I had the absolute pleasure of being able to send photographer Paul Turner some questions about his incredible work.

Check out the interview below!

1.Tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to become a
photographer….

Hi, my name is Paul Turner. I’m a married father of two boys I have been into photography on and off since I was a student in the late 80’s. I can’t remember a specific event that made me want to take up photography but I can remember being captivated by a book that I have of called The Art of Photography, a kind of best of album that showed photographs of note from 1839 to 1989. It shows the diversity of image making and the beauty of classic images and I always loved looking through it. I also remember using a darkroom when I was student too, it was like a gateway into another world where you could make your own images. A world far away from the convenience of image making we have now. More magical and captivating than processing a digital file, something that more people should experience.

2. Did you study photography or are you self taught? What are your
thoughts on art education and do you think that having a degree is important for photographers?

I never studied photography, I’m self taught. I have spent time way back as a photographers assistant on a voluntary basis for a couple of weeks but I never got to fire a shutter. No, I don’t think having degree is important. I see
my photography purely as a form of self expression or documentary practice. I think if you have a degree it may help to focus an intent or maybe enable an individual to practice forming a narrative in their work. In no way do I see it as a prerequisite to being a photographer. It’s a form of communication.

3 .What is the hardest or most challenging aspect of being a photographer and do you think that photography is still a viable career choice in the 21st century?

Probably standing out and being consistent in your work are the most challenging things for me. I don’t have a career in photography but I am sure it is still a viable option to make a living doing it if you are willing to put the work in.

4. The digital revolution has made photography accessible to almost
everyone but do you think that anyone can be a photographer? Is there a
difference between an image maker and an image taker?

Anyone can be a photographer yes. For me being a photographer is having
the ability to connect, whether it is taking a portrait or making a topographic image, if you connect, then the image will be the reflection of that connection. This loops back to 3. the connection and choice is what sets your work and consistency. I would agree with the tenet that a photographer is an image maker. It’s alluding to a quote by Ansel Adams but I am not sure if Adams was talking about the whole process including the time in the darkroom.

5. On a similar note, social media has changed the way that we see, consume and interact with images. Do you think that the amount of imagery we see on a daily basis affects the way that people view photography and photographers? Are people too quick to disregard the time and effort that goes into creating an image?

Photography is consumed in a massive way now and that inevitably waters down its value. If you scroll down a page of images there will still be one or two that will make you stop and look further. It is difficult to get noticed but If you can convey a strong message in your images then maybe one or two of your picture will make someone stop scrolling.

Images may be seen as a throwaway item nowadays, and maybe the statement that people disregard the time and effort that goes into making an image has some truth, but more people look at images now and It is easy to take pictures. I think you have to find your own style and process. I am used to going out and carrying a bag and a tripod round all day but it is my choice. I could choose to just carry my phone and take pictures, that would be easier, but it would reduce the intention and connection I think. It would de-value it to an extent for me. It is just part of my mind set and process.

6. What are your thoughts about social media and how has it affected your practice? Is it something you enjoy?

Social media has probably played the largest part in my practice because it has allowed me to share and connect with people that are like minded. It has opened my eyes to so much amazing work and enabled connecting with some lovely people, who’s work I truly admire. Seeing other people’s work definitely feeds into your senses, you are able to experience so much more than if photographs were only seen in books or through magazines and tv as they used to be.

7. Your work is extremely intriguing, and I really love that in each of your photographic series, you’ve really thought about the intention behind your images. Can you talk a little bit about each series you have made and the themes/questions you explore within your work? Which series was your favourite to create?

Similarly, for each body of work, you have written quite a concise and informative text on your website, but I was wondering how important it is for you to have context for your work? How do you make sure that people who might be viewing your images without any information can understand your artistic intentions?

The way I approach series is to go out and make images with no real aim or intention, then after time I might see a link emerging between certain images or sets. From this I will often find a heading to work with. I never go out with an intention to create work around a title in the first instance. I just enjoy making images in their own right and trying to come up with work that inspires me and fulfils a creative need. I don’t have a favourite series that I have worked on as there are common threads in all of them that I am drawn to, for example the absence of people; once someone enters frame, they often become the focus of our attention and the frame; my work to date is about empty spaces, architectural coincidences and the overlooked. I am sure I will branch out and do different work. I would like to try my hand at portraiture sometime but I am enjoying myself with my current focus.

