Personal work; some say the best kind of work, although I’m sure my bank manager would disagree… Featured above is Ken Foster the new Lord Mayor of Plymouth, photographed on location in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour at Council House in Plymouth in a studio set up within about six feet of the Mayor’s desk. This is part of a series of portraits I’ve produced of local figures and personalities as and when I get the time and the whim takes me. I think what I’m finding most interesting about this project is that a lot of the subjects are normally photographed for the local news etc and their usual experience of being photographed is being told to smile, the photographer then fires off maybe half a dozen frames and it’s all over; invariably the result is an obviously contrived expression and a dull, throwaway image. I think that most people are relieved when they’re told they don’t need to smile, and the result is always something very genuine. The new Mayor’s a really nice guy and was very generous with his time; I had 40 minutes with him between appointments so there was time to chat about common interests while working through a couple of different set-ups and burn through the equivalent of four rolls of film (you have to love digital for that if nothing else…).
