Dean Chalkley Profile (part 2)
1 | 2
GW: Do you ever get fazed by some of the celebrities you meet?
DC: No. If you’re a professional, you know you’re there to do a job. If I turned into jelly at the sight of someone I really admired I wouldn’t get anything done. You have to stay controlled and focus on what you need to achieve.
Some photographers have had really bad experiences with celebrities but I’d say that most people I shoot are really cool. You have to remember, the celebrities are people too. I like a shoot to be a team effort, and for them to be just as much involved as I am. It’s not all about them; it’s about the ‘creation’.
GW: Noel Gallagher helped you with your exhibition Now Stand Tall – Icons of the New Sonic Generation. How did he get involved?
DC: It was around the time I was shooting Noel for NME. He’s such a sharp guy, really on the ball. I was taking his picture and was talking to him about the exhibition. I told him I had some ideas for the name but hadn’t decided on one yet.
He told me to give him my mobile number and that he’d send me a text with a name for the show. I didn’t hear anything for a while, and then one day at four in the morning I got a text saying: ‘Alright Dean, it’s Noel. I’m in Oz on tour. I’ve had an idea…’ and that’s how I got the title.
GW: Are exhibitions a big part of what you do?
DC: An important part. They allow me to really capture a moment in time, and let it become something truly unique and memorable in years to come.
I have another exhibition now. It’s at the 100 Club on Oxford Street. It’s a legendary place, where the Sex Pistols and the Rolling Stones have played. They have a permanent display and are updating the images. They asked me to submit four. The likes of Mick Rock and Jill Furmanovsky are included too, which is a great honour.
GW: Which is the most important for you – exhibitions, commissions or competitions?
DC: The importance of each can vary. When I see my picture on the front of a magazine I get one emotion, then, when I see another image displayed on a wall, I get another. I’m equally thrilled about it all.
Photography is the only job where you can incorporate two passions at once. For example, if you love deep sea diving you can photograph it for a living. If you love motor racing you can shoot that. Earning a living is fine. Earning a living doing something you love is amazing.
GW: What was it like winning Portrait Photographer of the Year at the 2007 Picture Editors Awards?
DC: Fantastic! I went along thinking it’d just be a nice evening out; I never expected to win. In fact when we arrived, they’d forgotten to give my girlfriend and I any seats!
It was a great honour, but I couldn’t tell you if it’s directly made a difference to my career. People don’t tell me they hire me because I won it. Although, the shot that won of Noel Gallagher drinking out of a teacup has definitely become iconic of my work.
GW: What equipment do you use?
DC: I usually use a Canon EOS-1Ds MkII. I think it was a revolutionary camera. It was the first camera that made it OK to use digital, as a professional.
I know the 1Ds MkIII is out now, and I am tempted, but I’m holding out. I’ve heard mixed things about it, and I’m also tempted by the Nikon D3, for very specific reasons. If Canon had the ability to cope with low-light levels in the same way the D3 can then I’d have bought it last week. But it’s a huge decision to move to Nikon and have to buy all the damn lenses.
I used to use a Nikon F3, a real solid thing. When I was at college I bought a Mamiya RB6x7, which I used up until I bought a Hasselblad H1 (I’d never use a tripod: I ended up with one massive arm and one weedy one). That’s when I moved over to Canon, although I still use the Hasselblad every now and again.
The trouble is, we’re at the mercy of technology. It used to be acceptable to use a Leica from the ’60s, but now if you have a camera you bought three years ago, people think it’s old. You have to define what it is you need and, also, if the manufacturer will have compassion for you. Canon could have brought out the MkIII a few months after the 1Ds MkII. But they didn’t; they had compassion.
GW: Is there a lot of post production involved in your work?
DC: Yes. Some people really want entire faces changed, and I do think retouching is an amazing thing. But it should be used with discretion. You have to find out whether people want to look like a waxwork model or like a real person but slightly enhanced. You can do all that with colour and contrast if you’re a good photographer. Often you’re not aware of the best retouching, and I’m all for that. I don’t want to remove the integrity from a face.
GW: So, what’s next for you?
DC: I’m doing a short film – a personal project. I want to say different things through different mediums. The show at the 100 Club opens in May. Other than that, wait and see. You never know what’s around the corner…
1 | 2
Further info & pictures: http://www.deanchalkley.com
Words: Georgie WoofPictures: Dean Chalkley
