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Q1 When did you first want to be a photographer?
I studied at the London Film School and during the second year I found myself mostly involved with the lighting and camerawork on many of the films in production (because nobody else wanted to do it!). I shot endless stills as a 'notebook' for set ups and lighting ideas and found myself really liking photography. |
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I started getting commissions from friends and acquaintances who were actors, musicians, etc and then small fashion jobs from designers and models. I was an impatient person and I loved the immediacy of photography and I suppose I got 'hi-jacked' from my film ambitions. Photography also allowed me instant access to my interests like music, dance, some sport and also somehow I always seemed to be photographing beautiful women, nice for a shy boy! I left college and became a photographer immediately with enough clients to get started. I was lucky.
Q2 What is your personal signature style?
Spontaneous, natural and if possible moving
Q3 What do you look out for when you're shooting?
A story and narrative possibility; I am not keen on the isolated caught moment as a work ethic, it has to have a story, if possible. |
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Q7 Is there an artist who inspires you?
In painting Matisse, Pollock and Rothko, but then the film directors, Antonioni, Fellini, Trauffaut and now the Latin Americans, Salles, Innuratu, Cueron. Also the cinematographer Christopher Doyle has to be one of the most exciting image makers in any medium today, his lighting is awesome; '2046' alone has a lifetime of beautiful imagery. |
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Q8 Do you have any favorite camera or equipment to work with?
I have grown to like digital as I prefer to work with 35mm and the quality has become incredible, especially for night photography which I love. It takes a lot of understanding though, but it is commercially sensible to have most originals in colour as it now converts so well to black and white with the new printing techniques and papers. Like many people I prefer to use black and white film, but I am sorry to say nobody wants it, no library, magazine or publisher, etc, except in rare cases, and we do have to make a living.
Q9 What photo or art means to you?
Art, especially literature is what has the potential to make any sense of it all; it is our ultimate means of expressing what it is to be human at any time, and what we look at to imagine life in any era; art and regretably wars, define our history. |
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Q12 Are there any places or countries you wish to visit?
My time in this business has taken me to many places, except Asia. I have always wanted to go to Japan and China, but I am not a tourist, so I am waiting for a commission to allow me to really get into it! |
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Q13 What is your aspirations for your future?
I want to significantly develop my dance work this year for two exhibitions in the planning stage. I always feel as if the dance work has just started; the potential is limitless. Also as I said before, a serious return to film.
Q14 What do you see about Japan?
Japan has the fascination of the unknown for me.; a country on the cutting edge of everything modern but where beautiful traditions still survive. I have read all of Murakami and Araki is one of my favourite photographers, his flower work is the best; and then the great Japanese directors like Kurosawa and some wonderful new ones. I am a great fan of things Japanese, including the food, and I like all those little storage things from Muji!
Q15 Any last words?
Thank you for your interest in featuring my work in your innovative magazine. It is exciting to be part of a purely web concept in these times of huge change in the industry; I wish you all success with it. |
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Richard Dunkley is a London based lifestyle/portrait photographer who is also well known for his personal exhibition work with contemporary dancers. His love of dance work was developed during twelve years in New York, where he worked as a fashion and beauty photographer. His work has appeared in Vogue magazines in five different countries and many CD covers and has been used by major advertising clients including De Beers, Nike, Bloomingdales and British Telecom.
In recent years he has produced his own body of narrative work, often for use as book covers, of which he has now done over one hundred. He has recently had two major exhibitions in London, MOVE, work with athletes and dancers, and currently INSPIRED by FLOWERS, images on flower themes. MOVE is scheduled to appear in galleries in the UK and Portugal in 2008, with added short films he is currently developing. |
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Q4 Can you tell us about the exhibition "Inspired by Flowers".
I was surprised to be asked to do an exhibition of exclusively flower themed work when the owners of Petersham saw some of my personal flower images. I did not have nearly enough pictures for an exhibition, so I took the challenge to create a whole new body of work. It took many months of exploring the genre as it is hard to avoid cliches with flower imagery and my previous exhibition, MOVE, had been on contemporary dancers; how different could that be! Eventually I realised that flowers have almost as much movement as a dancer, although of a different kind, and they are also very sensual.
Q5 Where do you go for inspiration?
Films, films and more films! Books also. I am obsessed with films and plan to be working in that medium in 08. I have some dance films lined up and a personal documentary. Also city life is very inspiring, just walking the streets gives so many ideas. When working with dancers they are a living inspiration. |
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Q6 If you were to take a photo one person, who would that be?
Mostly people who are no longer here and above all my idol Miles Davis. When I lived in New York he declined two requests to do his portrait saying it was not his gig to spice up photographers portfolios! When a commission finally came to photograph him for an Italian magazine, I was away on another job. He died later that year. |
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Q10 Is there a dream project that you'd like to do?
This is a hard one, so many choices! But a week colloborating with Sylvie Guillem would be hard to beat: a portrait of the woman, of the artist, of the dancer and creating a dance piece to shoot with her. This would incorporate most of the things I like to shoot and the fact that she is incredibly beautiful would add to the venture. Despite appearances I am not a 'dance photographer', I work more in general lifestyle portraiture and also do a lot of book covers, but I love to do athletes and I think dancers are the ultimate athletes, physically on a par with olympians, but able to turn their athletecism into art. As a photographer you can bring to dance everything you have learned in fashion, portraiture and still life. Alternatively, a week with Nadal or Federer preparing for my favourite tournament, the French Open, would be great. |
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Q11 Do you have any mentors and if so, who are they?
Always the filmakers, but in photography Weston, Kertesz and Lartigue and in more modern times Avedon, William Klein and Robert Frank. All were pure image makers and did not use post production tricks. I also have huge respect for the great documentary and reportage photographers. In fashion I like Lindbergh and Steven Klein very much. |
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