The Documentary Photographer » Corporate Photojournalism

I Can’t Compete With Children

Roger Overall — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:37:18 +0000

Fota Island Resort is one of those clients you have to cherish when they come along*. They are capable of some really original ideas**. When did you see a hotel do anything like this?

Much though I’d like to say the photographs make the whole thing, they don’t. You cannot compete with children. Ever.

Doesn’t mean you can’t ride on their coattails, though.

*I’m biased.
**I’m biased.

Window View

Roger Overall — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:00:08 +0000

“You’ve driven too far,” Geoff Greenham said on the other end of the phone, as I looked out over the Atlantic. He told me to backtrack. Not by much. Several hundred yards, that was all. But this was West Cork. A wrong turning here, and several hundred yards is as good as several miles anywhere else.

A few minutes later, face-to-face this time, Geoff was telling me his own story of the lay-by that I had pulled into to ring him. Many years ago, he was riding through Ireland on a motorbike tour of Europe and stopped at that very spot to take in the view. It was the most fabulous sight and he remembers thinking how wonderful it would be to live in such a place. You can imagine his surprise when the Irish girl he would later meet in Corfu and eventually marry took him home to meet her parents. Their house, the one he now lives in, had the very view he had fallen in love with.

Ironically, Geoff is now in the business of obscuring views. Or rather, replacing them with those of his own imagining. He makes stained glass windows.

Back in March, Geoff had kindly consented to me spending an afternoon with him to photograph the making of a couple of panels for a church in Cork city. It’s not an uncommon request. He’s chairman of a camera club and members often ask to photograph him. That begs a question. “I notice you stand further back,” he replies, when I ask him about any differences between his experiences of being photographed. This leads to a conversation about context and environment as storytelling devices in photography.

Geoff’s windows also have storytelling aspects to them. He shows me a number of designs for previous clients and tells me the tales they contain. I marvel at the ability of a man to mold glass and lead into stories.

Making glass-in-lead windows is a painstaking process, especially when you don’t cut corners. Geoff has punishing daily deadlines to meet if he is to complete the church project on time. Regardless, he makes sure that his work is of the highest-standard. He explains how he could do things more quickly. The penalty would be a less robust window. Geoff has the long game in his mind, though. His windows won’t need replacing for 150 years. And when they do come out, whomever is doing the refit will appreciate the craftsmanship of his colleague a century and a half earlier.

I wonder, selfishly, whether that person will also have strayed across these photographs, archived somewhere online. That poses another question. How to ensure that these images are available 100 years after I die?

You can click on each image to see a slightly bigger version. There’s also a more complete set of much bigger photographs on my portfolio website under the title Work: Stained Glass Window.

Geoff kept me in the loop on the project so I was there to photograph the installation of some of the last panes of glass at the church in Cork some time later.

Reflection (c) Roger Overall 2011

Up High

Roger Overall — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:11:25 +0000

I learned the other day that vertigo isn’t the fear of heights. In fact, you can suffer a bout of it while you’re sitting down. Excessive drinking can bring it on apparently, or the symptoms, at least. So they say.

Extreme fear of heights is something different altogether: acrophobia.

Why do I mention this?

Firstly, I suppose, because I’m mildly acrophobic myself.

Secondly, because this man clearly isn’t:

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty impressive. Personally, I’d be – how shall I put this? – ‘mildly bothered’ if I found myself up there, peering over the edge.

Still, for the people who erect wind turbines, it’s pretty much where their office is.

Probably the best thing about being a documentary photographer is being let in to other people’s professional lives. When I was a shipping correspondent, I had the opportunity to sail on an ultra-large crude carrier. On the bridge at night, I remember thinking how skilful the officers and crew were, navigating this behemoth through the dark English Channel to Rotterdam. They inhabited a world few people know about, yet are utterly dependent on. I had the same experience when I was photographing the shipping of bauxite from the jungles in South America to coastal loading stations and refineries for a barging company a few years back. (The photograph in this blog’s banner was taken on that assignment). We all have aluminium products. How many of us know it comes from red dirt called bauxite?