8. I’m really fascinated by your choices of captured locations. How do you know when a location will make a good image and what is your thought process like when you go out to shoot; do you know what you want to shoot beforehand or are you more spontaneous?

The way I work is usually spontaneous and without aim, to a point but I may look on google maps before I head out. I will usually look for industrial areas or areas of a city that are old and neglected for example. Often there will be something along those lines as a starting place. The chance of discovery is enough make me pack a bag and go, once I have somewhere in mind.

Similarly I don’t have a thought process about what I am looking for, it is purely based on what I see as I wander. Most of the time I will know if a place or situation will work as an image and it is then a matter of me framing it to get the best composition. I don’t have any hidden themes or ideas about the images that I make, the discovery is the joy for me and I leave it to the viewer to make up their own mind about the work, I only hope that they enjoy the images in their own right. I prefer forgotten areas as I like the character that they often have.

9. Additionally, what is your photo shoot process like and how many frames do you typically take during a photoshoot? How do you store the rest of the images that you don’t edit or post, and do you ever look back over them again?

I’m not a prolific shooter, the way I work seems to be that way, I can spend a long time in one place trying to make a composition work, and then decide to not bother with it and put the camera down without firing the shutter. It does get commented on if I am out with friends but I always seem to work like that. If I go away for a weekends shooting then I might get through 2 or three rolls of film.

These days my images are on negatives so I just store the films in their folders after scanning. Scans go on the computer and I will go back to them now and again if I am working on a set that might have a similar theme running through.

10. All of your images are created on location in different parts of the UK. Can you talk about the challenges you face whilst shooting outside on location and how it differs whilst shooting at night and shooting during the day?

Additionally, how do you make sure that the public respect your boundaries whilst you are working and how do you make sure you’re staying safe whilst shooting? Do you have any advice for photographers who might go out and shoot by themselves?

The reason that images are from different parts of the UK is because I often meet with friends that photograph as a social group. We all come from different parts of the UK so coming up with locations is usually a collective decision.

The challenges when shooting are agreeing where and when to eat usually. There is often disagreements on both counts.

As for the public, It is usual to be asked why are you photographing “that”? Mostly people are curious and friendly on the whole. If I am out on my own I will usually walk around an area for several hours until I have exhausted myself, or the photographic potential, or both.

11. Looking through your images, especially the series Land Marks and B Sides, C sides, I get a sense that you like to explore places that have some kind of forgotten or reclining history, places with a sense of lost nostalgia.

Are creating images and bodies of work that have a historical context and inform the viewer something you do intentionally, and should photography aim to inform those that view it?

Additionally, what do you think the purpose of photography is in relation to our contemporary society? Should it aim to educate, to be a form of escapism, to be a reflection of the world, or is its purpose something else?

I agree with you on that point. I definitely gravitate to the declining places. The decline of an area may be an indication that something is about to change. Once the change starts it can rip out the old identities of places. I am drawn to capturing places as they were so that people may look back after change.

There is a fascination for me in the beauty of decay and emptiness. I see a value in the overlooked spaces and places, we all notice them but never look. Seeing images of places after they have been demolished will often make us pause to consider what has been lost. I hope to help keep some of this from being forgotten and maybe show some beauty, if I can. Before it has gone for good.

12. The photographer Jeff Wall once said that photographs either capture ‘occurrences or the absence of occurrences’. Considering that you photograph cityscapes and environmental spaces that are devoid of people, what do you think that such images tell us about the human condition and the world we live in?

I think the type of topographic work that I do is a way of me trying to capture something of our ordinary spaces. Maybe they can be categorised as “the absence of occurrences” however they are a way of highlighting the world we make for ourselves as their own entity, pointing the lens purely at the structures or elements, forces us to see them as they exist rather than as we pass through them going about our daily business. Framing the everyday for me has it’s own rewards and challenges but the best compliment I have is when someone says something like “I never saw that place like that before”.

