Fotoğrafçı Steve Grogan

—Her şey bir yana sizce en iyi fotoğrafçısı şehrinizde kimdir? :)

—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!

—Fotojenik olduğunuzu düşünüyor musunuz?

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

—Fotoğrafçılık endüstrisine nasıl giriş yaptınız?

—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!

—Sizce iyi bir fotoğrafın en önemli bileşenleri nelerdir?

—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.

—Seyahat etmeyi sever misiniz?

—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.

—Mesleğinizle ilgili en sevdiğiniz şey nedir?

—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.

—Mesleğinizin en zor tarafı nedir?

—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.

—Fotoğrafçılığının geleceği konusunda neler düşünüyorsunuz?

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

—Uzmanlaştığınız fotoğrafçılık türünü özel kılan şey nedir?

—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.

—Eleştiriler karşısında yaklaşımınız nasıl oluyor?

—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.

—Fotoğrafçılığı ile ilgili yeni trendler var mı?

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

—Müşteriler fotoğrafçı seçerken ne gibi kriterleri göz önünde bulundurmalıdırlar?

—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.

—Fotoğraf çekimi sırasında kesinlikle izin vermeyeceğiniz şeyler nelerdir?

—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.

—Bir fotoğrafçı diğerlerinin görmediği hangi detayları yakalayabilir?

—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.

—Fotoğrafın değerini belirleyen şey nedir? Ne gibi unsurları vardır?

—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.

—Sizce 21. yüzyılın sembolü kim olabilir?

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Kimi fotoğraflamak istersiniz?

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

—Hangi konularda endişeleriniz var ve neden?

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

—Çizgi film, edebiyat veya sinema karakteri olsaydınız nasıl bir karakter olmak isterdiniz, neden?

—Bananaman.

—Kısaca başarıyı tanımlar mısınız? Başarıyı nasıl ölçersiniz?

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

—Beğenilmeyi mi yoksa saygınlığı mı tercih edersiniz?

—A bit of both.

—Bir seyahate giderken yanınıza alacağınız şey nedir? Niçin?

—I travel light.

—Daha iyi fotoğraflar çekmek adına kendinizi nasıl geliştiriyorsunuz?

—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?

—Bir fotoğrafçısı olarak çalışmalarından en çok etkilendiğiniz kişi kimdir?

—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.

—Neler fotoğraf çekme arzunuzu motive ediyor?

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

—Ailem daha otoriter veya daha özgürlükçü olmalıydı diye hiç düşündünüz mü?

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

—Geçmişe gidebilseydin neyi değiştirmeyi isterdin?

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

—Diğer gezegenlerde de yaşam olduğunu düşünüyor musunuz?

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

—Boş zamanlarınızda neler yaparsınız?

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

—Diğer insanların hiç bilmediği farklı bir yönünüz var mı?

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

—İnsanlarla hemen arkadaş olabilir misiniz?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Nerede yaşamayı isterdiniz?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—Çok sevdiğiniz bir fıkra var mı? Eğer varsa bizimle paylaşır mısınız?

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

—Kedileri veya köpekleri sever misiniz?

—Dogs.

—Kimden veya ne yapmaktan nefret edersiniz?

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

—Yarın yapacağım...

—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.