Watching the men put together the third turbine at the Ballymartin windfarm in Co. Kilkenny, a similar thought occurred to me. We see the turbines, but rarely the people who put them there. Nor do we appreciate just how difficult it is to erect one. It is a phenomenal thing to watch.

The Ballymartin windfarm is owned by Bord Gais and my assignment was to photograph the final part of the build: the installation of the blades and front cone. Unfortunately, the very thing that makes a location ideal for a turbine prevented the lift from going ahead that day. The thing about hauling up a propeller that is roughly 85m in diameter is that it is designed to catch wind – which you don’t want when you’re trying to bolt it into place. Nevertheless, the day did produce some interesting photography that helps tell the story of these colossal contraptions and the men who construct them.

For instance, you might not get the true scale of a wind turbine as you drive past one, but the blades are big enough for a grown man to stand up in inside:

Inside the blade of a wind turbine (c) Roger Overall 2011

I’m a big fan of wind energy. I’d like to see more of it. I’d also really like to return to Ballymartin next year when phase 2 is being completed so that we can get the photograph that eluded us this year.

Meanwhile, a couple of favourites from the assignment.

Behind The Scenes At Fota Island Resort – Part 2: The Golf Course

Roger Overall — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:36:24 +0000

One of the key attractions of a stay at Fota Island Resort is its original championship-level golf course designed by Christy O’Connor Jr and Peter McEvoy. The great and the good of golf have played here. Padraig, Monty, you’d recognize them even if you didn’t play golf. You can see photographs of them on the first floor of the clubhouse.

Luminary visitors and players are all well and good. But without the beating heart of the golf club, the greenkeepers and the golf pros, they wouldn’t come. Without them, the course wouldn’t look as spectacular as it does. Nor would anyone learn to be good enough to play a double-digit round on it.

A golf lesson in progress at Fota Island Resort's golf academy. (c) Roger Overall 2011

The carpark next to the greenkeeper's shed is located between two fairways, and especially exposed to errant shots from one. A huge net protects the cars.(c) Roger Overall 2011

The resort's head golf pro finds time to hone his skills on the putting green. (c) Roger Overall 2011

The marketing manager set me the challenge of photographing a red squirrel. (c) Roger Overall 2011

Dr Ivan Misner Book

Roger Overall — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:40:59 +0000

The Longest Day

Roger Overall — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:37:17 +0000

Three in the morning is sleeping time if you ask me. For some, it’s the start of the working day. And if they are your client, you have to fall into step as a documentary photographer.

The same goes if your client runs their operations deep into the night. It’s not like you can ask them to bring everything forward so you can get home in time for your tea.

I’ve worked both sides of spectrum before, but last Friday I did so in one day for three separate clients. It was my longest day.

Delivery vans being loaded at O'Keeffe's Bakery, Ballincollig, Co Cork, Ireland. The bread is baked during the night by a shift that starts at around 6pm and works through to about 3am. (c) Roger Overall 2010

The bakery shoot finished just after 6am; in time for me to get to my regular Friday morning BNI meeting, where I was going to photograph my SmarterEgg friend Aodan Enright giving a presentation for his promotional material.

Aodan had a six-minute speaking slot, barely enough time to get a half-dozen photographs of him in action. (c) Roger Overall 2010

By 8.15am I’d already done two commercial assignments. Normally, by 8.15am I’ve had a cup of coffee and that’s about it.

My next shoot wasn’t until the afternoon. I had hoped to have a quick nap, but there is some sort of construction work going on over the road from us – NOISY construction work. Instead, I did the post-production on the morning’s work.

After lunch, I headed off to Fota Island Resort, where I’m shooting a six-month documentary project. The plan was to photograph the staff working a wedding – a quirky twist for me.

I'm really impressed with the staff at Fota. I've photographed three weddings behind the scenes there now. They really care for their wedding guests and are never phased by any last minute or left-field requests. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Two staff helping to set up the wedding cake the mother-of-the-groom baked and iced for the couple. Again great smiles.

