“I draw on everything I know and feel”: Interview with Photographer Chris Boulton

Photo: Chris Boulton

 
A skier against the majestic silhouette of the mountain covered in snow. A photograph that is so simple and yet so grand, and so grand in its simplicity. It’s one of those rare visual stories that is a whole story in itself. It’s timeless – you can not place it in any particular moment in time. It’s about a feeling, too. The photographer captured something beautiful there, instantly making one feel the human’s fragility against the power and beauty of nature as well as the conquerer spirit that man posses. But, ultimately, there’s something else. I love it because I love the mountain and this image speaks to me in so many ways and in so many memories and in so many imagined stories that go beyond the image itself. Because photography, for both the photographer and the viewer, is, or should be, a very personal experience.

A good photograph evokes an emotion, good or bad, photographer Chris Boulton believes. That, I believe, is one of the most sincere definitions of the term. Photography is about seeing, understanding and feeling, all at the same time. Whether it’s a happy, or a sad story, whether it’s landscape or portrait. It’s about capturing something that’s real, but also about freeing oneself and being honest about what one feels or imagines, and thus fueling the daydreams of others. Life is not just the reality around, life is imagined, too. And I have found that it’s not just Chris Boulton’s photography that can speak to you in many different ways, but his life story, too.

In our interview, Chris reveals how visual storytelling draws on the mental catalogue of the photographer as well as on all his feelings and emotions, which are the moments when he feels it’s best to put his camera down, and why one just has to keep pursuing one’s true passion, even if it takes decades to finally embrace it.
 

Photo: Chris Boulton

 
What does it take to go there, to want to tell a story through your photographs?

Simple answer – it takes everything. I feel excitement, pressure and a sense of responsibility. The pressure bit is only the pressure I put on myself, I still haven’t managed to quite master that bit yet. When photographing a person and their story, I draw on everything that I know and feel. When you immerse yourself in a person’s story and their environment and get to know their personality, you become inspired and that’s when ideas happen! All those influences – books, films, paintings & people that you have seen or met in the past are all stored up inside you somewhere – waiting for you to tap into…

I always try to research the person I’m going to photograph, but if I am introduced to someone and haven’t had the luxury of being able to research them first then I will wait to be inspired. This might come from their personality, their story, the light, the clothes they are wearing, the environment or a combination of all of these. It’s a gut feeling. What feelings does this person evoke? I then let my imagination run.
 
 

”If I feel that a moment or occasion exhibits a lack of humanity,
then I will put my camera down.”

 
 
Does there always have to be this connection with the one you photograph, this element of surprise? Do they respond differently when they feel they are involved in the creative process?

I believe so, when photographing portraits, I always take time to get to know my subject and even suggest meeting at the pub the night before the shoot in order to become better acquainted. I endeavour to make the shoot feel inclusive, a collaboration if you will. I also try and steer the conversation to something that’s really personal to them, something that will draw pure happiness, anger or sadness, real emotions.

If I am doing a commercial photoshoot, I often get the best results with the element of surprise – by watching the models interact with each other and taking candid shots around this interaction often yields the best results. More recently, I like to place my subjects/models in real-life scenarios and watch the reaction and interaction from the general public around them for example, the photograph below.
 

Photo: Chris Boulton

 
 

”I believe a good image allows the viewer to see something of
themselves in it, a kind of personal resonance.”

 
 
Do you always carry a camera with you?

Yes, I try to carry a camera most of the time although more recently I do try to take time away from the view finder, to experience life without a camera between me and the scene. I think this is really important.

Do you search for a photograph? Is simply being observant and taking in the world around you enough for taking a good photo?

I think as you become a photographer your eye becomes naturally tuned in to the world around you. Rather than saying ‘oh what a beautiful scene that is’, you find yourself saying ‘what a great image that would make’. For commercial purposes, you often have to search for the photo – I once walked around Stonehenge five times looking for the spot that gave me everything that I saw in my ‘mind’s eye’ – a scene that made the most pleasing composition but told the story of the stones in consideration of everything else around them, where the sun was coming up and how the first rays would hit the stones. A good photograph evokes an emotion, good or bad. It transports the viewer to a place or time, I believe a good image allows the viewer to see something of themselves in it, a kind of personal resonance.
 

Photo: Chris Boulton

 
Are there moments when you simply witness a moment without shooting any picture?

I like to think my photography has a sense of humanity about it and that it plays a part in my creative thinking. If I feel that a moment or occasion exhibits a lack of humanity then I will put my camera down. I know we all have to pay the bills, but there are times when you have to ask yourself why you are taking the photo.
 
 

”It wasn’t until nearly 30 years later (aged 46) that,
after a lot of soul searching and drifting in the wilderness,
I actually found my way to becoming a professional photographer.”

 
 
I think it’s very important to constantly have in mind what you can bring to an audience, whether personal or professional. And I believe the personal side should always be part of a photographer’s communication, part of the storytelling. When did you know you wanted to be a photographer?

I grew up in Hong Kong in the Far East as my father worked for the British government out there and we returned to England when I was 11. Hong Kong is a vibrant and colourful place, it’s like everything has been condensed down into a few square miles. The people, the places, the traditions – it was and is a ‘visual’, wonderful place and stirred the soul of a very young budding photographer. My mum was a keen photographer, and she gave me my first camera when I was about 7 whilst living in Hong Kong. I always ‘middled’ in everything with regards to academia and didn’t particularly like school. I was an in-betweener. The only things I did excel at were English, Biology and sport but, in the background, I always had my camera.

Photography would come in and out of my life as a teenager as I discovered other things, friends, girls, jobs. I then had a bad accident when I was 16 and missed a year of school. As such, I had to stay on an extra year when other students were leaving to start jobs or go to university. I became lost, left school and took any job I could find, I wanted to make just enough money to go out at the weekend and play football on a Saturday. I became depressed and found myself just ‘existing’ for quite a while, drifting through life. But even in my darkest days I knew there was always photography. I remember I was working at an engineering factory and absolutely hating it, but in the back of my mind I had this thing where I imagined one day that I would be a photographer, and everything would be alright. I’m the type of person that has to work in something that I’m passionate about doing. In the past I’ve tried pursuing career choices based purely on financial reward but that just didn’t seem to work for me – I would give it my best, but I would eventually get bored and leave. It wasn’t until nearly 30 years later (aged 46) that, after a lot of soul searching and drifting in the wilderness, I actually found my way to becoming a professional photographer – where I was always meant to be!
 

 

Photos: Chris Boulton

 
In this time and age, how does a photographer, especially when it comes to travel photography, does this responsibly?

I’m honestly more conscious of the environment now than ever. I try in my own small way to do what I can, but there are still limits to what I can do. I would love an electric vehicle, for example, but the infrastructure in the UK isn’t completely ready at this moment and the manufacturers aren’t making them in the right quantities whereby they become affordable for everyone. Hopefully, this will change very soon. I try to do small things to offset my carbon footprint. I use apps that make it easy for me to plant trees to facilitate this offsetting. As a photographer and person that runs his own business, I am usually time-poor and so apps are a quick and easy way for me to be able to do this. Ultimately, I don’t want to be that person that left it to everyone else to save the planet.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, preparing to make a photo, where would you want to be?

Anywhere where there’s an extraordinary story taking place. A story with history, heritage, humanity or an unsung hero… if you add into that the ingredients of an amazing landscape, an interesting subject and a hint of ‘cool’, then that’s just about perfect.
 
 

Website: chrisboulton.co.uk | Instagram: @chris.boulton.photo

 

 

Photos: Chris Boulton

 
 

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