On Becoming a Photographer: Roger Arnall
April 2013
The challenge of becoming a photographer is a personal one, revolving around technical mastery, creating a distinctive style, making strong and compelling images and perhaps receiving a little public acknowledgement along the way.
This well describes Roger Arnall’s journey over the past few years. About to open his first solo exhibition at the Eleven40 Gallery in Melbourne, Roger has derived immense pleasure in becoming a photographer in his retirement.
“Five years ago, I purchased a book entitled Developing Vision & Style produced by Light & Land, a photography tour company headed by Charlie Waite. The book was full of wonderful photographs taken by people on Light & Land tours, with insightful discussions by three of the UK’s finest landscape photographers: Charlie Waite, David Ward and Joe Cornish. I was eager to learn how to ‘see’ and create such photographs.
“Around the same time, I saw a Light & Land tour advertised for the Kimberley region, to be led by Charlie and Nick Rains, so I signed up. I was a complete beginner, of course, although I very much admired Charlie’s classic work, particularly the geometric way he framed his images. The tour was a great experience and I learnt so much from both Charlie and Nick.”
Following this tour, Arnall attended a couple of intensive workshops and CAE photography courses. “I had been taking photographs all my life,” he explains, “documenting my kids growing up and our family holidays, but the camera had always been set on automatic. I didn’t really understand a camera’s full capability until I started taking courses.
“As a teenager, I wanted to be a professional musician or a commercial artist, but was encouraged by my parents to study mechanical engineering. After three years with the Public Works Department, I applied for a position at Bates Smart. Eventually I became a partner and for nine years I was responsible for the engineering practice. I thoroughly enjoyed working in such a creative environment, in close collaboration with architects and interior designers.”
After 26 years at Bates Smart, Roger started his own company, AHW Consulting Engineers (Vic), which grew rapidly and was responsible for major projects around Melbourne, including the engineering services at Federation Square.
It was not until after retirement that he took his photography more seriously. After his first tour with Charlie Waite, Roger did a number of field trips with David Ward, who became somewhat of a mentor for him. “I think we all need our mentors, no matter what profession or pursuit we follow and in that regard I have learnt much from David – particularly his vision of what he calls the landscape within.
“Rather than creating an image that the viewer’s mind will immediately grasp, I often seek to frame the subject in a way that challenges the viewer,” he explains. “The images are mostly fragments of nature or man-made environments; small portions of a larger view. Big vistas for me tend to be too messy and complicated. The hardest thing is to find a vista that has simplicity, a pleasing and balanced graphic design, that conveys a distinctive mood and importantly, that is not clichéd. What we often end up viewing are documentary photographs of lovely scenes. Yes, it is nice to record these, but it’s hard to distinguish them from the millions of other photographs taken around the world daily.”
Arnall acknowledges the difficulty of developing a vision that is distinctly one’s own. Referring to the architectural profession with which he was intimately involved, he noted that few architects appear to be truly innovative.
“For example, Frank Gehry, who designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, has designed many innovative buildings, but most architecture is essentially derivative. It’s the same in photography and a lot of what we see is derivative rather than innovative. This is fine, but the aim is to try and absorb as many influences from as many great photographers as one can and hopefully one’s own personal vision and style may emerge.”
Working with Glenn Gibson at the Eleven40 Gallery, his portfolio has been pared down to around 30 images. “Photographs look very different as a large print compared to on your computer monitor. And not all images stand the test of being enlarged.”
Arnall creates test prints on A2 paper to assess. He will stand back and look at the prints pinned on a wall, and from there may rework the image, darkening here, lightening there. “I try to produce a balance in the print that leads your eye around the frame, and certainly doesn’t lead your eye out of the frame.” Final exhibition prints are produced up to 105cm x 140 cm on the finest archival cotton rag papers available.
Finally, he believes it is legitimate to undertake some sensitive post-production processing in order to create the most pleasing image. “Didn’t Ansel Adams say that the negative is the score and the print is the performance?”
Roger Arnall, Fragments+ shows at Eleven40 Gallery, 1140 Malvern Road, Malvern, from April 12 to May 4.
Images:
1. Princes Pier – Melbourne, Australia
2. Fallen Trees – Yellowstone, USA.
3. Relfection Study No1 – Glen Etive, Scotland.
4. Curve Study No 2 – Cape Otway, Australia.