Colin Summers, UK Photojournalist
May 15, 2008 – 12:30 amThough we may be at different points along the journey, photographers do share a common path. The magic of photography has hooked us all. Over the next few weeks I’d like to introduce you to three photographers, all at very different points along their personal journey.
Colin Summers, photojournalist
As photographers we all speak about having passion for our work. Nowhere is that passion more graphically evident than in the work of UK photographer Colin Summers. A self-taught photographer still shooting film in the digital age, Summers documents global injustice and tragedy with a powerful yet sensitive photographic voice.
In Colin’s own words:
Initially photography was purely a way of documenting my travels. From my early twenties I started spending extended periods of time in the Far East and India. To be honest I just wanted to experience something different. I got a one way ticket to Bangkok in 1993, the only reason I chose the far east was because it was cheap and far away!
Naively I had managed to get into Cambodia during the UN controlled elections in 1993. The borders were closed and I took a fishing boat during the night from Thailand around the border and along the Cambodian coast. The country was emerging from decades of war and I was privileged to be a witness to a small part of this change. This transformed the way I looked at photography and travel. It motivated me and gave me a sense of direction.
I returned home more than a year later and worked in construction to finance my next trip in India. These first few years travelling gave me a great foundation for what I do now. Photography for me is about studying situations and getting close to capture the emotion without the people around me being concerned of my presence.
Around that time I started looking at the work of Don McCullin, Philip Jones Griffiths, Sebastiao Salgado, James Nachtwey. With these powerful images in my mind I continued to travel, taking my photography more and more seriously. Originally shooting with colour negative and later switching to monochrome, finding this a more powerful means of expression.
In 1999, Colin attended night school (due to time restrictions) to study art and photography, mainly to gain the knowledge to do his own darkroom work. His desire for documentation continued to grow.
From 1999 I focused on specific projects which included the opium problem in northern Laos, landmines and their affects on the Cambodian people, child trafficking and narcotics in Cambodia and the Asian tsunami from the worst effected area Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
The images shown here were taken in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Banda Aceh. On hearing the news I made the decision to travel to Sumatra (Indonesia), where I managed to join an aid convoy heading to the island’s northern tip, Banda Aceh, situated 160km from the epicentre. The earthquake generated a tsunami with waves rising to heights in excess of 20 metres.
On arrival, I was confronted by unimaginable scenes of destruction. One example was the small town of Leupueng, originally with a population of 10,000 but after the disaster reduced to less than 700. The town was completely obliterated. Just before 8 a.m. on the 26th it was a bustling community preparing for the day, but by 8:30 the town had been erased.
When the photographs were taken, it was eerily quiet, the only human reference being the pungent smell hanging in the hot, humid air. Over 800km of coastline had been destroyed, 200,000 lives lost and 1/2 million people left homeless in Aceh alone.
During the time I spent in Aceh I witnessed a strength and dignity born of a faith and culture wholly unlike my own. I found the experience challenging and humbling.
While still finding great pleasure from working in the darkroom, digital technologies are beginning to play a role in Colin’s work.
More recently I’ve started to combine film with digital capture. Initially I never really took digital seriously, it came second when reaching for a camera. When Nikon announced the D3, I started to take it more seriously, no more 1.5 crop, I could use my 17-35 and it would be a 17-35, unlike my old D200. The gear I carry is light and simple, F100 body, 17-35, 24-85 and 50mm prime lens. I very rarely ever shoot anything over 85mm but I have a 70-200 (it’s gathering dust).
I print all my own images. The work in the darkroom is as important to me as taking the photograph. I must admit that creating the darkroom time is becoming harder and with digital prints at such a high standard now, I feel a digital printer looming. Maybe I’m old fashioned but I still appreciate the feel of a print: darkroom or digital.
Funded entirely by self-motivation, Colin has only recently seen recognition for his efforts.
Really my photographs have only started to get recognition in the last couple of years. I spent from 2000 to 2006 just photographing and photographing and photographing to build up a large portfolio of different projects. During this time I was mainly self supported, renting out my house for a bit of income.
More recently I’ve had to concentrate on the marketing side of things, I approach magazines and galleries personally. The end of last year I was invited to become a member of Arena. Within the group there are many influential photographers. This year alone I’m exhibiting at three separate venues with other Arena members.
Clearly evident in his images and manner of speaking, personal recognition has never been the goal of this self-taught traveller from the UK.
I’m really fascinated by people’s lives and have a huge amount of respect for how people cope in different and sometimes terrible situations. I try, and I hope this is evident in my images, to convey the truth in a compassionate and inoffensive way.
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You are encouraged to view more of Colin Summers’ work at colinsummers.com and arenaphotographers.com . Thanks to Film Wasters for first introducing prophotolife to his photography.
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