Pro Talk Portraits: Cambridge Jones
Q How do you feel about the comparison some have made between you and Annie Liebowitz? Would you consider that flattering or something of a distraction that takes attention away from your personal style and approach?
Well, I need to be careful how I answer this, since it’s occasionally got me in trouble. I think Annie Leibowitz has done some incredible and ground-breaking work, but it’s not the same as the kind of work I do. I’d argue that she comes out of the rock ‘n’ roll tradition of Rolling Stone, whereas I’m more influenced by old fashioned photographers such as Karsh or Avedon.
Having said that, I’m pretty sure that we’d both list Avedon and Cartier Bresson as influences, so what do I know! I believe it was The Wall Street Journal that first used this particular comparison when I had an exhibition at The Lincoln Centre in NYC, but I don’t think it’s a good one for either myself or Annie!
Q How did the Double Exposure podcast with Hugo come about, and how much fun is it to have the opportunity to just sit back and discuss between you the ins and outs of the photographic world?
Hugo and I came together to record a pilot at the suggestion of Tom from Gary Lineker’s company, Goalhanger Podcasts. They liked what we did and said we had the right chemistry but, since they felt they were unlikely to launch a podcast on photography, we were free to take the idea to other media companies. William Miller – CEO of Raconteur Studios, who make the podcast When it hits the fan – heard it and launched the show.
Q You obviously take a great deal of interest in the world of other photographers, something that’s going to be reflected in the series that you’ll be contributing to Professional Photo, so how interesting it is to you as someone who is in the heart of the business to look at the work of other creatives and to think and talk about what might have been going on in their heads when they pressed that shutter?
Honestly, I’m almost more interested in other photographers than my own work now, certainly where the celebrity stuff is concerned: (we can expect an angry note from my agent when she reads this!) I’ve learned more from doing the podcast and discussing and interviewing other photographers than I ever thought possible and, to a large degree, it’s teaching me so much about my own approach and techniques as well.
