Alan (1 North, 1970-1975) is the winner of the SPi (Street Photography International) Awards 2018. Entries were received from 137 countries so his win is all the more impressive. Here he tells us more about how he came to make photography his living.
“I came to Cranleigh from Windlesham House School – a very liberal prep school with co-education and no uniform. To suddenly have a short back and sides and be in grey flannels was a bit of a shock. That may be one reason why I found the art school and the informality of our art teacher Howard Pickersgill a bit of a refuge.
“I knew very early on that I wanted to pursue art and I concentrated on getting into art school. With a lot of encouragement and help from Mr Pickersgill my portfolio got me onto the Foundation course at Farnham and then I went on to Manchester to do a BA in Graphics/Advertising. Again I had terrific tutoring and encouragement which resulted in a portfolio that landed me my first job in advertising – as an art director at Saatchi & Saatchi.
“I was there for ten amazing years and it was a fantastic investment of my time – working with great people (and great photographers) and in particular learning about both the power of simplicity and the power of the idea. I later worked at Bartle Bogle Hegarty and the learning curve continued there. I hope my time in advertising gives my photos an extra dimension. I love ideas, I love humour, I love photos that are what I call ‘never ending photos’. They reward you every time you look at them.
“Our job in the creative department was to come up with the ideas and then to bring those ideas to life. We were encouraged to use the finest photographers (and artists) that our clients could afford (and sometimes couldn’t!) so my eyes were opened to excellence in photography early on. I soon discovered Elliot Erwitt and other great street photographers and thought what a great hobby that would be so within a few months I invested in my first pocket camera, an Olympus XA. Since then I have never been anywhere without a pocket camera because, as they say, the most valuable camera you own is the one you have with you.
“A career as a creative in advertising means that you can be in your office one day, doing research in a supermarket aisle the next and (with a bit of luck) flying off on location the next. So street style photo opportunities arose all the time and carrying a camera meant that I could (try) to capture them. But I was so busy that I would get them processed, have a glance and then put them in a box!
“When digital came along I realised I had quite a collection of photos and that I could scan them in and create a website so I dug out the boxes, scanned a whole bunch and created a website. Then I went freelance with a view to changing career and becoming a professional photographer – which I have done.
“I have done photography jobs for Grenson Shoes, RKCR/Y&R, Honda, Grazia Magazine, The East of England Development Agency, The International Fragrance Association amongst others. And last summer I shot 40 photographs for the upcoming The European Parliamentary Elections campaign.
“But it all started as personal work and I am often asked ‘what kind of photography’ I do. It is a tricky one to answer as my photography is mainly about spontaneous, unplanned, found (although actually I think they are ‘given’) moments that just ‘happen’ and are beautiful or poignant or funny. And I hope that as a collection it can be seen that it is the power of the idea that runs through my work.
“My photographs were reviewed in a magazine in China recently and I managed to get the Mandarin text translated. The reviewer said: “Sometimes it needs you to just enjoy (his work), sometimes it requires your eyes to listen to the jokes it’s telling you.”
“I now call the way I work ‘Listening With My Eyes’.
“In August 2018 I was honoured to be the winner of the Leica / Street Photography International Award for 2018.”
Take a look at some more of Alan’s photographs here, we hope to feature some in the 2019 OC Magazine. www.alanburles.com
