ABOUT
Rather than bore you with a long and wordy blog, this is an extract from a recent interview, '10 Questions with the Photographer Guy Buckland' that I feel might give you a more light-hearted insight ...
Star sign:
Pisces
Likes:
The sea, surfing at Hollywell (the reef at the end of my road), passionate people, kisses and cuddles form my gorgeous girl Hermione and my new son Gabriel, interior design, collecting old cameras and having no plans at the weekend!
Dislikes:
Bad design, being too far from the sea and lifts.
Where would we have seen some of your images before?
Mostly fashion magazines and websites, other editorial pages, corporate company media, advertising billboards, the London underground, gallery exhibitions, art gallery shops, books and even on the sides of buses.
What type of clients do you work with?
I work with a huge variety of clients from the parents of the baby next door all the way through to corporates and international fashion-houses, and I love working with them all. There is a different shot to get every time I shoot and I am always thinking of what I can try next and how far the client is willing to go to create a great shot!
What do you love about photography?
I have always had a love for images; I get a lot more from images than words. I can spend ages looking at a single image. I like to visualise stories and see the raw emotion of that person, or the scene, in the picture. I have a very visual memory, ‘selective’ my wife calls it!
What don’t you like about photography?
Everything and Nothing! It’s such a love hate relationship sometimes.
How did you get started in photography?
When I was 15 I went into a camera shop with my birthday money burning a hole in my pocket. It was the end of the day and I questioned the poor shop assistant for probably an hour after closing time. I got him to explain how a 35mm SLR camera worked from top to bottom and then how to develop my first film with the home kit they were selling. I went home and shot a whole film on trees and then developed it in my parents newly fitted bathroom - staining the sink in the process. I saw my first black and white print magically reveal itself in a tray of chemical developer; from that moment on I was hooked!
Do you have a favourite image?
Many! But at the moment I love the portraits of Kate Moss by Chuck Close (a daguerreotype image). Just the rawness of his monotone images of Kate Moss, showing every freckle and detail of her skin texture, no retouching or Photoshop work, just completely raw portraits. They tell so much more than the re-touched and polished magazine prints that we see of Kate Moss every day. I am working on a personal project of portraits in this style, inspired by Chuck Close, which I will publish soon. click here view on of the images of Kate Moss that I am talking about
Besides your camera, what is a must-have at each session?
Music! I can’t tell you how much this helps me to shoot better images and how much it can take the stress out of a pressurised shoot. It’s both a total ice breaker and motivator for me.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” (Plato)
…. and then I take a picture of it!
If you weren’t a professional photographer what would you be doing instead?
living close to a beach break in Cornwall with fewer possessions other than my surfboard. I would work less and share more fun times with my gorgeous wife, Hermione and Gabriel. Making a living from fishing ,photography and making bespoke furniture in my own workshop.
I am an official member of the Royal Photographic Society ....
Click here to view my Royal Photographic Society Profile
