David Hutton
Inside the Mind.
Below the Surface.
[or Under the Surface.]
…with the volume at 11
CCP asks David Hutton the questions about his craft
1. What gets you out of bed every day?
I have never struggled to get out of bed, I have always been a morning person and have always got something happening, every day is different. However a coffee for my wife and a whizz around the block with the dog starts most days
2. Who is the photographer that has inspired you the most?
That’s a hard question to answer with just one photographer; Ansel Adams, Nick Knight, Irving Penn, Martyn Thompson, Fay Godwin, Peter Lindbergh, Tim Walker, Peter Beard and Martin Parr.
3. What camera are you currently shooting with?
Fuji GFX 100S MK2, I’ve just made the switch after 30 plus years of shooting on Canon but so far I am very impressed.
4. When you’re on a shoot, do you play music? What other essentials do you have with you?
I prefer to listen to the sound of the environment that I am in.
I ride a motorcycle to most locations and so I travel pretty light, just a bottle of water and a snack is usually all I have along with my photo gear.
5. In the digital world, how important is the print?
A photographic print is the final, tangible evolution of a digital file. While digital images often sit in the cloud or on a hard drive, a print demands presence by becoming a permanent fixture in your environment and a piece of art that can be shared across generations.
6. B/W – Colour – Analogue – Digital. Put these in order of preference and tell us why.
Digital - The first stage in collecting that moment or thing of interest.
Colour - The emotional data that informs how a viewer interprets the story.
B/W - Strips a scene, person or object down to it’s bones ( light and shadow )
Analogue - the migration of a digital file into a physical print.
7. Have you exhibited your work, and how important was the framing process?
I have never exhibited my work but I have sold it and I am very specific with the purchaser about how best to frame it, using quality materials and only work with skilled framers. Frames are a very personal thing but I prefer to see my work in simple plain black box-frames and so that’s what I tend to advise.
8. What defines a great image?
Images that linger with me not only show what that moment looked like, but how it felt..
9. What is your favourite photo you’ve taken? Why?
A photograph of my Mum asleep. She’d been very sick and suffering for years but in that moment she looked peaceful. It was the last time I saw her before she passed away.
10. What’s the best photography advice you’ve been given?
It wasn’t given to me, I read it. A quote by the American Photographer Robert Frank.“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.”
11. When you’re not taking photos, what are you doing?
Spending time with my wife or on a motorbike ride with my mates.
High point in your career?
Too many to list, honestly… I am one of those very lucky people that did exactly what I loved doing every day.
Low point in your career?
I worked for a large media organisation in a senior role and had to make a huge round of redundancies.
Bio
David Hutton
Born Buckinghamshire U.K.
Moved to Australia in 1997
In the U.K. I studied Graphic Design and Advertising at University and that is where I furthered my passion for photography, spending hours in the Uni dark room. I had a Bar job and most of the money I earned was used to buy photographic supplies.
My early career was spent working in the magazine industry, I was lucky it was the height of the industry and I enjoyed working with some of the best creatives in the world. I started out as a Junior Designer and worked my way through, Senior Designer, Deputy Art Director, Art Director to Creative Director. I was lucky enough to work at a senior level on Magazines such as GQ, British Vogue, Marie Claire to name a few.
As a Creative Director I always worked with some of the best Photographers in the world predominantly in the Fashion and Lifestyle genre and I was constantly inspired by the way they would capture a moment. Throughout my Magazine Career and then moving into owning my own Creative agency I’ve continued my Photographic journey as a hobby.
I had a short affair with fashion photography but that involved being around a large group of people and the thing that I love most about photography are the “quietly observed moments” and so I returned to, landscape, seascape, urbanscape and still life photography.
Recently my Son built a website to sell high quality edition prints. He now represents me and has my work on his website taylorartistgallery.com maybe this might be the start of something new, who knows.