Wandering among all I see.
In 2017 I attended a stand up comedy show of the Comedian Stewart Lee at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. At the beginning of the show Lee explains how his initial intention for the show was to discuss the notion of ‘the individual in a digitized free market economy. Now this seems like quite a lofty concept and not a topic that you would think lends itself to the standup comedy genre. Those familiar with Lee’s style will know that he delivers a long form analysis usually based around a central idea or premise. So as he explains ‘thesis’ he goes on to say that he was going to base the narrative of the show on a painting, and as he moves to the side of the stage he produces a large copy of the work in question. It is German painter, Casper David Frederichs, 19th Century Romantic Landscape, titled ‘Wanderer above a Sea of Fog’ considered by many to be a masterpiece. I was intrigued by the context of the situation whereby a comedian was about to use a painting as a jumping off point to tell jokes. Little did I know then that this device, this conceptual idea based around this painting and it’s use would be something that I would encounter many times from that first introduction. He then goes on to explain that because of social and political events in the UK, namely Brexit and the referendum to decide if the UK was leave or remain a member of the EU, he had to initially abandon the idea. He speaks of how, as a contemporary comedian there was an assumption that he should be writing material about Brexit, he then goes on to discuss the idea and the difficulties he encountered, cleverly woven into a cohesive narrative as is his MO. He continues with the show and discusses myriad topics, from the aforementioned Brexit, to the financial peculiarities of merchandising DVDs of comedic performances, all the while the painting remains propped up at the side of the stage as part of the set, as reference material as well as a visual reminder of the overall context of the show.
Casper David Friedrich (b. 1774) Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (c. 1818) Oil on Canvas
The Frequency illusion often referred to as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is the idea that once you see or observe a thing for the first time you will then see it more frequently, to the extent that you believe that it has an unusually high frequency of occurrence. The term frequency illusion was coined in 2006 by Arnold Zwicky, a professor of linguistics. Simply put it means once found, it is everywhere.
Now it is a phenomenon that I am quite familiar with, it is something that I have discussed with friends and family many times. For example you are watching a film, there is an actor in that film who you many not have encountered before, but their role or performance, even their appearance is such that they have come to your attention and you are mindful. All of a sudden you watch another film or TV show and all of a sudden you recognise them and again and again, and perhaps even in films that you have seen previously but somehow unaware of their involvement.
Now in the context of art and photography, I believe that the same principals apply to myself, perhaps not directly as them being the exact same things, but moreover a familiarity that resonates. The image is engaging enough as well as the meaningfulness of your first encounter for it to be at the forefront of your consciousness. Not locked away in that vast vault of archived observances but pinned to the top, recognisable in myriad connotations, uses, contexts and influences. Wander above the sea of fog is once such image, reminiscent or evocative of so many more, making the connection and visual recognition of its familiarity almost instantaneous.
Rocky. Dir. John G. Avildsen, DoP. James Crabe
Images conjures up metaphor after metaphor, it is highly evocative in its simplicity and formality. It is a man standing high on an outcrop over a sea of fog, the importance of the title cannot be ignored either, placing the figure in a particular context, the context of a wanderer and the romantic notions that that conjours up. Through my research and readings I have encountered may similar principles and ideas, from the existence of the Flaneur, to the the theory of Psychogeography, the psychology of the visual and it’s sometimes under-rated or misunderstood importance in our humanity, in how we see not only the world but art and how subconsciously we are communicated to through EVERYTHING that we se, a language so complex yet so universal, that we can interpret in whatever way we like, and it will always means something different to everyone dependent on the context in which it is presented.
So in the context of an aid to visual communication, an image that was once unknown to me becomes all too familiar. Purely through the simplicity and generalized usage. And it is ubiquitous, either by accident or design, but it cannot be helped recognizing it on a regular occurrence. Whether it be used as the cover art of a collection of gothic stories, or quite overtly on the cover of a Nintendo video game. Perhaps a little more subtly in a modern retelling of the Sherlock Holmes’ Hound of the Baskervilles, artistic intention and knowledge of Art history and it’s importance can be used to subconsciously have you recognize a mood or tone. There may even be situations in which you recognize a similarity where there was none intended, coincidently, like in the famous scene in a Rocky movie, where the titular character, ascends with great effort and determination, to the top of the steps and turns triumphantly to face the city to which he will soon have warm to him through his efforts, as the buildings rise like mountains and slowly emerge from the early morning mist. I cannot say that there is a direct and deliberate correlation but there are similarities there, at least to me.
