Field Studies

by Stephen Gill (Photographer), Jon Ronson (Introduction)

This is UK photographer Stephen Gill's guide to his own particular world of objects, scenes and the things we do--so familiar and obvious that they fall below the usual threshold of the average personís attention. An original first book featuring eight series of photographs made in South East England--from lost people and the backs of advertising billboards to people gazing vacantly out the window of the London-to-Southend train--Gill's visual scrutiny of the everyday combines humor, formal rigor and empathy towards his human subjects. Text by Stephen Gill and introduction by humorist and television director, Jon Ronson.

Genres: Photography

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Stephen Gill’s passion for photography was sparked by his father’s quiet influence and fuelled by an early fascination with insects, birdlife, and the tiny pond creatures he’d gather to examine under a microscope. Music, too, has long been a steady companion. Together, these early obsessions nurtured a sense of wonder, and image-making became not only a way of exploring such curiosities, but a means of responding to his surroundings and to the subjects that intrigue or move him. Over time, it has become an essential form of articulation and expression.

As the years have passed, Gill’s relationship with photography has continued to evolve. While he values photography’s strengths, he remains increasingly aware of its limits, how straight descriptive photographs are often unable to convey more elusive emotions, feelings, or ideas that lie beyond the glass wall of clarity, projection and control. He works outside those limits, developing a quiet trust in chance and what can be withheld. In reducing information, he often finds that something vital — a presence, a spirit — can remain, allowing the subject to breathe without interference.

Gill continues to explore the idea that even the most abstract or ambiguous images can carry a truth, sometimes more illuminating than clear visual description, however factual it may appear. In a time when images flood every corner of life and certainty feels harder to hold, he chooses to relinquish much of the authorship and control, seeking instead to honour his subjects by handing much of the authorship back to them. He is often drawn to finding ways to collaborate with his subjects or to assist them to fully speak for themselves, without the images being suffocated by the medium or the maker.