I’d initially thought to finish once the couple had made their entrance to dinner. However, it struck me that the hotel would benefit from a photograph of the first dance. In fact, I had in mind it would be the signature image of the night, and we didn’t have one from the previous weddings. I went home for dinner, with a view to returning in time for the start of the dancing. At this point it was past 7pm. I’d been working for 15 hours. I wasn’t sure how I’d be at 9pm, when the dancing began.

Turns out, I felt fine.

The meal was only just drawing to a close when I got back, so I took some some additional shots of staff at work. I also spotted this:

In case you're wondering: he didn't. (c) Roger Overall 2010

And then the main event.

I pre-visualized this shot. The spot of light on the floor meant that as the couple moved around the floor, they would occasionally be caught in it. Then it was a matter of hoping for a nice expression. Bingo! (c) Roger Overall 2010

PictureBoo – 15th July 2010

Roger Overall — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:30:59 +0000

This week’s PictureBoo gives a little insight into photographing in public for an annual report.

I’ve also had a request for a longer post about shooting documentary work for corporates based on this assignment, and that will follow soon, most likely in the form of a permanent article called called “The Art of Documentary Corporate Photography” to accompany the articles on wedding photography.

Meanwhile, hit the play button or the link below the photograph to hear its story.

CorporateBoo #3 – Musgraves

Documentary Office Photography

Roger Overall — Mon, 10 May 2010 08:00:39 +0000

It still surprises me that there are lots of companies that don’t want to let you in behind the scenes. If the rise of social media has taught us anything it’s that reaching out and inviting people to see what we do is a very good way of building up relationships, starting conversations and generating business.

Actually, I should qualify that by saying that it surprises me that good companies still aren’t opening their doors. It isn’t at all surprising that bad companies don’t want to do that. After all, they have something to hide. They are better off keeping you out. We might realize just how bad they really are.

Here are some photographs from a shoot I did in London very recently for A Bilbrough & Co, the managers of The London Club, a marine mutual insurance fund. They are one of my favourite clients. Firstly, they’ve been very loyal to me – this is the fifth year that I’ve photographed for the company’s annual report. Secondly, they are genuinely nice people to work with. The fact that employees stay on with the firm for an average of 25 years speaks volumes.

What is also revealing is that these pictures were taken on one of the most important days in the company’s calendar, when the committee members meet to discuss current claims. These are high-pressure days when claims worth million of dollars are dealt with by some very significant people in the shipping industry.

Tell me, do these photographs suggest to you a company that manages itself and its members insurance needs well, or one that is stressed by the day and the decisions that need to be made?

I’m sure you’d agree that this is a good company. One that handles itself, its staff and its work professionally and in a healthy environment. The pictures tell me that internal communication is excellent and the staff are energetic. It’s the kind of company I’d like to do business with. Fortunately, I do.

Documentary Advertising Photography Works In Advertising – Honest

Roger Overall — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:01:38 +0000

Now here’s a thing.

According to most of the Dublin advertising agencies I visited in January and February this year, documentary photography, however appealing, won’t work in advertising campaigns in Ireland. The advertisers are just too traditional.

They are not alone in this belief.

It was recently repeated to me by the marketing manager for an international parcel company.

I gave examples of campaigns abroad, most notably one for Emirates Airlines I’d heard about in a podcast interview with the photographer involved: Doug Menuez, a photographer I greatly admire. Not only that, Doug recently launched an agency to market his documentary work to the advertising sector – in response to demand for the kind of photography he provides.

It didn’t help. Ireland isn’t ready was the message.

Really?

In the seat pocket in front of me on flight EI 183 from London to Dublin yesterday evening was a copy of Aer Lingus’ in-flight magazine Cara.

Here’s a photograph of the full-page advert on one of the early pages in the magazine.

