On being a photographer: a practical guide

97 Pages·0.858 MB·English

by  Hurn, David;Jay, Bill

Photography/Photojournalism $12.95 USD Revised – Third Edition!
“A photographer might forget his camera and live to tell the O
N
tale. But no photographer who survives has ever forgotten the lessons

B D A V I D H U R N / Magnum
in this book. It is not just essential reading, it’s compulsory.” E
I
Daniel Meadows N
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Head of Photojournalism, Center for Journalism Studies, in conversation with
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University of Wales

P
B I L L J AY
H
“A very useful book. It discusses issues which will benefit all O
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photographers irrespective of type, age or experience – and it does so O
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in a clear and interesting manner. I recommend it.”
R
Van Deren Coke A
past Director of the International Museum of Photography P
H on being
and author of The Painter and the Photograph E
R
“I read On Being a Photographer in one sitting. This is an
a
invaluable book for its historical and aesthetic references as well as
David’s words, which go to the heart of every committed D
a
photographer – from the heart of a great photographer. It is inspiring.” v
id
Frank Hoy H photog-
Associate Professor, Visual Journalism, The Walter Cronkite School ur
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of Journalism and Telecommunication, Arizona State University /M
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g
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“We all take photographs but few of us are photographers. On u
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Being a Photographer talks clearly and cogently about the difference … a rapher
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the book is rich in practical detail about how to practice as a d

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photographer and to create worthwhile pictures.” Barry Lane ill J
a
y
past-Director of Photography at the Arts Council of Great Britain
and presently Secretary-General
of The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain
“This thoughtful and provocative discussion of modern L
e
photojournalistic practice is an invaluable addition to the literature n
s
of photography.” W
Michael Carlebach o
r
Professor, School of Communication, k
ISBN 1-888803-06-1 University of Miami P A PRACTICAL GUIDE
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51295 and author of b
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The Origins of Photojournalism in America h
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9 781888 803068
O B P
N EING A HOTOGRAPHER
O B P
N EING A HOTOGRAPHER
■ A Practical Guide ■
David Hurn/Magnum
in conversation with Bill Jay
LensWork
PUBLISHING
2001
We should like to place on record our gratitude, admiration and respect
for all those fi ne photographers who have given so generously of their
thinking, time and talent — and especially their images — to further our
quest for an understanding of the medium’s basic working principles.
Many of these individuals are mentioned in the text but a complete
list would fi ll this book.
Our grateful thanks, also, to Jo Ann Briseño, a specialist in the World
Wide Web, who took the time and patience to process our notes into a
presentable and publishable form.
Copyright © 1997, 2001 Bill Jay and David Hurn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission in writing from the authors,
except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
First Printing, November 1997
Second Printing, December 1998
Third Edition, September 2001
ISBN #1-888803-06-1
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number : 97-075635
Published by LensWork Publishing, 909 Third Street, Anacortes, WA, 98221-1502 USA
Printed in the United States of America
C
ONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...................................................................... 7
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID HURN.......................... 8
SOME DEFINITIONS.............................................................. 23
SELECTING A SUBJECT.......................................................... 28
SHOOTING THE SINGLE PICTURE.......................................... 37
CREATING CONTACTS.......................................................... 47
THE PICTURE ESSAY............................................................ 55
CAMERAS, SHOES AND OTHER ESSENTIALS.......................... 62
THE FUTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY.......................................... 72
SOME PHOTOGRAPHIC MYTHS............................................. 84
ABOUT THE AUTHORS......................................................... 96

