Jamie Lumley collection
Biography of Jamie Lumley
Jamie Lumley is a freelance photographer based in London. He has worked as a location and unit photographer. At the time of the launch of the ELTA website in February 2009, he was staff photographer at Film London.
“The challenge, in photographing the theatres for inclusion in the East London Theatre Archive, was to capture the essence of the space and the individuality of the buildings. I prefer to photograph spaces as I find them; although, I was keen to present tidy images so that there was nothing to distract from the detail.
The brief was to capture architectural and historical details and in while I was working, I became aware that there is a tremendous amount of care that is involved in the preservation and maintenance of the theatres, as they are working spaces.
From a technical point of view I used long exposures rather than blasting everything with flash, and by using a simple set up of a single camera on a tripod with one flash, it also allowed me to get into some of the tighter spaces, while providing a uniformity in the images, by using one of two lenses.
My past experience as a location scout helped me with this project, although I had more time and easier access to the venues, as well as the added benefit of having the ELTA team on hand to advise on particular shots. I think the project is an interesting and valuable one and I would love to see all theatres and performance spaces documented and archived in such a way.”
www.jamielumley.com
www.iphotographlondon.com
Scope and Content of contribution
- Jamie Lumley collection 2008
- 170 photographs - Arranged by theatre.
- Series of interior and exterior architectural photographs taken by freelance photographer Jamie Lumley in 2008, on behalf of the ELTA Project.
Original photographs are held at University of East London Archive Department.
Copyright holder
Jamie Lumley.
East London Theatre Archive
