Helen Gildersleeve speaks to award winning North East photographer Chris Booth to find out about his life behind the camera and his passion for the region.
Esteemed American photographer, Ansel Adams once famously said: “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” In our fast paced and image focused world, good photography has become more potent than ever, with the average human seeing up to 4,000 images daily.
Darlington based Chris Booth has an extensive background in press photography and has worked for some of the North’s leading newspapers and magazines. With more than 12 years’ experience at The Northern Echo, Darlington & Stockton Times and Living magazine, his lens has captured everyone from pop stars to politicians, royalty to rogues and lots of beaming brides.
How did you get into photography?
I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a serious profession while growing up and it wasn’t until I was about 24 that I thought about being a photographer. I had always enjoyed taking pictures as a youth, and enjoyed having a go on my dad’s Canon T70 when given the chance. He was quite a keen amateur as was his father before him. In addition, I always had a keen interest in travel and politics and made usage of the fact that my sister worked on a newspaper to get my first bit of work experience as a press photographer on the Keighley News in West Yorkshire near to where I grew up. From there I successfully applied to get on the NCTJ photography course at Norton College in Sheffield from where I gained my first staff photographer position on the Scarborough Evening News.
What images are you most proud of?
This is a hard question to answer as I cover a wide array of subject matter and find it hard to compare or rank one against the other. I feel extremely fortunate enough to have covered the whole of the London2012 Olympics on behalf of The Northern Echo, and I believe I made the most of the 2 weeks I spent down in the capital. From this period to name but a few, I captured images of the iconic opening ceremony, Usain Bolt crossing the finish line in the 100m final and Kat Copeland becoming the first EVER woman from the North East to win a gold medal in her rowing event.
Where do you think is the most photogenic area of the North East?
I don’t think there is one particular area or place in the North East which is best for photos, rather there is a wealth of choice of many places. Clearly there are popular locations known to many such as Newcastle quayside, Durham Cathedral, Gunnerside in North Yorkshire, Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, much of the coastline including Robin Hood’s Bay, Staithes, Whitby, Seaham Harbour. The list goes on, however as primarily a news photographer, if I am photographing a landscape there needs to be a news element involved such as extreme weather conditions or an event going on at that location.
Do you have any tips for taking a great local photograph?
It always helps to know a location well – to know for example how the sun might fall on a landmark at different times of day and where the sun sets and rises in relation to that landmark. Patience and enthusiasm are two more important characteristics especially for landscape photography. I would also encourage creativity – looking at different angles photographically on a subject matter and possibly trying to take a picture in a way that hasn’t been done before. This isn’t easy however.
What do you think makes the North East so great an inspiration for photographers?
I think the North East has an amazing amount of subject matter from iconic buildings in urban areas to beautiful yet wild landscapes both inland and along the rugged coastline. It’s difficult not to be inspired by such a wealth of choice!
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbooth.photos
https://www.facebook.com/chrisbooth.photos
If you’re a talented photographer, artist, crafts person, poet, musician, film maker or performer based in the North East and would like to be considered for a feature on the England’s North East website we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us here