Fotograf Mark Wallis

—Er du fotogen?

—Not really, mainly because I pull stupid faces when I find myself on the wrong side of the camera.

—Hvordan ble du en del av fotografbransjen?

—The old story of the couple with no money, an old uni friend with a decent camera and a firm agreement that there’d be no posed photos.

—Hva er de viktigste komponentene i et bra bilde etter din mening?

—For me it’s all about the genuine moment, captured without any intervention by the photographer. A moment that would have happened even if the photographer wasn’t there. A moment of action, emotion, great light, etc.

—Er du glad i å reise?

—I do, but in comfort. I’m more of a city person than a wilderness person.

—Hva liker du best med yrket ditt?

—Working for myself and (kinda) gatecrashing parties.

—Hva liker du minst med yrket ditt?

—The assumption by some that I’m at the wedding to take control of everything and to take boring, posed photos of the guests.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ut for fotografering?

—Not sure I even know what the ‘present’ of wedding photography is. I just do what I do and hope enough people each year want that.

—Hvordan takler du kritikk?

—Depends who it’s coming from and how constructive it is.

—Finnes det noen trender innen fotografering?

—Always somebody doing something that everybody else copies until something else comes along. Trends get old quickly (see ‘couple in rain with flashgun’, etc.)

—Hva bør kriteriene være for en kunde som skal velge en fotograf?

—Approach is key for me. They either want to just get on and enjoy their wedding and have a record of it, or they want to spend the day modelling for pieces of art or fashion photography (or somewhere in between). A connection with the photographer’s portfolio, and a desire to see themselves in those images, is a good guide.

—Hvilke detaljer, som vanligvis ingen ville lagt merke til, kan en fotograf fange opp?

—I don’t think there is anything specific. A good wedding photographer will have an eye for a moment or an interesting composition or great light that most won’t have, but the key thing is that when you’re employed to shoot a wedding you approach it from a different angle to a friend or family member who is there to enjoy the wedding. I am paid to be observant. Plus, I see what the common people are doing. I’m there to photograph everybody, not just the couple.

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundre etter din mening?

—For me, whoever does the most to increase education and encourage the use of reason and logic in decision-making from the top to the bottom of social and political hierarchy.

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere?

—Anybody that trusts me completely and who will ignore me.

—Har du noen yrkesmessige tabuer?

—I won’t work for people or companies that I perceive to be helping to make the world a worse place.

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere sammen med?

—Nobody. I like working alone.

—Hva bekymrer deg, og hvorfor?

—Time and money and my misguided perception that I have a shortage of both.

—Hva er det mest imponerende øyeblikket i livet ditt?

—Completing this interview.

—Hvilken animert figur, literær person eller filmkarakter ville du vært, og hvorfor?

—Butthead from Beavis & Butthead, because he.. he… he. You said would. He.. he…

—Hvem inspirerer deg i ditt liv, og hvorfor?

—I’m not good at absorbing or recognising inspiration.

—Foretrekker du å bli likt eller respektert?

—Depends who is doing the liking and respecting.

—Hva er den største tabben du noensinne har gjort på jobben?

—Running up the stairs of Marylebone Town Hall with a zoom lens precariously perched in a jacket pocket didn’t end well.

—Når du skal ut å reise; hva tar du med deg, og hvorfor?

—Clothes, money, phone, a camera of some sort.

—Er de noe blant dine gadgets du angrer på å ha kjøpt? Hvorfor?

—A Panasonic GF1 that I barely used and that my wife dropped and damaged after I’d had it for a couple of weeks. I don’t get on with cameras without viewfinders.

—Hvordan utdanner du deg for stadig å ta bedre bilder?

—Take more pictures.

—Hvem sitt arbeid har inspirert deg mest som fotograf?

—Nobody specific, but seeing in 2004/2005 that a documentary approach was a viable option for wedding photography was the push I needed to start doing it myself.

—Hva ønsker du å formidle gjennom dine bilder?

—The truth.

—Hva motiverer deg til å fortsette med fotografering?

—People keep paying me to come to their weddings.

—Skulle foreldrene dine ha vært mer eller mindre strenge?

—My mum got it pretty much spot on.

—Hva ville du ha gjort annerledes hvis du kunne reise tilbake i tid?

—I would make better use of my enquiring mind and study science or engineering, so that I could be of more use to the world and future generations.

—Hva tenker du angående liv på andre planeter?

—Presumably, but we’ll wipe out life on our own planet before we make contact with life on others.

—Hvem er dine helter?

—I don’t really have any. They’d only ruin it at some point.

—Hvem har du absolutt ingen respekt for?

—Those who promote fear, intolerance and lies to feed their own greed.

—Hva gjør du i fritiden din?

—I do DIY, or I play my ukulele, or I go to (mostly metal) gigs or I do a crossword.

—Hvilken side av deg viser du aldri offentlig?

—Most of my sides. I’m a fairly private person.

—Når er du helt fornøyd med arbeidet ditt?

—Dunno, it hasn’t happened yet.

—Tror du på tradisjonelle manne- og kvinneroller?

—Like most traditions, best left in the past. Live and let live.

—Har du lett for å få nye venner?

—I really don’t. I’m friendly and approachable and I get on with most people, but I’ve been burnt too many times so I keep most people at a few arms’ length.

—Hvor kunne du tenke deg å bo?

—In a huge warehouse apartment in NYC, or in a cosy old manor house surrounded by a few acres, or on top of a hill in Scotland.

—Finnes det et liv etter bryllupet?

—It’s just a certificate and a great party. As you were.

—Har du en favorittspøk? Fortell.

—“Some people like cats and some people don't. Apparently the Pope's a cataholic.” Milton Jones

—Liker du hunder eller katter?

—I prefer cats to dogs, but I don’t like the damage they do to your house, so am currently resisting my family’s desire to own one.

—Hvem eller hva hater du?

—Overuse of hate.

—Det beste i livet er:

—Freedom. And Five Guy’s Bacon Cheeseburger, All The Way.

—Det mest irriterende i livet er:

—Procrastination. And people constantly changing speed on the motorway when I’m using cruise control.

—Hva hos deg selv kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—I’d like to have more self-belief.

—Hva i verden kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—I’d like to ensure everyone gets a quality education and eradicate dependence on myth, legend and violence.

—Kan du komme med noen gode råd til fotografer i startfasen?

—Take your own (decent) food, and wear comfortable shoes.

—Forestill deg at romvesener ankommer jorda, og at du er den første de treffer. Hva ville du sagt til dem?

—That I want a ride in their spaceship.

—Hvis du ble spurt om å spille inn en film, hvilken sjanger ville den være?

—A very dark and gory horror film.

—I morgen skal jeg...

—…something less boring instead.