78
B+WCOMMENT
timclinchphotography.comSometimes, says Tim Clinch, the speed of technology can work
against us, giving us a short time span of interest and a lack of in-depth
understanding. The answer is to slow right down and look harder...
A FORTNIGHT AT F/ 8
TMI
- which,
in case you
didn’t know,
stands for
Too Much Information, is often
used as a riposte when somebody
says something slightly yucky or
embarrassing. It is also becoming
a riposte I use more and more
when looking at the internet these
days, particularly while looking at
photography websites.
When I was an assistant all
those years ago, back in the days
when advertising was a creative
profession rather than the bland
and depressing calling it has
become today, I became aware of
a change. There was a trend to
make ads that didn’t look like ads
at all. Ads were being given an
‘editorial’ feel.
At the same time, there were
magazines being published in
which the use of photography
was startling. The Sunday Times
Magazine, for example, published
weekly, and led by the legendary
picture editor Bruce Bernard was
simply unmissable. Its amazing
use of bold photography and the
commissioning skills of Bernard
formed a lot of my own views
about photography that I still
hold to this day.At that time, the Sunday
supplements had become
important places for some great
photographers to showcase their
work. Creative art directors and
influential picture editors were
commissioning some wonderful
photographers and letting them
run wild. Over time, I began to
notice a few names cropping up in
the photo credits. Ken Griffiths,
whose remarkable photographs
of Naples made up an entire issue
of the Sunday Times Magazine,
Denis Waugh and Peter Lavery,and the quiet but powerful
portraits of Rolph Gobits.I
n those days there were
never any photo credits on
advertising, so the only way
to find out about who had
taken the pictures in the latest
ad campaigns was to read
the industry bible, Campaign
magazine. Doing this, I found
out that not only had this
quartet been shooting for all the
best magazines, but they had
been shooting some of the most
interesting and influential ads
around as well.
I was desperate to find out
more. By talking to people –
assistants, art directors and‘As with all things, once we start to feel comfortable,
that’s the time to challenge ourselves,
to set ourselves new goals.’1278-79_FORTNIGHT_185 ER/MB.indd 7878-79_FORTNIGHT_185 ER/MB.indd 78 26/11/2015 12:2326/11/2015 12:23