This is the beauty of truly great art, the easier it is to interpret, the more people engage with it, the simpler and more human the themes and concepts contained with in it, the more stories it will tell. These are just a few examples but I no doubt will continue to see these instances within my everyday life and I might even create some of them myself, without even knowing it. But it will be no less important because all you really need is 3 chords and the truth and never underestimate the ability of collective humanity to understand.
Félix Thiollier (1842-1914)
Mining Landscape, The Chatelus Pit at Saint- Etienne
1907-1912
So I have identified an artistic affinity with Friederichs painting by many artists and many differing disciplines. It is a testament to it’s quality, it’s impact and it’s ability to communicate to an audience. As the old adage goes, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’
As my interest in photography as an art form grew and as I began to seek out the elements of it as an art form that interested me, I would encounter images that evoke particular emotions or feelings that I could not quite put my finger on, all I knew was for some reason I was draw to a particular artist or image. Perhaps we shared a similar outlook on the world, a sensibility of vision that meant we were in some way connected through this vision. Maybe the artist was simply very skilled at using their chosen medium to speak and I understood what they were saying and embraced it. The strength of the narrative was such that I looked at it more than just a great picture but as a personal message and a shared, deeper understanding.
One such artist that I came across, in my research through learning was Félix Thiollier, a French industrialist, writer, art collector and photographer. Born in 1842 he had a strong interest in Art and Photography. Although an industrialist, a position at the time which was new and contemporary, at the forefront of a ‘revolution’ that would have a massive impact on the world that continues to this very day, he also had a passion for and appreciation art history and his photography was a testament to that, photographs of industry reminiscent of the paintings of past masters such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot or Ravier.
Félix Thiollier (1842-1914)
Figure contemplating the mountains of Menzenc (Emma Thiollier, daughter of the photographer) 1895-1905
Thiollier, being a collector of art as well as a historian, would surely have been aware of Wanderer above the Sea of Fog and it’s significance as work of Romanticism. There is no doubt a quality to it that captured his imagination. To the left is an image taken by Thiollier recreating the painting using the medium of photography, but the figure standing on the rocky outcrop gazing longingly into the distance is not a young, proud gentleman, but most likely Thiollier’s own daughter, Emma. The subversion of such a strong and masculine image that is Fredrichs’ visual representation of mans hubris, is something that is in many cases, before it’s time. In a patriarchal society, dominated by burgeoning industry and relentless machines the use of the female conveys a different message perhaps and one that ringers truer. One of peace and simplicity, dignity and grace. It is in many ways in stark contrast to his other images such as Mining Landscape, a duality of humanity, at a time of great transition and change, a true revolution.
Photography is such a ubiquitous art form but relatively new in the numerous variety of useable mediums, but inherently central to our need to communicate, to tell stories, some will use poetry, others song, painting or sculpture, but at it’s foundation, art is not only reflective of humanity but is central to all cultures, it enables us to show who we are, what we desire to be, so that others can empathize, it’s not just about aesthetic but more understanding in a language we can all understand. Artists will refer to their work as their voice, and sometimes nothing speaks louder or more directly than a well considered image. And in that sense, artists will always through time ‘quote’ another or make reference to reinforce their point of view and what narrative that they want to convey.
Elina Brotherus is an exceptionally prolific contemporary photographic artist. Her work is remarkably powerful and outstandingly contemplative. Sometimes done with dark humor and at other times it can be quite challenging, especially given the context in which some of her work was made.
Elina Brotherus, Der Wanderer 3
““From him I returned to the theme of the character turning their backs to the viewer. I love the back. The back is quiet, discreet, polite and distant. It does not challenge the viewer as the eye does, the viewer looks at the same landscape as the model, but they are not disturbed.””
Brotherus is A Finnish Photographer, an artist from The Helsinki School a name given to a collection of Artists who studied under Prof. Timothy Pearsons at Aalto University School of Arts, Architecture and Design in Helsinki from the early 1990s to today. Elina is considered to be of the 2nd Generation of these artists paving the way for successive generations to this present day.
One of the defining traits of the Helsinki school is the use of Photography as a means of exploration in conceptual thinking. The School is somewhat a product of geographic serendipity.