13. Photography has always inherently been a truthful medium, allowing us to capture the world around and creating images is often quite a personal experience. Every photograph taken gives us another small insight into the person taking them. With this in mind, what do you think your photographs say about you?

This is a really tough question for me. I can only say that my photographs are a way of me bringing order to the chaos of my surroundings. As I mentioned earlier I try to see beauty in the banal, mundane or derelict. I am usually afflicted with trying to fill my frames with details and colours that compliment each other, often the colours are faded or pastel but I will try and use them together. I was not any good at art in school but using a camera has helped me fulfil the creative part of me. I am so glad to have found photography and used it to express myself. To try and look at ordinary places with a searching eye is a practice that I find greatly rewarding.

14. Balance is key to photography, but one o the overlooked aspects of being a photographer is the balance between creating and living. As a father of two children, how do you make sure that you balance your life, such as family commitments, with your photography?

Balancing family life with my photography has not been too difficult for the most part. I have a very understanding family that realise I get a little crazy when I haven’t been out with a camera for a while. They are usually happy to get rid of me for a few hours. They know I will be a calmer person on my return, If I had a fruitful experience of course, I will be even better. My children tolerate having the camera pointed at them occasionally but, usually I know where to draw the line.

15. You actually use both digital and analogue methods of photography in
your work. What have you found to be the benefits and drawbacks of each
and is there one method you prefer? How do you choose whether to shoot
an image digitally or on film?

I have gravitated to analogue photography, gradually at first but now I have sort of fallen for it. If I was to go out shooting as a paid job I would choose digital for ease but nowadays my first choice is film.

These points are of course highly subjective..

Benefits of digital –
Convenience
Instant feedback for framing and exposure control.
Latitude of files is better.
Results are more predictable.
Everything is in the digital domain and doesn’t involve chemicals, negatives and scanning.

Benefits of film –
Beautiful old glass and mechanical cameras.
No feedback for reviewing images.
Results are less predictable.
Everything is in the analogue domain, until scanning of course.
Process takes longer and the results can have their own rewards and unexpected outcomes.

16. In your opinion, what makes a good piece of art? What was the last image/piece of media that captivated you and what was it about it that left an impression on you?

For me, I think a good piece of art is something that makes you stop and look and then really look. I don’t mean in a way that necessarily makes you wonder what you are looking at but looking because you are affected by it and in some way you resonate with it. Or it is a connection or appreciation of what you are looking at that maybe makes you see things slightly differently. The last thing I saw that really captivated me was the work of Peter Mitchell in his book Early Sunday Morning. His photographs taken in and around Leeds in the early 1970’s hark back to a different world than what we now see. It took me back to my early years and I recognised, if not the exact places, a sense of what Leeds was like when I was a student there in the late 1980’s. Life before the internet and mobile phones. The book made me really look.

17. How often do you search for inspiration and do you ever feel the
pressure to create more work as your career has progressed?

I couldn’t say how often I search for inspiration. I would say that inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere. The beautiful thing about photography is that there are so many different avenues to go down.

Inspiration can be found by going out for a walk or driving, it isn’t a quantifiable in amount for me. Inspiration also comes from other areas too, listening to music affects your mood which in turn affects what you are drawn towards. I don’t really feel pressure to create more work but I love the opportunity to get out and shoot, particularly if I have a weekend free and plenty of film in the fridge and a place in mind to explore.

18. Whilst creating work, how often do you consider the viewer’s reactions? Do you create work for yourself or for others?

Additionally, does knowing that your work will predominantly be viewed online effect the way you create it?

I don’t consider the viewers reaction when I am out shooting. I definitely react to what I see. If I have a strong reaction to something I see it is the best feeling and in that moment I am only thinking about framing the shot and the light. It genuinely is the driving force so I might think how a place would work in the context of a project for example but things like that will often come after the event, when I am looking at the scanned result.

19. What are you currently working on and where can people find more about you and your work?

At the moment the COVID situation has put everything on hold, I have plans to get some of my work in print and create a zine possibly. I do see some gaps in the content I am working on, so I will need to shoot more as I want to feel that I have finished the projects before I get to that point.

People can view my work on my website paulturnerphoto.com or look at my instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/paulturner_photo/

Thanks for the opportunity to talk about my work on here.
Paul.