Notes:
Ian Howorth is a documentary photographer from Brighton. He worked in TV, but found it very rushed and didn't like the lack of care and attention that was put into it. Photography became an outlet that was a lot of fun. He was creating a lot of cinematic pieces. "It was almost about creating a moment that you would envision in a film."
He would see a location that would inspire him to make something, and he could do that with a very low budget using film photography. He talks about transitional moments with 'pockets of light'. Moments with movement, like a walking scene in a film. There is no story, just capturing something like a pretty introduction.
He likes images with feeling, and he doesn't like words. He wants the images to speak for themselves. Raw emotion - the right people will feel it. He talks about that moment when you get butterflies, when you know something is going to be incredible. A moment when you feel like you're in a movie set, when it feels like something has been put there for you to photograph it.
Although he doesn't seek it, his images are all bound together with a sense of tranquillity, and also alone-ness. Personally, I see it as a stand-off-ish-ness. Howarth's images to me have a very waiting room quality about them. Like a transitional place. He says - there's no bustle around you, it's peaceful, like an empty space that you fill.
Although his images hold this sense of 'isolation' he sees this as negative, and likes to view it more as quiet contemplation. I really resonate with this because I think that it links to the idea of why nostalgia makes us so happy. Nostalgia is definitely a theme within Howoth's photography and he uses it in a comforting way - in a way that allows you to take some time to quietly contemplate. "There is a nostalgic feel to my images. It's almost at the core of me, I'm just not interested in modern things. Older things look better now, they just seem like they're better built."
Why does he shoot on film?
"After years of looking at scans and negatives, it's just something that you see and you go: 'I like that'"
Reflection:
Although I have never studied photography and know very little about the technicalities, I really resonate with Ian Howorth's work and see him almost as a creative inspiration. After watching his interview, I found that I really agreed with the way that he sees the world, especially when he was discussing the nostalgia within his work and why this is something that he is drawn to. I think that I like his work because of how comforting it feels. Because a lot of the city where I am from is old and hasn't been modernised, looking at some of Howorth's photographs feels like I am looking at home, and triggers happy memories.
Images:
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