"There is a clarity of vision that seems to come out of the late evening northern summer light (...) Many Helsinki School pictures bear signs of Finnish culture, unconscious or not, meanings related to nature and remoteness. This is quite natural in a country so sparsely populated.”
These particular traits can be seen in a lot of Brotherus work and no more so than in here image Der Wander 3 one of the many images she has taken echoing that now all to familiar Romantic painting.
“In a way I provide the viewers with a blank screen, a surface on which to project their own feelings and desires. Most often my work deals with love and its side-effects; the absence or presence of it in its different forms.”
On a rare occasion you will come across a work that has a profound effect on you, more so than any other, Sian Daveys’ Looking for Alice is one such work. It was a number of years ago, and I am not fully aware in what context it was brought to my attention, but it has been a constant in my photographical thinking ever since.
On my notice board in my office, I have pinned two specific images, both, I used as examples, references of what brings me the greatest joy in photography, the engagement the emotion I feel when I look at these images, they are examples of why I am so enamored with the art form and all that it can do. Of course, there are many other images, but these are my equivalent of a poster of my favourite band or film. The images both shown below are obviously different, taken at a different time, in a different context, but at the same time there as tangible connection, not just through the medium but through the subject and the narrative. One of the images is that of the child below.
Davey was a practicing Psychotherapist for 15 years before she took up photography in 2014. Alice is Sian daughter; she was born with Downs Syndrome. Davey began to photograph Alice when she was a year old. The work is in someway very familiar, images taken by a mother, of her child, in the context of the family, memorializing, but due to the nature of Alice’s disability these images took on a different meaning. Not only in the sense of Down Syndrome and all that is associated with this, but also from the mother's point of view. Davey talks opening about how she was ill-prepared, for such a diagnosis, especially considering her professional background. She speaks of her anxiety at Alice’s differences to her other children and how this unfamiliarity initially, her response was to pull away from her, but her anxieties where further exasperated by the fact she sensed that Alice was sensitive to this rejection. Just because she was her mother did not mean that she wasn’t susceptible to the prejudices and preconceptions that are associated with Down Syndrome and all that it entails.
Davey speaks of her need to address the prejudice she felt.
“I saw that the responsibility lay with me, I had to dig deep into my own prejudices. The result was that my fear dissolved, I fell in love with my daughter, We all did.”
Love is such a universal emotion, and perhaps one of the easiest to communicate, we are all perceptive to it, we all feel it in some way. It seems almost a given that a mother should instantly love their newborn child, unconditionally. Anxiety and worry are part and parcel of love, these negative emotions are the price we pay for for the warmth and wonder that love brings and in most instance we all feel that it is a price worth paying.
So given the subject of the work as an observer it can be quite challenging, perhaps even difficult to understand or empathize with. It is such a personal thing, some may even say that it is exploitative or self indulgent on the artists part and on the surface that may be true, but only until you begin to really look at the photographs and the context in which they are taken, the familiarity and commonality in them. Since the dawn of photography cameras have been used to memorialize, I have boxes of photographs in the house of me as a child, at birthday parties, on holiday, on Christmas morning, when it snowed, when I was watching TV or looking through the toy section of the Kays Catalogue. Documents of both important millstones as well as the most mundane occurrences, but each and everyone significant in the context in which they where taken.
Looking for Alice is no different to this, yes the images may be taken by someone who has a greater aptitude for photography than most, with a better technical knowledge and equipment than the disposable or point and shoot cameras normally used, but they are no less important. The series is beautifully shot, there is a beauty a purity and honesty to the work that transfers myriad emotions and contexts and all the while the central subject, Alice shines bright. The framing and tone of the work is outstanding, with exceptional use of natural light. Many images include other members of Daveys family, in the familiar surrounds of the home, at Christmas, on holiday. All the while Alice is being Alice, displaying the range of emotion that you would expect to see in a child, happiness, sadness, anger and confusion, inquisitive and curious, vulnerable and independent. Down Syndrome is a very visible condition, there is physical characteristics associated that mean that it is almost instantly recognizable. This superficiality is in many ways what leads to prejudice and preconceptions of the observer, an unfortunate human trait where almost always our first instinct is gained purely from what we see.
