This week we’re getting to know community member, Gareth McCarthy. Gareth has been photographing large format, still-life and food for 25 years.
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How did you get started in photography?
“I got started in photography by hanging out with the creative guys at school, members of which group are still close friends, even after 50 odd years. We used to go off snapping anything weird in our locale and were considered to be a bit eccentric even then. One of them is one of my inspirational photographers of which more later.”
What was your first camera?
“My first camera that mattered was an Adox Polomat 35mm camera that had a built-in light meter and a not bad range of shutter speeds. In fact, in the beginning, it was so much more sophisticated than what the others were using but after about a year I started my Nikon outfit with a Nikkormat FT2.”
Who is one photographer that inspires you and why?
“One photographer? That’s not going to happen. I have always been inspired by Irving Penn for his eclectic range of styles, but foremost his still-life work which led me into my studio work. Ernst Haas for his magical work on 35mm and his use of color. William Eggleston for, well just being William Eggleston. And finally Lawrence Lawry, a rock and roll photographer who started out in our merry young band of weirdos and who shared my studio through the 80s.”
What’s the first thing you look for in composing your image?
“The first thing I look for when composing an image is, how can I make this picture one that I will still love in 20 years’ time?”
Join Gareth and others in the Photofocus Community!
If you’d like the opportunity to be featured like Gareth, join the community here. More than that though, it’s a great place to meet other photographers, share images and talk about all things photography.
Nice one Gareth.