On Tuesday 6th October, Edmond Terakopian came to the Society to speak on the subject ‘Photojournalism & Beyond’. The Chairman remarked on his pleasure at returning to the Hall after what seemed like a long gap. He introduced Edmond, whose presentation began.
Edmond noted his early beginnings in photojournalism with both the Harrow Observer and Wembley Observer and decried the lack of local papers. The Wembley Observer had allowed him to take photographs of artists playing at Wembley Arena, such as Mick Jagger.
At 24, Edmond went under his own devices to Nagorna Karabak, which was his first experience of conflict. A key photo from this trip was ‘The joy of foreign chocolate’ in which he noted lack of enthusiasm on the children’s faces after having suffered so much.
HIs series ’10 years after the Armenian earthquake’ was made over the course of two trips to report on the local peoples’ struggles to rebuild their lives and the erection of a church from steel sheeting to counter superstitions of a curse.
Edmond is perhaps best known for his coverage of the July 7, 2005 tube/bus bombings in London. Edmond was on assignment, filming a diamond on display at the Natural History Museum when call came in to cover a ‘power surge’. Edmond remarked that subsequent news of a statistically unlikely second surge led to him suspecting terrorism. His photograph of a woman in a temporary burns mask being helped to safety became a famous image of horrors of the day.
Edmond stated that he loves fashion photography and also capturing the backstage incidents at fashion shows. Edmond demonstatred his love of and clever use of layers in his photography .
The National Lottery had been his client for several years and on their 15th anniversary, they wanted him to photograph 15 interesting past winners. Edmond was involved in choosing one couple who had bought a farm and encountered the subsequent highs and lows of modern farming. Another winner was notable for buying over one hundred Action Men, a toy he had been denied as a child. There was a couple who had used their winnings for surgery - purchasing four knee operations in order to be able to dance again. Finally there was a woman who had planted 10,000 trees to stop a development but then rather regretted agreeing to fly in a helicopter above her forest for Edmond’s photo!
Edmond expressed himself a lover of the photography of ‘daily life’ / street photography. He recommended that we should always have a camera with us, as illustrated by his picture of a family at a check in desk. He showed us a beautiful set of photos, exposing for the highlights of people passing in front of black hoardings. He also referenced his use of symbolism in his pictures - from a Christ-like basketball match observer to a dominant Rolls Royce mascot.
In ‘The Making of an Opera’ Edmond noted how rare it now was to get such a commission a photo essay. For this project he took 32,000 pictures, which then had to be narrowed down for a book and exhibition. There was a wonderful picture of the ‘Head of Opera’ disputing a note and finding that Britten wanted it that way when the composer’s hand written score was scrutinised. The large number of photos taken resulted from nothing being posed or set up - a key creed of photojournalism. HIs photos ranged from auditions, through rehearsals, to performances and finally the destruction of the set. Finally he presented a beautiful set of low exposure images of back stage life, inspired by the opera project. He noted that only recent advances in photography allowed such photographs in such dim light.
After the break, Edmond presented his project for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. He was commissioned to produce both a fundraising film and associated reportage photos. These photos further showcased his masterful understanding of light - witness his patience in awaiting for the light to perfectly reflect off a surgeon’s glasses.
Edmond covered the escapades of Extinction Rebellion, specifically their closing of London Bridge with a wedding bus. He noted that sometimes he was hated by both police and protesters and given no special treatment by either group. Nevertheless, he stated that he always aims to establish rapport with his subjects, sometimes achieving this with with just a simple nod of gratitude after taking a photograph.
Edmond’s further explorations of the backstage world led him to the Circus. These beautiful monochrome pictures were again made possible by his four thirds camera. He still thinks that he speaks in monochrome the best, though does use colour if it is better suited to the subject or a client’s direction.
Edmond finished by displaying a few of his latest newspaper portraits, which included his attempts to sweet talk Marco Pierre White into having his portrait taken and a recommendation for Bentley’s for seafood - we noted the lovely light from the warming plate/chef station.
The evening concluded with Edmond taking questions from the audience. He referenced his love of Medium Format for its dynamic range, allowing composition of intricate scenes (e.g. the fine detail of water droplets on a painting). He currently employs a Fuji GFX100RF.