What I found remarkable about Looking for Alice was that I became so enchanted with the photography that Alice’s disability was not longer visible and all I seen was a child, I would fell all the emotions that I would hope Davey was trying to convey, the aesthetic appreciation of the photographs themselves, empathy, entrancement, joy, relief, nostalgia, fear sadness and surprise and humour.
It is a powerful collection of images, from a very minimal aesthetic, to pictures that are almost a photographical Love Letter to Vermeer, there is such an exceptional use of natural light and framing and composition. But there is also images like the one I have chosen of Alice in the Lane, that have a specific, shap- shot quality to them, a pure example of the instance, not set up or framed but a true moment captured. There are many reason I am aware of why I love this photograph and some that I am not. As I had spoken before about how Down Syndrome is a visible condition given the physical characteristics associated with it. If this image was taken purely as we see it, and not in the context of the series, what does it say to us, what do we see.
I see a child walking, if not marching up a country lane, the shadows on the ground and what she is wearing suggest that it is early in the morning, the bin is out for collection, a thing that usually takes place early on so it’s presence suggest that it is yet to be emptied.
There is tangible sense of movement, there is a confidence and a determination in her stride, the independence and curiosity of a toddler, who will not be told. I would like to think that there is an small indication of a tantrum, Alice is fed up with her mother taking pictures of her, asking her to perhaps stand still, she’s had enough and she has turned on her heel and is out of there. Perhaps she is being adventurous, and independent, perhaps she knows the people in the distance and is going to meet them. Perhaps more in a metaphorical sense it shows a child moving away from a parent, the path of life with it’s moments of darkness but also larger more substantial swathes of light and happiness. I believe that the image is crucial to the series and the most communicative. Often when you enamored with a subject like photography you encounter work that is of great personal and emotional significance, but you may not be sure why, this is the joy of art and the exhilaration of discovery, the connections we make, the echo of humanity, I wasn’t looking for Looking for Alice, but I found her and I am so glad that I did.
The Second image on my board that I spoke of is another Felix Thiollier picture, Woman and Horse, 1899. I suddenly began to notice similarities to the picture of Alice, the sense of movement, determination, the shadow under the raised right foot. Both images of daughters taken by a parent, both taken of the back of the subject, both immersive. Both magical and emotionally evocative to me a quality that I can’t quite put my finger on, but significant nonetheless to what I enjoy most about the study of photography.
Photography can be challenging, in fact in many ways like a lot of art the best instances of it are. There is at least a great perceived sense of realism with a photographic image, and familiarity to it that can be identified with. This is particularly true in documentary photography. and self portraiture. It is important to be challenged, even to be made feel uncomfortable, to engage with a work in a way that stimulates are thinking and perception. Where Brotherus and Daveys work was successfully used as a form of photo-therapy, not only for themselves but as a means of aid and support for others, by raising awareness to particular difficulties and issues, sometimes the more singular personal difficulties of an individual can be more troublesome. I am sure that many contemporary female photographers would be aware of the work of Francesca Woodman.
“Am I in the picture? Am I getting in or out of it? I could be a ghost, an animal or a dead body, not just this girl standing on the corner”
Woodman was an American photographer making mostly black and white work. Mostly self-portraiture here photographs were often surrealist and conceptual rather than simple straight up portrait shots and thematically explored sexuality and the body. She used symbolic devices such as birds, skulls and in a lot of cases mirrors suing them as a conceptual notion in her work. She was an extremely prolific artist and this is extraordinary given that she sadly took her own life at the age of 22. The knowledge of how she died adds an extra meaning to her work. The dark and often challenging nature of it.
Her work documented and explored the mental as well as the physical self, with a freshness and a creativity of a young artist with an understanding of the contemporary as well as the history of art, She used techniques such as long exposure to add a sense of disconnection and absenteeism to her work. Her work contains a lot o nudity. Often in a western society and particularly in a contemporary context we can too hung up on the presence of nudity when we are confronted with it. Morality and comes into question and there is negative connotations attached. In Woodman's case I believe that it’s use was not only a form of expression but also therapeutic. It’s prevalence shows how she is not only physically but emotionally exposed, vulnerable and unassured of her own worth. Sometimes she uses long exposure technique to hide herself within the environment, only a whisper of her presence, There is a stark beauty to the work a simplicity to it. Of course, some may see it as imposed voyeurism, hence the uncomfortable reactions by some but it is mostly suggestive and the absence and disconnect can help with this.
