Latest news with #DavidHurn
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Photographer turns lens on unheralded parts of Wales
David Hurn is routinely described as Wales' most important living photographer - but he's not a fan of overstatement. "I'm a photographer, it's like being a plumber - it's no better than, it's less useful than," he says from his cottage in Tintern, Monmouthshire. Over the past seven decades the 90-year-old has documented everything from the Aberfan disaster to The Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. For his latest project David, who made his name photographing people, has turned to something different - the Welsh landscape. Anyone expecting quintessential images of Wales' rugged mountains and dramatic coastlines would be mistaken. Instead his book takes in some of the country's lesser-celebrated sites, including graveyards, council estates and even a public toilet. "I wasn't the least bit interested in romantic sort of postcards, people do that for a living and they do it incredibly well so don't compete with someone who does something better than you do," said David. Instead he set about allowing various experts to suggest what he should photograph when it came to exploring the human effect on the landscape. The result - Wales As Is - is an unflinchingly unsentimental portrayal of Wales. Author Richard King, who David invited to write an essay to accompany his photographs, said he found the images refreshing. He said searching for Welsh identity in the landscape seemed to be "a national hobby and a national obsession". "The thing that really struck me is how much we want to impose a narrative on these places," he said. David said he wanted his photographs to explore what people in Wales meant when they said "this is my culture". "Because whenever I asked them what they meant by the word they got all defensive which means they don't know what they're talking about," he laughed. "I wish that people who wanted to talk about culture were cultured, it's not asking a lot." Richard and David first met when Richard interviewed David about his experience of photographing the Aberfan disaster for one of his books. On 21 October 1966, David was one of the first photographers on the scene when a colliery spoil tip collapsed onto a school killing 116 children and 28 adults. It is an experience that has remained with him all his life. "It was undoubtedly the most difficult thing I've ever had to do and that is because you can't think of anything more obscene than children being suffocated with slurry off a tip," he said. It was made all the harder because he understood that the parents and miners desperately digging children out of the slurry did not want to be photographed - but it was also imperative he did so. "That's very difficult to deal with, very difficult and in this case we're talking children which makes it even more difficult," said David. "It was obvious they saw you as voyeurs but you as a photographer, as a journalist, realised you had to be there because this was an important thing that needed to be documented and you didn't want it to be pushed under the carpet. One of the ways to stop things being pushed under the carpet is to document them and publish them." Alongside his documentary photography, David made a name for himself photographing stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Sophia Loren and The Beatles. He also shot five covers for fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. Photographer's images expose mum's dementia agony Dreamlike Wales inspires Egyptian photographer The photos capturing life on margins of society "Of course all these things pay a lot of money. It's the trivial that pays a lot of money and what you try to do seriously pays the least," he said. "To go to the Canary Islands with 11 models in the '60s was nothing but fun, I enjoyed doing it but I wasn't the least bit interested in the end result, it's as simple as that." Many people of his age and with a long career behind them may be thinking of slowing down, but not David. In fact he says work on his next five books is already underway. "It's difficult because my legs don't want to work and to shoot pictures you have to walk places and that's difficult now I'm at an age where I struggle," he said. "But I want to do it."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
David Hurn: Photographer turns lens on lesser-celebrated Wales
David Hurn is routinely described as Wales' most important living photographer - but he's not a fan of overstatement. "I'm a photographer, it's like being a plumber - it's no better than, it's less useful than," he says from his cottage in Tintern, Monmouthshire. Over the past seven decades the 90-year-old has documented everything from the Aberfan disaster to The Beatles at the height of his latest project David, who made his name photographing people, has turned to something different - the Welsh landscape. Anyone expecting quintessential images of Wales' rugged mountains and dramatic coastlines would be mistaken. Instead his book takes in some of the country's lesser-celebrated sites, including graveyards, council estates and even a public toilet."I wasn't the least bit interested in romantic sort of postcards, people do that for a living and they do it incredibly well so don't compete with someone who does something better than you do," said David. Instead he set about allowing various experts to suggest what he should photograph when it came to exploring the human effect on the landscape. The result - Wales As Is - is an unflinchingly unsentimental portrayal of Wales. Author Richard King, who David invited to write an essay to accompany his photographs, said he found the images refreshing. He said searching for Welsh identity in the landscape seemed to be "a national hobby and a national obsession"."The thing that really struck me is how much we want to impose a narrative on these places," he said. David said he wanted his photographs to explore what people in Wales meant when they said "this is my culture"."Because whenever I asked them what they meant by the word they got all defensive which means they