Guest Speaker 6: Tom Duffield
Tom Duffield is a freelance photographer working on the subject of domestic life.
His practice and personal projects-
Just couldn’t get the shoes to fit:
A project with his grandfather, including his first self-portrait images. His grandfather was his guardian and it shows how the care has shifted as Tom has grown older.
A theme of interaction and connection; photos shot on a plain background make the work simplistic and focuses on their relationship.
His grandfather growing older while Tom is also growing up, so responsibilities change.
There was a discussion about how it’s important to keep a balance between personal work and commissioned work, from the work you share to others, the person looking at it can see what you and your work are about. “You can’t choose the work you accept, but you can choose the work you share”, which means that if you don’t want to have any work in a certain photography theme (eg. a wedding), then don’t put it on your website. This was useful in helping me refine my portfolio and what work I should be putting on my website.
Poppy Promises:
Project with his father, including still-life images taken in his father’s allotment, showing how his father is slowly fading away, and he’s watching this happen.
Photographs of him and his father, shaving each other’s hair.
The message behind the project was that life is too short to hold grudges which Tom expressed to us.
Conventions of issues stripped back the meaning of the subject.
I found his work and the way Tom articulated it very insightful and was inspired by the work he had been making, the messages behind it and how he had shown the issues in his work with vulnerability and fragility of himself and the subjects.
Also, the fact that he started doing self-portraits when he wasn’t comfortable doing so, is the situation I’m currently in with my work. The way he keeps similar themes and stories in his commercial work is helpful to know as I want to keep my work consistent and relevant.
Tom’s website: www.thomasduffield.com/
Screenshot from Tom’s website