On Tuesday 21st July, Sukhy Hullait attended the Society to talk to members about Storytelling and to set us a competition challenge. Fresh from his global travels, the Chairman introduced Sukhy. The Chairman explained that Sukhy would be returning in September (Tuesday 15th) to assess our storytelling photos, a challenge which will be outside the usual internal competition structure.
Sukhy explained that he had worked and taught internationally, specialising in the teaching of photographic storytelling. He remains extremely passionate about the subject and has a genuine desire to pass on what he has learned.
Sukhy addressed the subject of 'Architects vs Gardeners'. Essentially Architects carefully plan their projects, with everything meticulously detailed before starting work. By contrast, Gardeners plant seeds, then see what works (or what does not), as they gently nurture their project to fruition.
Sukhy strongly advised the utilisation of a notebook to write as well as photograph. This is both as an aide memoire and also to better track what works.
Sukhy said that his style has developed over the years to encompass getting to know the subject and seeing his projects as a collaborative process. He explained how his own colour blindness had actually increased his collaboration with his subjects because he sometimes relied on them to point out interesting links in costume and background that he could not perceive.
Sukhy said that he was driven by a desire to document communities that wouldn’t otherwise be seen. He showed some award-winning examples of his photographs of young carers and Covid-era community heroes.
Sukhy suggested a very useful plan, The Framework, for creating stories:
The Framework by W. Eugene Smith
- Intro - a wide shot surveying the scene
- Middle distance shot - such as a building
- Close up or detail photo
- Portrait
- Interaction of people
- Goodbye photo - signifying the end of the project
Sukhy advised that a special 5-day 'story telling sprint' pdf would be released to Society members after the meeting, helping them to put this framework into practice and giving various creative hints and tips.
A good question from a Society member regarded the challenge feeling like it was more like architecture than gardening, when Sukhy himself had portrayed himself as more of a gardener. Sukhy admitted that it was a fair query but defended the project as one which helped us to better understand the 'rules of storytelling' so that, in the future, we would feel more committable in breaking the rules. So his advice was to learn the structure first before ripping it apart - to do your scales, before you start playing jazz!
Sukhy said that our storytelling projects could be as large or as small a subject as we liked. Previous successful student projects included following the baking of a loaf, through to eating it, and the preparation and dropping off of grandchildren at school. It does not have to have global ambitions. A slide reminded us - 'The more personal you make it, the more universal it becomes' (Diane Arbus).
Sukhy asked that we include a line of text, describing our story, in order to assist the viewer's understanding of the subject matter.
Society members storytelling photos (5-10) should be sent via WeTransfer before the deadline of Tuesday 1st Sep to hello@esvee.co.uk NOT emailed to Sukhy. WeTransfer is a free service that does not require a subscription, Society members should go to WeTransfer.com and enter the email address (above) as the recipient, photos are easy to upload and send via this service, unlike the internal competitions, there are generally no restrictions on size or quality.
Sukhy will return to the Society on Tuesday 15th September to assess our storytelling attempts.