Photography Resources

In no particular order or reason I will share here notes, quotes, interviews, articles, documentaries and imagery I’ve found at times inspiring, thought provoking, educative and at other times intriguing, provocative and occasionally illuminating.

There’s no logical order to the listing, more serendipity than design, as it is with life, and as life should be!

Books

In a lecture Chris Killip, the legendary British photographer, gave at Harvard University in 2013 he introduced his work on Skinningrove, a village on the North East coast of England, thus "The men of Skinningrove believe that the sea in front of them belongs to them. Other people say of Skinningrove 'O Skinningrove that's where they eat their babies.'“

In this short film made from the lecture, Chris Killip speaks warmly, even if poignantly, of Skinningrove and its inhabitants, their stoicism amidst tragedy, and life by the sea they regarded as their own.

Photographed between 1982 to 1984, the images tell of a time, of a people, of an era long gone, but they come alive in searing honesty in frames Killip crafted to a poetic cadence where the melancholy meets with a hope that makes the viewer wish that Skinningrove would beat the odds and live on unchanged.

At times Killip’s voice catches audibly, more so when remembering Leso and David; they drowned when their boat overturned while fishing. Only Bever survived, washed ashore.

“At the funeral, David’s mother …. young David’s mother, asked me, ‘Did I have any photos of David?”

Watch Chris Killip draw the viewer into his stories as the images meander along.

Interviews & Talks

Elsewhere

Chris Killip’s Photographs Are Hard Evidence of the Human Soul distils the essence of a conversation that Michael Almereyda had with Chris Killip at the latter’s home in Cambridge, “an easy stroll from Harvard University, where the photographer has taught since 1991.”

“Killip was a human first and an observer or lucid chronicler second. Once you crack the covers of these works [In Flagrante, Seacoal] it is hard not to be left with a sense of urgent sympathy for the people and the timeframe in which it was produced.” ~ Brad Feuerhelm in American Suburb X.

Books

Raghu Rai

In Journey Of Thoughts, a free wheeling interview with India’s legendary photographer, Raghu Rai, Nadine Kreisberger converses with him over the better part of an hour where Raghu Rai reflects upon his responsibility as a photographer, saying “... sometimes I find it sinful if I’ve to witness a great event and I’m not carrying a camera because being a photographer if I cannot capture that great moment I’ve got no right to watch it.”

He speaks about his beginnings, the import of his life, his purpose in this world, his approach to photography, and what photography means to him “… for me, through photography, life is a darshan, seeing and experiencing [what you see] in totality, and I’m lucky enough to capture it for myself, so that darshan has an evidence [in the form of a photograph].”

Talking of purity he says “Purity of things is very important … I’ve captured a moment from daily life, it should be such a kind of slice of life that if I’ve to give it back to life again, that life starts moving without any disturbance.”

Watch this delightful, incisive, and at times expansive conversation about his life, his work, and legacy.

Interviews & Talks

Elsewhere

Invisible Photographer Asia interview with Raghu Rai, 2012 - Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

The Guardian’s Andrew Pulver features Raghu Rai’s best shot.

Raghu Rai tells Manoj Nair and Uma Nair of The Economic Times that he “had no love for photography.”

Krishna Prabhakaran of Matrubhumi writes of An Evening with Raghu Rai.

Alaknanda Nag of Visura Manazine in conversation with Raghu Rai.

Raghubir Singh

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Pablo Bartholomew

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