Thomas Duffield - Guest Speaker
Yesterday Thomas Duffield led an online lecture that was extremely interesting and insightful. After listening to him speak, it was clear to me that his projects are very personal to him. Thomas shoots the majority of his work on a Mamiya RB67, a film camera. He explained that he used a 90mm lens which is the equivalent of a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. When he shoots digitally he tries to use a mirrorless camera as when he is on commercial shoots, the mirrorless camera does not create noise from the shutter. This in turn does not then affect the sound department.
During his MA he starts to create a new personal project. Just Couldn’t Get the Shoes to Fit. This project is focused on his grandfather and the shift in roles. Thomas realised as he was getting older so was his grandfather and therefore his grandad was learning to be vulnerable and receive care, rather than to just give it. This project was sparked one day when Thomas’s grandfather brought down some old jackets that he had found. He was excited about them as when he was younger they were his best wear. Thomas set up a plain background and photographed both him and his grandad wearing the jackets. He chose to use a plain background as he wanted the relationship between them to come through in the images and he felt like the plain background helped to emphasize that.
His project titled ‘The Whole House is Shaking’ is a beautiful piece that focuses on the absence of his father. Thomas described his childhood and how it was a pleasant one. His parents set a static caravan up in his grandfather’s field. His grandfather was a farmer. His meant to be temporary living in the caravan turned into a permanent residence for him and his family. When Thomas was 10 or 11 he discovered that his father was struggling with a heroin addiction.
Thomas had a lot of questions as he grew older and embarked on a journey of asking the family questions that he had. He thought back to the time when his father had been struggling and thought about how he never noticed what was going on. This inspired him to create images that suggested blissful ignorance. His mother had always protected him and his sister from the difficult time. He had the idea to photograph his father, they had an estranged relationship. However, as Thomas spent more time with his dad he got closer to him and enjoyed the company that they spent together. He didn't want to ruin this by bringing a camera into the environment and therefore did not shoot his dad but still met with him every week. This project helped him to reconnect with his father and he also described the project as ‘therapeutic to make.
As well as personal projects, Thomas has also created commissioned work for newspapers such as The Financial Times and The Guardian. The style of his photography within his personal projects attracted commissioned work. Other commissioned work that he has created includes Campaign photography for Anthony Nolan and photography for a poet and director named Caleb Femi. His shoot for Caleb Femi was to be featured in New Statesman online magazine and he accepted the work last minute. He described how for the whole of the morning before the shoot he was extremely nervous as it was out of his comfort zone but then went on to say honour your intuition as you always have to try. This piece of information has stuck with me and I will think back to it when I am shooting or exploring work in the future.
Check out more of Tom’s work here: http://thomasduffield.com/
The Whole House is Shaking