MPB Meets: Portrait Photographer Simon Wiffen

We speak to portrait photographer Simon Wiffen, who won the Amateur Photographer Unsung Hero award in recognition of his book 47 / A Life With Cystic Fibrosis.

Following his then three-year-old son’s Cystic Fibrosis (CF) diagnosis, Simon decided to create a series of portraits of people living with CF to explore their experience with the condition. This led to the book, in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The number 47 refers to the median predicted life expectancy for people living with CF.

MPB: Could you tell us about your project, please?

SW: 47 / A Life With Cystic Fibrosis is a photography book of intimate portraits exploring the realities of living with CF up to and beyond the median predicted survival rate of 47 years old. I set out to study how this number affects the attitudes and opinions of people diagnosed with CF at various stages of their journey. Over the course of a year, I visited each person in this book, shot their portrait and chatted to them about their life, their attitude to the condition, and their hopes and dreams for the future. I was fascinated to know whether these changed as people approached—and passed—the age of 47.

Each portrait is shot in the same style, with the same lighting and presented in black and white. For every book sold, I donated £5 to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to support the incredible work they do every day to support those affected by CF and to help work towards a cure.

I've been blown away by the success of the book. I’ve sent copies all over the world—to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, the United States, Canada and all over Europe. I appeared on live TV on BBC Look North and received national press coverage in the Daily Express. I had the honour of picking up the Unsung Hero Award at the 2020 Amateur Photographer Awards in recognition of my work on the project.

MPB: Could you tell us about yourself and your background? 

SW: I'm a Web Developer by trade, although I shoot a little commercial photography on the side. I've worked in the web industry for over 20 years, so am a bit of a grandad by all accounts. My passion has always been photography though. Like a lot of people, I found my love of photography by discovering my Dad's old camera equipment. When he was young, he had a darkroom—and I followed in his footsteps I suppose. I converted a cupboard in my bedroom into a darkroom and fell in love with the process. When I became a dad, I turned my passion to documenting my growing family. I love to shoot anything and everything, but I'm particularly passionate about capturing images of people. I have a pretty busy life, so picking up a camera helps me to focus on the moment I'm in and gives my brain a welcome distraction.

MPB: In terms of camera gear, what do you shoot with and why?

SW: I shoot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a variety of lenses. I love 50mm as a focal length, so my Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM stays on my camera most of the time although I absolutely adore my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM, which is my go-to for a lot of the family photography I do. It's just a beautiful piece of glass. Those are the two lenses that most of my work is shot on.

I used to shoot film, on an old Minolta Dynax 3xi. And when I bought my first DSLR, I was torn between the entry-level Canon and Nikon cameras. I tried both, and for me it came down to the user experience. The Nikon menus felt alien to me, whereas the Canon immediately felt comfortable in my hands. That's how I decided to buy a Canon EOS 400D. From there, I grew a system and upgraded to an Canon EOS 7D before upgrading to my current Canon EOS 5D Mark III. The improved low-light performance and full frame have really benefited me in the type of work I do.

MPB: Why did you choose to shoot these portraits in black and white?

SW: I decided quite early on that I wanted each portrait in the book to be shot in the same style, with the same lighting. I chose black and white to remove the distraction and focus on the individual in the picture and their unique experience. I'm a huge lover of black-and-white photography anyway, but I thought it was particularly suited to this project. It produces a beautiful, timeless feel and the emotive portraits really complemented the stories in the book.

MPB: Was there a specific moment when you decided to make a photographic project about cystic fibrosis?

SW: My little boy Ellis was diagnosed with CF at three weeks old. His life is filled with a routine of medication, physiotherapy and hospital visits. I'd been toying with starting a photographic project documenting his everyday life for a while. At the same time, I started to become really interested in portraiture. In particular, the challenge of capturing a subject's personality in a single frame. Those two ideas kind of merged and the concept for the book was born.

MPB: Aside from bringing more attention to the issue, are there any other milestones you hope to reach?

SW: The intention for this project was always to raise awareness of CF. It affects approximately 10,400 people in the UK, but very few people really understand it. I wanted the book to communicate not only the headline symptoms and treatment of CF but everything that comes along with it. Everyone's experience of CF is different, and I wanted the stories to communicate each person's reality. Since Ellis' diagnosis, my wife and I have campaigned and raised funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust so I also wanted to support the work they do. The book has raised over £3,000 for the charity.

I feel the project has really punched above its weight in terms of impact versus budget. It's a tiny independent production in the grand scheme of things, but it's helped to spread the message worldwide. I've had incredible messages, where parents have used the book to broach the subject of life expectancy with their children. It's incredible to feel able to offer a small degree of help—even if it's just to make a young child realise there are others like them and to feel less isolated. One of the unique aspects of CF is that people with the condition aren't allowed to meet due to the risk of cross-infection.

I actually sold out of physical copies of the second print run of the book a few weeks ago. I'm not currently planning on printing more, but I am working on producing an eBook version so the stories can continue to be told. I feel like the project has gone above and beyond what I'd hoped, so I'm not sure about other milestones. The book did lead me to shoot another project for the NHS, promoting their Be A Hero campaign and the benefits of organ donation, so I'd love to get involved with other opportunities to use the power of photography for good.

MPB: What were the biggest challenges you faced when shooting for this project?

SW: There were plenty of challenges—finding the subjects, planning the shoots, designing and producing the book, the Kickstarter campaign, etc. But far and away the hardest challenge was the logistics of the shoots themselves. A lot of the portraits were shot over the course of three-weekend road trips. Each trip took months of planning and was planned down to pretty much the minute. The road trips were the most stressful stage by a distance. It was also an incredibly difficult project emotionally. As the dad of a then-three-year-old with CF, the project introduced me to many people at all stages of the condition. Very sadly, I lost one of my subjects just weeks after I shot his portrait and another a short while after the book was released. That was incredibly tough, but for all the reasons it was so hard for me to put the book together, I knew it would produce a powerful piece of work. The stories in the book are so unique and so important. It's been a huge honour to be entrusted with sharing them.

MPB: What, if anything, would you change about this project?

SW: I genuinely wouldn't change anything that I did. I've spent over 20 years producing digital 'things' so to produce something tangible has been so rewarding. This book represents a year of my life, and I'm so proud of it as a piece of work. It's the project I'm most proud of and it means the world to me.

MPB: Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about starting a similar project for themselves?

SW: I'd say if you have a concept for a project, think carefully about the whole as well as the component parts. Think about what it is that ties the individual images together as a coherent piece of work, and always have the end goal in mind. Understand what it is you're trying to achieve. Finally, make sure you're passionate about what it is you're shooting. Personal projects are incredibly important, but they can be a huge amount of work. There are parts of my journey I'm not sure I would’ve made it through if I wasn't so passionate about the subject. At the end of the day, it's the emotional connection that binds the work—so you need to be prepared to open yourself to it, even when it makes the process incredibly hard. The more you're able to give yourself to it, the better the result will be.

Simon’s book has now sold out. But, you can still offer your support by donating to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

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