Another consideration is that she is deliberately making the viewer feeling uncomfortable, a provocateur, using herself, her youth and her art to say what she has to say, to cause shock, to make us think and to challenge us more, connecting us directly to her by disconnecting us from what we are familiar with and within that lies its power.
For me, Visual Narrative story telling or documenting and event or experience has been one of the most powerful uses of photography and it doesn't necessarily have to be quick an concise, it can take time and consideration and in some cases, like that of the work of Jo Spence it can be difficult and challenging, both for the photographer as well as me the viewer. One of Jo Spences most powerfully narrative works was her series of images, self portraiture in many cases, documenting her battle with cancer and her treatment. A long form narrative dictated by the unpredictability of disease ; she used the telling of her story as a form of photo-therapy.
Her work was, personal, in some ways awkward and raw, but in this sense was a pure document of struggle, the true narrative, not sanitized in any way, not only did it have an impact on her life, but I’m sure inspired and gave support and comfort to others in a similar situation, not normalizing, but raising awareness. In many ways an experimental as well as technical work which , transcended art and in turn it’s criticisms, yet kept many of it’s fundamental principles. She was in many cases at least in photography terms, a rebel, a punk, rejecting the conventional forms and rallied against them, in her creative choices. An added element of importance in the work is given by the presence of self, this was her fight and it was her choice to share this with us as an artist, educator, activist and patient, this was how she choose to tell her story, the narrative of her life as a woman, suffering, frightened and scared, but resilient and determined in a fight that was only brought to her gender. There is humour in her work as well as the darkness, but she does not shy away from this, the narrative is clear, and made all the more powerful with the knowledge that the ‘story’ did not have a happy ending.
Let me tell you a story. I am fascinated by memory, in particular my own, how I remember events instances occurrences from my past, sometimes in vivid and emotive detail. Memories can be brought forward by many different stimulus, smell, a sound, a few words in a conversation, a film or a song. In some instances there are many different triggers, in others the memory will just come at random. The day was Monday 25th June 1990, I was an Altar Boy and we were boarding a bus to take us on our annual trip, the destination was Mosney, a holiday camp just outside Dublin. But perhaps more present and significant was a football match that was to take place later that day, Ireland were to play Romania in the Round of 16 in 1990 World Cup in Italy. We were more concerned if we would get back to our homes in time to watch the match than we were about the rides, games and amusements that awaited us. I’ll not get into the specifics of the cultural atmosphere surround this significant sporting achievement, but needless to say, the excitement in the air was thick, significant enough for me to store in the vault and memorable enough to pepper my thoughts periodically in the years since and lead to another meaningful and important photographic discovery.
Every now and again I would wonder about Mosney, was it still open, was it still as I remembered, sometimes deep in the nostalgia I would get that warm comforting feeling of the past, of happier times, the warm endless summers of my youth. I was sad to discover that in one of my searches that Mosneys last season was in 2000, with dwindling numbers and difficulty finding staff, it was forced to closed. So I at one point would look at photographs of it, abandoned, overgrown with weeds, empty and discussed, the burble of children's laughter and cacophony of electronic sounds from the arcade machines ringing out now only in my memory. It was a sad sight.
For a time my periodic search would yield only these images of disuse and abandonment, that was until one search took me to an article on the 2013 work Citizen by Photographer and Artist, Anthony Haughey. Through this I had discovered that after it seasoned to be a recreational holiday facility in 2000 a five year deal was struck to repurpose Mosney, it’s facilities and it’s accommodation chalets into an Asylum Seeker Accommodation Centre, becoming home to over 600 Asylum Seekers from over 20 countries, it was no holiday camp, a sad but necessary sign of the times and global failures of humanity.
The series contained some amazing images, portraits, family groups shots, taken in an unusual context, the unfamiliar juxtaposed to an environment that I recognized. The image to the right was one that really stood out to me a beautiful portrait of a young girl, standing in the dining hall the colours of the dated décor mirrored in the clothes she his wearing, a solitary figure in a space that would have once been filled with holiday makers, relaxed and rested, in contrast Ese seems slightly on edge, not a natural stance, very deliberately positioned. The natural light from the windows on the right mixed with the warmth of the bulbs in the hall.
