About Jasper Dalgliesh
Born in 1963 at St George’s Hospital, London – now the Lanesborough, a 5 star hotel at Hyde Park Corner!
At six months, I moved to Singapore with my parents for four years, I was often looked after by my Amah, a wonderful Chinese nanny and her family, learning to speak Chinese and Malay before English! Sadly I only remember a few words now of my first two languages.
My Early Life
Returning to London in 1967, it was not long before the family was on the move again, this time to Brussels, Belgium for 12 years. I went to a Belgian school for a few years, then to the French Lycée, a huge 2,000 student school.
Living abroad gave me a broader outlook on life having many European influences as well as speaking French. My last few years of schooling were back in rural Dorset, England, at a small 300 pupil all boys’ boarding school, quite a change from what I had known.
My passions were definitely passed onto me by my parents; my mother was a well-known 1950’s-60’s fashion model and an accomplished, sought-after artist. My father had been in the British Army, travelling far and wide, including a time as a Somaliland Scout (now Somalia) and even a year on a Royal Geographical Society expedition to Antarctica.
The travel bug and being artistic were therefore going to be in my blood.
My Career Background
I bought my first camera an Olympus OM-1 whilst still a cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; until then, I had borrowed other peoples’.
My love of photography started then and I had fantastic opportunities being in the Household Cavalry, then a few years later as a helicopter pilot in the Army Air Corps. Military exercises, UN deployment to Cyprus, London ceremonial occasions and aerial shots started to make up my portfolio.
As a pilot, I got to see a great deal of the UK as well as travelling to other countries including the jungles and reefs of Belize, 250 feet down the Loire valley in France photographing the beautiful chateaux and the prairies of Canada flying in the pitch dark and watching the Northern Lights through night vision goggles, too far away to see with just the naked eye. All a great privilege to have done and, when I could, to photograph.
Leaving it all behind, I set my sights on corporate life starting with gaining an MBA from Cranfield University then into telecommunications with some great companies, some abysmal!
"Taking the shot is one part of photography, knowing how to improve or correct an image is as important and often misunderstood or overlooked; it is also the most time consuming."
JASPER DALGLIESH
My Passion for Photography
My camera had been put away for a while, but it was still my passion. By now, I had switched to Canon and enjoyed the relatively easier artistic control in post-processing with digital files.
Taking the shot is one part of photography, knowing how to improve or correct an image is as important and often misunderstood or overlooked; it is also the most time consuming.
Turning to professional photography in 2009, I am always happy when a camera is in my hand, looking for the shot. I have travelled to numerous countries and worked on projects in the UK.
A good friend and great photographer once gave me a backhanded compliment when out on a shoot together, saying: “I will probably always be technically better than you with a camera, but you will always get the better shots as you see things I simply don’t…”
"Being able to create artistic images, enjoyed purely on its aesthetic quality and not with a personal attachment is really testament to the artistry, knowledge and talent of a photographer."
JASPER DALGLIESH
My Thoughts on Art
I have been asked about my thoughts on art. It is such a big subject that I will give an overall view and then more specifically about photography and my approach to it.
Any form of man-made items can be seen as an art, even functional items. They may not be to your taste, but thought and effort has gone into making them, the art of creating.
Steve Jobs of Apple fame managed to make computers, software and mobile phones into prized, valued and sort after items. It was his drive and attention to detail as well as understanding how they would make us feel that gave him success.
Above all, any viewer or owner of art should get joy in viewing it, maybe even thought provoked. It does not matter if it is a priceless masterpiece or a child’s attempt at a drawing, the story behind the creation of the art is often as big as the piece.
"An artistic photographer creating an image has to be able to see what others miss and capture it."
JASPER DALGLIESH
Photography as art is often seen as a poor cousin to other forms of ‘art’, it is accessible to nearly everyone, especially with the advent of digital cameras and mobile phones with cameras and with it everyone is a photographer.
Most images taken are of friends, family and places we visit, all very personal and treasured, but probably not artistic or appreciated by others. The ubiquitousness of photographs today blurs the lines between the personal story behind it and the art of making an image, not least by the fact that we all sometimes get a good image by luck.
Being able to create artistic images, enjoyed purely on it’s aesthetic quality and not with a personal attachment is really testament to the artistry, knowledge and talent of a photographer. Helmut Newton and Ansell Adams are two of my favourite photographers; their attention to detail, their planning the shot, understanding the light, knowing their equipment and the long hours of work post processing in the darkroom, is how they turned photographs into great art.
Another annual highlight for me is the ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London. Wonderful images often fleetingly caught before it is too late and the composition has gone. In each image I can see the photographer’s patience, ability and experience.
"The story behind the creation of the art is often as big as the piece."
JASPER DALGLIESH
The talent required to take images as art is considerable. An artistic photographer creating an image has to be able to see what others miss and capture it; knowledge of composition, light, the camera’s functions as well as planning and setting up are all vital.
The creation of the image does not stop there, often post processing takes much longer even with digital software. Last but not least, is the time spent learning, practicing, re-shooting, experience takes time.
The next time you look at an image, look for what is not directly presented: the talent, experience and skill of the photographer.