INTRODUCTION (cid:127) 7
I
NTRODUCTION
This conversation celebrates 30 years of friend- heard it, was impressed by the clarity of think-
ship and of a continuous, and continuing, ing, and adopted it — then adapted it, made
dialogue about photography. rearrangements, added new images and ideas
and gave it publicly with the original lecturer
We have attempted to summarize our agree- in the audience. He picked up on the adapta-
ments on what we consider the fundamental tions, modifi ed them and gave another lecture.
characteristics of the medium and how they The other one used his modifi cations which
can be employed by photographers for more suggested other images and ideas… and so it
effective growth as image-makers and as has continued. Today, it would be diffi cult to
human beings. separate the genesis of any of the ideas, issues
or images! This is not to imply that we agree on
In that sense this is a how-to-do-it book, everything. Nevertheless, we have emphasized
although it is not about technology or processes. our agreements in the belief that they are
It is a book on how to think and act like a photog- more likely to provide practical solutions for
rapher, culled from practical experience and photographers.
from the lives of many fi ne photographers of the
past and present. We have concentrated on the In order to provide the basic text for this book
common denominators in these approaches to we taped 12 hours of conversation, which were
the medium in order to discover basic principles supplemented by published writings by both
which can be employed by all photographers in of us, letters back and forth, and a discussion of
whatever band of the photographic spectrum the fi rst drafts. We offer the conversation in the
they reside. hope and conviction that photographers can
lead lives more charged with meaning through
Because our conversations have been so volu- the application of these principles.
minous over such a long period of time it is
impossible to differentiate who said what, and True, this is a book about photography — but
when. Our opinions, attitudes and ways of photography is about life. We both agree with
thinking, although originating from widely the psychologist Abraham Maslow that the
different perspectives — David’s from profes- purpose of life is to become actually what we
sional practice, Bill’s from history and criticism are potentially. We believe photography offers
— merge into a seamless whole. One example an ideal vehicle towards this destination.
will illustrate how this happens.
David Hurn
Bill Jay
Many years ago, one of us gave a lecture on
1996
“What is Photography?” [David: it was me.
Bill: yeah, yeah, I know it was]; the other one
8 (cid:127) ON BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL JAY & DAVID HURN