don't know what they're talking about," he laughed. "I wish that people who wanted to talk about culture were cultured, it's not asking a lot." Richard and David first met when Richard interviewed David about his experience of photographing the Aberfan disaster for one of his books. On 21 October 1966, David was one of the first photographers on the scene when a colliery spoil tip collapsed onto a school killing 116 children and 28 is an experience that has remained with him all his life. "It was undoubtedly the most difficult thing I've ever had to do and that is because you can't think of anything more obscene than children being suffocated with slurry off a tip," he said. It was made all the harder because he understood that the parents and miners desperately digging children out of the slurry did not want to be photographed - but it was also imperative he did so. "That's very difficult to deal with, very difficult and in this case we're talking children which makes it even more difficult," said David."It was obvious they saw you as voyeurs but you as a photographer, as a journalist, realised you had to be there because this was an important thing that needed to be documented and you didn't want it to be pushed under the carpet. One of the ways to stop things being pushed under the carpet is to document them and publish them." Alongside his documentary photography, David made a name for himself photographing stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Sophia Loren and The also shot five covers for fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. "Of course all these things pay a lot of money. It's the trivial that pays a lot of money and what you try to do seriously pays the least," he said."To go to the Canary Islands with 11 models in the '60s was nothing but fun, I enjoyed doing it but I wasn't the least bit interested in the end result, it's as simple as that." Many people of his age and with a long career behind them may be thinking of slowing down, but not fact he says work on his next five books is already underway."It's difficult because my legs don't want to work and to shoot pictures you have to walk places and that's difficult now I'm at an age where I struggle," he said."But I want to do it."
South Wales Argus
26-04-2025
- South Wales Argus
Volunteers help save historic Tintern church from demolition
Around 35 people from National Landscapes recently helped clear the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Tintern, as part of a campaign by locals to restore the site. The ancient church has faced deterioration since being deconsecrated in the early 1970s and severely damaged by a fire in 1977, which gutted the roof and windows. Despite this, its picturesque location above Tintern Abbey makes it a cherished spot for walkers and visitors. A funding page has been set up for donations, and the Lower Wye Valley Buildings Preservation Trust (LWVBPT) is applying for grants. The plan is to maintain the church as a 'historic ruin,' similar to St James' Church across the river at Lancaut, and to transform the graveyard into a wildflower meadow. The LWVBPT hopes the church will become a tranquil space for 'quiet contemplation,' welcoming people of all faiths and none. The trust has invited more volunteers to join future clean-up activities during the summer. The next sessions are planned for Saturday, May 17, and a full-day event with the Gwent Wildlife Trust on June 3. Supporters are advised to bring their own clippers. To boost fundraising efforts, a series of talks are scheduled for the summer and autumn, featuring well-known names such as Magnum photographer David Hurn and historian Tim Ryan. Mr Hurn will be discussing his career journey from Wales to Hollywood, while Mr Ryan will deliver a talk titled 'Rescuing a Princess,' focusing on the history of the last Severn Ferry. The campaign to save St Mary's Church aims to preserve its historical and cultural significance while making it accessible to future generations. The trust is eager to see more people joining their efforts to save this historic site.
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Manic Street Preachers: The story behind David Hurn album cover
David Hurn has always had an eye for seizing the the acclaimed photographer has revealed the inspiration behind the new Manic Street Preachers album was while on his way to photograph the Navajo native Americans in Arizona that he saw the "strange" and drunken sight that has been used by the Welsh rockers for their latest release."I was given a bi-centennial fellowship award by the American government to go to Arizona and photograph," Hurn told Radio Wales Breakfast."The picture came about because I had contacts with the Navajo through doctors. "I was driving to the reservation and went through an area called Painted Desert."Suddenly through the windscreen I saw this strange wiggly line. It was almost as if someone drunk had been making a drawing on the road. So I photographed it." Critical Thinking is the Manics' 15th studio album and the first to feature the lead vocals of bassist Nicky Wire, a long-time admirer of Hurn who he has described as a "colossus" of of modern documentary 90-year-old has worked with a remarkable array of stars, including Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Sophia despite once spending weeks behind the scenes with the The Beatles, this is the first time any of his work has featured on the cover of a rock album."Back in the '60s I did a few classical album covers but I don't even have the copies of them because they were so bad," laughed Hurn."The request came through my agent and when I was asked if it was OK for them [Manics] to use the photo I immediately replied, 'obviously yes'." Raised in Cardiff but now living in Monmouthshire, Hurn was recently presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Journalism award at the 2024 Wales Media Awards for his near-70-year career."I never leave the house without a camera," he said."It's not that I go looking for a photo but for something that I find interesting and, hopefully, other people will find interesting."It's more to do with feeling than sight."
