4.50AM recently seemed bad, I hadn’t reckoned on a 3.50AM start for an assignment last week.

Temporary accommodation specialist Allspace were putting in one of their largest units at Cork airport for a helicopter company. Problem was, the unit was too big to get through the nearest access gate, and overhead cables meant that lifting it over the fence into place was out of the question.

That meant using an alternative gate.

On the other side of the airport.

Except there wasn’t a road as such from the alternative gate to where the unit needed to go.

There was a nice, straight, broad strip of perfectly good concrete they could use. It even had lights up either side to guide them. Of course, they’d have to make sure nobody else needed it – you know, for landing aeroplanes on or anything. So, the operation had to be done so early in the morning even Ryanair doesn’t fly.

In the end, we didn’t get the shot we’d hoped for. Airport security is such these days that I wasn’t able to shoot from a vehicle driving alongside or ahead of the convoy going up the runway. Everyone had to stay tightly single file. And I certainly wasn’t allowed to park out on the runway and wait for the convoy to pass.

In the end, I decided to wait for the convoy at the helicopter company site. It allowed me to get a shot that was at least suggestive of the airport environment.

Allspace delivering a Portakabin Titan unit at Cork International Airport. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Allspace delivering a Portakabin Titan unit at Cork International Airport. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Final preparations are made to the site where the unit will be placed. Cork airport's new terminal in the background. (c) Roger Overall 2010

The large unit wasn’t due to be lifted into place until a few hours later, after the arrival of two smaller modules. While not part of the assignment, I decided to get photographs of the final lift as well, to soften the disappointment of not getting the runway shot.

In the end, the client was thrilled, prompting the local director to email me: “…those images are outstanding – better than anything I’ve ever seen in all my years of Allspace and Portakabin”.

Makes it worth getting up early for, no?

This man is lifting an entire Portakabin unit with only one hand ... All right, he isn't. There's somebody else on the other side helping him. (c) Roger Overall 2010

(c) Roger Overall 2010

I prefer to shoot by the existing light.

Not so long ago, this would have read “by available light”, but the pedants in the photography world (they are legion, you wouldn’t believe it) have latched on to the phrase. According to them, if they have a four-head, radio-controlled studio flash system with them, then it’s “available”.

By existing light, I mean the light that exists in the scene, without adding anything.

It’s very hard to be inconspicuous when you shoot with a flash. At best, you draw attention to yourself. At worst, during a wedding ceremony for instance, you also draw attention away from the the thing you’re photographing. Either way, its obvious a photograph is being taken and it becomes intrusive. Imagine an orchestra conductor using a megaphone to direct a performance instead of a baton.

By not using flash, it is easier for me to blend into the environment. My presence goes unnoticed and people act naturally, which produces very true photographs of what they are doing. The best compliment I get to hear is when my wedding clients are asked why they didn’t hire a photographer.

That’s only half the story. There is also an aesthetic consideration. I love the way existing light looks.

Here’s a photograph I’m showing a lot at the moment for a variety of reasons. It also helps illustrate the point about the quality of existing light.

My daughter brushing her teeth. Houston, Texas. I loved the light and the way it made a commonplace daily event into something almost heroic. At the same time it is a very tender photograph. (c) Roger Overall 2009

I could have used flash to fill in all the dark areas, or even to light up the whole scene evenly.

It just wouldn’t have had the same feeling. Flash would have destroyed the atmosphere of the photograph.

Relying on existing light helps preserve some of the integrity of the scene as it was. That’s an important consideration for a documentary photographer.

She came into my life at some unholy hour.

I should have been asleep. I’m glad I wasn’t.

Her eyes were pure silver and they stared at me from the cradle of my arms.

I get very emotional when I remember the first time I held her.

She is very special to me.

Today she is five years old.

This is how she watches television:

Five today. (c) Roger Overall 2010

I’m in awe of the generosity of people.

Give them a cause, call them to your side – and people are capable of magnificence.

There are a couple of lose ends to tie up, and there may be some additional money yet, but Sunday’s “Bid for Haiti” auction raised just over €2,500 for GOAL‘s relief work.

I’ll be honest. Ten minutes before we were due to begin the auction, the room was empty. Only a handful of people had come to the viewing, none of whom had registered. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t panicked.

But people did come, and they brought their wallets and purses with them. Many of them reaching very deeply into their pockets indeed.

I owe a huge debt of thanks to so many people who helped produce the event. I’ll do my best to list them here – in no particular order.

Organisers:

Paul O’Mahony, Marketing Write Now
Tanja Buwalda & Dee Geaney, PowerMedia
Gabrielle Morehead, Gabrielle Morehead Photography
Claire O’Rorke, Claire O’Rorke Photography
Adrian Roche
Eoin Mulligan
John D Sullivan, John D Sullivan Auctioneers
Richard O’Brien, KJ O’Brien & Co

Contributors:

Gabrielle Morehead, Photography
Claire O’Rorke, Photography
Donagh Glavin, Photography
Philip Daly,  Photography
Ted Murphy, Photography
Mike O’Toole, Photography
Giles Norman, Photography
Peter Cox, Photography
John Lotty, Photography
Calvin Jones, Photography
Donncha O Caoimh, Photography
Donal O Caoimh, Photography
Paul O’Mahony, Marketing Write Now, Photography and Poem
Miriam Barry, Paintings
Sean McCarthy, Paintings and Sculpture
Danielle Sheehy, Painting
Kevin Murphy, Photography
Paul Lynam, Photography
Katie Sullivan, Painting
Mary Payne, Painting
Ryan Whalley, Photography
Treasa Lynch, Photography
Lionel Powell, Sculptor
Kieran Frost, Photography
John Wallace, Photography
Liam Kennedy, Photography
Sheena Jolley, Photographer
Wild Goose Studio
Michael Reeves, Paintings
Martijn Kajuiter, Photography and Autographed Book

Sponsors:

Don McGee, Art and Frame – Framing
Pat Frawley, FotoFinish – Printing
Gresham Metropole Hotel – Venue

General Do-Gooders, Well-Wishers and Super People:

Sabrina Dent, Sunshine and Lollipops
John Handelaar, CorkFM
Damien Mulley
Steve Cox, Cork Marketing Partnership

Please, if you are missing from this list – my humble apologies. Do contact me.

