MPB Meets: Documentary Photographer Bobby Beasley

Using wide-angle lenses and flash, documentary photographer Bobby Beasley takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.

With unusual subjects, he creates surreal compositions using light to accentuate colour—creating a rich representation of life. In this interview, Bobby Beasley speaks with MPB about technique, inspiration and camera gear.

MPB: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

BB: Born and raised in Hull, on the east coast of England. I’ve grown up around the old town part of the city, where our family business is based. We’ve been selling American vintage clothing since the 70s. The area is full of characters and is just a great inspiration—day-in, day-out.

When I was 13, a close friend of the family encouraged me to buy a Minolta XD7 from a second-hand shop. He gave me a camera bag full of all sorts of bits and pieces, and it all fascinated me. When I’d have the films developed, he’d spend time going through my prints and making crops using the backs of four other photos, choosing areas in the frame that interested him. It really inspired me that it wasn’t just the image on the negative that could be the final printable image.

MPB: How did you develop your technique? 

BB: I started using flash after messing around with a Fujifilm X100S (read our Fujiifilm X100S review). The Fujiifilm X100S has got a leaf shutter and a tiny built-in flash. This camera is loads of fun, and you don’t have to worry about sync speeds. I was doing daft stuff like emptying cans of soup into saucepans with one hand, while trying to take a photo at the same time. I was eating loads of tomato soup! Must have looked crazy, but it was a good laugh and I liked the freezing time effect it gave. I then got my hands on a Fujifilm X-Pro 2 and started to use an off-camera flash. That’s really just loads of experimenting and having fun.

MPB: You balance your subject and foreground with your sky or background perfectly. Can you tell us a bit about your shooting process?

BB: I love how using a flash can create that effect, getting the exposure right for the background and bringing the flash in to get the foreground lit. That superimposed hyper-real feel is always what I want to try to achieve. My settings always change depending on the scene, so it’s really just experimenting. The happy accidents along the way are the things that really motivate me.

MPB: Who did you draw inspiration from? 

BB: There are so many! Dougie Wallace, yeah, his book Harrodsburg is ace. I went to see one of his exhibitions—it blew my socks off. These amazing large-format prints from that book were just incredible. I love fashion photography, and flash plays a huge part in making images pop. All of this bunch are real favourites—Tim Walker, Hiro, Hans Feurer and Barry Lategan. The Tim Walker Wonderful Things exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London was really inspiring stuff. A visual feast.

MPB: Can you tell us about your kit?

BB: I shoot digital with an off-camera flash. I’ve had a Fujifilm X-Pro 2 for years. It's a brilliant camera, it’s solid and the image quality is great. There’s something about the colours that I love about Fujifilm cameras.  It’s actually the reason that got me really hooked on shooting digital. It’s nice just being happy with the setup that you have, and not getting hooked up on thinking about new equipment. That said, if I could get my hands on the new Fujifilm GFX I’d be a very happy man.

MPB: Is printing an important part of the process for you?

BB: I don’t think I print enough, to be honest. But, recently, I’ve finally taken control of printing my own photos with an A2 Epson printer. It’s taken some time to figure out settings and to find some nice paper to work with, but I’ve got there and am really happy with the results.

MPB: What would you like to achieve in the future? 

BB: I was lucky to have my work on show in Paris for this year's Festival Circulations, which also led to having work on display—printed in large format—all around the Paris Metro. This project kept me busy working throughout lockdown, editing photos and collecting all my images together. I now feel that I have a body of work that I would love to see put together as a zine or book.

Read more interviews on the MPB Content Hub.