Photographer Mark Wallis

—Ikaw ba ay photogenic?

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

—Paano ka nagsimula sa industriya ng photography?

—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.

—Ano ang mga mahahalagang bahagi ng isang magandang larawan sa iyong opinyon?

—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.

—Mahilig ka ba maglakbay?

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

—Ano ang pinakagusto mo sa iyong propesyon?

—Working for myself and (kinda) gatecrashing parties.

—Ano ang hindi mo gusto sa iyong propesyon?

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

—Ano ang magiging kinabukasan ng photography?

—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.

—Paano ka tumatanggap ng pagpuna?

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

—Mayroon bang mga trend ang photography?

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

—Ano ang dapat na pamantayan ng isang customer sa pagpili ng photographer?

—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.

—Ano ang mga detalye na kadalasan ay hindi napapansin na napapansin ng photographer?

—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.

—Sinong tao ang sumisimbolo sa ika-21 siglo sa iyong opinyon?

—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.

—Sino ang gusto mong kuhaan?

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

—Mayroon ka bang mga propesyonal na ipinagbabawal?

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

—Sino ang gusto mong makasama sa pagkuha ng larawan?

—Nobody. I like working alone.

—Ano ang ikinababahala mo, at bakit?

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

—Ano ang pinakahanga-hangang pagkakataon sa iyong buhay?

—Completing this interview.

—Kung ikaw ay isang kartun, libro o karakter sa pelikula, sino ang gugustuhin mong maging at bakit?

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

—Sino ang nagbibigay inspirasyon sa iyong buhay at bakit?

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

—Mas pipiliin mo bang magustuhan o nirerespeto?

—Depends who is doing the liking and respecting.

—Ano ang pinakamalaking pagkakamali ang nagawa mo sa trabaho?

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

—Kapag ikaw ay naglalakbay, ano ang dinadala mo at bakit?

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

—Mayroon ka bang kahilingan na hindi mo pa nabibili maliban sa mga gadget na mayroon ka? Bakit?

—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.

—Paano mo tinuturuan ang sarili mo na kumuha ng mas magagandang mga larawan?

—Take more pictures.

—Kaninong mga gawa ang may malaking nagimpluwensiya sa iyo bilang photographer?

—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.

—Ano ang nais mong sabihin sa iyong mga larawan?

—The truth.

—Ano ang nag-uudyok sa iyo na ipagpatuloy ang pagkuha ng mga larawan?

—People keep paying me to come to their weddings.

—Ang iyong magulang ba ay dapat naging mas o hindi gaanong istrikto?

—My mum got it pretty much spot on.

—Kung maaari mong balikan ang nakaraan, ano ang babaguhin mo?

—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.

—Paano naman ang buhay sa ibang mga planeta?

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

—Sino ang iyong mga bayani?

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

—Kanino ka walang respeto?

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

—Ano ang iyong ginagawa sa iyong bakanteng oras?

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

—Anong bahagi mo ang hindi nakikita ng publiko?

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

—Kailan ka ganap na nasisiyahan sa iyong trabaho?

—Dunno, it hasn’t happened yet.

—Naniniwala ka ba sa tradisyunal na mga papel para mga sa lalaki at babae?

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

—Mabilis ka ba makipagkaibigan?

—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.

—Saan mo gustong manirahan?

—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.

—Mayroon bang buhay pagkatapos ng kasal?

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

—Mayroon ka bang paboritong biro? Sabihin mo sa amin.

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

—Mahilig ka ba sa mga aso at pusa?

—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.

—Sino o ano ang iyong kinasusuklaman?

—Overuse of hate.

—Ang pinakamahalagang bagay sa buhay ay:

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

—Ang pinakanakakainis na bagay sa buhay ay:

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

—Ano ang nais mong baguhin sa iyong sarili?

—I’d like to have more self-belief.

—Ano ang nais mong baguhin sa mundo?

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

—Maaari ka bang magbigay ng mga tip para sa mga photographer na nagsisimula pa lamang?

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

—Kung ang mga alien ay pumunta sa Earth at ikaw ang una nilang makikilala, ano ang sasabihin mo sakanila?

—That I want a ride in their spaceship.

—Kung ikaw ay tatawagin upang mag-shoot ng pelikula, ano ang magiging kategorya nito?

—A very dark and gory horror film.

—Bukas ako pupunta at gagawa...

—…something less boring instead.