A P
BOUT THE HOTOGRAPHER
D H
AVID URN
Thirty years ago I fi rst showed David Hurn my step issues which are always present in the
photographs, the results of more than seven medium, but rarely discussed.
years of struggle to be a photographer. It took
him about 30 seconds to look through the lot Perhaps I should be equally direct with the
and deliver his judgment: boring. “Derivative,” reader. David Hurn, like any other great pho-
he said. “You won’t make it.” tographer, has an agenda which is not at all
hidden. He believes passionately in a particular
We have been friends ever since. approach to the medium — his approach. He
advocates a very specifi c way of thinking and
And he has continued to be my goad, my working as a photographer because he has com-
conscience, my adviser and, best of all, my mitted his professional life to a singular band
fiercest critic. Do you know how rare, how of the photographic spectrum, what he would
valuable, is such a friend, whose devastating call reportage, or eye-witness photography. It
frankness is wholly welcome because it is is therefore fair to ask: just how relevant is this
abundantly evident that such criticism taps the book to photographers who intend to reside in
wellsprings of love and not competitiveness, any one of the other multi-hued bands of the
petty jealousies or self-aggrandizement? spectrum which together make up the medium
we call photography?
Of course, I do not always agree with his
opinions or follow his advice and, even here, in I would assert its relevance and usefulness to
the spurning of his best intentions, David Hurn all photographers for many reasons, among
is supportive, as if to say: “He asked for my which would include: the importance of clear
opinion; I gave it my best shot; but the decision thinking in developing an intellectual rationale
is his to make.” for any method of working; the emphasis that
the subject, the thing itself, is the genesis of
I tell you these facts, and will relate the circum- all types of photography; the insistence that a
stances of our fi rst meetings, because David clarity of vision is aided by clarity of mind; the
Hurn’s candor permeates these pages. Nowhere greater appreciation of other photographers’
else that I know of will photographers meet work which comes from understanding their
in print a mentor who can or will speak with philosophical underpinnings (even photogra-
such directness and relevancy to the step-by- phers are viewers of photographs as much as
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID HURN (cid:127) 9
takers and makers); the assertion that human- dogs which accompanied him on his photo-
ism is inseparable from art, however defi ned graphic expeditions around Wales.
or created; the demonstration that there is no
substitute, in any endeavor, for commitment Tintern is rooted in the distant past. Its pasto-
and hard work. ral sleepy beauty clashes with the raucous
machines driven through its narrow main
Nevertheless, it is true that David Hurn’s street; old sheep farmers live cheek-by-jowl
commentary will be of special relevance to with artists and stockbrokers; weathered stone
photographers who believe that there is no cottages built by manual labor now house fax
greater thrill or satisfaction (or frustration) than machines and computers; it is a place called
confronting people and places, and, from that home and a tourist mecca. These clashes of old
heady, chaotic fl ux of life, selecting images of and new, rich and poor, ancient and modern,
direct simple beauty and truthfulness. are a microcosm of the changes taking place
in Wales and refl ect the underlying themes of
This is charged language! Beauty? Truthful- David Hurn’s incessant imagery.
ness? I am aware of the danger in introducing
these words so early in our narrative, but, do not During his schooldays David was not consid-
fear, I expect them to become more comfortable ered a promising student: far from it. He
as they become more familiar. emerged from his education with no qualifi ca-
tions for anything, due to a form of what is
But right now we have a more pressing need. now known as dyslexia. “No one understood
I want to introduce you to the person who will the term or the condition in those days,” says
give you guidance On Being a Photographer… David, “and so you were just ‘thick’ [stupid].”
It was impossible for him to cope with the
written examinations which, then more than
E L
ARLY IFE now, were essential in any subject, especially
David Hurn was born in Redhill, Surrey, the sciences, and which were requisites for the
England, on 21 July 1934. Technically, therefore, life of a veterinarian, his aspiration. But David
he is an Englishman — but that is a quirk of did excel in sports, particularly track events and
circumstances. By genes, temperament and rugby. When he reached the age when every
choice he is a Welshman, from his primary British male youth was required to spend two
school education in Cardiff to his present home years in the armed forces (National Service) his
in Tintern, where he lives in a 600-year-old sporting prowess helped to secure for him
stone cottage overlooking the river Wye, backed a place at the prestigious Royal Military College,
by continuous falls of water trickling over and Sandhurst, the training ground for British
around the steep banks of his terraced garden. Army offi cers. It seemed that David was des-
A short walk down river are the ruins of the tined to follow in the footsteps of his father,
early 12th-century Tintern Abbey, celebrated Stanley, as a career soldier. Stanley had volun-
by William Wordsworth in his famous poem teered for the Welsh Guards just before the
of 1798. The river is fl anked by meadows and outbreak of World War II in 1939 and rose
woods where David used to ramble with his rapidly through the ranks to become a major
10 (cid:127) ON BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL JAY & DAVID HURN
in Special Operations. This was a remarkable After absorbing the instructions in his guide-
achievement and one which the son might book, David began to record the daily life of
have emulated. his fellow cadets. This led in turn to looking
at published photographs more carefully, and
Photography changed all that. he discovered a clash between the messages
of the images and of his military offi cers. In
particular, a photo-essay on Russia by Henri
F
IRST PHOTOGRAPHS Cartier-Bresson, although David was ignorant
Ever anxious to gain more freedom from of the authorship at the time, published in
the rigid, cloistered and spartan life of the Picture Post (29 January, 5, 12, 19 February 1955)
Sandhurst cadet, David noticed that the only and in other magazines including Life, seemed
students allowed outside the college were to contradict the propaganda he was being
members of the camera club — the darkrooms force-fed by the college’s instructors, and the
were located near the local town. Buying weight of evidence was in favor of the images.
a camera had nothing to do with a love of
photography, but it was merely a passport One image struck him most forcibly: it showed
to freedom. Unfortunately, he was required a Russian soldier in a department store buying
to take at least some token pictures for the a new hat for his wife. “I remember most
college noticeboard which necessitated actually distinctly accompanying my parents on a
loading the camera with fi lm! David bought a shopping trip to Howells [a smart department
cheap little how-to-do-it book (probably one of store in Cardiff] as soon as my father had
the Focal Guides so popular at the time) and returned from the war. I was about eleven.
taught himself the rudiments of photography. And he bought my mother a hat. My memory
He still believes in the effi cacy of this solitary of that event and the emotion of the Russian
education. “In my opinion there are two effi cient picture were identical. I had been led to believe
ways to learn: apprentice yourself to a top that all Russians were desperately poor and
professional or teach yourself. The problem grotesquely belligerent, yet here was a Russian
with photography is that everyone does it, who seemed to be reasonably affl uent, at least
believes he/she does it well (and would do it with enough spare cash to buy his wife a gift,
better if only he/she could buy a better camera and who was displaying human emotions of
or take more time off) and so this individual tenderness and caring. This image had the
produces bad pictures because he/she is doing touch of authenticity. It felt real and true.”
everything wrong but passes on bad advice David began to question and challenge his
out of ignorance. The problem with receiving teachers, skilled practitioners in propaganda,
bad advice is that you do not realize that the and soon developed a distinctly suspicious
advice is bad when you are a beginner, and the attitude towards the military. “What I saw in
bad habits become ingrained and very, very my viewfi nder and in published images,” he
diffi cult to remove. My advice is: learn from says, “made me profoundly pacifi st”; hardly an
the best or teach yourself. And do not bother encouraging trait in a future military offi cer.
at all if you do not have an exaggerated sense
of curiosity.”