Thomas Duffield

Thomas Duffield is a Northern based photographer who led an online lecture that I personally found to be interesting and insightful about both his life and his photography. During the talk, it was clear to me that the projects that he displayed during the talk are very personal to him. Thomas shoots the majority of his work on a Mamiya RB67, which is a film camera. 

During his Photography MA at Huddersfield University, he created a new personal project which was named "Just Couldn’t Get the Shoes to Fit". In which this project is focused on his grandfather and the shift in roles. Thomas realised as he was getting older so was his grandfather and therefore his grandad was learning to be vulnerable and receive care, rather than to just give it. This project was sparked one day when Thomas’s grandfather brought down some old jackets that he had found. He was excited about them as when he was younger they were his best wear. Thomas set up a plain background and photographed both him and his grandad wearing the jackets.

His project titled ‘The Whole House is Shaking’ is another brilliant piece that focuses on his fathers absence during his younger life. Thomas described his childhood and how it wasn't the most pleasant. His grandfather was a farmer who had set up a caravan for them in his field as a temporary living space which ended up being a permanent residence for him and his family. 

As well as personal projects, Thomas has also created commissioned work for newspapers such as The Financial Times and The Guardian. The style of his photography within his personal projects attracted commissioned work. Other commissioned work that he has created includes Campaign photography for Anthony Nolan.



The way Thomas shoots deeply personal projects and handles them with strong maturity is an incredible inspirtation to me, both through the actual work itself by the way he takes the images with meaning behind them, while not giving the meaning of the image away with the title or even within the image itself. Listening to Thomas's talk made me think more about the personal side of my work and how I can give each image meaning without giving anything away.