Charlie Waite Q&A
HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHETHER YOU WILL WORK IN COLOUR OR BLACK AND WHITE?
That’s the question I really wanted to be asked. What would we have done before digital? We would have taken our camera and loaded it with a roll of black and white film. We then would have thought very deeply about how the tones that we’re looking at in front of us would have resulted if they were given a black and white treatment.
My feeling is that you should look at an image... let’s say deep black shadows in an architectural image or bright, burntout highlights – conditions that can be tolerated in black and white. Monochrome distils the image to essential qualities. I think really the key is to say, “Right, I’m going to do this in black and white. I envisage it as a black and white image, and I’m not going to go back and wish that it could have been colour from the outset.” Black and white hat on or colour hat on, that’s how I see it.
MANY PEOPLE WILL BE INSPIRED BY THIS EXHIBITION TO GO AND LOOK AT THEIR PREVIOUS WORK AND TRY AND BRING SOME OF IT TO LIGHT. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO IS FIRST STARTING OUT ON THIS JOURNEY?
I think I would produce a portfolio of your absolute best images that have your own signature on it. Be memorable for a particular thing you did. I remember somebody saying to me, “If landscapes are what you do, do landscapes 100 per cent, and when you can afford to, justify a bit.”
And I think we really must print. Because when you’re asking photographers to print and then put them on the wall, the images become a tangible thing. At the moment we’re seeing our images imprisoned in external hard drives. The relationship between the audience and your image is far more profound than it is on a monitor. I would stand by that statement until the end of my days. I’ve seen people stand in front of a photograph – not mine necessarily – and you can see them drinking it in, connecting with it.
WOULD YOU SAY THE IMAGES IN HIDDEN WORKS ARE A CONTINUATION OF PREVIOUS PROJECTS? HOW HAS YOUR WORK EVOLVED AND CULMINATED IN THIS SET?
I think I’ve developed a way of treasuring the landscape and seeing it as more sacred than perhaps I used to. I might’ve been a bit more of a vulture, just finding a thing and rocking up. A photograph is a production that contains so many different elements, all of which have to come together. Now, there’s no more trial and error.
IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE THE STYLE AND THEME OF HIDDEN WORKS IN JUST ONE SENTENCE, WHAT WOULD THIS BE?
I was going to say a sort of potpourri of images. I think a better way of describing it is that I had quite a lot of choice, I
suppose. I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to reveal other images that I had great confidence in, but there was also some apprehension, which I think is always terribly important. I often say that a little bit of insecurity should always be attached to any creative endeavour. I am tentative when it comes to showing these prints because you’re putting yourself on the line.
And I know a lot of people care deeply with social networking that they get sufficient likes. That’s an interesting state of affairs that I’m happy to say
I’m not involved in. However, I would be lying if I were to say that it didn’t matter how people respond to my images. My traditional landscape photography is still as strong as it ever was, I’m just stepping out a little bit.
CHARLIE’S EXHIBITION Hidden Works IS AT BOSHAM GALLERY NOW UNTIL 10 JUNE 2020.