Kieran Hunt

"My dad was always taking family photos when we were out and about", says Kieran Hunt, "and looking back through old family photos, different generations of my family have always had a camera or been interested in photography, so that’s where my interest stems from. Both my mum and dad have been very supportive and encouraging in what I want to do in my life."

"I was given a 35mm compact camera when I was about 10, which enabled me to take photos of things which interested me - different occasions and events and whatever attracted my attention. I was given a Pentax ME Super SLR by my dad when I went to secondary school, which I absolutely loved. That really encouraged me to go out and start exploring and taking photos.

"I studied art and design at school, which led to my taking photography A level, along with graphics and art and design. The school had a black and white darkroom, where I processed and printed my own work; that was a key part of my development. One summer holiday, I asked the school if I could borrow one of the enlargers. I got my dad to build a wooden frame for my bedroom window, and I decked out my bedroom as a mini darkroom.

"When I started out, particularly when I started shooting black and white, I was influenced by traditional landscape photographers like Ansel Adams, but as I went on, I became interested in the work of American Abstract Expressionist painters like Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning. I don’t think I can put my finger directly on the reason why, but I get enjoyment from it, and I’ve done a project based on looking at Rothko’s work, and translating his visual language into my own. I know that he was trying to reflect basic human emotion, and that was something which I felt perhaps I could explore.

"The course at Gloucester University was in editorial and advertising photography, which was the way my work seemed to be developing when I started. As the course progressed, I became a bit worried that I might be doing the wrong thing, thinking that I might need to be on a more fine art-based course, but this particular course enabled both myself and other students to explore and develop their work in whichever direction it was going, with graduates doing work in a range of genres, from fashion, to still life, portraiture, documentary, and art based work, which was really good. It enabled each student to develop their own independent style.

"The course leader, John Ingledew, has been a great encouragement to me and everyone else. He is a firm believer in creating photographers who have their own visual style and voice. There are set conventions in the industry that say if you’re a fashion photographer you shoot in a certain way, but if you look at the people who are at the top of their game, like David LaChapelle and Nick Knight, their work is striking and unique: and that’s what makes them one step higher than everyone else.



"Throughout my studies, I had the opportunity to explore and develop. The three years ended with my group showcasing our work at the 2007 Focus on Imaging show held at the NEC, then at our graduation shows, firstly in
Covent Garden, followed by my taking on the role of curator for our final show held at the University.

"Since finishing the course, I’ve been a nominee for the Nikon Discovery Awards. I did some work experience with Stephen Gill. He showed me how you don’t necessarily need to tailor your work to a set audience. I’ve done some
work assisting photographers who do a lot of studio-based work for national companies, where you’re working with art directors, and you might even have the client there, and they’ve got a set vision of what they want.

"During my degree, I worked with Phase One and Fujifilm, with which I was testing one of its new film ranges, which led to a presentation. Since graduating, I’ve done some work with Gloucestershire Police, which commissioned a series of images for its headquarters building, which is called Waterwells. The series was based on the theme of water.

"It can get quite difficult when you’re developing your work, because there’s no right direction to starting out. It can also be a bit of a lonely process, and it requires a lot of motivation and passion.

“I've got several personal projects on the go: a project on mobile hairdressing I started a couple of years ago, charity shop workers, WI groups ... environments like that, where I’m trying to create a body of work with a set theme. I’m looking at creating a body of work on eyes, using different camera formats and ways of shooting. I’ve got a range of work where I’ve used formats from flat bed scanners to colour photocopiers, high end digital cameras to film. I’m a great believer in encouraging and embracing all kinds of technology and mediums. I use film quite a bit for my documentary work, because I like the richness of the colours, texture and detail.

"I'm at a stage where I want to make an investment in digital equipment. I’ve been waiting for the replacement for the Canon EOS 5D, since I know it's been on the market since 2005. I've been using a Bronica medium format and an Ensign 5x4.

"I work at an independent processing lab, which keeps my foot in the door of the industry, where I’m speaking to people and building up knowledge. I live about 10 miles outside Worcester. Where Worcestershire is located, I’m surrounded by Birmingham, Bath and Bristol, so I have good access to galleries and agencies, and it’s not too long via train to London.

"Moving to London has always been in the back of my mind. Last year, after I finished my degree, I was offered a place doing an MA in communications design at St Martins. The offer came quite late, and I had to weigh up whether that was the right thing for me to do, and also to look into living in London, finding out about people who I knew and what they were doing. What I found is that a lot of people who were in my group have so far found it very hard to get work in London. They have to commute to show their work and chase up potential leads.

“I'm creating mini PDF portfolios, which I’m sending out to agents, picture libraries, and potential clients, and I am keen to continue working on both commissioned and personal projects while developing my own photographic voice.”

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