Ashbourne photographer and film maker Clive Booth has spent 22 years producing a photographic record of the daily lives of the people of Islay (pronounced 'eye-la'), one of the Inner Hebridean islands off the west coast of Scotland. The people who live on the island are called Ileachs (pronounced e-lucs) and Clive has spent so much time on Islay that he knows more people there than he does in his home town of Ashbourne! He is giving a talk on the Ileachs project at this year's Festival and some of his photographs will be on display in the Summer Exhibition running from 18th to 25th June in the Town Hall.
Islay lies exposed and at the mercy of the Atlantic Ocean, and the RNLI lifeboat crew based there have to embark on rescues in the most extreme weather conditions. Recently Clive has been supplied with a cutting edge pre-production camera by Canon (the EOS 5DS R) to help him capture the courage, character and professionalism of the crew. Did this expensive bit of kit get wet? A little, as Clive reveals in his interview with me:
Robin: In 1989 you filmed an epic climb of the Old Man of Hoy sea stack on the west coast of Scotland for the BBC. What memories do you have of that day?
Clive: That was an exciting time for me. While running a design business I was away on these fantastic adventures. I filmed the Old Man of Hoy climb from a cliff opposite the stack. In those days the equipment we used was very heavy and filming the climb was extremely dangerous. At around the same time I filmed a climb up the Eiger for Blue Peter and also a trip to the Arctic. I remember the Eiger film was one of the first times compact video tape had been used and the quality was only just good enough to broadcast. I climbed draped in all kinds of equipment and when we reached the top we were helicoptered off. To keep fit for these kind of assignments I used to run up and down Thorpe Cloud.
Robin: Which presents you with the greatest challenges? A fashion shoot or braving everything the elements can throw at you while photographing a lifeboat crew?
Clive: Now that's a difficult one! They both raise different challenges and it comes down to preparation. For a fashion shoot you need the right model and a good team. When photographing a lifeboat crew the weather was important. I would check the forecast and only ask the crew to go out when conditions were bad so that I could get some dramatic shots. Fortunately I don't suffer badly from sea sickness but I think when the adrenaline is flowing it's a great help. Your’re shooting boat to boat with the Lifeboat Operations Manager at the helm of mine and the Coastguard station officer making sure I didn't go overboard, taking care of the incredibly expensive camera that Canon had supplied me with. If it had got wet it would have been ruined. It's the only one of its kind in Europe and I only had a rain cover to protect it! So for both types of shoot- fashion and adventure- you need the right ideas, talent and execution.
Robin: You have a personal connection with the people of Islay, the Ileachs. Is tourism a threat to their traditional way of life?
Clive: Well, the island is much more popular with tourists than when I first visited 22 years ago, but tourism is a huge boon to the economy. People visit Islay because of the wildlife. In winter Islay holds 70 per cent of the world's Greenland barnacle geese and 40 per cent of the Greenland white-fronted goose population - 37,000 and 13,000 respectively. You can regularly see seals, dolphins, basking sharks, orca whales and plenty of other wildlife. It's harder to make a living from fishing nowadays and I know two fishermen who have taken qualifications so that they can take tourists out on boats. You encounter tourists from all over the world and they help to make the island a culturally rich place. Although kids have an idyllic upbringing on Islay it’s hard for them to afford property because holiday homes are pushing the prices ever upwards; also there are few jobs, so many are moving to the mainland. The island has a fantastic community spirit because of its isolation- people have to help each other. But the population is falling.
Robin: We are bombarded with photographs on social media nowadays. Does this image overload dilute the impact of a great photograph?
Clive: Yes, I think it does. There is a deluge of photos taken on mobile cameras, as many as a trillion a year now, but with the Ileachs project I want to get back to the craft of photography: creating prints. When you hold a quality print in your hand it's something special. Its expensive because 25 sheets of the paper I use costs £200. But nothing compares with a quality photographic print. Also prints are archivable for up to 200 years whereas the lifespan of digital photos is much shorter due to constantly changing hardware and software.
Robin: Which is most important? The subject or the quality of the light?
Clive: That’s a great question! Both go hand in hand. Quality light cannot compensate for a poor subject but I am obsessed with light. I tend to use available light; windows with net curtains are perfect for portraits.
Robin: Which photographer has inspired you the most?
Clive: Tricky one! I have been inspired by so many different people. The person who encouraged me to shoot was Doug Menuez, an American photographer who has become a friend of mine. I was fortunate to work with him for a few years in the 1990s. Don McCulllin has been another inspiration and we have worked together on several campaign shoots. I introduced him to and assisted him with digital cameras back in 2011; he is also obsessed with light and is one of the funniest people I know. Other influences have been Nick Knight, one of the greatest living fashion photographers, Stanley Kubrick, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Edward Curtis.
