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Bespoke Graduate Paul Storer – Mining Exhibition

Paul Storer of Paul Storer Photography in Nottingham and graduate of the Annabel Williams CPT Bespoke Programme talks to Catherine about his recent Mining Exhibition at The Nottingham Photographic.

Catherine, “What was the inspiring behind the collection of images called Sleeping Giants?
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Paul, “This project started as a birthday present for my father.  As a young man he was a miner at Pleasley pit north of Mansfield.  His birthday is in December and so I went to the pit, now a nature reserve, at dawn on a very cold but clear December morning.  What struck me first was the silence then how small it was.  I took the shots, printed and framed them and delivered them to him the following day.  His reaction to the framed images really surprised me.  He isn’t a man for showing emotion but he was shaken.  The original piece still hangs in pride of place above the fireplace.  The effect of the shoot on my father made me wonder, what about the other mines?  Are they still there?  Are they all as small?

I discovered that many of the mines around North Nottinghamshire had disappeared with the occasional marker where they stood.  I found some in the process of being demolished and managed to get close enough to shoot them.  Clipstone pit was only a stones throw away from where I went to school and was always a hive of activity, men going to and fro, trains leaving laden with coal.  Now it is silent, the only sound was the click of my shutter and the occasional back of my dog Milo (my constant companion).  Annesley had one headstock still remaining which stood amid red sand, almost a Martian landscape.

Why did I put them together as an exhibition?  There is only one mine left in North Nottinghamshire after Welbeck closed in May.  We need to mark their passing, mourn their loss!  There are children growing up who have never seen a working mine; who don’t realise where they came from, what their fathers and grandfathers did for a living.  These mines were giants, served by hordes of men.  Most of the size is below ground, out of sight hence the name Giants.  And Sleeping?  Well now they are in silence, some could be re-opened.  The loss of these mines really hit home when I was invited by UK Coal to visit Welbeck for the last shift.  Here, for the first time, I could see the men first hand rather than just the shell.  The men had a great sense of humour and were constantly joking with each other, almost a gallows humour.  I listened to one miner being interviewed who was going from walking to work for 23 years at the mine to travelling 70 miles each way to a new job the following day.”

Catherine, “What draws you to create such beautiful black and white images?”

Paul, “Firstly, thank you for the compliment.  Black and white photography isn’t as easy as it looks and for me it’s a constant learning process.  What draws me to this genre is its truthfulness.  You can’t hide behind colour.  Take for instance a red carnation.  Have you really studied it?  Really looked at the how it’s constructed?  Take away the “confusion of colour” and you see what is underneath, the underlying structure, the texture, the complicated patterns of the petals shown beautifully in shades of black and white.

My all time favourite photographer, Yousuf Kharsh, used this to great effect with his portrait work.  His portrait of Audrey Hepburn is for me the pinnacle of a great portrait.  Simply lit, shot in black and white – no jewellery, no coloured make up just natural beauty.”

Catherine, “You are about to open a photographic gallery, what would you like the gallery to do for photography and photographers?
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Paul, “There is a view that photography isn’t art.  Most galleries exhibit paintings and the odd photograph.  We want to take the opposite path by showing photographic art.  We want to give photographers the opportunity to see other photographer’s work, an opportunity to display their work in a public forum or just somewhere to hang out with other photographers and maybe learn something new – everyday you learn something new is a good day!  We also want to be involved with the local universities maybe through sponsorship or prizes.  In fact, for the opening show we will be exhibiting the work of two recent graduates from Nottingham Trent and Derby University.  For non-photographers, the only time they come into contact with photographers is when they have portrait shoots or their wedding and I want to expose them to the talented photographers that are out there.  For example, I would love them to see the work of Brett Harkness and Tamara Peel.  I want to convince the world that photographs have as much artistic value as an oil painting.”

Paul Storer’s Viewpoint on Fine Art and Commercial Photography“After spending thirty years constrained by the restriction, rigour and repetition of Corporate Information Technology I finally feel free to explore and express myself creatively. Black and white has been, and always will be, my first love.  It started, as any first love should, in my teen years when a group of school friends taught themselves to take and develop photographs in the school dark room.  We weren’t taught by a master photographer but by the freedom to make mistakes and the pretentiousness of youth.”

Paul Storer’s Viewpoint on Lifestyle Portrait and Wedding Photography

“I work exclusively digitally but the love of seeing and feeling the image appear as if by magic is still with me, the developing tray now been replaced by a printer.  The wealth of different papers available to the modern photographer allows me to search out the perfect surface, the perfect weight, the perfect feel of paper to complement the image and the subject.  Imagine, if you can, a portrait of a baby printed on a silk smooth paper or the granite feel of Peak District millstones on textured paper and tell me that an image is just a collection of pixels on a monitor.”