Photo stories
Documentary photographer Peter Dench talks about the pleasures and perils of his latest project, shot in Russia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Photographer Peter Dench talks about the project he shot in Russia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup
It was, Peter Dench says, the monumental scale of the project that appealed to him: photographing fans at the world’s greatest football tournament, combined with a journey through seven time zones in the world’s largest country. So, in June this year, he set off for Russia to document fans at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and to record his journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. ‘My pitch for the project was that it was the most epic of away days,’ he says.
Peter is a prolific documentary photographer and the project has aspects in common with his other work. Like ‘A1: Britain on the Verge’, it uses a journey as a vehicle for presenting a snapshot of a nation at a particular time. And as with ‘Alcohol & England’ and ‘ The English Summer Season’, he often homed in on the most colourful characters he saw.
Before the World Cup, there were dire warnings for visitors, including threats to foreign football fans as well as gay people. But Peter found the Russian football fans were on their best behaviour. ‘ They were approachable and genuinely thrilled the tournament was in their country,’ he says. ‘Also, the Russian team did unexpectedly well, which galvanised the nation. That made my job very easy.’
Peter used fill-in flash with a diffuser to give the images of fans a bright, clean, coloursaturated look. However, shooting on the Trans-Siberian Railway called for a different technique. ‘I made the decision to abandon flash early on during the train journey because you’re effectively photographing in people’s living-spaces. Using a more subtle approach and natural light seemed more appropriate.’
The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest rail track, stretching from Moscow to the far east of Russia. It’s a journey through remote parts of the country and has an innate appeal for many foreign travellers, but Peter found it a difficult place to photograph people.
‘ The Russians didn’t seem to care who I was or what I was trying to achieve,’ he says. ‘Even when I don’t know the language of the person I’m photographing, I can usually get away with a cheeky grin and pointing at my camera to a certain extent. But on the train there was a lot of Nyet- ing going on. No one could understand why I was there, even as a photographer. I told them it was a famous journey that everyone wanted to do. They just said, “Why?” They couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t have travelled by plane. Everyone I met was doing the journey out of necessity.’
Carriages were cramped, Peter’s bunk was used as a communal space for others to occupy when he wasn’t there, and there were toilets but limited washing facilities. ‘After a few days, I kind of resented people who came on smelling clean,’ he says. ‘I felt a certain triumph being the smelliest person on the train.’
The friendliest person Peter met on the journey was his bunk-mate, Toni, an FC Rostov fan and a member of the Russian Army’s bomb disposal unit. He helped Peter get pictures he wouldn’t otherwise have got, by explaining to other passengers who he was and why he wanted to photograph them. Nevertheless, as the journey progressed, it became increasingly uncomfortable. ‘It was threatening at best and at times terrifying. People were bored and tired, they were sharing a small space and they were drinking alcohol. Mixing that with cultural differences and misunderstandings doesn’t go well. Definitely three out of the seven nights I was on the train were menacing.’
Overall, Peter says his journey on the railway was an interesting experience, but one he’s not in a rush to repeat. ‘I wouldn’t want to put anyone off doing the journey, but I would think very hard about doing it again,’ he says. ‘It’s just such a challenging place to make pictures.
‘ The way I like to work is to put myself in a situation, make sense of it, see what I come out with and make a comment through the edit. Hopefully what I come up with is engaging and informative and adds to the visual narrative of what’s already out there.’