Vodafone ad in April/May 2010 issue of Cara

Now, I’m not for a minute suggesting that this is a purely documentary photograph. However, you cannot deny the photojournalistic aesthetic of the picture. You can tell the people on the shoot went to great lengths to get the right feel. London bus and some fellow in a high-viz jacket in the background. It all adds the the sense of reality.

By the way, if this is a genuine documentary photograph and you know the backstory, I’d love for you to share it here.

Back to the point I’m trying to make. Real equals honest, which is something we don’t often equate with advertising. At least, not in Ireland. Because, the agencies say, Irish companies can’t grasp the concept.

While Vodafone isn’t quite there yet (and I’ve no doubt a skilled street photographer could have produced a real documentary moment), it is a step in a direction that interests me greatly. After all, I’d love to shoot a documentary advertising campaign.

Compare Vodafone’s effort to this one by Bank of Ireland on the next facing page of the current issue of Cara.

Bank of Ireland advert in the April/May 2010 issue of Cara

Oh dear.

This is the worst of both worlds: a posed image that is so heavily staged it reeks of insincerity. In fact, I have a niggling suspicion it is a stock image, most likely American, to which the credit card in the girl’s had has been added in post-production. A tell-tale sign is that the card she is holding is the same as the larger one in the bottom left of the ad, right down to the name: Mr J Brennan of VBC Ltd. I have to say that Mr Brennan is a fine looking woman.

Of course, that could be JB in the background there on the phone.

The photograph doesn’t ring true, which undermines the advertisement. It doesn’t inspire. It doesn’t make me want one of these cards, even though I bank with Bank of Ireland and fly Aer Lingus regularly. A great documentary image taken in a real office would have been so much more powerful. Ironically, I spent yesterday shooting documentary photographs in a London office.

Even better, why not a photograph of people enjoying one of the Aer Lingus Gold Circle Lounges the card gives you access to?

Perfect material for a great documentary photograph.

The Power of You

Roger Overall — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:10:23 +0000

A whole new year starts tomorrow, an unwritten slate upon which we can write a better life.

I’m about to come over all philosophical. Just a little warning. You can bail now, by going here: Exit This Post.

For those of you still here, the point I want to make is this: while it’s great to be looking ahead with ambitions, we can only stand tomorrow on the foundations we built in the past. If the foundations are feeble, the future will likely be equally weak. So the best way to sort out the future is to sort out the present.

Nothing new in any of that, but for me personally it’s become a guiding light for me in the past 12 months.

It’s been very liberating.

And scary. Because, you know, I’m solely responsible for where I am. I can’t blame anyone else. It’s all me. (And between the two of us: he can be a bit of a dunce at times).

There is an upside. A biggie. If it’s all me, then I have the power to change things. I can affect an outcome, give direction to a situation, meet a challenge and turn it into an opportunity.

I’m starting to think that too few photographers realize this.

For instance, go to any wedding fair here in Cork and you will hear constant bitching from some of the exhibiting photographers about how many other photographers have stands. The worst offenders are three photographers from the same company who complain the loudest, oblivious to the inflationary aspect of their own number.

It’s crazy. The more photographers in the hall, the better. How much easier is it to stand out if there are lots of people offering the same service? If you are truly different and have defined your USPs, you will rise above everyone. It will be plain to see.

What is really going on is that the photographers who complain the loudest haven’t in the past made the decisions that would have made them unique to the market today.

In the last 12 months, I’ve come to understand, through personal insight but also through the generous input of others, what I’m good at and what I truly love doing.

My utter conviction of the value of documentary photography shapes everything I do in the business now.

That is what I have taken from 2009, and it will help me going forward in 2010.

You won’t be surprise then that the last picture on this blog this year is a documentary one.

It’s a photograph of my two greatest sources of inspiration. I am very lucky to have them both in my life. I love them dearly. My wife and my daughter.

Have a great 2010, everyone.

My daughter is one of the funniest people I know. A couple of nights ago, she almost made us wet ourselves with a new look she had developed. It came out of nothing as we were all watching TV together. (c) Roger Overall 2009