The Sunday interview: 5 questions for Paul Maven

Today I will present Paul Maven the author of Paul Maven. Paul is a retired professional photographer.

1. Why photography?

I wrote about this in a recent post called 'Learning to Swim' on Substack. I sort of didn’t have a choice. I am from Sunderland in the northeast of England, a town reliant on the heavy industries of shipbuilding and coal mining. When I left school at sixteen in 1980, these industries were being systematically dismantled. I was about to leave school with no qualifications at a time when jobs in the town, especially for young people, were virtually non existent. To cut a long story short I was unemployed and involved with a music project in town (I’m a bass player) and somehow ended up on a free one day photography course at a community darkroom. I didn’t fall instantly in love with photography but it was something I found myself going back to over the next decade of long term unemployment, rubbish government youth employment schemes and soul destroying part time jobs. It was a slow burn. In my mid 20’s a took a decision to enter formal education and went to Newcastle College to study photography at HND level. I went on to gain a degree and Master degree in the subject and entered the freelance world as a self employed shooter. I never looked back after that.

I also have a diagnosis of ADHD. Part of that is my tendency towards hyper fixation. Usually around creative endeavours. When I was 14 I learned to play the bass in a matter of 6 weeks, mostly because I locked myself in my bedroom for the entire time. Many of these fixations are short lived. I will obsess about something for a few weeks or months, learn how to do it and spend money on kit. I will then move on to the next obsession. I call them rabbit holes. Music and photography are the two obsessions that have become entwined with my DNA. I am utterly invested in them and have been for forty years.

2. What is your favourite gear (camera, lens)?

I learned the ropes on film. Mostly Mamiya and Bronica if I was shooting medium format but always Canon if I was shooting 35mm. I owned two Canon T90’s. I absolutely loved them. I used prime lens, usually fast 50mm. When I eventually made the move over to digital I stuck with Canon (after a false start with the truly awful Nikon D70, which rendered an entire wedding shoots worth of deep purple cravats worn by the groom and best man as a bright red).

I loved the 5d series. I used the 5d, 5d ii and 5d iii. Coupled with a fast L lens I thought the 5diii was a phenomenal piece of kit. When I retired from commercial photography I moved to Sony mirrorless in the shape of the A7iii. Again, a fantastic camera. I also own a Sony RX10 iv. It is a bridge camera yes, but the lens is a Zeiss T star with an equivalent 35mm range of 24mm to 600mm! It is a remarkable camera and my current go to on the fells and hills. On that note, an honourable mention must go to the Canon G5Xii. A tiny powerhouse of a camera that has accompanied me on many fell walks and delivers every time. I am at present seriously considering going down the Fuji XT-5 route. So in a nutshell anything but Nikon!

3. What are your favourite subjects to photograph?

This is a weird one to answer for me. Throughout the course of my entire professional career I avoided landscape like the plague. I just had it in my head that I was no good at it after a few failed attempts. I also lived and worked in a city so there was never enough time to devote to getting better at it. So I concentrated 100% on my commercial work. This was mostly editorial/general freelance and portraiture/weddings. About a 50/50 split. I loved weddings. Challenging and stressful but when you got it right and got great feedback from the couple it was super rewarding. When I retired, I was at a loss what to shoot; I had no brief to work to. It was weird. This went on for months. My wife and I had both really wanted to visit Iceland, we both love the outdoors so it was a bucket list destination. Obviously I took a camera but I was more interested in experiencing the landscape than I was photographing it. On our return I was pleasantly surprised by my efforts. They were half decent and I think the trip planted a seed. Two years ago we moved to the Lake District and the floodgates opened. From being ambivalent at best about the genre I now can’t get enough. Despite being a relative newby it is pretty much all I shoot these days. I shoot in a style that I have seen described as street photography landscape; no tripod, very rarely use filters and utilise auto ISO and full light rather than golden/blue hour. I like my bed too much to be up at 3.45am.

4. Can you name a few of your favourite photographers?

I spent a lot of time taking commercial portraits. Mostly for editorial work. What I actually wanted to do was emulate the work of August Sander. It is simply stunning. Everything you need to know about portraiture is in that body of work. It is dark and honest and comprehensive and unflinchingly powerful. I love it. I am also a fan of the surreal work of Loretta Lux. Extraordinary stuff. Bernd and Hilla Becha’s studies always make me smile as well. Just realised, all German!

5. What can the Substack community expect from you in the future?

That is not the type of question someone with ADHD can answer and be true to! I have a dozen journals. All of them incomplete and all of them with a thousand half baked plans, projects and schemes. It’s utterly chaotic if I’m honest. Initially on joining Substack, I was just posting photos. Recently I have been very encouraged by some of the responses to my attempts at writing. So there will definitely be more forays into that world in the shape of long form posts. . I am also climbing all 214 ‘Wainwright Fells’. If you don’t know, these are the mountains and hills in the Lake District as described by Alfred Wainwright in his lovely books. My camera is obviously with me every walk. So there will hopefully be a steady stream of new landscapes. I’m just happy to be part of what is at the moment a welcoming and supportive environment full of talented creative people. Fingers crossed it lasts.