Similarly, if you are on this list but without a link to your website, please let me know and I shall make amends.

TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, A HUGE “THANK YOU”

John D Sullivan, Auctioneer, takes the bids while Paul O'Mahony introduces the lots. (c) Roger Overall 2010

The view from my seat in the studio. (c) Roger Overall 2010

I’ve never given a live radio interview before. Consequently, much of my brain was engaged in a single task: preventing myself from saying “Fxxk” on air.

I’m not really able to tell you what I said using the rest of my head, but I’m told I didn’t sound like a vegetable. So that’s good.

There had been talk of an interview to promote the Bid For Haiti auction on a local radio station for a couple of days. I wasn’t sure which one, or where I had to be, or when. All I knew was that if it were to happen I’d find out about it fairly last minute.

At 11.55 today I was pulled over in my car, blocking someone’s driveway, speaking to Paul O’Mahony, my main co-organizer on the Bid For Haiti project. Through the wonderful Sabrina Dent we had been invited on to John Handelaar‘s one-hour lunchtime talk show on CorkFM. I needed to be at the studio in under 45 minutes. The directions were … let’s say “interesting”.

Long story short, CorkFM is a fledgling radio station (87.7 on FM) with a license to broadcast on 15 consecutive weekends. After that, they’ll go for a year-long license, followed by a full 10-year broadcasting permit. And best of luck to them.

At the minute they are broadcasting from temporary space by Kilbarry House on the outskirts of Cork with equipment begged and borrowed from a range of sources. It’s the kind of place that’s round the back of somewhere, down that lane, you know the one, on the left, and through the gate with the broken pillars.

I only got lost once.

So did Paul.

I’d just like to say a big thank you to Sabrina, John and Donal (the station owner) for giving us so generously of their airtime.

You’ll also be happy to know that I didn’t say “Fxxk” on air.

But Paul did say “Bugger”.

BID FOR HAITI

Charity Auction of Paintings, Photographs, Sculptures and Writing

Sunday 14th February 2010

Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain Street, Cork

Registration and viewing from 11am

Auction starts at 3pm

All proceeds to go to GOAL’s relief work in Haiti

Online Catalogue

From left to right: John, Donal and Paul having a pre-interview chat. (c) Roger Overall 2010

CorkFM owner Donal listens to the station's broadcast before we go on in a room across the hall from the studio. At this point, nobody has sworn on air. (c) Roger Overall 2010

John Handelaar chats across the console to Paul during a song. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Yesterday something quite wonderful happened.

Out of the blue, Trish of A Touch of Magic rang up, found my house and delivered a chocolate cake.

For those of you who don’t know Trish, which is presumably most of you, all I can say is this: there are parts of the sun with less energy and less warmth than this lady.

It was the culmination of a good day during which lots of little things went my way.

And the sun shone.

A Touch of Magic - tasty too. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Last week I wrote about how I am regularly approached to give my work to others in return for nothing. And about how this is usually presented to me as a wonderful business opportunity by the person requesting photographs.

I couldn’t have been clearer on the subject.

I. Don’t. Do. Free. Photography.

…

Except when I do free photography.

Of course I do. And not just for charity either. I will, and do, shoot for free for businesses.

If a company does something that really interests me, and the photographs benefit my portfolio, I’ll offer photographs in return for access. That’s the deal that I have with Ummera Smoked Products.

Or if I owe someone a favour – a really big favour – I’ll offer free photography as a thank you.

Take Margaret Smith of Um Num Num. Margaret is the wife of Alec Smith, a BNI buddy of mine. When the call went out to my BNI chapter for help with Help Portrait Cork 2009, Margaret was one of the people who stepped up to the plate big time. She helped run the event on the day.

So when she asked for advice about getting photographs done for her fledgling business, the deal was quickly done. Importantly, she was just asking advice – at no point did she suggest I do anything for free. She’s not that kind of person.

Besides, in the end, I did get some return for my work. Literally, in this case free photography put food on the table.

I also got some nice stuff for my food portfolio.

Some samples below, all photographed on location in Margaret’s dining room by available light with the odd bit of silver reflection thrown in.

(c) Roger Overall 2010

(c) Roger Overall 2010

(c) Roger Overall 2010

(c) Roger Overall 2010

Just a reminder of the Bid for Haiti auction coming up this Sunday, 14th February (Valentine’s Day).

Artists, photographers and sculptors are donating works to be auctioned to raise money for GOAL’s relief effort in Haiti.

The auction will be held at the Gresham Metropole Hotel in Cork. Viewing of the lots and bidder registration starts at 11am. The auction itself is from 3pm onwards.

An online catalogue is starting to build up here: Bid for Haiti

Please tell everyone you know.

If you are an artist, photographer or sculptor and would like to donate a piece of art to the auction, please get in touch with me on 021 451 8000.