Фотограф Steve Grogan

—Самый волнующий нас вопрос – кто лучший фотограф в вашем городе? :)

—Oooooh crikey, that is a very good question. There are many that I admire from my home city, but I'll plump for Pete Farrell of Pixies in the Cellar. His eye for composition is just ridiculous!

—Вы фотогеничны?

—No. I absolutely hate having my photograph taken as I have a head like a thumb.

—Как вы попали в индустрию фотографии?

—If you'd have told me 5-6 years ago that I'd be a wedding photographer I'd have laughed at you. I believed that all wedding photography was contrived nonsense and it didn't appeal to me at all. However, once I'd photographed a couple of weddings as a second shooter I realised that wedding photography could be whatever you wanted it to be. So I took the plunge!

—Как вы считаете, какие самые важные составляющие хорошей фотографии?

—For me it's all about the moment and composition. I'm not overly technical and don't stress about a little over/under exposure. The moment is so important to me.

—Любите путешествовать?

—Yes. I love it. Thankfully I've been able to travel rather a lot and being my own boss has enabled me to do more than ever.

—Что в вашей профессии вам нравится больше всего?

—Perhaps a little cliched, but I like the idea of leaving behind images for future generations to enjoy. Plus I get to work alongside some amazing people. I've made friends for life since I started out.

—Что в вашей профессии вам нравится меньше всего?

—Of course, there is always going to be something. The only part I don't enjoy is doing the staged group photos, but that's only a tiny percentage of the wedding so I can live with that.

—Каким вы видите будущее фотографии?

—I honestly have no idea. Who knows what the future holds?

—Что делает жанр фотографии, в котором вы снимаете, особенным?

—Wedding photographers have to deal with a myriad of changing lighting situations throughout the day. This is definitely one of the most challenging aspects, especially when there are restrictions placed on you by churches for example, where you are rarely allowed to add any flash.

—Как вы относитесь к критике?

—I take it on the chin. If it's unsolicited then I'll always question it, but any constructive feedback I get is valued as it'll help me to improve.

—Есть ли в фотографии своя мода?

—A lot of weddings in the UK do follow a similar pattern, so it's quite easy for your images to eventually become repetitive.

—По каким критериям клиенты должны выбирать своего фотографа?

—If I was looking for a wedding photographer then I'd obviously be looking for someone whose images connected with me in some way. Once you've established that you like the images then I would advise any future newlyweds to meet up with the photographer, go for a beer/coffee/cake, have a chat with them, see if you like them as they are going to be around for pretty much all of your day.

—Чего нельзя допускать при съемке?

—For me, not much. I'd photograph anything if it happened at a wedding. Obviously, if someone objected for any reason then I'd stop. But I'd also use my common sense and gut feeling.

—Что обычные люди упускают из виду, в то время как фотограф может увидеть?

—One thing I learned quite early on was to step away from the couple for most of the day. There is so much going on around them that you can miss if you are too focussed on photographing just the couple. My couples seem to appreciate that I can show them images from moments they had no idea happened on their wedding day.

—Что влияет на ценность фотографии? Из чего она складывается?

—Any photo can hold value to anyone. I've probably taken thousands of "average" simple photos that could be so valuable to my couples and their families/friends. For example, someone who has recently passed away. Those photos then become priceless.

—Кого бы вы назвали символом XXI века?

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Кого бы вы хотели поснимать?

—Easy one. I'd love to spend some time photographing and chatting with Sir Alex Ferguson.

—О чем вы беспокоитесь и почему?

—Yes, the constant wars all over the world. Utterly awful.

—Каким персонажем из мультфильма, книги или кино вы были бы и почему?

—Bananaman.

—Как вы определяете успех? Можно ли его измерить?

—Happiness is the only measure of success. People who equate money to success are totally missing the point, in my opinion.

—Что для вас важнее: любовь окружающих или уважение?

—A bit of both.

—Что вы берете с собой в путешествие и почему?

—I travel light.

—Расскажите о своем самообучении: что вы делаете, чтобы снимать лучше?

—Practice, practice and practice. Take photos, thousands of them. And if you don't like them or they don't look right, figure out why that is, and then work on it. That's pretty much how I managed to become an established full-time professional. I lived and breathed photography until I was confident I'd reached a certain level of competency to be able to charge money for my work. Oh, and practice more. Did I mention practice?

—Чья работа больше всего повлияла на ваше становление как фотографа?

—There are a few whose work I admire and these were inspiring for me when I was first dipping my toes into the world of wedding photography. Andrew Billington, Alan Law, Steven Rooney, Adam Johnson, Two Mann Studios & Pete Farrell are all wedding photographers that I admire. There are more, but these are the ones off the top of my head.

—Что побуждает вас продолжать заниматься фотографией?

—The genuine love for what I do. Being surrounded by happy people is infectious and good for my soul. I rarely do negativity.

—Следовало ли вашим родителям быть более (менее) строгими?

—Possible more strict, especially at meal times as I have a lot of mental blocks to certain types of food.

—Если бы можно было вернуться в прошлое, что бы вы сделали иначе?

—I'd probably have traveled more in my late teens/early twenties.

—Есть ли жизнь на других планетах?

—Based on the laws of probability, I'd say yes.

—Чем вы занимаетесь в свободное время?

—With my family and friends plus lots of napping with my dogs, reading, traveling and being idle.

—Какая часть вашей личности скрыта от окружающих?

—My insecurities tend to be kept under lock and key. But I worry myself to sleep most nights.

—Легко ли вы заводите друзей?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Где вы хотели бы жить?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—У вас есть любимая шутка? Поделитесь с нами!

—Why was the sand wet? Because the sea weed.

—Вы любите собак? А кошек?

—Dogs.

—Что или кого вы очень не любите?

—Hate is a strong word. Wow. That's a hard one. Perhaps Donald Trump or Theresa May could fall into that category.

—Завтра я пойду и сделаю…

—I'm going out with some fellow photographers for drinks in Manchester. Our weekends tend to be during the week given what we do for a living.