I would like to welcome my friend and fellow Brit in Thailand - Arran, to my Visual Interviews. After a hiatus Arran has come back to photography with a newfound passion for the documentary process (with a little nudge from my own good self, I would like to think). Previously a professional wedding photographer, Arran now works as an English teacher (that allows him his wonderful Thai lifestyle) and pursues photography in his spare time.
You can keep up with Arran on Instagram or alternatively you can see how his projects are coming along on his new Blog.
David - This is a question I have asked on every interview so far and a concept that forever fascinates me. This year I think that I have finally found a way to articulate the question properly.
How would you describe your relationship (as the creator – of sorts) with the viewer, and do you consider this relationship when photographing - be it in the moment or later during its presentation?
Arran - That is a great question to kick things off. I would say that as time goes on I feel my relationship with the viewer is weakening. Once upon a time, I think I had the viewer in mind with every click, that is with my personal photography, not so much client work. Whereas now, I don't really feel the need to think about the viewer because my aim is to shoot and create work primarily for myself. If anyone else likes it that is just a bonus and I feel a sense of flattery in a weird way. Sure, I share my images sometimes but honestly I don't really care for or expect any engagement these days.
David - How would you describe your genre of photography and what elements do you believe make it identifiable as such?
Arran - It's only recently that I have realised what genre of photography really makes me tick. I used to think I was a street photographer, but now I've realised that I'm actually more so a documentary/reportage photographer. I say this because I'm not chasing or really looking for single images and or trying to produce stand out images, that of which is closely associated with street photography. More so, I'm trying to find scenes that tell a story with characters within. I do definitely get drawn to people within my photography and love to stop and chat and ask if I can make a portrait of the special characters I meet. Stories and projects are my genre now so yes, documentary/reportage photography.
David - If you could choose one photographer past or present to spend a week with and learn from who would it be and what skill of theirs would you most like to learn?
Arran - It's really hard to pick just one because I really love looking at photography and learning from others who are far more talented than myself. I would have to say David DuChemin, which is probably a real curveball answer but let me explain. David is a massively underrated photographer and is maybe more well known as an author. His photography really moves me from his people and portrait work all the way through to his recent wildlife photography and his travel stuff. Not only that, I find his mental approach to photography so empowering and it was his books that really changed my mind and direction with photography during the lockdown in 2020. Not to mention he seems like such a cool guy so yes, a week with him would be absolutely awesome. (pull some strings mate and hook me up)
David - What event made your pursue photography? A loaded question but I find that we all initially get into photography for the same basic reasons but there comes a tipping point into which we choose to place our efforts into photography. I would also be keen to know how long ago that was for you.
Arran - A very typical but a trip to Thailand on holiday in 2015. Before this I had never even touched a camera. So that was the initial step to getting a camera and then when I decided to pursue photography was when I thought it was my ticket to being self employed and rich. Neither of which fully materialized. That all happened around 2017 and 2018. I was somewhat successful in the wedding genre, shooting around 20 weddings and being involved in a few others as a second photographer but then my wife and I decided to upsticks and move to Thailand in 2019. I think I would probably have made it full time and become quite successful had we stayed in the UK but the rest is history as they say.
David - Following on from the previous question - if photography was not an option to you, what do you think you would have pursued instead? If you had to pursue something else now, would it be the same thing or something totally different?
Arran - I love this question because it highlights something that I think is glossed over these days. I feel I was massively let down in school. I am mildly dyslexic and because of that I was made to feel like my only path was sports or something physical. I was never given the courage or encouragement to try writing of any sort, I was actually made to feel like I just couldn't do it, so I didn’t.
As life has gone on and I have found my interests such as photography, travel and cultures, I have dabbled at writing and to my surprise, I have been told a few times that my writing style is kind of nice to read. Maybe due to not being an academic type, I don't use crazy words and keep my structure of text very simple and casual so I think it strikes a different chord than maybe the typical writer or author hits. It's possible that other less academic people like to read my style of writing, I'm not 100% sure but I have grown to really like putting my thoughts and interests into text in some way.
So to answer the question in the most long-winded way possible, I think I would and probably will pursue writing in some capacity alongside my photography.
David - Recently there has been a trend amongst photographers to forgo editing, even with film they see the scan presented to them by the lab as a finished product. Whilst this itself is quite possibly a reactionary movement to the over processed “photoshopped” images of the 2010’s and the current crop of uncanny valley AI images, I still struggle to see why one would limit themselves. What are your thoughts on this?
Arran - Not going to lie, I did try this for a short while and in some ways, I do understand why some people don't want to edit their images. You're definitely right with the reaction to AI and over editing. People are just becoming sick of that look and also the idea of not being totally sure if something is actually real or not.
The best thing about not editing, is less time staring at the screen which really does my head in honestly. I hate how I feel everything I do within photography is based around little square pixels. So much so, I did have a little brain wave to step back to a DSLR so that I'm actually looking at the world, not a screen when I photograph. I haven't yet but I'm still tempted.
Now that I have come to my senses, I do think editing is important and as anyone who knows photography will know, it's always been part of the process. Guys like Salgado don't get those rich black and whites without a little bit of manipulation. It's a way to put your stamp on your images and as long as it’s done with taste and nothing drastic is removed or skies are replaced etc… Then I'm all for editing your work. Bringing the image to life or seeing the scene as you saw it with your eyes, often the camera can't quite do that by itself. I think the trick may be learning to edit better and knowing what you want to get out of your work rather than just replicating styles or trends you see on social media. Maybe at that point, editing feels less tedious, at least that is what helped me.