It's Not So Grim Up North - ISSUE 27
Dan Gaunt explores Greater Manchester and beyond...
This Weeks Feature…
As I take a little break from podcasting I still need to feed my urge to chat with fellow photographers about their work, plans and mindset. I have been doing this in a few newsletters now and it feels like a really nice way to enjoy these talented peoples work.
I love podcasts but I often find I end up multitasking while I listen - which isn’t always bad - but I don’t really get to fully connect with the content sometimes. When I read others posts on Substack vs blogs with adverts, I just feel so much calmer and more connected to the content on here.
Seeing the images whilst reading about the featured photographer is also a huge plus I think? During my time podcasting I noticed that, naturally, the episodes featuring a well known established guest, like Jason aka Grainy Days, who already have a large following would of course receive higher listenership than when I interviewed someone who was a little more under the radar.
Don’t get me wrong - love you Jason - but it’s nice to be exposed to lessor known artists who are on a different path, and due to that may not have this huge following….yet!
So that is where I’m at with my exploration into other photographers right now. You can expect to see these more regularly, I’m hoping once a fortnight if I can be organized enough. There is a podcasting option available here on Substack that I know Molly is exploring so that could also be an option in the future…
So you don’t miss out on any of these photographer interviews + other Lucy Lumen news and thoughts, hit that subscribe button, if you haven’t already.
Let’s hand over to todays featured artist, Englishman, Paul Weller fan & banger photographer, Dan Gaunt…
Hiya! Tell us the who, what and where of Dan Gaunt?
I’m 23 from a small town in Manchester called Oldham. My main hobbies are music and photography - though photography has come in to my life very recently. It all started from being locked down in Liverpool. I just needed a reason to distract myself from descending into madness whilst swamped in Uni work. Everyday me and Poppy (who showed me how to use one) would head out for a walk and take a film camera with us. Pretty much from then on I was hooked on the idea of documenting the streets and people around me. I’ve brought the hobby home with me and not really stopped since. So I guess you could say if Pops didn’t know how to use a camera, then neither of us would.
I am a big fan of your work - Can you describe your style and what you look for in your photography?
Most of the stuff I take is just me aimlessly wandering around with my camera. I find if I overthink it I’ll come home with nothing. I love striking colours, symmetry and the idea of making something so seemingly dull and mundane look somewhat interesting or thought-provoking.
You seem to be shooting a healthy mix of film + digi, which I love! Can you talk a bit more about that balance and what informs the decision to shoot on either medium?
When I started I exclusively shot using 35mm film. I’d always tend to opt for colour film - Fuji color C200 (if I could find any) teamed with my Olympus OM2 and a 50mm 1.4 is my go-to. But I am late to the party with film and unfortunately my bank balance determines how often I shoot it now. That and good light - if the light is warm and bright I’ll throw some film in to my camera and head out, its not worth wasting my money on film for dull-light photos now with the scenes I like to shoot, so the Summer months tend to be ideal. On recommendation from a good friend (hiya Marc) I bought myself a Fujifilm XE-4 - now that’s my daily carry. Incredible piece of kit, a serious pocket-rocket. Everything digital that I’ve shot has been on this camera. The film simulations are sublime and the fact its just so film-camera-like in the hand with all the mechanical functions exactly where they should be made the transition to digital so simple. I will never part ways with this camera, its now integral to everything I do.
Let's talk about your AMAZING zines!! I love the attention to detail with matching the color scheme of the cover to the photography inside. Is that intentional and can you talk more about the creative process of making a zine?
My first zine ‘Great Manchester’ was really intended just as a bit of fun and almost a ‘can you guess where I’ve been’ for people who live nearby. It pays tribute to the market towns that I grew up in. Most people round my way would say they are falling apart so I wanted to paint them in a positive light still. I honestly didn’t think it’d sell in the volumes that it did and i was genuinely overwhelmed. There’s copies over in the US, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, with you in Australia etc. and someone somewhere in Hawaii is sat there on the beach looking at a bright yellow magazine with a photo of a chippy in Ashton-Uder-Line on the front cover, mad. I can’t thank the people enough who supported this project and made it what it was.
From that I was eager to get straight out on to the streets again, I shot a lot of stuff over Summer and last month felt the time was right to bring it all together in the form of ‘Longest Day, Shortest Night’. My creative process for both of these pieces, as you can tell by their format, is largely similar. Like I said before I love a bold colour, so thats why I went for the mustard followed by the rich light blue as themes. Then its just a case of pairing the photos with their pages - which I guess from my point of view was just a scattergun approach. I had to teach myself from scratch how to create them, and I can see imperfections in both of them, but as I do more I hope they’ll get more and more refined.
How do you stay motivated to shoot year round in the U.K. it gets pretty grim there in the winter yet your work is so colorful and warm feeling?
Spring and Summer are my favourite months to shoot, simply because you get good light for longer periods of time. The dark, cold winters are when I’m forced to think otherwise and somewhat lose my drive to get out. This past month or so for example is the longest I’ve gone without going out and taking pictures since I began. It’s not because I’m uninterested, just there simply aren’t enough hours in the day it seems. You still get winter sun, so its not all bad, but a lot of my indoor work tends to be shot over the colder, darker, and generally more miserable months. By the time this is out though I’ll be making a short flight over to the Isle of Man and I will have my camera around my next for the next 3-4 days, and I’m really looking forward to it.
What is next for you Dan? More zines? A book? Prints? An exhibition? Tell us!
I have absolutely no idea to tell the truth. I’ll still be aimlessly wandering the streets when I can. I’m hoping to travel a lot more this year and find new places to shoot. I’ve got really in to photographing musicians over the last few months. Thanks to my bro, Jake, I’ve had the opportunity to build somewhat of a portfolio containing the likes of Miles Kane, Paul Weller and Inspiral Carpets so I’m hoping to build on from there and get more opportunities from this going forward. I’ve also worked with local up-and-coming musicians like Harry Lavin which has been incredibly fun and creative. There’ll hopefully be more zines/projects and even prints to come - I love the process of collating and creating them. An exhibition would be fun, but I’d need a lot more material for that I think.
Where is the best place for people to find you and check out your awesome work?
Annoyingly, the best place to find me is on instagram. Find me at @dan.gaunt_ - though, since I created the page I’ve come in to contact with some genuinely brilliant artists and like-minded people who just love to take photos.
My website is www.dangaunt.co.uk where you can find digital versions of my first two zines, and some other content whilst you’re there.
I’m also about to create a new separate instagram account solely for my work with musicians, so keep you’re eyes peeled for that! If you are a musician and you want your photo taking, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Next time…
I am going to share some FREE ways you can stay inspired as a photographer and keep that creativity and motivation flowing! I absolutely adore writing to you all and appreciate you taking the time to read my words and I hope you enjoyed this weeks featured artist.
Go follow Dan, quiz him on what it was like to photograph legends like Paul Weller and Miles Kane, and keep an eye out for his next zine! Thank you Dan for sharing your work with the Love Lucy community.
Love you guys, see you next week!
Love Lucy xx
Zine bought. Excited.