Fotograf Mark Wallis

—Czy jesteś fotogeniczny/fotogeniczna?

—Not really, mainly because I pull stupid faces when I find myself on the wrong side of the camera.

—Co sprawiło, że zajmujesz się fotografią?

—The old story of the couple with no money, an old uni friend with a decent camera and a firm agreement that there’d be no posed photos.

—Jakie twoim zdaniem są najważniejsze czynniki decydujące o dobrym zdjęciu?

—For me it’s all about the genuine moment, captured without any intervention by the photographer. A moment that would have happened even if the photographer wasn’t there. A moment of action, emotion, great light, etc.

—Kochasz podróże?

—I do, but in comfort. I’m more of a city person than a wilderness person.

—Co najbardziej lubisz w swoim zawodzie?

—Working for myself and (kinda) gatecrashing parties.

—Co najmniej lubisz w swoim zawodzie?

—The assumption by some that I’m at the wedding to take control of everything and to take boring, posed photos of the guests.

—Jaka będzie przyszłość fotografii?

—Not sure I even know what the ‘present’ of wedding photography is. I just do what I do and hope enough people each year want that.

—Jak radzisz sobie z krytyk?

—Depends who it’s coming from and how constructive it is.

—Czy w fotografii panują jakieś trendy?

—Always somebody doing something that everybody else copies until something else comes along. Trends get old quickly (see ‘couple in rain with flashgun’, etc.)

—Jakie kryteria powinien przyjąć klient przy wyborze fotografa?

—Approach is key for me. They either want to just get on and enjoy their wedding and have a record of it, or they want to spend the day modelling for pieces of art or fashion photography (or somewhere in between). A connection with the photographer’s portfolio, and a desire to see themselves in those images, is a good guide.

—Jakie zwykle niezauważane szczegóły może uchwycić fotograf?

—I don’t think there is anything specific. A good wedding photographer will have an eye for a moment or an interesting composition or great light that most won’t have, but the key thing is that when you’re employed to shoot a wedding you approach it from a different angle to a friend or family member who is there to enjoy the wedding. I am paid to be observant. Plus, I see what the common people are doing. I’m there to photograph everybody, not just the couple.

—Jaka osoba może być twoim zdaniem uznana za symbol XXI wieku?

—For me, whoever does the most to increase education and encourage the use of reason and logic in decision-making from the top to the bottom of social and political hierarchy.

—Co chcesz fotografować?

—Anybody that trusts me completely and who will ignore me.

—Czy masz zawodowe tabu?

—I won’t work for people or companies that I perceive to be helping to make the world a worse place.

—Z kim marzy ci się fotografować?

—Nobody. I like working alone.

—Co cię martwi i dlaczego?

—Time and money and my misguided perception that I have a shortage of both.

—Jaka była najwspanialsza chwila w twoim życiu?

—Completing this interview.

—Gdybyś był/była postaci z kreskówki, książki lub filmu, kto by to był?

—Butthead from Beavis & Butthead, because he.. he… he. You said would. He.. he…

—Kto inspiruje cię w życiu i dlaczego?

—I’m not good at absorbing or recognising inspiration.

—Wolisz, aby cię lubiano czy szanowano?

—Depends who is doing the liking and respecting.

—Jaki był twój największy bąłd zawodowy?

—Running up the stairs of Marylebone Town Hall with a zoom lens precariously perched in a jacket pocket didn’t end well.

—Co zabierasz ze sob w podróż i dlaczego?

—Clothes, money, phone, a camera of some sort.

—Czy masz jakiś gadżet, zakupu którego żałujesz? Dlaczego?

—A Panasonic GF1 that I barely used and that my wife dropped and damaged after I’d had it for a couple of weeks. I don’t get on with cameras without viewfinders.

—Jak uczysz się robić lepsze zdjęcia?

—Take more pictures.

—Czyje prace miały na ciebie największy wpływ jako na fotografa?

—Nobody specific, but seeing in 2004/2005 that a documentary approach was a viable option for wedding photography was the push I needed to start doing it myself.

—Co chcesz przekazać poprzez swoje fotografie?

—The truth.

—Co motywuje cię do dalszej pracy w fotografii?

—People keep paying me to come to their weddings.

—Uważasz, że twoi rodzice powinni byli być bardziej czy mniej surowi?

—My mum got it pretty much spot on.

—Mając możliwość cofnąć się w czasie, co być zrobił/zrobiła inaczej?

—I would make better use of my enquiring mind and study science or engineering, so that I could be of more use to the world and future generations.

—Co myślisz o życiu na innych planetach?

—Presumably, but we’ll wipe out life on our own planet before we make contact with life on others.

—Kto jest twoim bohaterem/bohaterką?

—I don’t really have any. They’d only ruin it at some point.

—Do kogo nie żywisz szacunku?

—Those who promote fear, intolerance and lies to feed their own greed.

—Co robisz w czasie wolnym?

—I do DIY, or I play my ukulele, or I go to (mostly metal) gigs or I do a crossword.

—Jakiego aspektu twojej osobowości nie ujawniasz publicznie?

—Most of my sides. I’m a fairly private person.

—Kiedy twoja praca w pełni cię zadowala?

—Dunno, it hasn’t happened yet.

—Czy wierzysz w tradycyjne role mężczyzny i kobiety?

—Like most traditions, best left in the past. Live and let live.

—Czy łatwo się zaprzyjaźniasz?

—I really don’t. I’m friendly and approachable and I get on with most people, but I’ve been burnt too many times so I keep most people at a few arms’ length.

—W jakim miejscu dobrze by ci się mieszkało?

—In a huge warehouse apartment in NYC, or in a cosy old manor house surrounded by a few acres, or on top of a hill in Scotland.

—Czy istnieje życie po małżeństwie?

—It’s just a certificate and a great party. As you were.

—Masz ulubiony żart? Opowiedz go.

—“Some people like cats and some people don't. Apparently the Pope's a cataholic.” Milton Jones

—Wolisz psy czy koty?

—I prefer cats to dogs, but I don’t like the damage they do to your house, so am currently resisting my family’s desire to own one.

—Kogo lub co nienawidzisz?

—Overuse of hate.

—W życiu najlepsze jest:

—Freedom. And Five Guy’s Bacon Cheeseburger, All The Way.

—W życiu najbardziej irytuje mnie:

—Procrastination. And people constantly changing speed on the motorway when I’m using cruise control.

—Co chcesz zmienić w sobie?

—I’d like to have more self-belief.

—Co chcesz zmienić w świecie?

—I’d like to ensure everyone gets a quality education and eradicate dependence on myth, legend and violence.

—Czy możesz udzielić kilka wskazówek początkującym fotografom?

—Take your own (decent) food, and wear comfortable shoes.

—Jeżeli na Ziemię przybędą kosmici, a ty będziesz pierwszą osobą, która ich spotka, co im powiesz?

—That I want a ride in their spaceship.

—Jeśli poproszono by cię o nakręcenie filmu, jaki byłby to gatunek?

—A very dark and gory horror film.

—Jutro pójdę i...

—…something less boring instead.