In addition to being a photographer, I have a portfolio of other interests including being a social campaigner (abolition of modern slavery, climate change), psychologist and other things. I have worked globally & travelled extensively & my work has led to me becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. All these dimensions of my life, and more, inform my photographic work. My images have featured in galleries on both sides of the Atlantic & are held in private collections. I’ve also been shortlisted for the British Photography Awards.
Photography for me is both the transient and the permanent, the hope and the despair, the wonderful and the putrid but never the mundane or beige. Not something that spoon feeds but instead engages, challenges, penetrates. Acting as a conduit for the viewer to take their own visual, philosophical & narrative journey. Occasionally occupying the hinterland beyond conventional definitions but always appealing at a visceral level. Images that are ethereal and elusive and yet seek you out to embrace and enrich you and very often tease you. Tantalisingly so. Photography for me is a dynamic art form & I constantly strive to challenge accepted ideas by using innovative techniques to tease out exciting visual and narrative dimensions.
Street Photography
A rich source of chance encounters and random incidents, Street Photography is nourishing source of rich imagery.
Acting as a lone hunter seeking poignant and decisive moments, constantly scouring the landscape, it is an inspiring art form.
Story Telling
Images tell stories. Some are obvious, others, less so.
The latter tend to be the most interesting as they encourage the viewer to immerse themselves in the visual elements and take the kernel of the narrative on a journey their own.
The viewer becomes the story teller, the image merely being one component in what eventually becomes the defining story.
That is the role of these images.
Visual
My aim is to create work that has meaning, along a number of dimensions. Any visual beauty is secondary to the underlying narrative. It is a by-product of the narrative intention.
However, I do occasionally take images that I consider have sufficient visual merit to stand alone.
These are they.
Built Environment
The environment in which we live plays a major influence in our well being.
Irrespective of our lifestyle, our work environment, where our family dynamics play out, where we enjoy our leisure pursuits, etc. the context in which we live out our lives will involve a landscape of man made structures. A built environment.
But unlike many other aspects of our universe, the Built Environment is largely something we have little, or no, influence over. It is imposed on us, we are expected to operate within it.
These images are an invitation to enable the viewer to imagine how such landscape might influence their lives.
Contemplation
Some images have contemplative qualities. Either overtly portrayed by the subject or less obvious when a composition encourages the viewer to take a journey into their own thoughts, emotions and sense of being.
These images portray more tranquil qualities
FeatureD
I have been fortunate to have these images featured in galleries, exhibitions, collections, or shortlisted in various photographic competitions.
Philosophy
My primary drive is to create work that acts as an observation of the human condition and a reflection of the state of society.
This can be either at a macro or micro level.
These images are created with the intention of reflecting what is happening in the world as well as paying homage to certain philosophical constructs.
HARVEYJONES 