An interview with James Emmett, photographer from Hackney, east London, who holds in his repertoire working as Chief Photographer in the Hackney Gazette, moving to the London's National News Agency, and currently working as freelance for national and international publications and magazines such as The Independent, Daily Mail, The Scotsman, New Books Magazine, The Oldie Magazine and Der Spiegel.
Emmett has worked with musicians, authors and politicians, as well as covering local and national news.
Emmett has worked with musicians, authors and politicians, as well as covering local and national news.
We talk about his work, from photographing eccentric celebrities like Juliette Lewis and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips to serious news events like the 2011 London Riots.
He tells me about his biggest inspirations such as photographer Jim Marshall and his controversial photograph of Johnny Cash, artistic creativity that has to be drawn during a few seconds press shot, as well as the difficulties and limitations of working for national publications, complying to house styles and the ‘mission’ of shooting photographs as an automatic, mechanical action.
As for the future of media photography, Emmett is quite positive that media photographers will stick around for longer: "There will always be a need for people to gather information, whether it's used online, on a watch, a newspaper, or the TV... They need humans to go and collect this information."
Great interview, Iris. The potted history works and James shows that life behind a photographer's lens comes with various emotions - you captured it well. Anyone can take a snap - but it takes a good photographer to show a story.
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