Interview

Julie Long talks with Tony Mayne

Julie Long: How did you get into photography?

Tony Mayne: When I was about 6 my father used to take photographs of the family. I asked him how the trick was done - how he made these pictures. He didn’t know, but knew the man in the village whose business it was. I was presented with a contact printing frame and some printing paper. The (contact) print was done outdoors with strong sunlight. When the image looked dark enough, the printing-out paper was removed from the sunlight and ‘fixed’. This was magic in our back yard.

After leaving school, the Youth Employment Officer said that there was a vacancy for a trainee photographer at the local weekly newspaper. I got the job at two pounds ten shillings a week. I photographed weddings on Saturdays, and local councillors and members of the public during the week.

Eager for more knowledge, I left the paper after a couple of years and went full-time to Leicester College of Art, studying Photography. I worked with conventional techniques and experimented in technical areas like screen-printing and (8mm) cinematography. When I left college, I got a job with the BBC as a trainee assistant film cameraman. Films became my job and photography remained as a hobby – a godsend in my early years when it when it was solely important to be technically competent. It is only as you progress up the film ladder that your creative talents are recognised.

JL: Why do you photograph?

TM: I see something that interests me and want to ‘isolate’ the object, or the dispositions of objects, at a particular moment. Often the results are disappointing, but the successes (snatching something that few would have seen, and fewer would have captured) is rewarding. That’s what keeps me going, even if nobody ever sees it.

JL: Why are you a member of the Ealing group?

TM: I was already a member of one satellite group, but this group was so close to home that I felt that I must be involved. I love the energy and enthusiasm generated by the membership.

JL: How would you describe your style of photography and the subjects you like to take?

TM: Documentary – usually with full supporting cast. I’m interested in people and most 0f my photographs reflect this.

JL: Who are your photographic heroes?

TM: I used to have a lot, but they have tarnished with age. Eugene Smith, Richard Avedon, Cartier-Bresson, Irving Penn, et al. (Yes – they all are all associated with monochrome!)

JL: What makes a good photograph for you?

TM: Formal qualities, surprise element(s), the image stays with me for some time. One that I wish I had taken.

JL: What is it that drives you to carry on taking photos?

TM: Like the dog that forces its master to go out for walks, my camera keeps insisting that I go out and take photos – and it helps keep me fit.

JL: Do you have any tips you'd like to pass on?

TM: Take photographs that you want to take. Don't just pick on a subject or style that you think will be approved of by the rest of the group. When you show your work to the group, take in what they say about it. You may reject their advice, but do consider it. The best advice I've had about my work has often upset me at the time, but somebody needed to say it to me.