Ese, Former Butlin's Mosney Holiday Camp Dinning Hall, Mosney Reception Centre 2006
The work is an important document, there is a certain Irony given the nature of the subjects, labelled Asylum Seekers in a modern parlance coming to a country that has celebrated its migration throughout the world and the success derived from that. Just as millions of Irish fled a country from persecution, poverty, and famine to all corners of the world, that same country is now a destination for those experiencing similar difficulties. Sure the people should be wholely empathetic, welcoming and understanding, but that is not always the case.
These images are important to be because they help to reinforce the importance of my memory, they ad another chapter to my own personal narrative, the journey I am on the discovery, the repurposing of things, how the memory remains, but new elements are added to the story. I would like to thing that that young girl was able to move on from that point, to be successful, to perhaps have a family, to be welcomed and accepted into a community, with care and understanding, that perhaps her experience of her time in Mosney was not as difficult as what she had came from previously that she too might look back at least some aspects of time time with fondness and that she too will discover new things that make her feel more connected both locally and globally. I still think about my time in Mosney with fondness, the After Burner arcade machine, the go-carts and that I did manage to return home in time to see Packie Bonner save that Romanian penalty. A good day.
Photography as a means of raising awareness or documenting the parts of society and culture that in many ways remain hidden and again some of these topics can be challenging and difficult but still of importance. Photography can sometimes help soften this So like Haughey’s series raised awareness of Asylum and Immigration in a modern world and challenged or attitudes towards it, Seawright used photography to document a particularly difficult circumstance one that it would be considered difficult to imbue with any sympathy or apathy to the subject or topic but nonetheless important.
The List complexity lies within it’s subject matter, a peeling away of the veneer of American culture and society. Seawright used mapping and GIS data to plot places where sex offenders where permitted to live upon release. They could not live within certain distance to what would be considered sensitive places, like schools, parks or even bus stops. The restriction lead to a form of Ghettoization, a corralling of the ex-offenders on ‘The List’ essentially hiding them in plain sight.
What we see in the images is a very clever use of photography to complete the narrative, without the context or knowing the concept behind them these images they are still a powerful representation of the unseen America. The tone is dystopic in a way, abandoned, flat muted colours have an almost filmic quality to them. There is an absence of humanity to them, an abandonment perhaps indicative of how society has abandoned these convicts. Yes there crimes may be seen as abhorrent but this treatment, even if indirect and for the protection of the good and proper still shows a culture devoid of sympathy and empathy.
The image below is one that resonated with me instantly, a row of terraced housing, run down and dilapidated, weeds and garbage strewn along the ally way, shot through a chain link fence. Although these convicts are free they are now constrained by geography and society and policy. The birds, usually used to symbolize freedom and positivity, particularly in American culture are also caged within the frame of the photograph, there is no real freedom here, the stigma of their crimes impossible to break free from, a desolate and bleak existence, restricted by legality and morality, their time never served, a punishment worse than prison impossible to break free from.
Paul Seawright (1965) Untitled (Fence)
Cleaning Nets, Skinningrove, 1981, Chris Killip
“My camera’s very visible. It’s big. And there’s something good about this, where you have to deal with the fact that I am a photographer and I am here. Look at this great big contraption.”
Killip’s focus was on a relatively small corner on England he was able to get a wide variety of different pictures of his subjects. The above image works as a successful work of art as well as a successful piece of social documentary, as the realisation that a plate camera was used takes this beyond a mere snapshot of a moment. The men working on the boat on dry land, as the source of their livelihood and in front of a row of terraced house creates a conflict of understanding, in that the boat could easily be replaced by a motor car and the young men working on the engine of their pride and joy to conjure any one of many images of 1950s Americana. It has a casual lazy quality and is not explicitly related to their livelihood. The essential maintenance of the boat is as natural a social activity as kicking a football about or sharing a cigarette and planning or dissecting their weekend.
Killip used a large format flatbed plate camera, which produced large 4x5 inch negatives, having started out using 35mm. However he was initially against the idea of using one as he didn’t see it as the image he had of himself, but he realised after he took his first picture with the format that it was better suited for what he was doing.
However contrary to what he is quoted as saying, about the fact that such a large and cumbersome piece of equipment would draw attention to his presence and command that the subject “look at this great big contraption” considering the image above is to the contrary, in that not one of the subject in the picture is paying him any attention.
Killip achieved this by becoming familiar to his subjects, in some case spending months on end in living in the communities of his subjects, forming close friendships and relationships, and gaining trust.